Like any kind of improvisation, meykhana, a musical style akin to rap, has its detractors and its devotees in Azerbaijan. Literally translated as “the place of wine,” meykhana is the poetry of the...
Michael Emerson is a Senior Research Fellow at the Brussels-based Centre for European Policy Studies, which is an independent think-tank focused on probing European Union issues through research,...
Michael Emerson is a Senior Research Fellow at the Brussels-based Centre for European Policy Studies, which is an independent think-tank focused on probing European Union issues through research,...
Amid the hardships and uncertainties of life in Kabul these days, beauty salons, once banned by the Taliban, have re-emerged as sanctuaries for Afghan women. For many, the salon experience is...
It’s a bright spring morning in Baku, and, at Azerbaijan’s only non-profit school for snipers, 10 students are diligently taking notes about the “peculiarities” of a Russian-made, semi-automatic...
Victory Day, commemorating the Red Army’s triumph over Nazi Germany, offers an opportunity for Russia’s present-day leadership to demonstrate the country’s resurgent military might. For many World...
It was supposed to be the Las Vegas of Central Asia, a ritzy gambling city on the shores of a man-made lake that would attract high rollers from as far afield as China.
Today, as if guarding the hilltops from an unseen enemy, the tombs look like sandcastles melting in the rain and wind. But weathered as they are, they still make one wonder: How did a proud...
Troubled by varicose veins, cellulite, high blood pressure or angina? You may cringe at the thought of it, but the bite of a little blood-sucking creature with 100 razor-sharp teeth may be the...