The aim of this essay is to explore the cultural, educational or so-called soft power influence of Russia and China in Azerbaijan. The essay analyzes the state and perspectives on the influence of Chinese and Russian soft power in the South Caucasus, focusing on Azerbaijan. It discusses the current situation and tries to put the soft power influence of Russia and China into perspective. It zooms in on the Azerbaijani case, because, contrary to other South Caucasus governments, the Azerbaijani leadership is trying to find a balance between the involvement of both the regional powers and the great powers by maintaining a virtually equal political distance from the West and from Russia and China.
Essay by
Nurlan Aliyev
August 23, 2023
Wine constitutes a corner-stone in the past and present of Armenian and Georgian societies. During the Soviet era, the production, distribution and consumtion of agro-food products, including wine, became elements in the geopolitical organization of food and agri-cultural relations of the USSR and of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance Reconstruction (after 1965). The Armenian wine industry was restructured and its main focus became the production of sherry, while the Georgian wine industry focused on wine production, most of which was exported to Russia. The wine sector became re-structured, vineyards were collectivized and their management was centralized and a far reaching division of labour was implemented at industry level. This article offers a glimpse of the economic history of wine in Armenia and Georgia between the 1920’s and 1991.
By
Paulina Rytkönen
October 25, 2021
On June 20, 2021, Armenia will hold an early parliamentary election, two years earlier than the ordinary scheduled one for December 9, 2023. The election is in reality a vote of confidence for the incumbent Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and necessitated by the political crisis which emerged in the aftermath of the Nagorno Karabakh war in 2020.
By
Vahagn Avedian
June 14, 2021
December 9, 2018 marked a historic day in Armenia’s modern era as people went to the voting stations for a snap parliamentary election. The result rendered a landslide victory (70.4%) to acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s My Step (Imkayl) coalition. The election was a consequence of the power shift which occurred nine months earlier in April 2018, during a popular uprising dubbed as the “Velvet Revolution”.
By
Vahagn Avedian
January 12, 2019
More than twenty-five years after gaining independence, Armenia is yet to undergo a democratically instigated change of power. It can no longer be said that Armenia is still a state in transition. On the contrary, in many respects, the lately held Presidential elections illustrate that the country is currently moving away from democracy in order to strengthen the authoritarian regime ruled by the ‘party of power’, the Republican Party.
By
Nadja Douglas
March 7, 2018
On April 2, Armenia held its first parliamentary election with the newly adopted constitution, transforming the country from a presidential to a parliamentary republic. In short the change transfers the substantial executive power from the presidential office to the prime minister and the parliament. The elections have widely been regarded as an important test of the democracy in Armenia.
By
Vahagn Avedian
April 7, 2017
In Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia an extended transition period is taking place, monitored and orchestrated by the European Council. Here it is investigated how to understand long-term interference of the international community in the affairs of states that strive to be recognized as democratic.
By
Anders Nordström
April 29, 2014
There is a great deal that we do not yet know about Vasily Grossman’s life. The widely held belief that Grossman lived out his last years in poverty and isolation is probably mistaken.
Essay by
Yury Bit-Yunan
May 10, 2013
The impression is that the Armenian politicians are balancing the expectations of the Armenian public and the International Community. Both government and opposition have to show that they are responsible politicians that will not resort to violence and that are ready to accept defeat and continue constructive dialogue with their political opponents.
By
Anders Nordström
April 21, 2013
A week before elections the head of the Armenian Central Election Committee announced that the Armenian parliamentary election would be monitored by over 30 000 observers, both foreign and domestic.
The elections in Armenia 2012 were far from revolutionary, but perhaps it was a sign of a gradual evolution of Armenian democracy towards normality. The election results have not yet being challenged and parliament is better representing the political forces in the country and the party system is more consolidated.
By
Anders Nordström
May 9, 2012
Issue 2024, 4: 
Baltic Worlds covers; the Baltic Sea Region, Eastern Europe, Russia, CentralAsia, Caucasus and the Balkan area.