Free again

This is a short excerpt from most recent article I wrote for Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso on Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizada's releases. 

          'Bloggers in Azerbaijan Back to Freedom'

The tiny apartment in downtown Baku was full of people that evening. It had been a long time since so much laughter and joy had been heard in that apartment. But that night, there was a reason to celebrate. Emin (Milli) Abdullayev and Adnan Hajizade were finally free again.

One year ago

Emin Milli, 32, co-founder of the AN Network and Adnan Hajizade, 27, co- founder of another youth network, OL! (To Be), were convicted on charges of “hooliganism” and “infliction of intentional physical violence” and sentenced to two years and six months and two years respectively onNovember 11th 2009 . The two had been arrested four months prior, (July 2009), for allegedly starting a brawl in a restaurant in Baku. Their detention and later arrest was harshly criticized by local and international organizations. For independent human rights observers at home and abroad, this was yet another example of Azerbaijani authorities cracking down on freedom of expression in this country [...]

 You can read the full version of the article here.

Ali and Nino decades later

When I first read the book Ali and Nino, I found it absolutely fascinating. The narrative, the main characters, the history- whatever it was, the book was a great read. And just recently, it became my reference point for an article I was writing for Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso. 

Through the story of Ali and Nino, I looked at the sense of belonging to Europe in the Caucasus and how this perception changed over time. And here is what came out of it:

"The novel 'Ali and Nino' tells about the love between an Azerbaijani and Georgian teenager. Depicted as symbols of Asia and Europe, they meet in the Caucasus ad there can be united. Almost one century after Ali and Nino was published, can the Caucasus be European and can it be united?

'Some scholars look on the area south of the Caucasus mountains as belonging to Asia, while others, in view of the transcaucasian cultural revolution, believe that this country should be considered part of Europe'

With these words, Professor Sanin frames the issue for his class at the Imperial Russian Humanistic High School of Baku described by Kurban Said (pen name for Lev Nussimbaum) in his famous book Ali and Nino [...] The novel tells a love story of an upper- class Azerbaijani muslim teenager, Ali Khan Shirvanshahir, and a Georgian princess, Nino Kipiani, that evolves in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, prior to the Soviet takeover in 1920. The novel takes its readers on a journey across the Caucasus and on to its wider neighborhood, stretching from the shores of the Caspian Sea to Karabakh and to the mountains of Dagestan, where the two get married. The novel's principle characters continue on to Georgia, Persia and finally end in Baku in the midst of war."

The rest of the article is available here: http://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/All-news/Baku-is-it-Asia-or-Europe.