CIVIL SOCIETY
Human rights, environmental, and cultural issues

With Russians Gone, Georgians Start to Rebuild
BY MOLLY CORSO
Georgian villagers are slowly returning home in the wake of the Russian army’s withdrawal from checkpoints in the so-called "buffer zone" outside breakaway South Ossetia. While most are happy to be back, the hard reality of rebuilding their lives in time for winter is daunting.

Abkhazia: Ethnic Georgian Region Faces Citizenship Quandary
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY: TEXT BY PAUL RIMPLE, PHOTOS BY SOPHIA MIZANTE
Abkhazia has hailed Russian recognition of its independence from Georgia as the start of a new era, but for Georgians in the southern Abkhaz region of Gali the campaign to strengthen Abkhazia’s statehood poses a dilemma: whether or not to take Abkhaz citizenship.

Tajikistan: Almost One-Third of the Population Is in Danger of Going Hungry This Winter
BY ANDREW IACOBUCCI
Almost one-third of Tajikistan’s 6.7 million inhabitants may not have enough to eat this winter, United Nations experts worry. In an attempt to avert an emergency, the UN has issued a fresh global appeal for assistance.

Tajikistan: Exiled Opposition Leader Flees Russia, Finds Refuge in Paris
BY KAMBIZ ARMAN
Fearing that Russia would grant Tajikistan’s extradition request, Dodojon Atovullo, the exiled editor-in-chief of a Tajik opposition newspaper and the leader of Vatandor movement, has fled to Paris.