Poland Invades Georgia (In a Friendly Way)

The first festival of contemporary Polish culture in Georgia started last night in fine style in Tbilisi at Club 33a (an atmospheric ampitheatre in one of the city's best parks). Polish people are well-loved here in Georgia, partly because of their common sufferings at the hands of Moscow regimes. Also, every other taxi driver in Tbilisi seems to have a Polish grandma or great-grandfather, or has made a life-changing trip to Poland during his formative years - and generally asks something like: "Do you know Agnieszka from Warsaw? I haven't seen her for 30 years. No, I don't know her surname..."

The Polish festival climaxes next week with concerts of Polish-Georgian rock'n'roll/hip-hop/folk fusion and performances by the legendary Teatr Osmego Dnia (Eighth Day Theatre), who were part of the underground artistic resistance during the Communist years in Poland. They're going to rock the Rose Revolution Square with a performance called The Ark, with a genuine ark which they're bringing all the way from Poland..

'Thriller' in Azerbaijan

"No one's going to save you from the beast about to strike..."

Michael Jackson, Baku-style. The ultimate wedding video?

"I'm a Hooligan Too!"

Testimony started yesterday in the case of two satirical Azerbaijani internet activists accused of 'hooliganism' after they allegedly got into a fight in a restaurant - a prosecution which campaigners believe is intended to intimidate pro-democracy bloggers in Azerbaijan. Protesters outside the court in Baku chanted "Freedom!" and wore T-shirts stating: "I'm a Hooligan Too!" More details from EurasiaNet here, plus a strong denunciation of the case - "sham trial", etc - from Reporters Without Borders here. (Photo from the court protest courtesy of www.irfs.az)

Fall and Rise of the Soviet Space Apes

More from my recent Abkhazia trip - a research institute which used to send monkeys into space for the Soviet Union but fell into disrepair during the chaotic war years is now seeking to revive its fortunes. EurasiaNet also published a more in-depth piece on the institute last year here.

'This is Vladimir': A Soundscape from Abkhazia

I've uploaded a soundscape which I mixed using material recorded during a trip to the disputed Black Sea region of Abkhazia in August. It isn't exactly reportage, nor exactly musique concrete either. It features natural sounds from the Abkhaz coast, the voices of soldiers, a government official, and an Abkhaz mother who named her newborn son after Vladimir Putin. It's an attempt to convey some of the atmosphere of this beautiful, troubled territory at a specific moment in time, without any commentary or journalistic voiceover.

You can listen to it or download it here.

Thanks are due to my fellow blogger Guy Degen - the original audio was recorded on his camera - and to photographer Justyna Mielnikiewicz, who also worked with me on the trip to Abkhazia. (The photo above shows a young Russian tourist posing as an Abkhaz warrior for a photo at a seaside resort; I'm sure the tourist lad had no idea of the irony...)