@ocmedia

@ocmedia has been a member of Linktree for 4 years and joined in May 2022. The social media accounts linked to from @ocmedia are: • Facebook • Instagram • X Besides social media accounts, ocmedia has populated their site with: • ‘The caves came first’ — how an Armenian artist breathed new life into Goris • Review | Apricot Stone: Armenian shorts at the 2026 Golden Apricot International Film Festival • When culture becomes dissent: Gori Art House’s uncertain future • Opinion | Israel’s disingenuous, cynical steps towards recognising the Armenian Genocide • Houses remain; stories disappear — the emptying villages of Armenia’s border region Shirak • SUBSCRIBE - 2024 Georgia Election Newsletter • Website • Become a member • Explore oc-media newsletters • Advertise with us • Opinion | What Temur Ugulava’s death reveals about Georgia’s unfinished argument with its past • Review | Ravens Before Noah — a bleak yet poetic look at survivors of the Armenian Genocide • Analysis | ‘A strategic partner in the Horn of Africa’: the making of Azerbaijan’s Somalia alliance • Review | Weaving Culture — from Nagorno-Karabakh to Yerevan, knot by knot • UFC fight night in Baku: how Caucasian MMA stardom is reaching new heights • ‘A Soviet-style culture of informants’: how Georgia’s feminists learned to live under siege • Review | The Pear Field — a look at life in Tbilisi’s ‘school for idiots’ • How Azerbaijan’s pro-government media made Pashinyan’s victory all about Ilham Aliyev • Review | Barzakh — tracing Grozny’s disappeared • ‘I’m not going to stop the fight’ — 14 detained Georgian protesters released under plea deals • Live updates | Polls open in Armenia in crucial parliamentary elections • Opinion | The silent revolution: What happens when Armenia’s diverging generations meet at the polls? • Azerbaijan’s media apparatus goes all-in for Pashinyan • Opinion | Armenia’s elections are a return of Russia’s 2006 Georgia playbook • Who’s who in Armenia’s 2026 parliamentary elections? • Opinion | Who gets to decide civil society is ‘legitimate’ in Armenia? • Review | Nail in the Boot — Kalatozov’s futile plea to the Soviet authorities • Will Armenia–Azerbaijan peace spell the end of Georgia’s transit monopoly? • Bob Amsterdam: the lawyer behind the opposition party trying to take down Pashinyan • Buckets, sticks, and stories — Inside Armenia’s woman-led tradition khabukhaz • Criminal cases, insults and claims of foreign control: Armenia’s pre-election campaign heats up • Georgia’s new vineyard rules draw accusations of ‘Soviet-style thinking’ from small producers • Hand-hearts and drum solos — Pashinyan’s populist social media strategy • Review | Small Town of Anara — a subversive Soviet Georgian exploration of drinking culture • When NATO paused its bombs for Kosovo’s Circassians to return home • Azerbaijan prison dispatches: isolation, self-harm, silence — the psychological toll of detention • The ‘Emmanuel’ Political Community summit — or how Macron took Yerevan by storm • How Georgian artist Tedo Rekhviashvili smuggled an Abkhazia piece into Nauru’s Biennale pavilion • Armenia’s election season kicks off with Armenian lessons and heated foreign relations accusations • Review | Adibas — a Georgian war novel without the war • Georgia’s DMD families and their uphill fight for treatment • How an international economic forum highlighted Abkhazia’s dependency on Russia • Georgian Orthodox Church shortlists three candidates for next Patriarch — who are they? • The scarcity of childcare services for children under two in Georgia • How Ossetian Uatsdin became ‘the most successful’ pagan faith in the world • Tbilisi’s ‘fairytale’ Trump Tower — doomed to fail? • ‘He learned to live on his own’: the hidden toll on Georgia’s women protesters • Review | Salt for Svanetia — Kalatozishvili before Kalatozov • Hunting in the Labyrinth: the lasting effects of Azerbaijan’s raid on queer nightlife • Review | In the Mountains. He — a comedic ode to the Caucasus mountains • Chinese-linked Basisbank acquires Georgia’s Liberty Bank • Could Vance’s visit to Armenia and Azerbaijan herald further American weapons deals? • Review | Jocasta: Raw Material — a feminist comparison of two civil wars • After Ilia II’s death, what’s next for the Georgian Orthodox Church? • What recent Baku–Tehran tensions reveal about Iranian Azerbaijan • Is Azerbaijan banning the hijab in public schools? • https://oc-media.org/georgia-to-deport-journalist-afgan-sadigov-to-azerbaijan-following-late-night-arrest/ • Georgia to deport Journalist Afgan Sadigov to Azerbaijan following late night arrest • Is the Georgian government secretly killing stray dogs? • Opinion | The risks of Pashinyan’s fear-mongering tactics ahead of Armenia’s elections • What’s behind the mass bird deaths along Azerbaijan’s Caspian shore? • Opinion | ‘A list of rich people in a poor country’ — what Forbes’ top 100 list reveals about Georgia • At the edge of the war, an uneasy calm: dispatches from the Armenia–Iran border • A ripple effect that holds back economic progress — growing up poor in Armenia • How a German-backed university in Georgia launched a Nazi-influenced research centre • Opinion | Reflecting on the complex legacy of Patriarch Ilia II • Is Armenia’s ‘strategic brand’ of democracy at risk? • Review | Thus Spoke the Wind — an Armenian drama that favours art over substance • When the night glows, the Circassian New Year begins • How sexual extortion turns intimacy into terror in Georgia • Obituary | Patriarch Ilia II — the one constant in Georgia’s modern history • Review | A Dog in Georgia — a journey that never finds its way • The carrot and the stick — the reality behind Russia’s attitudes towards Abkhazia • What to know about Georgia’s ‘most dangerous’ legislation yet • Review | Persephone (Where the Light Forgets Me) — the echoing architecture of girlhood • Why Georgia’s most vocal university now faces the biggest cuts • Review | The Cage is Looking for a Bird — a Chechen tale of women’s agency • Opinion | Why Azerbaijan quietly needs Iran’s mullahs it publicly despises • Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia tread carefully as Iran conflict explodes • Iranians find refuge in Georgia, despite murky ties with Tehran • Review | Hotel Metalurg — illustrating the loss that never fades • Georgia's new labour laws explained • Is Tbilisi’s stubborn support of Imedi and POSTV a sign of more sanctions to come? • Monstrous costumes and cracking whips — the Georgian village preserving the spirit of Berikaoba • When Eagle Hills comes to town: what its European projects reveal about the risks for Georgia • Georgia’s cinema paradox — acclaimed abroad, yet struggling at home • Review | Self-Portrait Along the Borderline — exploring identity and belonging amidst conflict • French court suspends Georgia’s $383 million payment to company behind Namakhvani HPP • Review | Scary Mother — the horror of a Georgian woman’s intellect • ‘A personal catastrophe’ — Roza Dunaeva on Europe’s deportation of Chechens • How the tragedy of the mandarin mirrors Georgia’s democratic demise • ‘A quiet, creeping Russification’: the displacement of indigenous languages across Russia • Review | Panopticon — coming-of-age in the shadow of the sacred • Analysis | Why did Georgia really phase out its public employment programme? • Leaked Russian report details influence strategy for diaspora in South Caucasus • Review | Once Upon a Time There Was a Singing Blackbird — Georgia’s overlooked masterpiece • ‘The state plans to end my life’ — Bahruz Samadov calls for solidarity in prison letter • Opinion | Georgia’s regime has given critics a choice: prison or exile • Georgia’s energy sector is leaking money — into Russian coffers • Review | The Navigator — when GPS becomes your confidant • The Tsova-Tush children’s book aiming to save one of Georgia’s most endangered languages • Living on the edge — residents of Abkhazia’s Gali district fear increasing isolation • What would the collapse of Iran’s regime mean for Armenia and Azerbaijan? • Opinion | Not even Kadyrov’s own children are safe from the impunity they created on the roads • Review | Repentance — an enduring warning about unchecked power • Review | The Door Was Open: Short Stories — unveiling the dark side of Armenian womanhood • Azerbaijan’s attempts to project power abroad places critics under psychological and legal pressure • Breaking the barrel: Armenia’s quiet wine revolution • Review | Nothing Political — theatre in resistance and the anxiety of what remains • Caucasus cinema in 2025 — this year’s top 10 films as reviewed by OC Media • Opinion | Tracing Ivanishvili’s rise to power • Review | Nostalgia — music that interrogates Georgian society • Gohar’s second goodbye: forced to leave Armenia after losing Nagorno-Karabakh • Review | Chiaroscuro: Following the Shadow — watching the filmmaker watch himself • ‘I want to know what happened’ — Georgian protesters on the lingering effects of chemical exposure • Will Abkhazia be able to avoid an energy collapse this winter? • Opinion | How Kadyrov uses the UFC — and its US stars — to normalise his repressive dictatorship • Dancing fabrics and contested poetry: inside Georgia’s resilient animation scene • A mega-mall with few shoppers: the unfulfilled promise of Tbilisi’s Hualing Sea Plaza • A not-so silent night — Tbilisi enters holiday season as protests persist • Review | Pathetic Monologues — Georgian theatre that finally laughs at itself • Review | Parallel Movements — uncovering Paris through the lens of health-driven Georgian migrants • Opinion | Georgia’s new mental health registry is a tool for repression • Husband of Georgia’s US Ambassador linked to Moscow firm aiding sanctioned Russian businesses • Review | Nobody in Sight — one man’s fight with addiction and loneliness in Tbilisi • Opinion | Is Azerbaijan sincere with its peace rhetoric or just bargaining with the West? • How political psychiatry is finding a new life in Georgian propaganda • DataFest Tbilisi cancels planned media participation after pro-government smear • Opinion | Trump once tried to belittle me — a misogyny Ivanishvili and others later embraced • Recent controversies spark concern in Georgia’s booming surrogacy industry • Review | Searching for Satyrus — butterflies, family secrets, and cross-border collaboration • Review | The Harvest — crypto mining in Georgia’s wine region • After a series of controversial projects, Eagle Hills sets its sights on Georgia • Explainer | What is Armenia expected to do on its EU visa-free journey? • Explainer | Why is the Georgian Government comparing protesters to Naruto’s Akatsuki? • Review | Caucasian Blues — a fun romp bringing together Armenians, Azerbaijanis, and Georgians • Opinion | While Azerbaijan praises its ‘family values’, young girls pay the price • Dancing across cultural boundaries: Georgian, Armenian, and Azerbaijani traditions meet at Shin • Opinion | Georgia’s self-avowed liberals undermine themselves by justifying Israeli war crimes • Opinion | Peace promises and the language of hate: Azerbaijan’s double politics • Can China revive Georgia’s long-stalled Anaklia Port, and at what cost? • Review | Temo Re — An artistic yet humorous commentary on Georgian society • Opinion | A year after I ran in Azerbaijan’s rigged election, militarism now shapes politics • ‘Resistance exists only on the roadway’ — protest-related arrests continue in Georgia • Review | Imago — Exploring Chechen identity in Georgia’s Pankisi Valley • Explainer | Have Russia and Azerbaijan buried the hatchet? • Review | Tonratun — A dispatch from a communal Armenian bakery • Opinion | 4 October: an unsuccessful uprising or a trap for Georgian democracy? • Opinion | By imprisoning Abzas Media, Azerbaijan has turned its prisons into newsrooms • In Photos | ‘Letters to the citizens of Georgia’: the newspapers delivered by the mothers of the jailed • London Georgian Film Festival - OC Media • The Azerbaijani activist held as a ‘foreign terrorist fighter’ in a Turkish deportation centre • Breaking the boycott: The opposition candidate vowing to wrest Tbilisi from Ivanishvili’s grip • ‘Sokhumeli Bichi’: Tamada and DillaNext on the unspoken identity of Sukhumian IDPs in Georgia • Adjara’s Islamic heritage forgotten by the state • Review | Do Not Leave the Room — Georgian theatre that dares to speak out • Opinion | Can Azerbaijan really seek peace while it continues to repress its own people? • Review | Shapshe — thoughtful, energetic, and fun Circassian folk music • Opinion | The personalisation of power in Armenia endangers democracy • Review | Venezia — a dark comedy operating as a microcosm of Georgia • Opinion | Sovereignty through defeat: Pashinyan’s reframing of Armenia’s post-2020 reality • Opinion | Why the arrest of women journalists in Azerbaijan is a feminist issue • Review | In Between Dying — a dream of a dream of Azerbaijan • Explainer | Who is Samvel Karapetyan, the Russian–Armenian billionaire whose empire is under siege • ‘They want to believe their sons are heroes’ — the North Caucasus in the shadow of the Ukraine war • Opinion | Georgian Dream’s ghoulish Ukraine ads insult all of Russia’s victims — Georgians included • What’s the significance of the Trump–Aliyev–Pashinyan meeting? • Review | Blue Mountains, or Unbelievable Story — a satirical Georgian masterpiece • The last women performing Zikr in Pankisi — Georgia’s sacred Sufi chants edge toward silence • A list of the Facebook posts that led to fines under Georgia’s ‘government insult ban’ • Explainer | What you need to know about the historic Aliyev–Trump–Pashinyan meeting • No More Bazaar — photographer Elene Glonti on the death of Georgia’s street markets • Explainer | Is an Azerbaijan–Israel–US alliance on the cards? • Keeping up with the Kadyrovs: Who’s who in Chechnya’s ruling family • 🎧 PODCAST: The Caucasus Digest • ‘No one will know I did it’ — Azerbaijan turns blind eye to victims of domestic violence • Explainer | What’s behind Armenia’s church-state conflict • Opinion | In Georgia, the EU’s commitment to democracy is being tested — and it may be failing • Donate to Support to Batumelebi • Datablog | Are Georgians becoming more concerned about stray animals? • Kobakhidze says EU threats to revoke visa-free status part of ‘global war party’ and ‘deep state’ conspiracy • Armenian LPG lorries claim Georgians demanding $1,500 bribe to be allowed through border • Ninety Ukrainians now reportedly being held in ‘inhumane’ conditions on Georgian border • Two arrested in Batumi for planning to sell uranium for $3 million • Georgian minister confirms he did not complete PhD following OC Media report • Religious school in Chechnya forced to shut down after underage teacher beat pupils • Datablog | How do Georgians perceive women’s sexual freedom? • Kallas says EU sending letter to Georgia on possible suspension of visa-free travel • Daghestani teen forced to fight in Ukraine and ‘executed’ by superiors, mother claims • Chechen woman to remain in Georgia after foiled abduction attempt by relatives • Exclusive: Georgian education minister did not complete PhD in Netherlands • Armenia places woman and 8-month-child in detention • Suspect detained for attacking man for wearing shorts in Vladikavkaz • Review | Air Blue Silk — a melancholy debut about social alienation in Georgia • Family-friendly policy in Georgia: supporting a compassionate work-life balance • Inside the Pankisi brewery making traditional Chechen fruit-based non-alcoholic beer • Chechnya has the highest divorce rates in Russia in 2025 • Review | What Do We See When We Look at the Sky? — A Georgian ode to everyday wonder • Opinion | Solidarity without borders: For Bahruz, for Georgia, for all of us • Review | 5 Days of War — an offensively bad depiction of the August 2008 War • Review | Inner Blooming Springs — A Georgian diary of friendship and resistance • Opinion | As the Church and government clash in Armenia, democracy falls victim • Georgian Dream is watching: how AI-powered surveillance is used against Tbilisi protesters • Review | The Embroidered Kheberi: Adjarian Women’s Heritage — Between Myth and Contemporary • Review | Blueberry Dreams — A contemplative look at the dreams and struggles of a Georgian family • Review | Holy Electricity — a love letter to the inhabitants of Tbilisi • Explainer | The 16 legislative changes that have shaped Georgia’s authoritarian slide • Bacho Jikidze — the Georgian musician whose sharp tongue cuts through systems and melts hearts • Conflicting stories emerge about US diplomatic outreach to Georgia • Moldova extradites Georgian accused of white supremacist terror plot to US • Review | Words of War — A compelling personal story that misses an opportunity to say more • Opinion | Armenia’s conscription reforms codify class division • What to expect from Tbilisi Open Air 2025? • ‘He sold his soul’ — the North Caucasians going to war to make a living • Pashinyan appeals for peace as fears of new war between Armenia and Azerbaijan grow • Did Russian support help Badra Gunba win Abkhazia’s presidential election? • Explainer | The five cases against former President Mikheil Saakashvili • ‘Our voice is heard the loudest from here’: Georgia’s students occupy their universities • OCCRP investigation exposes a ‘scam empire’ of call centres in Georgia • OC Media faces closure after Trump–Musk aid cuts hit $250,000 in funding • In barrage of legislation, Georgian Dream approves new foreign agent law in its first reading • Explainer | One year on in Azerbaijan’s crackdown on independent media • Faith, resistance, and digital advocacy: NIYSO’s role in Chechen activism • A cog in the ‘machine of evil’: ex-TV Imedi employees on working for Georgian Dream’s spin machine • Explainer | Who’s who in Abkhazia’s 2025 presidential elections • Did Hungary help hand Georgian Dream victory in the disputed parliamentary elections? • Opinion | Mzia Amaghlobeli is a political prisoner • ​​Human rights organisation accuses Chechen Akhmat fighters of using mobilised queer men as sex slaves • Deportations from the West: the story of families sent back to Azerbaijan • Deadly Azerbaijan Airlines crash sheds light on twin crises of migrant labour, border closure • Opinion | Chechen women are speaking up, but is anybody listening? • When EU politicians say one thing, Georgian Dream leaders say another • ‘When we get in the minibus, the fun will start’ — How Georgian police torture detained protesters • Economic crisis looms in Abkhazia amid electricity shortages, ban of mandarins • From fireworks to the public sector: Georgian Dream introduces new legislation amid protests • ‘Colour revolutions’, Western meddling, coups — how Russian media is covering Georgia’s election • Abkhazians follow Georgia’s elections closely, but quietly • The ‘Black Garden’ becomes ‘a black corner’ for Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians • Who’s who in Georgia’s parliamentary elections? • Bahuz Samadov - Opinions • When advocating for peace becomes treason — the arrest of Bahruz Samadov • No job, no flat: trans people in the margins in Azerbaijan • Opinion | Azerbaijan’s cooling relations with Turkey • Opinion | Georgia’s queerphobic laws are a clear step towards authoritarianism • Opinion | Georgia’s one-sided relationship with China comes with significant risks • Voice | Growing up queer in the North Caucasus • A new wave of queer Georgian film under threat • Power of the people: six years on from Armenia’s Velvet Revolution • Georgian Dream eliminates taxes on offshore assets brought to Georgia • Why is Georgian Dream reviving the foreign agent law? • The disappearing villages of Samtskhe-Javakheti • Mine entrance blocked near Shukruti in renewed protest against Georgian Manganese • ‘Competing to be most pro-Russian’: Abkhazia prepares for Russian presidential elections • A forest in the city centre: rewilding Rustavi • Opinion | Georgia’s minimum wage is stuck in the 90s • Opinion | Russia’s death train rolls through Chechnya and Ingushetia • The fight to save Nagorno-Karabakh’s burns patients • Poison, pills, or poor angles: what’s behind the rumours surrounding Kadyrov’s health? • Editorial | Ilham Aliyev’s attempt to eradicate the free press cannot succeed • Opinion | Fourteen years on Rustaveli Avenue — documenting Georgia’s descent into authoritarianism • OC Media | Who we are