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A Small World War

At the intersection of Eurasia’s pre-modern empires, Transcaucasia has long been a battlezone. With the waning of American-led globalization, and its legacy of militarization, are their avatars—Russia, Turkey, Iran—re-emerging, equipped with Israeli drones? Georgi Derluguian locates the 2020 war for Nagorno Karabagh in the geopolitical longue durée.

Armenia’s Fuel Protests

Political life in post-Soviet Armenia has been forged on the anvil of militarized national defence against its larger neighbour, Azerbaijan. Can a new generation of activists succeed in bringing social questions to the fore? Examination of recent struggles against transport and electricity price rises.

Machiavellis for Postmoderns

Georgi Derluguian on Andrew Wilson, Virtual Politics. Techniques of political legerdemain in the former Soviet states, and the swerving trajectories of its intelligentsia practitioners

Under Fond Western Eyes

Georgi Derluguian on Andrew Meier, Black Earth: A Journey through Russia after the Fall. The sociology of Western affections for Russian anomie, and standard explanations of current suffering.

Recasting Russia

What do the West’s belated plaudits for Putin’s gage to the war against terrorism—the Caucasus as proving-ground for the Hindu Kush—signify for Russia’s future in the world-system? Georgi Derluguian looks at the longue durée, from the Golden Horde to the IMF.

A Tale of Two Cities

Adventures in pursuit of house and home across three continents—from service with national liberation in Mozambique to the labyrinths of bureaucratic Moscow and the tribulations of DIY Chicago. An Armenian’s sly homage to upside-down internationalism.

Che Guevaras in Turbans

“On 7 August 1999, caravans of well-armed and bearded men, wearing camouflage fatigues and Islamic skullcaps or headbands, crossed from Chechnya into the mountains of Daghestan. They were led by the two most famous field commanders of the recent Chechen war of independence—Shamil Basayev and Khattab. Basayev had . . .” read more

The Other Mediterranean

“Since the Neolithic agriculturalist revolution, the shores of the Black Sea have been continuously inhabited by linguistically and culturally diverse peoples. In some places ethno-historical continuities are truly staggering, as in the inaccessible valleys of the Caucasus, sheltered from invasions, where natives can make credible—as well as totally . . .” read more