For Kremlin leaders during the Communist era, language was a key tool in their efforts to forge a new Soviet identity. Russia was supposed to unify the inhabitants of the ethnically and culturally diverse empire. These days, language is again a central element of government policy in post-Soviet states, only it’s being used to separate rather than unify.
On February 20, 1988, the local assembly of Nagorno-Karabakh issued a stunning, plainly-worded resolution that called for the transfer of their autonomous region from the republic of Azerbaijan to the republic of Armenia.
Hazara Shiites marked Imam Hussein's death this year by shouting prayers, waving black and green flags, and driving cars and trucks in often boisterous, disorderly processions. Imam Hussein was a grandson of the Prophet Mohammad and is widely viewed as a founder of the Shiite branch of Islam. His death in 680 is considered a pivotal event in Islam's split into Shiite and Suuni branches.
Ethnic Kazakh immigrants are known as oralmans a term meaning "people who came back." They come from across Asia mainly from former Soviet republics, but also from countries such as Afghanistan and Mongolia. In Baibesik, 23 oralman families are struggling to adapt to their new environment.
At present, there is little tangible evidence to support the notion that Iranian Azeris are prepared to confront the government in Tehran. Iranian Azeris are widely known to be well-integrated into Iranian society and the state.
A complex three-part harmony has distinguished classic Georgian music for centuries, and the Sioni choir delivers it with precision. The 13 women and 12 men of the choir sing twice a week in the cathedral, the original foundation of which dates back to the 5th century, making it the oldest church in Tbilisi. Many of the choir's melodies are Georgian classics and liturgical songs such as "St.
These babies are comparatively lucky. UNICEF estimates that 24 of every 1,000 Georgian children died before age five in 2001, compared with 8 in the United States and 6 in France. Other estimates put Georgia's infant mortality rate close to 60 per 1,000.
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov's book, The New Russian Diplomacy, is instructive for both what it says and doesn't say. Ivanov charts a course for the revival of Russia's geopolitical fortunes, yet the foreign minister shies away from confronting the contradictions that face the Russian government.
Andrew Natsios, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, showed off a rebuilt structure that now serves as a teacher's college during a December 23 slide show in Washington.
