Azerbaijan Diary

Azerbaijan Diary
Author: Thomas Goltz
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 560
Release: 2015-04-08
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1317476247

In its first years as an independent state, Azerbaijan was a prime example of post-Soviet chaos - beset by coups and civil strife and astride an ethnic, political and religious divide. Author Goltz was detoured in Baku in mid-1991 and decided to stay, this diary is the record of his experiences.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan
Author: Suha Bolukbasi
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 317
Release: 2013-10-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0857719327

Azerbaijan's Soviet and post-Soviet political history has been tumultuous and varied, particularly with regard to the struggle for independence, democracy and sovereignty. Suha Bolukbasi here illustrates how post-Stalin resilience, the tolerance shown toward subtle nationalist expression and Gorbachev's relaxation of central control from Moscow were all-in-part responsible for the initial emergence of a more liberal atmosphere in Azerbaijan. As a result, issues such as Moscow's responsibility for environmental degradation, the depletion of Azerbaijan's oil, and unfavourable terms of trade have all begun to be freely discussed. However, the Azerbaijan-Armenia dispute over Karabagh has had a dramatic impact on the political discourse. The dispute has become not only an international conflict, but one which involves the lives of more than one million refugees. This book shows how Azerbaijan's recent political history - both domestic and international - has influenced the development of the country and the history of the surrounding region.

Azerbaijan Since Independence

Azerbaijan Since Independence
Author: Svante E. Cornell
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 460
Release: 2015-05-20
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 1317476204

Azerbaijan, a small post-Soviet republic located on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, has outsized importance becaus of its strategic location at the corssroads of Europe and Asia, its oil resources, and

Frustrated Democracy in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan

Frustrated Democracy in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan
Author: Audrey L. Altstadt
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 531
Release: 2017-05-23
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0231801416

Frustrated Democracy in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan follows a newly independent oil-rich former Soviet republic as it adopts a Western model of democratic government and then turns toward corrupt authoritarianism. Audrey L. Altstadt begins with the Nagorno-Karabagh War (1988–1994) which triggered Azerbaijani nationalism and set the stage for the development of a democratic movement. Initially successful, this government soon succumbed to a coup. Western oil companies arrived and money flowed in—a quantity Altstadt calls "almost unimaginable"—causing the regime to resort to repression to maintain its power. Despite Azerbaijan's long tradition of secularism, political Islam emerged as an attractive alternative for those frustrated with the stifled democratic opposition and the lack of critique of the West's continued political interference. Altstadt's work draws on instances of censorship in the Azerbaijani press, research by embedded experts and nongovernmental and international organizations, and interviews with diplomats and businesspeople. The book is an essential companion to her earlier works, The Azerbaijani Turks: Power and Identity Under Russian Rule and The Politics of Culture in Soviet Azerbaijan, 1920–1940.

Chechnya Diary

Chechnya Diary
Author: Thomas Goltz
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 310
Release: 2003-10-10
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0312268742

Chechnya Diary is a story about "the story" of the war in Chechnya, the "rogue republic" that attempted to secede from the Russian Federation at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Specifically, it is the story of the Samashki Massacre, a symbol of the Russian brutality that was employed to crush Chechen resistance. Thomas Goltz is a member of the exclusive journalistic cadre of compulsive, danger-addicted voyeurs who court death to get the story. But in addition to providing a tour through the convoluted Soviet and then post-Soviet nationalities policy that led to the bloodbath in Chechnya, Chechnya Diary is part of a larger exploration of the role (and impact) of the media in conflict areas. And at its heart, Chechnya Diary is the story of Hussein, the leader of the local resistance in the small town that bears the brunt of the massacre as it is drawn into war. This is a deeply personal book, a first person narrative that reads like an adventure but addresses larger theoretical issues ranging from the history of ethnic/nationalities in the USSR and the Russian Federation to journalistic responsibility in crisis zones. Chechnya Diary is a crossover work that offers both the historical context and a ground-level view of a complex and brutal war.

Armenia and Azerbaijan

Armenia and Azerbaijan
Author: Broers Laurence Broers
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2019-08-21
Genre: History
ISBN: 1474450555

The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict for control of the mountainous territory of Nagorny Karabakh is the longest-running dispute in post-Soviet Eurasia. Laurence Broers shows how more than 20 years of dynamic territorial politics, shifting power relations, international diffusion and unsuccessful mediation efforts have contributed to the resilience of this stubbornly unresolved dispute. Looking beyond tabloid tropes of 'frozen conflict' or 'Russian land-grab', Broers unpacks the unresolved territorial issues of the 1990s and the strategic rivalry that has built up around them since.

Persian Dreams

Persian Dreams
Author: John W. Parker
Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.
Total Pages: 699
Release: 2011-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 1597976466

Moscow's ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran underwent dramatic fluctuations following Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's triumphant return to Tehran in 1979. After a prolonged implosion, they fitfully expanded, shaped not only by the rush of current events but by centuries of ingrained practices and prejudices. By summer 2006, as Iran forged ahead with its nuclear program and Shia-based forces flexed their muscles across the Middle East, Russian-Iranian relations again appeared to be on the threshold of an entirely new dynamic. Drawing on firsthand interviews as well as primary and secondary sources, John Parker delineates Moscow's motives and approaches to dealing with the resurgent Tehran, weaving into the public record the recollections and analyses of Russian politicians, diplomats, and experts who dealt directly with Iran both under the Pahlavi monarchy and after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Parker also emphasizes other touchstones of relations between the two countries, including their complex dealings in 1992 immediately after the Soviet Union's collapse and when they backed opposing sides in the civil war in Tajikistan yet nourished mutual interests on other issues. The depth of his analysis sheds light on the more recent repercussions of the September 11 terrorist attacks for Afghanistan and Iraq, for the Middle East as a whole, and for Iran's accelerating nuclear program.

Azerbaijan Diary

Azerbaijan Diary
Author: Thomas Goltz
Publisher: M.E. Sharpe
Total Pages: 574
Release: 1998
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780765602435

The author, a journalist who covered the region in the early 1990s, relates the events that he saw in a style he refers to as "history as contact journalism." He covers the coups, the civil uprisings, the lost Karabakh war of secession, the occupation of part of Azerbaijan by Armenian troops, and the internal ethnic, religious, and political struggles that have plagued the country since independence. No references. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The Sarashina Diary

The Sarashina Diary
Author: Sugawara no Takasue no Musume
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 99
Release: 2018-03-20
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0231546823

A thousand years ago, a young Japanese girl embarked on a journey from deep in the countryside of eastern Japan to the capital. Forty years later, with the long account of that journey as a foundation, the mature woman skillfully created an autobiography that incorporates many moments of heightened awareness from her long life. Married at age thirty-three, she identified herself as a reader and writer more than as a wife and mother; enthralled by fiction, she bore witness to the dangers of romantic fantasy as well as the enduring consolation of self-expression. This reader’s edition streamlines Sonja Arntzen and Moriyuki Itō’s acclaimed translation of the Sarashina Diary for general readers and classroom use. This translation captures the lyrical richness of the original text while revealing its subtle structure and ironic meaning, highlighting the author’s deep concern for Buddhist belief and practice and the juxtaposition of poetic passages and narrative prose. The translators’ commentary offers insight into the author’s family and world, as well as the style, structure, and textual history of her work.