Can OC Media survive in a new global reality?
The Caucasus Digest
The recent cuts to US foreign aid have affected media outlets across the Caucasus and the world — including OC Media. This week, OC Media editor-in-chief Robin Fabbro and co-directors Mariam Nikuradze and Dominik Cagara sit down to discuss how OC Media’s plans to survive and thrive in the new global reality through its membership programme and the support of its readers. Read more: Support independent journalism in the Caucasus and become an OC Media Member: .
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Mzia Amaghlobeli’s arrest
The Caucasus Digest
Mzia Amaghlobeli, the director of Georgian news sites Batumelebi and Netgazeti, has been arrested on charges of assaulting a police officer after slapping Batumi’s police chief during a heated exchange. Journalists, legal experts, and media watchdogs have criticised the arrest, saying that the charges, under which she could face four to seven years in prison, are wildly disproportionate to what she had done. This week, we spoke with Batumelebi’s Irma Dimitradze about the circumstances surrounding the arrest, to journalist Tamar Rukhadze, about the current media environment in Georgia, and...
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Ukraine’s recognition of the Circassian Genocide
The Caucasus Digest
On 9 January, Ukraine’s Parliament has recognised the Russian Empire’s 19th century genocide of the Circassians, during which Russian forced killed or deported hundreds of thousands of Circassians from their homeland in the Caucasus. This week, OC Media’s Yousef Bardouka talks about the genocide and its impact on the Circassians and the Caucasus and the significance of the resolution, while Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko, a co-author of the resolution, talks about how the bill came to be and Ukraine’s role in supporting the people of the North Caucasus. Read more: ...
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Georgia marks holiday season with daily protests
The Caucasus Digest
OC Media's Robin Fabbro, Mariam Nikuradze, and Shota Kincha sit down and chat about the protests against the Georgian government’s decision to halt EU integration, going on for almost a month now as the holiday season descends on Georgia. Support independent journalism in the Caucasus and become an OC Media Member: . …or donate to the collective Georgian media .
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The Caucasus and the regime change in Syria
The Caucasus Digest
OC Media's Robin Fabbro, Nate Ostiller, Arshaluys Barseghyan, and Yousef Bardouka talk about the regime change in Syria and what it means for the Caucasian diaspora communities in the country and what it says about Russia’s influence and power globally. Read more: Support independent journalism in the Caucasus and become an OC Media Member: . …or donate to the collective Georgian media .
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Georgia’s EU U-turn and spontaneous protests
The Caucasus Digest
OC Media’s Robin Fabbro and Mariam Nikuradze talk about the spontaneous protest movement which erupted after the Georgian government’s announcement that the country would ‘halt’ its EU integration. Mariam shares her experience covering the protests and details how the police injured her and damaged her cameras as she was covering their violent dispersal of the protests. Read more: Support independent journalism in the Caucasus and become an OC Media Member: . …or donate to the collective Georgian media .
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Georgian Dream launch parliament — what’s next?
The Caucasus Digest
Georgian Dream have launched the new parliament without any opposition, amidst continued calls for an investigation into irregularities in the same parliamentary elections that helped them secure their fourth term as the majority. A month after the elections, OC Media’s Robin Fabbro, Mariam Nikuradze, and Shota Kincha sit down and talk about the developments surrounding the protests against electoral fraud and Georgian Dream’s plans for the future. Read more: Support independent journalism in the Caucasus and become an OC Media Member: . …or donate to the collective...
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Donald Trump and the South Caucasus
The Caucasus Digest
Last week, Donald Trump was re-elected for a second term as president of the United States. This week, Robin Fabbro and OC Media editors Alexandra Kuenning and Nate Ostiller discuss what Trump’s re-election as president might mean for the Caucasus as he appoints a new administration and the outcome of the war in Ukraine becomes more uncertain. Read more: Support independent journalism in the Caucasus and become an OC Media Member: . …or donate to the collective Georgian media .
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Greta Thunberg on COP29 in Azerbaijan
The Caucasus Digest
With the UN COP conference soon kicking off in Baku, we sat down with Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg to talk about the choice of Azerbaijan, an oil-producing state with a questionable human rights record, as host. Read more: Support independent journalism in the Caucasus and become an OC Media Member: . …or donate to the collective Georgian media .
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Georgia gears up for the 2024 parliamentary elections
The Caucasus Digest
With Georgia’s parliamentary elections inching closer, both the ruling Georgian Dream party and the many groups representing the opposition are scrambling to prepare for the critical vote on 26 October. This week, OC Media’s Robin Fabbro, Mariam Nikuradze, and Shota Kincha discuss how the pre-election campaign period has been going, claims of electoral violations by Georgian Dream, and the atmosphere in Georgia ahead of the vote. Read more: Support independent journalism in the Caucasus and become an OC Media Member: . …or donate to the collective Georgian media .
info_outlineThe residents of Shukruti, a village in Georgia’s western Chiatura region, have been protesting mining under their village carried out by Georgian Manganese for years. In September, they relocated their protest to Georgia’s Parliament in Tbilisi, demanding that the government intervene in their dispute with the mining company.
Those protesting around the clock in front of parliament are constantly exposed to the elements as the weather grows colder, with at least six of them on hunger strike.
This week, we spoke with OC Media’s co-director and journalist Mariam Nikuradze about the conditions of the protesters and how the authorities have been treating them in Tbilisi, and to the Social Justice Center’s Salome Shubladze about their demands and the ongoing legal dispute between the protesters and Georgian Manganese.
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Support independent journalism in the Caucasus and become an OC Media Member: Join today.
…or donate to the collective Georgian media security fund.