of Togetherness TRACES

TRACES of Togetherness not bEttEr not worsE just diffErEnt

ISBNISBN 978-3-943897-44-9978-3-943897-44-9 0 00 9 0 9 9 0 9 0

9 783943 897449 9 783943 897449

The “Traces of Togetherness” project is supported by the Federal Foreign Office within the programme “Expanding Cooperation with Civil Society in the Eastern Partnership Countries and ”. citizEn journalism in thE south and russia TRACES of Togetherness

Следы Eдинcтвa

Birliyin izləri

Միասնության հետքեր

The “Traces of Togetherness” project is supported by the Federal Foreign Office within the programme “Expanding Cooperation with Civil Society in the Eastern Partnership Countries and Russia”. თანაარსებობის კვალი

“Traces of Togetherness” is a project of Kultur Aktiv e.V. Spuren des Miteinanders Imprint

Editors: Kultur Aktiv e.V. Editorial Bautzner Straße 49 | 01099 Dresden | Germany n summer 2018, on the banks of the Volga river in the and diversity of all Soviet republics. Each country could kulturaktiv.org | [email protected] Russian town of Ulyanovsk, something unusual hap- present itself to the others in its “own” territory on the I pened. During a citizen journalism workshop, curious banks of the Volga with sculptures, pavilions and coun- Matthias Schumann people from and , with likeminded try- specific flora. As an official but ambivalent symbol individuals from Russia, searched for traces of their own of diversity within unity, and initially part of the greater Editorial Office: René Kaufmann, Christine Müller, Matthias Schumann respective national South Caucasian culture and histories Lenin Memorial Complex, the park became a reflection together. of the internal relationships between the former Soviet Layout/Satz: Mirko Däumler | www.daeumler.com republics. (This somehow reflects the nowadays unof- Before their stay on the Volga river, the Caucasian par- ficial usage of the park´s name “Friendship Park” instead Copy-Editing/Translation: Jesse Lillefjeld ticipants researched marks of Russian culture and history of “The Park of Nations’ Friendship”.) So, the park was an in the South Caucasus and to a certain extent presented ideal starting point for the participants to search for their Picture Credits Cover Page: them as a conversation piece for Ulyanovsk civil society. own traces of identity within “another” identity. Anna Gleser – Georgian monument in Friendship Park, Ulyanovsk, Russia This was not self-evident in the past decades and still is not today. Together and sometimes in mixed teams of different Picture Credits Inside Back Cover: nationalities, the workshop participants explored the Masha Tshurbajeva – Group photo project Traces of Togetherness The simmering political and territorial conflicts over the city, its people and their stories, and investigated stories Karabakh mountain, or the Russian-Georgian from their own regions. This happened not always with- Picture Credits Introduction and Interview: war of 2008 has made it more and more complicated for out conflicts, but always with respect for one another and Anna Gleser p. 9,10,12 people in these regions to approach each other openly communication always remained deferential. Masha Tshurbajeva p. 11,14,15 and impartially. These conflicts are often accompanied Matthias Schumann p. 13 by tendentious media coverage, censorship, and by vari- This publication, presents a selection of citizen journal- ous bureaucratic repressions as well as the use of physi- istic contributions from the participants of the project Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek cal violence. A consequence of the bureaucratical hurdles “Traces of Togetherness” and from an online competition Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der provoked by these conflicts was felt by the workshop with the same topic. Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind participants from : they could not take part in im Internet über http://dnb.dnb.de abrufbar. the workshop because they did not receive their Russian The contributions are organized by participating country entry visa in time. The special visa requirements for Geor- and they are also available online. At the beginning of each Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek gians were introduced after the Russian-Georgian war. country section, a general description of the situation The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche of citizen journalism in that country has been added. It Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the The image of “the other” is often defined through official describes the current status, development potential and Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. representations and media influences. Citizen journalism the difficulties of citizen journalism faces in a country- understood as “public, participatory or street journalism, specific manner. © 2019 Verlag Text & Dialog as an alternative and activist form of news gathering and reporting that functions outside mainstream media In the spirit of the overall project, the present magazine R. & B. Kaufmann GbR institutions, that uses similar journalistic practices but wants help to break down prejudices, insecurity and fears Konkordienstraße 40 | D-01127 Dresden is driven by different objecwtives and ideals and relies of the “other” while awaking curiosity about undiscovered Tel.: (+49)351/3325 4227 | M.: 0174/310 77 23 on alternative sources of legitimacy than traditional or traces of togetherness. Or as one participant put it: the www.text-dialog.de mainstream journalism” (Courtney C. Radsch) can help to others are exactly like us – “Not better, not worse. Just overcome those political and communicative difficulties. different“. It always depends on the perspective. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. All rights reserved. Made in Germany. More However there are still a lot of commonalities stemming This project was realized with the financial support from 2019 TR AC E S from a common past, such as the “The Park of Nations’ the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany, to find Friendship” in Ulyanovsk: created in the late 1970s - it for which we would like to express our sincere thanks.  ISBN 978-3-943897-44-9 http://ogy.de/traces was inteded to be a symbol of the equal coexistence Matthias Schumann – project manager

5 Little parts of the The smell of petroleum A Russian footprint in Aragats: destined for whole world – P. 42 Azerbaijan – Aunt Mila greatness – P. 18 – P. 44 – P. 94

TRACES CITIZEN JOURNALISM IN THE SOUTH CAUCASUS AND RUSSIA of Togetherness

Imprint ...... 4 Amina ...... 48 Editorial ...... 5 The Russian footprint in the South Caucasus ...... 52 Contents ...... 6 The influence of the on the Azerbaijani culture ...... 56 Introducing “Traces of Togetherness“ ...... 8 Photos from Ulyanovsk: reminders of Azerbaijan and its culture ...... 58 Interview with the creators ...... 10 Citizen journalism in Georgia ...... 64 Citizen journalism in Armenia ...... 16 Georgian things ...... 65 Little parts of the whole world ...... 18 Dry Bridge – Traces of Russian culture in the older generation ...... 72 European heritage of Russian Culture ...... 20 The Traces of Georgian-Russian cultural cooperation ...... 76 Wherever you go, look back and you will see something that resembles Russian culture ...... 22 The Iron Commander ...... 24 Citizen journalism in Russia ...... 78 Armenian Church in Ulyanovsk ...... 28 We couldn’t be any fewer ...... 82 Russian Church in Yerevan ...... 32 The wealth of the Russian culture as a result of the Caucasian influence ...... 86 Only mountains can be better than mountains ...... 88 Citizen journalism in Azerbaijan ...... 38 Aragats: destined for greatness ...... 94 The smell of petroleum ...... 42 Not better, not worse. Just different ...... 96 A Russian footprint in Azerbaijan – Aunt Mila ...... 44 About the participants ...... 98

6 Traces of Togetherness contents award winners of the competition 7 Introducing “Traces of Togetherness“

he practical implementation of the project (featuring a Russian film on the South Caucasus) where the “Traces of Togetherness“ was a multi-level proc- films were screened in their respective country sections. Tess, with the symbolic “Peoples Friendship Park” in Ulyanovsk, Russia, at the center. The park was built in The workshop concluded with an exhibition at the Kwar- the 1970s for the centennial of Lenin’s birth (real name: tal Cultural Center in Ulyanovsk, where the participants Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov) and centrally located in the city presented their findings and discussed them with the on both banks of the Volga river. It represents the former population of the city. The curator of the exhibition, Elena 15 Soviet republics, each with their own territory. After Krivosheva, received the completed contributions on the collapse of the , the park was no longer the eve of the preview and created an exciting presenta- maintained and became overgrown. The park represents, tion “overnight”. Due to time constraints, the work of the “When asked what kind of community through its own history, the struggle for cohesion, under- Caucasian participants from the first subproject had not standing and friendship between peoples in the Soviet been submitted yet, so a revised exhibition was opened relations [between Armenians and Azerba- period, as well as the disintegration of this process and in mid-October. the current approaches to its restoration. ijanians] were possible considering the On the day of the opening of the exhibition, there was also As the first step, the Kultur Aktiv e.V. invited the Caucasian a very well-attended public concert in the Armenian sec- political situation, the sage [the head of participants to submit photographic and written works tion of the People`s Friendship Park. The Armenian band on the topic “Russian traces in my environment”. In July/ Clocker flew in for the concert. They played together with the Armenian community, Arsen Abra- August 2018 the young civic journalists, journalism stu- the band Mariel from Ulyanovsk. The citizens and minori- dents, and freelancers from Azerbaijan, Armenia and Geor- ties from Ulyanovsk celebrated together with the work- hamyan replied], ´There are simple people gia researched the Russian cultural, social and political shop participants. This was an event of great symbolic traces in their home regions and wrote their contributions. value that will be remembered, and it was a very important and there are politicians. Simple people moment for the project as well. From 22 to 31 August 2018, the Russian and Caucasian want to live, work and love, in peace and participants met in Ulyanovsk for workshops in which Moreover, the contributions that were created during the they were trained to work with the medias of photogra- course of the project week were published on the web- harmony. Every member of their com- phy, text and film, as well as multimedia storytelling. Their site kulturaktiv.org and on a specially-dedicated Facebook newly acquired or expanded media skills helped trans- page. This website and the Facebook-site can still be used munity understands this´- as if to confirm form the participants in multicultural teams to conduct after the project is over by civil society actors in the tar- on-site-research; on-site in the park itself. Furthermore get countries. In addition to the exhibitions and the varied his words, the phone suddenly rang: It the teams explored the coexistence of Caucasian minori- resources on the Internet, the present publication allows ties among the Ulyanovsk city population, and Caucasian the project and selected contributions to gain a wider was the local head of the Azerbaijani traces in the city’s history under the guidance of profes- public reception. sional media trainers and mentors. community on the line, calling just to ask In this publication the most interesting contributions from This central part of the project was accompanied by a the open contest are also included: They came from an how he was doing … “ public cultural program in the park, which included many open call during the fall of 2018, where citizen journalists Ulyanovsk locals. The Russian project partners (MIC – and journalism students of the four participating coun- Gohar Hayrapetyan, Armenian Molodyozhny Initiatiny Center/Youth Initiative Center) tries were invited to submit contributions on the subject organized park tours, a concert and even two movie nights of “Traces of Togetherness”. 

8 Traces of Togetherness Introducing “Traces of Togetherness“ 9 Interview with the “creators”

Simon Wolf – President of the association Kultur Aktiv e.V., project assistant “Traces of Togetherness” and responsible for the online publication

Matthias Schumann – Photographer, project manager “Traces of Togetherness” at Kultur Aktiv e.V.

Conny Reichel – Project consultant “Traces of Together- Movie screenings in ness” with several years of experience in Ulyanovsk the park are parts of the cultural program. Anna Gleser – Project officer “Traces of Togetherness”, cul- tural scientist 2. How and why have the partner countries been 3. How did the main theme “Traces of Togetherness” as 1. How did the project idea come about? selected? well as the ideas for networking and further educa- tion of citizen journalists come about? Conny: The initiative came from a project I had started Simon: Although our association Kultur Aktiv is based in 2015 together with Pavel Andreev – our partner in Uly- in Dresden, Germany, our projects and activities have Matthias: We came up with the idea of starting conver- Pavel Andreev is the friendship park expert. He offers day and night tours anovsk from MIC – Molodyozhny Initiatiny Center (Youth Ini- in the park. spanned the Balkans, Central , Russia and the sations between “normal” citizens from Russia and the tiative Center) in the symbolic “Peoples Friendship Park”. Caucasus for more than 15 years. Thus, the country selec- former southern Caucasian republics of Armenia, Azerbai- We held our first festival there in the summer 2015 to tion of the program “Eastern Partnership and Russia” by jan and Georgia, so that we could bring to life the peaceful revive the park. We continued the festival in 2016 together Western and Eastern Europe. Amateur and professional the Federal Foreign Office suited our area of activity, our exchange of opinions and ideas, above all on a personal, with Matthias and Kultur Aktiv. Pavel is consistently active photographers from Russia and Germany showed their experiences in intercultural exchange and our contacts civil society level – which were in the past a part of the in the park. Through events such as the regular and very personal interpretation of the other country, or other in the region. During preparation, we thought through intercultural friendship relations in the Soviet republics popular tours he has managed to bring the park back into part of the European continent. This basic concept of different country combinations. Each participant from – to push new relationships and forms of communication Ulyanovsk’s public consciousness, and helped generate the intercultural exchange created the stimuli which led to another country in the Eastern Partnership potentially beyond the official structures. During my study of com- government investments in the park’s infrastructure. the project idea for “Traces of Togetherness”. This is quite could potentially bring new lines of conflict to the project. munication and media sciences, I looked at the historic, relevant, especially in view of the still smoldering political The focus of the project should be working on media social, cultural and political potential of citizen journal- Since many nationalities live together in Ulyanovsk, and and territorial conflicts between the Caucasian countries content. Thus, we intentionally chose a small number. ism for internal social understanding. Today, regardless the Caucasian minorities in particular are not only very and Russia, as these conflicts have come at a high price Besides Russia, with the location of Ulyanovsk, we chose of country or political system, it is easier than ever before active in urban society, but they also actively maintain and are often accompanied by limited, one-sided media the three South Caucasian republics. We have had good for us, via modern communication channels and social their territories in the park - Matthias, Simon and I started coverage. Against this background, the efforts of the for- relations there since 2011 through Transkaukazja – a con- media platforms – via Facebook, Viber, Twitter, Instagram, thinking about connecting the history of the park with the eign cultural and educational organizations is more urgent temporary art project from the Caucasus region. The YouTube, Vk.com (Vkontakte) or your own blog or Youtube stories of these minorities. than ever, who strive at the civil society level for the plu- experiences we gained there, especially how Armenians channel – to share our own view of the world with others ralization of the media landscape and its range of informa- and Azerbaijanis can work together on a project, have without journalistic training or expensive equipment. The Matthias: The park was in state of wildness and slumber, tion - thus creating possibilities for a more enlightened also benefited us here. only requirements are curiosity, a fast internet connection especially in contrast to the monumental tidiness of the and responsible coexistence. For citizens who do not have and a smartphone. enthroned Lenin Museum complex, and it fascinated me direct access to institutionalized journalistic platforms, Conny: Moreover, we heard that both the Armenian and as a real place. It came to me during my first stay in Uly- access to civic or participatory journalist platforms is an Azerbaijanian diasporas have a friendly relationship in This led to the idea of combining the substantive exami- anovsk, the city on the Volga, in 2016. At that time, Pavel even more important means for being able to participate Ulyanovsk. nation of common cultural heritage (Traces of Together- Andreev and me - as curator for Kultur Aktiv Verein - had in civil society discourse. ness) in the Russian-Caucasian region, and the mutual organized a photographic exhibition (“shooting eastwards Simon: Some of the countries not included this year, such Russian-Caucasian influence in their respective region / shooting westwards”) within the framework of their This is exactly where the media project “Traces of Togeth- as Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova, are also attractive for with a workshop on developing citizen journalist skills. “Deutscher Tage”. This exhibition dealt with the different erness/Spuren des Miteinanders” is located, whose us. They offer potential for follow-up projects. Interested “citizen journalists” from Russia and the Cau- perspectives, perceptions, and (pre-) judgments from progress is illustrated in this brochure. casus should have the opportunity to get to know each »

10 Traces of Togetherness Interview with the “creators” 11 media by means of their own media publications - thus creating potential support for possible alternative infor- mation sources.

On the other hand, it is precisely through collaboration itself - through the practiced common search for traces of the other in their own life context - that the coexistence of those who have become unfamiliar have thus been performatively established and discovered, tested, and strengthened. In this way citizen journalistic dialogue and the search for traces of the others in oneself can provide potential corrective information. Ultimately, the project aims to initiate long-term collaboration through a cross- border network of citizen journalists.

This booklet with its various citizen journalist contribu- tions exemplarily illustrates the horizon potential for future encounters and the relaxation of tensions, which Visual talking. Participants discussing pictures during the photo class. The Project officer Anna Gleser (left) and curator Elena Krivosheeva prepare the exhibition in the cultural center “Quartal”. was a goal of the project “Traces of Togetherness”: The search for the other in the self, and the approach that other and develop journalistic contributions in a stimu- each and every contributor makes an offer for a new them in a relaxed atmosphere. This was very important, involved for their commitment. A special thanks goes to lating environment by working together collaborating on beginning and tries to reconnect the threads of a fragile, because it was feared that potential tensions between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for financially supporting common themes. sometimes even torn social fabric. They take the risk of Armenians and Azerbaijanis (Nagorno-Karabakh) or Geor- the project, the MIC Ulyanovsk (Youth Initiative Center) trusting in spite of everything and starting a real conver- gians and Russians (Georgia War 2018) would appear in under the direction of Pasha Andreev and his team, Elena Anna: The search for common ground is becoming more sation by respecting their counterpart and their unique, the group. Fortunately, all participants who had different Krivosheeva the curator, Stefanie Streloke the media and more important in a world undergoing the process dignified existence, i.e. by perceiving and confirming social, professional and cultural backgrounds were open- coach from Bonn, Lucy Weber from Dresden and Meike of delimitation. As borders dissolve and new spaces are them as a concrete-living Other. minded and friendly people, who were able to get along Krauß from Hamburg. The members of the Dresdner created, there is also a need to find common solutions well beyond the political level. Nevertheless, there was Verein Kultur Aktiv deserve our special thanks for their to design and shape these new spaces. Communication 5. What support and what problems were there in the a setback for the workshop: due to procedural problems continuous support in the project implementation, as is an important requirement to prevent the emergence implementation? in the run-up to the workshop, it wasn´t possible for us well as the translators Anna Gleser and Jesse E. Lillefjeld, of new and insurmountable borders. There are enough to obtain the Russian visas in time for the Georgian par- the editors Christine Müller and René Kaufmann, and the topics across national borders. Discussing these issues, Matthias: All of us, this means Conny Reichel as an Uly- ticipants. They had also produced their own stories in the graphic designer Mirko Däumler. detached from any hierarchy and influence, is the task anovsk “veteran”, and Anna Gleser, who gave significant run-up to the workshop and, of course, they were looking for a networked civil society. Citizen journalism is won- support to the project and the workshop, as well as the forward to the workshop, but unfortunately, they could 6. How did the population in Ulyanovsk react to the derfully suited as a medium to achieve this – critical, free four media trainers, were particularly interested in the not attend. We can therefore only show the stories that project? and broad. workshop as a central part of the project in Ulyanovsk. So have been created so far in the exhibitions and include far, we had only organized a small project in the form of them in the present publication. The unfortunate absence Conny: It was important for us to conduct a cultural 4. How was this exciting project idea put into practice? a cooperative exhibition two years ago on the river Volga of also explains the smaller percentage of framework program with public events in the park in with a few participants. However, around 20 participants Georgian works within the present publication. addition to the workshops, in order to involve the broader Matthias: As part of the project, the invited citizen journal- from five countries took part in this year’s workshop. This population in the project – and thus to bring about a larger ists and mentors from the Caucasian countries and Russia presented us with major organizational and logistical Anna: We were very happy about the great preparation change of perspective and change in discourse on the were given the opportunity to acquire and expand their challenges: ranging from obtaining visas for the partici- on site. The MIC was a wonderful, well-equipped place to ground. In addition to the aforementioned film screen- basic journalistic skills during training, to network and get pants from Georgia and Germany to ensuring the work- hold seminars. This ensured a professional implementa- ings and concert in the park, the workshop participants to know one another, and to multiply this by passing on shop spaces and opportunities to perform in the Peoples tion of the workshops. We also found the fact that the invited their interviewees from the city to the exhibi- what they learned in their home countries. Friendship Park. However, most of these challenges were participants were of different ages to be a contributing tion opening in the Kwartal Cultural Center – and Pavel met in exemplary fashion through the help of the local factor to the diversification of experiences, perspectives, Andreev told me that many members from the diasporas, On the one hand, providing of media literacy skills should project partners, the MIC (Youth Initiative Center), headed and attitudes that in one way or another, influenced the who had never attended an event at the Center, came to strengthen citizen journalistic engagement in the target by Pavel Andreev. This allowed the participants, media outcome of the work. the exhibition. I was especially pleased about this point countries (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia) as trainers and mentors to concentrate fully on the search because it shows that we could make new encounters well as the participation of civil and local actors in the for Caucasian traces in Ulyanovsk and get to understand Matthias: At this point I would like to thank all those possible within Ulyanovsk’s civil society. »

12 Traces of Togetherness Interview with the “creators” 13 Exhibition opening at the cultural center The rock band MARIEL from Ulyanovsk performing in the Armenian section of the friendship park. “Kvartal”.

Anna: With its small and large structures and the well- would be difficult to compare in terms of classification 15.000 Armenians live in a city of 600.000 inhabitants, In my opinion, the public relations management of the structured MIC network, the subculture of the city allowed (video, text, mixed media, photo), style and content. It that for example there is an Armenian church, and that projects is more important than building new citizen for the rapid dissemination of all information about the was also to be expected that the degree of professional- Azerbaijani traces can be found in the “Baku Café“ or at journalistic initiatives. project, the participating countries, and the cultural pro- ity of the contributions would be quite varied due to the the monument to the first Prime Minister of the Azerbai- gram. After only a few days we were approached on the participants differing levels of journalistic experience. jani Soviet Socialist Republic Nariman Narimanov on the Anna: The will to and the joy of cross-border exchange is street about the project! So, we did not feel that we had The fact that some contributions were submitted out Narimanov Avenue. there and it brings a lot of potential. Utilizing this poten- only done something temporary. Moreover, we felt that of motivation for the prize compared with the overall tial requires hard intensive work. Even more gratifying we were sure to have left some lasting effect, be it the number of submissions was rather secondary. Any contri- Matthias: I am particularly pleased to have made new is the fact that we were able to establish new contacts rethinking of the park, the stories about the city which bution deserves a prize for helping to bring people closer friends and colleagues from the Caucasus and Rus- and partners with whom we can realize further common originated in Ulyanovsk, or stimulated a new impulse for together across political and ideological boundaries and sia and to have discussed different perspectives about ideas. The new partners wide range of interests, fields of art and cultural artists. for promoting dialogue between civil society actors! our life and times. In addition, I was able to expand my activity, and experiences is very enriching and will enable understanding of Caucasian and Russian cuisine through diverse approaches. 7. Which objectives were linked to the competition? However, the panel, consisted of Jan Oelker, photogra- several ethnic-culinary experiences. Another interesting pher and author from Radebeul, Ralph Hälbig filmmaker experience for me was the joint final concert of the Arme- 9. What is next? Simon: The competition had several simultaneous mean- and editor from Leipzig, and Stefan Günther photo editor nian band “Clocker” and the Ulyanovsk band “Mariel”, which ings: On the one hand, it was intended to support a con- from Berlin, and they did not have an easy task. All three took place as part of the project in the park on Armenian Matthias: In 2019 the “Traces project“ will take a break and tinuation of the dialogue on the “Traces of Togetherness”. have considerable expertise in their field, as well as pro- territory and where the Ulyanovsk locals and their guests we will take advantage of this time to think about another In addition, the incentive provided by the competition, fessional and private contacts in South Eastern Europe, celebrated together in front of the improvised stage. As project, one that will probably go to Georgia in search of including prize money, should be stimulating, thus even Caucasia and Russia, so they have a genuine understand- a photographer, I am sure that the past and the future of traces.  more people could participate in the project. The number ing of these countries and their people. the Peoples Friendship Park will stay with me for a while. of participants at the workshop in Ulyanovsk was limited. In retrospect, the competition also gave us a clearer 8. What do the creators take away from the project in Simon: Citizen journalism is not unknown in Russia and picture on the current state of citizen journalism in the general and especially for further work? in the Eastern Partnership. Interest is even gratifyingly region. high. During the project we learnt that there are already Conny: Personally, I have developed a new vision of Uly- well-organized structures, such as the South Cauca- Matthias: In addition to the collaboration in the work- anovsk, a city that has been my second home during the sian news platform “Chai Khana”. The platform publishes shop, we managed to meet our goal of reaching as many two years that I worked as a cultural manager on site. monthly contributions by (citizen) journalists from South people as possible, who like us, like discussing cultural, Thanks to the project, I got to know Armenian and Azerba- Caucasus republics, each focused on a topic, such as social, political and culinary similarities and differences, ijan life in the city, which had previously been completely “unnoticed borders” or “identity”. But what lies ahead for by introducing the project through an international online hidden from me. Thanks to our participants research, all interested actors is the task of increasing awareness competition. We were already aware that the submissions now I also know that about 20.000 Azerbaijanis and about of the existing projects and networking them together.

14 Traces of Togetherness Interview with the “creators” 15 List of Citizen Journalism platforms in Armenia:  https://www.azatutyun.am · https://hetq.am · https://jam-news.net

itizen journalism is a compulsory and inevitable component of mod- ern journalism. It is very popular in Armenia as well. A vast amount C of information is available to the public via social media. That puts the media industry at the center of public attention. Development of citi- zen journalism has played its own role in the formation of media pluralism. It citizEn helped during the revolution, when people shared all the updates about closed streets, police, new methods of peaceful civil disobedience, etc. with each other. We all became citizen journalists and social media became a platform for us. Modern technology made it possible to become a citizen journalist, and many people found their second profession – citizen journalism. The main fac- tor contributing to it has been their responsiveness.

Nowadays, citizen journalism is everywhere. It presents the opportunity to get real information in real time, especially when there isn’t a professional journal- ist at the scene. People take photos or videos and share them on social media jour- as soon as they witness something important. Some of those photos or videos can become the subject of public discussion. They help the public to focus on important topics, which are often not covered by traditional media.

Different people can respond differently as citizen journalists. Bloggers, pub- lic journalists, and non-professional journalists can also be considered citizen journalists. A citizen journalist is a person who actively uses social media, has basic knowledge about it, and can formulate his opinion in a way the public can understand. Citizen journalism is important especially in the countries where media became a tool by the government or other political parties to control communication with the public and control the flow of information, and placing nalism taboos on certain topics.

It is new phenomenon in Armenia, but people love it, because it creates strong ties between people and the media. The higher the level of civic participation and civic consciousness is the better, and this is increased the coverage level of citizen journalists. At least we can state that this is true for Armenia. By the way, the border between the media and citizen journalism has become thinner with the help of social media. It helps people to feel more responsible for the events taking place around them. This is important especially during elections, as people feel the responsibility for everyone and they want to have in ar- fair elections. One can feel this atmosphere everywhere. Political changes and processes that we are facing today are pluralistic and people who want to share their thoughts or have an impact on their country’s policy now have the opportunity to do just that. 

MoRE TR AC E S To fInd Text: Syune Sargsyan http://ogy.de/traces-AM-1 mEnia16 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Armenia 17 3rd prize Text: Gohar Hayrapetyan Photos: Garegin Aleksanyan, Mascha Tschurbanowa of the competition

Little parts of the whole world Concert of the rock band MARIEL from Ulyanovsk at the Armenian section in the friendship park.

USSR… for generations this abbreviation spanned a life- was located inside the park, and after he treated us to Armenian diasporas are scattered all over the world. Armenian “choir”, warm shashlik, warm hugs and Armenian time. If one thing united everyone, it is that they were all Armenian shashlik from the grill, he passionately took to There is even an Armenian Community in Uruguay. cognac. The principles of all communities are the same. citizens of the USSR. My homeland was once one of the answering our questions. Help your compatriots, be it in joy and sadness, support republics of the union. There is never a situation, from which an Armenian cannot the entire community through difficult times, dance at Arsen, who grew up during the Soviet period impressed find their way out of. I know of no other nation, that with weddings and cry at funerals. Don’t let the children, who I grew up in a free Armenia, I am from a new generation, upon us that there are difficult times ahead and that the a tiny piece of land, that has left its mark almost every- were born in a foreign country, forgot their roots, their lan- and for a long time it was hard for me to understand the park is a good platform for the unifying all people, in the where in the world. Recently, a journalist friend traveled guage, their songs and dances, because a person without older generation’s nostalgia for the system of the past. truest sense of the word. The park is an open-air museum. to Myanmar. Do you know a lot of Armenians from Myan- knowledge of their historical roots, can quickly wither, like At least not until I visited the Friendship of Peoples Park As for this unifying sense, he applies it to not only the mar? But guess what he found there! An Armenian Church. a tree without roots. in Ulyanovsk. The park caught my eye because of its size park, but to patriotism as well. With the current geopo- Yes, when you are an Armenian, you are never alone in this and its state of neglect. In the golden years, the heyday litical situation, we must show the world how friendly we world. You never know while traveling when you will run The community in Ulyanovsk is a logical continuation of the Soviet Union, a grandiose and ambitious project are. So far, only the Armenian and Azerbaijani communi- into an Armenian that you have never met, and perhaps of other communities, in terms of its purpose, basic was designed and created in the birthplace of the revo- ties are involved with the active restoration of the park. will never see again. But you will surely laugh and give him structure, and its strengths and weaknesses. Accord- lutionary leader Lenin – a huge park in which every Soviet When asked what kind of community relations were pos- a sideways glance, he will respond, and you will share a ing to official information, there are 4,500 Armenians republic had its own area featuring symbols and icons of sible considering the political situation, the sage replied, heartfelt handshake, one filled with a secret knowing – in Ulyanovsk and according to unofficial data there are the republic. It was a gift from the Soviet republics to the ‘There are simple people and there are politicians.’ Simple and this has profound meaning. 15,000. Together, the community is building the Arme- birthplace of Lenin, to commemorate his 100th birthday. people want to live, work and love, in peace and harmony. nian church, restoring the Armenian part of the Peoples The best architects, sculptors and gardeners from 15 dif- Every member of their community understands this – as if Now here we are, journalists from Armenia, meeting Friendship Park, working and learning together, and ferent Soviet republics collaborated to build the park’s to confirm his words, the phone suddenly rang: It was the the Armenian community of Ulyanovsk at the invitation constantly discussing the news from the homeland. Con- masterpieces. local head of the Azerbaijani community on the line, just of the German organisation Kultur Aktiv as part of the sidering recent events, namely the Velvet Revolution in to ask how he was doing … TOT event - Traces of Togetherness – with a traditional Armenia, many Armenians hoped to return to their his- I do not know why, but it became unbearably painful for torical homeland. Armenians live, hope and sing. Almost us to wander through the park’s deserted republics. A Monument in the Armenian section of the park. The head of the Armenian community, Arsen Abrahamyan, who is everyone has at least one song for the street in their rep- rose sculpted from Armenian rose-colored volcanic tuff actively involved in the restoration of the park. ertoire. Maybe this is part of our cultural heritage? Still, miraculously remained intact in the Armenian territory. we are scattered all over the world, we are constantly on The American maple tree that protects the rose from the move, always searching for the right path that leads time and vandals was also saved. It was here where we us back to Armenia.  recently met with the head of the Armenian community, Arsen Abrahamyan, who is actively involved in the restora- tion of the park. More TR AC E S He invited us – tired, hungry, and shivering after a long to find walk through the park, to his field ‘headquarters’, which http://ogy.de/traces-AM-2

18 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Armenia Little parts of the whole world 19 For better or worse, I am forever immersed in Russian in Russian people towards their own culture and customs, culture and wholeheartedly connected with it. while there is a simultaneous increase in aggressive sen- timent towards the outside world. Although, it appears to EuropEan hEritagE I am immersed in Russian culture and I consider it an inte- me that the ‘besieged fortress’ mentality should actually gral part of European culture. Can we imagine European lead to renewed domestic interest in Russian culture. or world literature without the works of Leo Tolstoy or Chekhov? Or music without Prokofiev and Shostakovich? As years passed by, and my childhood and youth passed of russian culturE Or art without Vasnetsov and Repin? Of course not. by, this old Russia and my origins have brought me back to Armenia. But even here in my home country, I often On the one hand, it is necessary to recognize that the remember that I have not left Russian culture behind, emergence of great Russian cultural figures was only pos- maybe it really is dear to me. I read Dostoevsky again, not sible because of Peter the Great’s modernizing and Euro- because being a teacher demands it, but because I con- peanizing reforms at the beginning of the 18th century. sider him one of the greatest writers in history. I listen Peter understood that the development of industry, sci- to Russian rock again because its philosophy has been Text & Photo: t is possible that I adopted Russian culture without ence, technology and art was not possible without the characterized by freedom since Soviet dissident times. I Misak Paloyan knowing it. During childhood perhaps, it wasn’t a con- incorporation of European ideas, infrastructure and go to Russian lectures whenever I can, but without going I scious decision whether I should admire Dostoevsky, specialists. beyond my means, as keeping with Russian tradition. whether I should listen to Tschaikovsky or Rachmainov, Honestly, sometimes I even swear in Russian. or whether I should love Malevich’s paintings. It just hap- Since the 15th century, Russian kings have used the serv- pened like this. It was more a part of my school curriculum ices of European architects and scientists. This invest- Currently I’m rereading Zamyatin’s ‘We’, a dystopian novel than a free choice. ment paid off as a large number of great Russian cultural about the harbinger of the collapse of Soviet Russia and figures emerged. I was always amazed by the fact that foretelling of what can happen in modern Russia. I read I was born in a small Armenian town but by the age of such changes were possible in pre-revolutionary Rus- the words of the author, telling us that the mind must eight I was already in , in a huge metropolis that sia and the USSR, during times when censorship was always win - and for some reason, I believe it.  represents the quintessence of many cultures. Obviously, imposed and 80% of the population was illiterate. communicating with people from different nations and cultures broadened my horizons, and inevitably I adopted Due to serfdom, engaging in creative activities was different bits of them. To be part of just a single albeit rich mostly limited to nobles. Thus, this shows the great crea- culture means to limit one’s personal development and tive potential of Russian people. MoRE the ability to discover new things. As a native Armenian TR AC E S and Russian speaker, I would later teach Russian school- Even more surprising is the fact that foreigners still To fInd children about their country’s history. admire Russian culture. I perceive a growing indifference http://ogy.de/traces-AM-3

20 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Armenia European heritage of Russian culture 21 n the North of the small country of Armenia, in the Since the mid-20th century, there was a Russian school low-ceilings, the smell of lavash and a sitting on Tchaikovsky’s softness. I cannot help but softly close my green Lori, there is a small town that was established here, where both Armenian and Russian children studied the smooth plastered windowsill. A brilliant compatibility, eyes and let my thoughts wander, when I feel the connec- I by Russian Molokans, who moved there from Saratov and were brought up together. Naturally, the northern and eccentric combination of cultures: an Armenian bak- tion with Dostoyevsky, Esenin or Mayakovski. in 1844. In this small town, it is always very windy, and I and southern cultures blended over time. For me, culture ery and a Russian Samovar. always wondered, why this little town with its narrow is first and foremost about people. You would go crazy Never ask me about the similarities between the Arme- My father’s house is typically Russian as well. It was built nian and Russian cultures - I cannot answer that question. by an elderly Russian half a century ago. Oh, how I used Maybe, I am crazy when I say they are not similar at all – Text: to discover things in this old building: an old Banja, with only compatible in a fantastical way. Wherever you go, look back Yelena Sargsyan More and you will SEE something that resembles TR AC E S streets and Russian houses has not blown away. I have thinking about how two different cultures can exist, work, to find http://ogy.de/traces-AM-4 never been to Russia, but my father says, the weather in breathe and love side by side. This blending of cultures is Russian culture our town is very similar to the weather in Russia. I am sure just ... an art in itself. For example, an old crone crooked he tells the truth: He spends ten months there each year. and thin like a birch who the town has been forgotten. She engravings on the roof, and once I even found one of his Culture is not only inside people, but it is also in the envi- has lost her mind, this grandmother, who no longer has medals from the Great Patriotic War. Nothing brings ronment: in the streets and houses, in music, literature, Like any other town, Tashir has its own drama that is a any relatives or friends. However, the townspeople keep people closer together than communal suffering and nature, food and much more. part of its crooked streets and its inhabitants - who do an eye on her - this is culture. The same goes for old ‘uncle’ hardship, doesn’t it? Those two groups united under one more thinking than dealing. You know, in those lost eyes I Ivan, who is always drunk, who I once saw stand in front idea, in common struggle. They came together and were Only in an Armenian village can most of the houses can be can see the thoughts of Dostoyevsky. They are my heroes of an oncoming car - is also culture. Fortunately, noth- victorious, and thus created the intertwined history of Russian and their occupants Armenian. Only in Armenia’s from Dostoyevsky’s novels. Here, you will not see the con- ing happened to him, only his Russian galoshes landed 6 two peoples. far-flung villages do children still play with Matryoshkas. templative thinker staring up into the heavens like in Bul- meters away. As with Maria Fedorova, who overflows with Only on the streets of Armenia will you see the majestic gakov’s writings. Oh, I am crazy about the dark skies above femininity, even though she is 70 years old - is culture After I graduated from school and went to the university, Chaikas of the 70s. Only Armenian men can be enamored this strange town. If you look closer, you will see Margarita too. I would have fallen in love with her a long time ago, was forced to leave my hometown, but this is not bad, as with Natashas - and Russian women Ashotas. Only in flying with her procession. if I were a man. She was my father’s Russian teacher and it is a part of me. In the university, they keep telling me, Armenia, in 2018, the public radio building still bears the every time she sees me or my mother, she asks how he is that I have very strong pro-Russian sentiments. This is an Soviet hammer and sickle. This list can go on indefinitely Believe me, this is not just nonsense. I feel it. People say, doing and sends her warmest regards. You can find count- exaggeration of course, because there is too much Arme- and bring many idiosyncratic things to light. each town has its own aura. This town is sad: Around less examples of culture like these. These are just some nian inside me, and often I cannot keep it in, and it comes 200 years ago Russians from Saratov were exiled here, special and vivid examples. bursting out, but it is my holy duty never to discuss it. Wherever you go, take a look around and you will find simi- and they took up residence and planted Russian birches. However, this does not stop me from keeping some Rus- larities with Russian Culture. Everything is so closely inter- Nowadays, their descendants live side by side with the Sometimes I wonder: How can these two starkly differing sian in me. I do not have the power to change this because twined here, that sometimes things appear to be the same Armenians. Although the descendants are now fewer in cultures be compatible? When I think about compatibil- the Russian culture has been in my blood since birth. I am and it is very hard to tell where certain things came from. number, it doesn’t stop the wind from howling through the ity, I always think back of my great grandfather’s bakery, powerless to stop the feeling of blood rushing through town in a Russian way – as my grandmother used to say. the hot stuffy atmosphere and the square room with its my veins when hearing Shostakovich’s Second Waltz or This is us and our culture. 

22 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Armenia Wherever you go, look back and you will see something that resembles russian culture 23 thE iron commandEr Text & Photos: Mariam Mkrtchyan

The magnificent Guy monument, which stands ities are built over time and protected by their sergeant, came up with a daring plan. The unit was com- on the Guy Avenue in Ulyanovsk. heroes. The famous Armenian Commander Hayk prised mostly of Armenians, who understood the Turkish C Bzhshkyants, known as Iron Guy, was and ideal language, and therefore Hayk decided to have his soldiers example of a heroic-defender. He was a close colleague of pose as the enemy. His unit succeeded in penetrating Lenin and he saved Simbirsk, now Ulyanovsk, from falling the Turkish ranks from behind without much difficulty. into the hands of the White Guards. At the pre-arranged time at dawn, hand-grenades flew into the enemy trenches - and the troops assaulted just Hayk Bzhishkyants was born in Tabriz, Iran on February behind them. The mission was a complete success. Hayk 18, 1887 into a family of teachers. In the early 20th century Bzhishkyants was bestowed The Order of St. George IV. his family moved to the Caucasus region in Russia, where he studied as a young man at the Armenian Theological During the events of October 1917, Bzhshkyants was in Seminary. In 1903 he joined the revolutionary movement Samarkand. As a member of the Armenian Social Demo- and he was twice imprisoned for his political activities. cratic Party, he joined the red guards and helped organize a division. At the start of 1918, Guy took part in organizing His alias ‘Guy’ comes from the Russian pronunciation of the successful escape from General Dutov’s Orenburg the word ‘Armenian’. You could say he was a remarkable and was commander of an operation in Samara. man of almost insane courage. In the battle for the city of At the end of May, after recovering from a serious wound, Van, Hayk’s unit was given the task of flanking and attack- Guy commanded the Sengilev Units of the , who ing the enemy from behind. The Turkish defenses con- carried out an operation against the White Czechs, the sisted of three rows of trenches strewn with with barbwire result of which led to the formation of the ‘Samara Govern- entanglements. Bzhishkyantsz, who was the commanding ment’. After the White Czechs conquered Simbirsk and»

24 25 encircled the nearby divisions, Guy took the initiative and reorganized the units into the consolidated Sengilev Stavropol Division under his command. On July 26th, the division fought its way out of the encirclement inflicting heavy casualties. Their destination was the central sta- tion, 50 kilometers away from Simbirsk, where they suc- cessfully linked up with the 1st army having only sustained minimal losses.

The commander of the eastern front described Guy’s actions while commanding the Sengilev Group in the region: “Thanks to our comrades personal influence, Guy’s group was the only division that remained disciplined and The figure of bronze rises from a cylindrical pedestal. It is decorated with bas-reliefs, which depicts battle scenes from the divisions history. demonstrated a fighting ability.”

On the next day, the Revolutionary Military Council of Guy Dmitrievich became widely known after the Sovremennik building. The monument to the Civil War the Army signed an order to create the first consoli- of Simbirsk. He sent V.I. Lenin the famous telegram: “Dear Commander was created by the award-winning Armenian dated Simbirsk Infantry Division to be formed through Vladimir Iljitsch! The capture of your hometown is the best artist S. Nazaryan. Consisting of a six-meter tall bronze the conversion of some regiments of the first army. treatment for your wounds, and the second is Samara.” figure on a cylindrical base, decorated with reliefs, it is This was to become the birthday of the Iron Divi- a gift from Armenia to the city of Ulyanovsk. The statue sion, and G. D. Guy was promoted to Captain. The The Iron Division then marched on Samara, took part in of Guy was also created by Surne Nazaryan. The bronze division initially consisted of two regiments, but its liberation, for which the division was awarded the title statue of Guy in Nor Nork is the world’s largest and tallest as the fighting progressed, seven further regi- ‘Samara’. By a subsequent order of the Revolutionary Mili- equestrian statue with horse resting on two legs. ments arrived from different cities to join them. tary Council, it became known as Samara Simbirsk Iron Division. For the people of the Nor Nork district, the bronze rider The Simbirsk division went on to liberate dozens is a landmark and meeting place. Everyone here knows it. of Volga and Ural cities. For their rigid strength, iron In June 1922, after graduating with high marks from the The Armenian monument to Guy weighs 30 tonnes, and stamina, courage of the commanders and courage Higher Military Academy, he became commander of the together with the platform it is 12.5 meters tall. Suren of the personnel who proved themselves in the most 11th cavalry division, and by September 29th, he was Nazaryan’s sculpture concept was the winner of a com- vicious fighting around the “Okhotnichiya” station, appointed as the People’s Commissioner for Military petition and he was allowed to build the monument. Kyiv the division received the honorary title of “Iron” from Affairs of Armenia. based Master Casting worked together with the Armenian army command on August 9, 1918. On September sculptor. Today the park next to the monument, is named 28th, for the liberation of Simbirsk, they were the Directly after his arrival in Erivan, the newly appointed after Suren Nazaryan.  first Red Army Division to receive the Red Banner of people’s commissioner immediately went to the press Honour from the All Russian Executive Committee, and talked about ‘Sovetskaya Armenia’, and he immedi- which later became the Red Banner. ately issued the republican army orders and incorporated them into the general structure of the armed forces of the Soviet Union. Guy placed a huge amount of importance on the training of new commanders and he created the first leadership courses in Yerevan, which was the predecessor to a formal three-year command academy.

Unfortunately, the fate of Guy Dmitrievich Guy, like so many people in those years, was tragic: He was declared an enemy of the people and arrested. The life of the hero ended on 11 December 1937, at the age of 50. MoRE There is a Guy Avenue in Ulyanovsk, where the magnifi- TR AC E S cent Guy monument stands. It is located in the Zhelezno- To fInd dorozhny district of Ulyanovsk on Guy Avenue, near the http://ogy.de/traces-AM-5

26 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Armenia 27 Text & Photos: Garegin Aleksanyan Armenian Church in Ulyanovsk 1

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1 It so happened that within the framework of the 3 Delicate handmade work was done by two Armenian to various estimates, there are between 10 and 12 million 5 According to preliminary data, the construction of project “Traces of Togetherness” I prepared a photo report masters: Suren and Matvey. They are from the third larg- Armenians living in the world, with only 3 million living the church will end next year.  about a Russian Military Church in Armenia, which has est city of Armenia - Vanadzor. Work in Ulyanovsk is sea- in Armenia. The most Armenians, almost 2 million, live been active for more than a century. When the seminar sonal for them, it stops during rain and snow. It is note- in Russia. Accordingly, the Armenian community in Uly- took place In Ulyanovsk, I had the reverse task - to find worthy that they have a great experience in building an anovsk is relatively small with around 12.000 people. traces of Armenian culture in the Russian town. Little Armenian church in Russia. Another one stands, for research and I realized what I wanted to do. According to example, in Nizhny Novgorod. The Armenian church in As a journalist, I was very lucky, because on the day of the various media publications, I learned that an Armenian Ulyanovsk is situated in the park, next to the Push- visit to the church there was a special ceremony - Matah church is being built in Ulyanovsk. Then I decided to make karevsky ring. - a traditional charitable sacrifice in Armenia. The main a parallel photo essay. meaning of the Matah is a gift to God, through a donation More 4 Armenia is one of the most unique countries in the of alms to the poor. It takes place either in the form of a TR AC E S 2 The construction of the church began in 2014. Red world, because the Armenian diaspora is many times charity meal, or as the distribution of meat from sacri- to find brick was used and outside it is covered with tuff stone. larger than the internal population back home. According ficed animals. http://ogy.de/traces-AM-6

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30 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Armenia Armenian church in Ulyanovsk 31 1 Russian Church

Text & Photos: in Yerevan Garegin Aleksanyan

32 33 1 The Russian church Surb Astvatsatsin (Armenian for of the church is greater than the height, a characteristic „Holy Mother of God“) is located in the Kanaker district of of Russian military churches. Yerevan. It is considered the main church of the Russian Orthodox Church in Armenia. It was built in 1912 for the During the USSR, beginning in 1923, the church was Russian military regiment in the adjacent territory. closed, it became a warehouse, and later a club for sol- diers. Even dancing parties and film shows were organ- 2 The architect of the Kanaker church is Fedor Verzbit- ized inside the church. Unfortunately, archival photos sky, who presented a typical project of a military church from this period were not found. They say that in Soviet in 1901. 55 churches designed by Verzbitsky were built in times there were statues of Lenin and Stalin in the house Russia and abroad, including in Gyumri, Kars and Baku. of prayer. The dome and bell tower were destroyed, and The house of prayer was built with red tuff stones, wide- the building looked more like a hall, than a church. The spread in Armenia. dome and bell tower were rebuilt in 2000. 2 3 The main architectural feature is a large free space 4 After independence in 1991, the church was returned inside the church, there are no columns, in the center, to the Russian Orthodox Community. There are no clear there is no dome above the altar. The central part is built statistics on the number of community members in 2 in such a way that the military regiment can fit. The width Armenia. »

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34 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Armenia Russian church in Yerevan 35 7

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5 There are four priests and one deacon in the church. depicted apricot trees instead of biblical oak and the One of the priests, Father Abe David Abrahamyan, speaks image of the mother cathedral of Armenian Apostolic to a woman attending the church. Church, located in the city of Etchmiadzin (Armenian City close to Yerevan) on the left. 6 Most of the icons were painted by the artist Yevgeny Mamikonyan, who lives in Moscow. A copy of the world 7 The personnel of the Russian military unit were famous trilogy, Andrei Rublevs “Trinity”, is in the highest removed from Kanaker and joined the 102nd military and central position of the altar but with some editions: base in Gyumri. Now most of the regular church visitors Mamikonyan painted the Mount Ararat in the background, are secular. 

More 6 TR AC E S to find http://ogy.de/traces-AM-7

36 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Armenia Russian church in Yerevan 37 In Azerbaijan there are no citizen journalism blogs, but people are writing on Facebook – for reasons of safety their personal profiles should  not be posted in a publication. The meydan.tv website posts in citizen journalism style news, but it is also banned in Azerbaijan ... For a first impression the reader can have a look at this blog and decide how much of a relevant source this is: Citizen http://flyingcarpetsandbrokenpipelines.blogspot.com

jour- elevision is considered to be one of the most general, 60% of EU survey respondents reported to use popular sources of information in Azerbaijan, the Internet as their primary news source, and 49% use T with only 5% of the respondents in the recent EU social media for news. Among social media networks, survey indicating that they don’t watch TV at all. Neverthe- Facebook is the most popular in Azerbaijan and people less, TV rarely provides objective and transparent news. In actively use it as a source of news. Approximately 45% practice, this might provide fertile ground for citizen jour- of the population was reported to use Facebook. So, it’s nalists wanting to come onto the scene, report, gain trust understandable that certain public figures, and social and popularity. However, one of the major impediments activists report about events that traditional media for citizen journalists in Azerbaijan is that there are almost outlets ignore or prefer to dismiss. So, with time these no media outlets who would commission or even simply accounts have gained popularity and become a source share the news they create. Thus, citizen journalists have of reference for what happens in society. Even though in nalism to depend on their own resources such as personal web- most cases there is no fact-check mechanism that can be blogs. As for the kind of personal blogs, in the last years applied to the reports provided by these accounts, usually writing about events and cultural happenings has gained it’s the level of public trust in the figure that defines the more popularity, rather than covering socio-economic validity of the news. Despite the fact that the popularity of issues. This is mostly due to the fact these topics have Instagram has also increased in recent years - especially become taboo in the current restrictive environment. among the younger generation - Facebook remains the main source of news from personal accounts. Another problematic issue with citizen journalism is its individual scale and its lack of sustainability. Personal Even though social media tries to compensate for a lack blogs usually do not last for a long time and don’t provide of independent voices in traditional media, its coverage in Azer- continuous reporting. This can be explained by the fact is still limited. If the traditional forms of reporting such most citizen journalists mostly write as a second pro- as newspapers, radio and TV programs were replaced, it bono job that is sacrificed when their daily work com- would mean that the news still wouldn’t reach many of the mitments increase. So, it’s hard to find any established people living in rural and remote villages. Moreover, given figures working as citizen journalists whose work one can the algorithmic preferences of popular personal accounts, follow on a regular basis. the news that one sees might be quite selective and only coming from that person’s “filter bubble”. Another specificity of citizen journalism in Azerbaijan is the popularity of social media and the accounts of certain All in all, the situation with citizen journalism in Azerbai- public figures that usually write about current events. In jan is not flourishing either. There is an online Region TV» baijan38 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Azerbaijan 39 platform that reports on news from different parts of the I decided to conduct a brief interview with her, to see I also spoke with Lala Aliyeva, a professionally trained photographers. We have been covering in-depth human country, but usually the stories from rural areas are only what she thinks about citizen journalism in Azerbaijan and journalist who worked as an editor at an Azerbaijani stories (features). But in general, it was always difficult covered in depth when some journalist working in Baku what motivates her to find and write about these topics. online platform based in Georgia - Chaikhana. Lala has to find journalists who reply to Chai Khana’s criteria. I goes out in the countryside to cover something. Below you can read the full text: extensive experience interacting with various jour- would not call it “the lack of professionalism” as those nalists from Azerbaijan and she offers an insightful who approach to Chai Khana know what is the balanced Despite all of the drawbacks, I find a particularly interest- Do you think Citizen Journalism is something important view of the state of citizen journalism in the country. story, but the lack of skills is another big problem. Again, ing form of citizen journalism emerging in Azerbaijan. The for Azerbaijan? Why? Below is the text of our interview: the root of it - the situation in the country, repressions form can be characterized as reporting on a certain sub- and the lack of quality high education in journalism and ject that is prepared on a regular basis by small groups of Sheyda: Citizen journalism is an inevitable and increas- Do you think Citizen Journalism is something important professional mentorship. Since 2014 when almost all activist volunteers. In order to picture more clearly what ingly important thing in any part of the world. In Azerbai- for Azerbaijan? Why? international organizations stopped their operation in the this form represents in Azerbaijani context, I will provide a jan, this type of news dissemination has the potential of country, it became almost impossible to organize train- brief description of the “Mahalla” project, which took place becoming the response to government controlled key Lala: I would say Citizen Journalism is crucial for Azerbai- ings and workshops for local journalists. In order to get when people were being evicted from their homes in an media outlets, therefore, is of particular importance in jani media landscape today. Due to the political situation the skills they have to travel somewhere abroad, in many old central neighborhood in Baku. As part of urban regen- my opinion. in Azerbaijan and the lack of freedom of expression where cases to Georgia. eration plans, the Sovetski neighborhood in the central the government tries to silence critical voices, including part of Baku with deep-rooted traditions and tight neigh- What are the topics that you like to write journalism journalists by jailing, harassing and torturing them and Are there any other citizen journalists from Azerbaijan borhood networks was the site of mass evictions when pieces in Azerbaijan? their relatives, in addition to blocking the media web- whose works or accounts you follow closely? Who are the neighborhood was slated to be replaced by a park. sites, many of media outlets rely on the content provided they? The neighborhood residents had either received minimal Sheyda: I am specifically interested in culture, unique and by citizen journalists. Although they lacking quality and financial compensation or had been offered housing in disappearing professions and historical events through they are difficult to factcheck. Meydan TV is a good exam- Lala: Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone among citizen the outskirts of the city. This massively impacted their the point of view of ordinary people. ple of working with citizen journalists. Throughout the journalists. I am closely following professional journalists daily lives, economic activities, and ripped them out of years they could manage to create the network, people working with Meydan TV, Azadliq and Turan or freelance their community. The small protests and the whole proc- Why do you prefer to specifically cover those topics? trust them and send their stories or stories they witness journalists working with international outlets. ess was haphazardly reported by the traditional media although the government represses them too (because of outlets. However, the creators of “Mahalla” took a distinct Sheyda: I believe this has to do with a personal urge of collaboration with these media outlets). In her interview, Lala mentioned a very important point stance via delving deeper and documenting personal sto- attempting to “stop the time” by memorializing it, whether about the state of citizen journalism in Azerbaijan that I ries and provided more rigorous in-depth coverage from this is by capturing moments through photography, jour- As editor of Chaikhana platform what were the most fre- would like to point out in conclusion. The lack of training the field during the eviction process. They used strong naling, writing about, and/or remembering or recalling quent topics that journalists wanted to write about? Why and education opportunities for media representatives visual tools in order to tell the story of vanishing neigh- events and people. do you think these particular topics were popular? negatively influences the quality of reporting. As citizen borhood and narrate the stories of its residents after journalists do not necessarily need to have a media-based their displacement. So, this project is a perfect example What are the usual challenges that you face when you Lala: As Chai Khana is edition based online platform, it is education, specifically tailored intensive training could of a platform that was established to provide an in-depth prepare reports on those topics? difficult to define certain topics in as much as the top- help willing citizens to become reporters. However, the review of a certain event over an extended period of time ics and (in many cases but not always) the story ideas are fact that the overall quality of education in media and by volunteer journalists. Sheyda: Often I need permission from government offi- assigned to the local reporters from local managers of the journalism is low means that it’s also hard to find com- cials to shoot in some locations or research certain topics project. However, I have noticed the high interest in cov- petent local trainers. However, in order to further thrive If we look beyond the traditional reporting of news as a for unexplained reasons. ering the youth and more positive human stories. Either citizen journalism in Azerbaijan needs well trained and form of citizen journalism, another form popular form in some of them are tired of reading heavy news or the situ- competent people to pass their knowledge to a wider Azerbaijan is writing about human stories. In the recent Are there any other citizen journalists from Azerbaijan ation in the country affects them (fear, self-censorship). audience. The second crucial factor for creating a fer- years, narrating the stories of particular individuals or whose works or accounts you follow closely? Who are tile ground for citizen journalists is the establishment communities that allow us to look at the broader picture they? 3. Was it challenging to find Citizen journalists in Azerbai- of a sound platform that would enable let them to better from a unique perspective has become increasingly popu- jan who would cover interesting human interest stories? spread their voices.  lar. One of the journalists that regularly writes about social Sheyda: I wouldn’t say that I closely follow works or If yes what do you think are the reasons behind this? and cultural phenomena on different online platforms is accounts of any Azerbaijani citizen journalists in particu- Sheyda Allahverdiyeva. She has covered topics rang- lar; however, there are several thought leaders whose Lala: Chai Khana is not the best example of citizen jour- More ing from the struggles of “Soviet-type” entrepreneurs in ideas I often find interesting. nalism. Chai Khana does not work with Citizen Journalists TR AC E S contemporary Azerbaijan, to the phenomena of summer as it does not cover news. Chai Khana has been working to find houses on the Absheron peninsula and their traditions. with beginners or professional journalists/filmmakers/ http://ogy.de/traces-AZ-1

40 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Azerbaijan 41 Text: Turana Alieva The Photo: Maurice Stach Smell

1st prize Turana Alieva: ”The photo was taken in the historic centre of Baku and the carpet behind me reflects old Azerbaijani culture of of the competition and traditions”. Although these two different groups of people coexist, architecture of Baku is unique across the whole post- they have a mutual hatred towards each other. The Rus- soviet region and it reflects the combination of different sian speaking population arrogantly uses Russian even cultures. Old Islamic style buildings are beautifully com- while speaking to those who do not understand Russian, bined with modern luxury buildings and skyscrapers, and thereby undermining the Azerbaijani-speaking population. old soviet style buildings in some parts of the city remind While on the other hand the Azerbaijani- speaking popula- me of Russia and take me back to the Soviet period, when tion resents and hates them because of their arrogance Baku was part of the USSR. While walking through the petroleum and disrespect towards their native language. I had the streets of the old city filled with the strong odor of petro- chance to talk to both and reveal the key differences. leum, I realize that I do not have to be strictly Azerbaijani or Russian, because our common history requires us to Interestingly, Azerbaijani people do not really like Rus- be both, we are small parts of a larger history which is still ince early childhood I have loved the smell of I hold Russian citizenship, I’ll always be a “non-Russian” to sians, since they believe that Nagorno- Karabakh dispute going on. But I must admit that despite so many traces of petroleum. It is no surprise that I come from the them. But there was one thing that bothered me even between Azerbaijan and Armenia is a result of Russian the Russian presence in this country, the smell of petro- S oil and gas capital of Russia – Tyumen. Although I when I moved to Baku. I realized that while trying to be a intervention. They feel that once Russia decides to solve leum is the most important thing that links Baku and Tyu- love my city, where I have spent 18 years of my life, there typical Russian just like those around me, I failed to be a the frozen conflict, it will be solved. Despite this, some men in my mind.  is one more special place for me which smells as good as real Azerbaijani… parts of the Azerbaijani population still speak Russian and my hometown. Baku - the oil capital of the former USSR send their children to Russian schools. Another interest- and, my parents’ hometown, which is homeland to me now. When I turned 18, my family decided to move to Azerbaijan ing thing about Azerbaijan that surprised me is that it is Baku has a special place in my heart since I have lots of to let me become a real Azerbaijani. When I moved to Baku, the only country in the South Caucasus where Russian sweet childhood memories about this city and its smell I instantly decided to dive deep into the local culture! schools still exist. Thus, language is one of the key fac- always reminds of Tyumen. Each visit to Baku would leave tors influencing local culture. The Russian-speaking pop- me with sweet and cozy memories. I really enjoyed my The contradicting nature of Azerbaijani culture and the ulation is more tolerant and more open-minded towards petrol smelling city. I dreamed of moving to Baku one day tremendous impact of Russian language on the local cul- Armenians. The influence of concepts such as Nihilism not only because I fell in love with its old and sweet streets ture impressed me a lot. and Marxism in Russian literature are evident in their but because I believed that I would finally stop being an political culture. Thus, the Russian-speaking population More outsider. Being an outsider in Russia - because of my I was shocked by the explicit division among the local pop- is more active when it comes to political participation TR AC E S Caucasian appearance non-Russian name and surname - ulation: part of the local population speaks Russian with and the formation of civil society. Another thing here to find made me think that I could never be Russian, even though a specific Bakuvian accent, and some speak Azerbaijani. that always reminds of Russia is the architecture. The http://ogy.de/traces-AZ-2

42 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Azerbaijan The smell of petroleum 43 3rd prize Text and Photos: Ehtiram Jabi of the competition A Russian footprint in Azerbaijan –A unt Mila

uring childhood, everyone has a person who our lessons. Aunt Mila used to show us interesting articles raises you, takes care of you, and teaches you from magazines, during and after lessons, that she liked D about life. For many people, this is either their to read aloud to us and explain. She also told us about parents or one of their relatives. For me, it was a woman phenomena around the world and in nature. Sometimes who lived one floor below us, aunt Mila. My mother didn’t she took for a walk around the city and occasionally we speak Russian and the rest of my family didn’t have time visited museums. Thanks to her not only did I learn Rus- to help me learn it. For this reason, I began to take pri- sian, but I also developed a great interest in literature. vate lessons in second grade from our Russian neighbour. I’ll always be grateful to her for that. It has been 4 years Since I spent part of my day in her house, I knew the lay- since we moved out of our old apartment. When I am in out of her apartment by heart. I had favourite places and our old neighborhood, I occasionally visit Aunt Mila. We sit details. Besides reading and writing, she also helped me and talk for hours. She turns 80 this year and her health is with mathematics. Later, another girl started attending deteriorating every year. When we meet, we always dis- More these lessons and she soon became a close friend of cuss her favourite articles from magazines and everything TR AC E S mine. Our lessons consisted of us two, Aunt Mila and a that is happening around the world. But here, everything to find Siamese cat called Kitty. Kitty used to sit next to us during remains unchanged - the objects, smells, furniture…  http://ogy.de/traces-AZ-3

44 45 46 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Azerbaijan A Russian footprint in Azerbaijan – Aunt Mila 47 Amina sitting in front of the Lenin-Statue in the centre of Uljanowsk.

Text: Aysel Akhundova Photos: Ehtiram Jabi AMI NA

mina is an Azerbaijani woman. She lives in Uly- anovsk but hasn’t spoken Azerbaijani with any- A one for a long time. Azerbaijani flows from her lips, as she can’t stop telling me about her life in Russia, she is full of life and emotion. She lives here with her husband and his parents. They plan to move to a larger city, probably St. Petersburg. In fact, they were living in Moscow, but had to move to a smaller city in order to solve Amina’s documentation issues.

Marriages between Russian men and Azerbaijani women are not common, although you can come across many families with Azerbaijani fathers and Russian moth- ers, both in Azerbaijan and Russia. The employee of the migration service was shocked when hearing that Amina’s husband came to register his Azerbaijani wife. “What kind of heroic deed has made you marry an Azerbaijani woman?”, he asked rhetorically.

There is a saying in Azerbaijani “Rus arvad saxlamaz”, which translates as “A Russian is not able to provide a living for his wife”. That is exactly what Amina has heard from her social circle, when she tells them about her plans to marry her future husband. »

48 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Azerbaijan Amina 49 Amina has made bold decision to follow her heart despite events of 1990’s in Azerbaijan, such as the Karabakh war the chit-chat that surrounds her. Now and then she remi- and the 20th of January in Baku, might be the reasons. nisces the words she has been told numerous times, such I was wrong. It later came out, that Amina was engaged as the “absence of honor” amongst Russian men and their to an Azerbaijani man and after 4 years of engagement inability to be decent husbands. Nevertheless, she had she broke it off. After a while she met her future husband nothing to be dissatisfied about. She told me that her and they decided to create a family together. Her rela- husband has a calm personality and is a man of few words, tives assumed that there was something wrong with her. unlike her, so they complimented each other perfectly. In their opinion, that was the reason for her marriage to a foreigner, a Russian. They considered the so-called I was curious about the reasons behind this negative reac- honor of their family to be compromised. The reason is tion to her decision. I assumed that the memory of the very trivial, indeed.

Amina is young, energetic, and extroverted. She is open, and when she speaks her hands move all around her. She is an Azerbaijani in Ulyanovsk. She has already left her traces here. New traces will be left in other cities. 

More TR AC E S to find http://ogy.de/traces-AZ-4

50 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Azerbaijan Amina 51

aucasus C outh S e

THE Russian Footprint th in

Text and Photos: Aysel Akhundova

n Baku, traces of Russia are vis- ible in many places as remnants I of the past. You can walk down the street and talk in Azerbaijani with your friends, drink black tea and eat Kutabs - but suddenly you hear a Rus- sian pop song coming from a passing car. The festival ‘Heat’ takes place every summer in Baku with several Russian pop stars in attendance. In summer, the whole city becomes covered with posters. Some people notice them, whilst others don’t, just like the event itself. While some people are desperately looking for a ticket for one of the concerts in Hare, others are completely indifferent to it. This event has been revived from the remnants of the past, which we usually expect to dissolve with time, thus proving the unpredictability of history. 

Catcaller in the heat. He doesn’t care about anything.

52 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Azerbaijan The Russian footprint in the South Caucasus 53 Red like “Jara”. As Concerned family her car fuses with head. They have too the cherry red of the many worries and poster, she listens to grandkids to care one of the tunes by about the festival. the artists appearing Can they even recog- on the poster. nize a single face on the poster?

Driver. He would probably take someone to the beach in Nardaran for “Jara” and wait for them in the car till the concert is over. More TR AC E S to find http://ogy.de/traces-AZ-5

54 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Azerbaijan The Russian footprint in the South Caucasus 55 Text: Vahid Aliyev

The influence of THE Russian language on the Azerbaijani culture

ussification has a long history in Azerbaijan. The Even though the Soviet Union collapsed 27 years ago, Language is a fundamental part of any culture, and the Russian language was introduced to the Cau- the intellectual and political elite still use the Russian necessity of relations between peoples brings the speak- R casus immediately following colonization in the language in their daily life. However, the phenomenon of ers of one language into contact with those of neighbor- 19th century. At the beginning of the 19th century after Russian-speaking Azeris is gradually weakening due to the ing or culturally dominant languages. These relations can the war between Iran and Russia, the Caucasus region growing influence of Azeri spoken throughout the country, be hostile or friendly. A language can be enriched not only was controlled by the Russian Empire. Russian schools especially in Baku. Several ministers are not able to talk by borrowing words but also infinding alternatives and were established in large cities. Prior to the “Sovietiza- or read in Azeri, as Russian was and still is their first lan- integrating them into the language. The Russian language tion” of the Caucasus, there were more than 200 schools guage. It has also been observed both inside and outside itself spread so widely because the Russians colonized in Azerbaijan teaching in Russian. the country that officials are using the Russian language the Caucasus and reached to the heart of the languages among themselves. it touched. In other cases, has colored the Eng- Throughout the Soviet era the Russian speaking popula- lish lexicon, and Arabic has permeated both Persian and tion integrated into the multi-ethnic urban Baku culture, During the Soviet era, when Azerbaijan was part of the Turkish, however their vocabulary was not integrated in uniting people of Azeri, Jewish, Russian, Armenian and Soviet Union, the prisons had and still have their own the same way. This illustrates the power of nationalism, other origins, who were distinguished by their cosmo- slang vocabulary. Nowadays, young men (“gagas”) use this cultural as well as political, during the Russian Empire and politanism and use of the Russian language. The phe- vocabulary in their daily life. The slang is in Russian but the Soviet Union. Today, in the 21st century and a period nomenon of “Russian-speaking Azeris” was established has been adapted as it enters the Azeri language. Lads of independence, there should be some psychological in the middle of the 20th century and it is still widely used (пацаны) who use these so-called prison-terms gener- resistance to borrowing and integrating words into the in Azerbaijan. ally cannot describe their exact meaning in their own language, and local governments should look beyond Rus- language. Such slang words include: “strimit” (from the sian loan words and pay more attention to supporting the The Russian language influences numerous areas of life word стремиться, meaning ‘to aspire to’ in Russian, but development of the Azeri vocabulary itself, for example in Azerbaijan; in the arts, literature, politics, and hospital- here meant in a more criminal sense); “dvizheni” (which in working on a new orthographic dictionary.  ity. Although there were some measures taken by deci- Russian means “movement” but in Azerbaijan is used when sion makers, such as a decree issued by Heydar Aliyev to approaching someone in a crafty or underhand manner); establish Azerbaijani as the sole official state language, “priznavat” (which in Russian means “to recognise”, but or another by the National Broadcasting Council to cease is often used in Azerbaijan to imply the acceptance of More the live broadcasting of Russian TV channels. Neverthe- someone’s informal authority); “nakazat” (which in Rus- TR AC E S less, the Russian language is still being used actively in sian means “to punish”, but which in Azerbaijan also has to find the daily life of intellectuals and the political “elite”. distinct criminal undertones). http://ogy.de/traces-AZ-7

56 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Azerbaijan 57 Text and Photos: Ehtiram Jabi, Vahid Aliev

Photos from Ulyanovsk: reminders of Azerbaijan and its Culture

58 59 Mini Gobustan rock carvings, which depict primitive people, animals, battle-pieces, ritual dances, bullfights, boats with armed oarsmen, warriors with The monument in park of “Druzhba Narodov” built in 1970s by Azerbaijan SSR with national symbolism incorporated into its design. lances in their hands, camel caravans, pictures of sun and stars.

60 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Azerbaijan Photos from Ulyanovsk reminding Azerbaijan and its culture 61 The monument to Nariman Narimanov – Azerbaijani Bolshevik revolutionary, writer, publicist, politician and statesman, on Narimanov Ave. A school named after Heydar Aliyev, the third President of Azerbaijan, who served from October 1993 to October 2003.

A music album “Voices of Karabakh” inside the school. National musical instruments inside the school.

More TR AC E S to find http://ogy.de/traces-AZ-6

62 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Azerbaijan Photos from Ulyanovsk reminding Azerbaijan and its culture 63 List of Citizen Journalism platforms in Georgia:  1. European.ge - Analytical online media platform for bloggers. The main goal of the platform is to create channels for active citizen engage- ment in the public processes. The platform unites more than 40 bloggers, who actively publish their blogs about most important political, social and economic issues in Georgia. http://european.ge/ 2. Liberali.ge – “Liberali” is an independent, public and political online edition. The blog section is one of the most popular parts of “Liberali”. Active citizens often publish blogs about politics, civic activism, culture and more. http://liberali.ge/ 3. Radio Tavisupleba - Online platform of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Georgia. The platform is for active bloggers. Their “free space” offers citizen journalists space to publish their blogs and analytical articles without editing. In addition, Radio Liberty allows citizens to upload video, audio and photo files on a special “civil journalism” page. https://www.radiotavisupleba.ge/ 4. Chai Khana - Chai Khana is a multi-award-winning regional media platform reaching women, rural communities, minority groups, and conflict-affected communities in the Caucasus. The name Chai Khana, or tea house, represents a symbolic, collective space where people Citizen come together to exchange stories, ideas, and experiences. https://chai-khana.org/en 5. Politicano – is an anti-capitalist, euro sceptic, leftist philosophy, pacifist political-economic portal on WordPress and Facebook with jour- 21.800 likes. https://politicano01.wordpress.com · https://www.facebook.com/PoliticanoGeorgia Text: Lika Kasradze awings Dr Fro s” m g Li oday we live in an age n za to current determinations, a i v of distinguished h e citizen journalist can be any- t t a t e c h n o l o g i c a l n one who participates in the T a E development. In the last i g process of obtaining and 10-12 years fundamental g o spreading information. r r o nalism changes have occurred o v e in media, and media has a Modern tendencies

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g w i network. Recent technological devel- n the most popular social network plat- opments have given better opportunities not form in Georgia. The web traffic analysis tool only to professional journalists, but also to ordinary citi- Statcounter published a graph depicting the social media zens. A cellphone equipped with a voice recorder, photo- usage stats in Georgia from October 2017−October 2018, video camera, and internet connection is a tool - with and according to it: Facebook use was at 84.67%, YouTube which anyone can become a reporter. Posting a brief story − 6.33%, Pinterest − 5.21%, Twitter − 1.2%, Instagram − about an accident or discussing a ‘hot-button’ issue on 0.96% and Tumblr − 0.81%. (source: http://gs.statcounter. social media is a guarantee for public attention. According com/social-media-stats/all/georgia) » gia64 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Georgia Georgian things 65 Now, many people use social media for receiving infor- With regard to the history of CJ in Georgia, its develop- well. The last elections (editor’s note: In November 2018, traditional media in the future? What is citizen journal- mation (besides as a tool of communication) instead ment, modern tendencies and perspectives, we met with Georgia elected new President) revealed the fact that CJ ism’s potential in Georgia? of traditional media. This trend has been proven by the Assistant Professor Sandro Asatiani – an online communi- is still being developed, and we have volunteers, but today results of a public opinion poll in Georgia conducted by the cation and social media specialist. Asatiani is the director it is difficult to find the line between a lie and the truth. - There has been a lot of discussion on this topic. My per- National Democratic institute – NDI (research proc- and co-founder of GeoLab (a mobile and web appli- There is a boom of fake news. Besides, there are bullying sonal opinion is that the analytical part will remain in the ess was fielded by the Caucasus Research cations laboratory), author of the textbook facts as well. Traditional media representatives have some hands of traditional media. When you need the full pic- Resource Centers – CRRC) in March− “New Media at School”, and trainer in obligations, but citizen journalists have no restrictions. To ture, about topics related to business for example, tradi- April 2018. On the Question: “What online communication and social this end, I would like to underline the fact that now, we are tional journalism already offers a solid product. But when are the main information network channel develop- at the stage, at a time when people should focus on deter- spreading current events, CJ has the advantage. sources for receiving news ment. He has been working mining truth from lies and avoid sharing information that about Georgian politics in the field since 2010. could lead to human rights violations. Hence, media lit- In Georgia, citizen journalism dominates during a crisis, and ongoing events” 72% eracy is very important – and people should make a habit for example in 2015 and the Vere River valley was refer to TV as a primary When did CJ enter of critically evaluating products from the media. People flooded. There were at least 20 deaths and the Tbilisi source and 13% refer Georgian reality? themselves are a filter. It needs some more effort to study zoo was devastated. What sort of phenomenon has it to it as a secondary and refusing of spreading false news. However, when we become? source. Regarding - It is better to start overcome this problem, a new challenge will arise. the internet, includ- from the overview - Citizen journalism is strongly linked to civil society. In ing Facebook, it is in of the world events. One problem is that people accidently spread fake news, 2015, social media was a tool. It made it obvious that civil second place among From this viewpoint, but another problem is that fake news is a propa- society in Georgia does exist, but we cannot dis- information sources; Time Magazine has a ganda tool. During the pre-election cuss these things separately. CJ is an for 18% of the surveyed good tradition – every campaigns, there was a deluge of instrument in the hands of civil soci- population, the internet year it nominates a “Person troll pages and fake information ety. The more developed civil and Facebook is their first of the Year”. In 2006, the Per- put out by both sides against society is the more effectively source for information and son of the Year was “You”. The their political opponents it will use this instrument. for 25% − their second. (source: main idea was to underline the fact – from the ruling party They do not exist sepa- https://www.ndi.org/sites/default/files/ that the ‘person of year’ was each vol- and from the opposi- rate from one another. NDI_March_2018_Public Presentation_Eng- unteer who published information in internet. tion. There are some lish_final.pdf p. 77, Q 49, 50) The results show that TV still Before that, working online was a job for most people. But platforms in Georgia, In what direction may remains first source of information for Georgian citizens. 2006 was a crucial year, because many citizen journalists who seek to debunk Georgian CJ develop But, evidently the number of people who receive infor- appeared who began publishing information on internet fake news stories (for in future? mation from the internet is rising constantly. In 2015, the out of personal interest. However, from my personal view- example Myth Detec- same question “What are the main information sources point, 2008 was a crucial year for Georgia; while sharing tor), but this problem - The process func- for receiving news about Georgian politics and ongoing information about the Russian-Georgian war was difficult continues to grow. tions a lot like an ant events” was asked, and only 7% of surveyed population for many news companies, citizen journalists started colony. When people referred to internet as a primary source of information appearing at the same time. Since then, the field has Can CJ have an impact started studying ant and 20% − as secondary (source: https://www.ndi.org/ been developing step-by-step. Notably, we have shifted on public opinion? behavior, they thought sites/default/files/NDI Georgia_April 2015 Poll_Public Issues_ from blogging to microblogging (Facebook posts to some there was a hierarchy in ENG_VF_0.pdf p. 58, Q 45, 46.) In this survey 87% of people extent are microblogs) and now we have shorter messages - Yes, it helps formulate public ant society – that there is a referred to TV as their primary source and 7% - as second- instead of long analysis - and we have stopped there. opinion, take the last US presiden- head ant who directs the others. ary. To this end, in 4 years the internet and Facebook has tial election for example. Researchers began to isolate ants, and increased from 7% to 18% as a primary source of informa- What kind of barriers exist in this sphere? discovered that small groups of three or four tion. Following these figures, it is obvious to see why CJ The latest research shows that the number of people ants did their jobs without a head. In our case, the process has developed on the Facebook platform − for CJ, it is the - Today, biggest challenge today is fake news and some who receive their information from social media instead of self-organization is also present; when a problem with most flexible tool for spreading its product far and wide. similar problems, but there are some positive aspects as of traditional media is on the rise. Will CJ overtake fake news arises, people will produce something to »

66 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Georgia Georgian things 67 counter it. The popularity of Facebook arose from the Afterwards, Nino registered her NGO Citizen Journalist platforms – raising the question: “Why do Georgian blog- Mamuka Kusiani, the editor in chief of “Pirweli” News fact that it was easy to use, and it did not require spe- Club with the goal of participating in the grant project that gers abandon their blogs,” Nino answers that the problem Agency explained that their CJ project has failed. As he cific knowledge like Microsoft Windows. Nevertheless, was financed by the presidential fund. is the same – a lack of financing and motivation. described, the project “Became a Journalist of PIA” that with new technologies new opportunities will appear and was tailored practically to any age and social group of someone will invent new platforms. There are discussions “It was a large scale project. We had about 260 articles “The Blogging boom started in Georgia in 2009. citizens, who was interested in the events around that this could be virtual reality for example − when you can a month and 6-7 thousand unique visitors a day. These I made my first blog in 2009. Between him/her. The main aim of the project was see the shape of one of your friends in front of you. It is dif- were great results for the time. I had two reporters in each 2009-2012 bloggers were invited to to raise citizen participation in civil ficult to predict the future, but it is obvious that new tech- region and I was paying them honorary 10-12 GEL (about every corporate and governmen- activities and raise awareness for nologies will create new ways of exchanging information. 4 Euros) for each piece. The biggest problem was internet tal event. Ministerial repre- interesting events. access, especially in rural parts of Georgia, but we were sentatives were inviting us Nino Chelidze, a former active blogger and the founder successful. We covered every demonstration in Georgia to join ongoing projects - The Project idea was of CJ blog ireporter.ge, the non-governmental organiza- from 2010-2015. For our website we were doing news - this is also a thing of intended to mobilize tion Citizen Journalist Club – CJC, and a former volunteer reporting from the place of event. It was really difficult the past. Today the those people with trainer in CJ, shares her professional experiences with us. to compete with the well-financed media organizations, room is free for citizen news (equipped with a Nino has been interested in CJ since 2010. She recalls, but as citizen journalists we had lots of freedom. We were journalists. We don’t smartphone and cov- that one day while searching for information in the Inter- working outside the traditional journalistic framework have separate CJ erage - practically all net, she stumbled upon CJ and she was inspired to start and bringing more specific details and persons to light. platforms in Georgia, of Georgia) and con- writing in Georgia. This was a difficult job, but then everything stopped. The as it is in other coun- nect them with Media reason was finances. Nowadays, I still pay for host- tries. Besides, before Company “Clipart” “In 2010 I registered the web-domain ire- ing my page and hope that one day I will Facebooks civil forums internet editions PIA.GE porter.ge. I was doing it by myself. It be able to come back to this job. I became very active, and M2B.GE. Advanced was the first of its kind in Geor- miss the freedom I felt in CJ. But and now that everything media organizations in the gia. Actually, it was a blog now we face different techno- has merged with Facebook rest of the world have long space for multiple authors. logical challenges, as tra- information is quite dispersed. seen the importance of CJ. The I had no restrictions for ditional media attempts I also attempted to promote infor- experience of the last few years the authors, sometimes to adopt CJ methods mation on Twitter but it was always has shown the particular and special I even did not know who and the competition is crashing, and there are less people active on activities in this direction, as CJ directly sup- the author was and growing”, - Nino says. Twitter in Georgia“, - she says. ports increase of individual responsibility. This has been they were free to write Media literacy and confirmed by plenty of CJ produced material. Our media about anything. For financing – these are On the question: “Where is Georgian CJ now,” she empha- platform Pia is open to receive information from Citizen 8 months I had been main obstacles for CJ sized that we are not very advanced. “Today technology Journalists. After we fact check submissions we always doing it with much in Georgia, from her provides us with many more opportunities. We have release the information product. enthusiasm and I liked point of view. She sug- smartphones, mobile internet and Facebook live. The my job. In 2010, smart- gests that it is difficult potential is enormous, but we stopped using this when I What was a benefit for your media company from that phones were not so com- for nonprofessional jour- was doing this job. I have nothing optimistic to say. Once project? Was personal engagement high? mon and mobile internet nalists to see stories hid- again, and again main reason is financing. This sphere service was underdeveloped den between the facts and should become more commercial and should include an - Unfortunately, most Georgian citizens who are socially - everything was much more events and then be able to tell educational component”- she says. active, feel comfortable and satisfied when they publish difficult. Then, IREX announced a this story properly to people. Moreo- something in a social network. In this case, the risk is that grant offer to bloggers and my project ver, a lack of financing is also a problem, Some traditional media organizations try to adopt citizen the information published is an accidental piece of propa- won. The project was about regional CJ. I found as it is difficult to work on enthusiasm alone. journalism for its benefits and establish CJ departments ganda, is high. To the contrary, in the case of cooperating people I didn’t know to write for the website in rural areas in their companies, but these attempts are still not suc- with media organizations, the accumulated information and I asked them to write about their local events. It was If you do a little research, you will see, that most of blog- cessful in Georgia. As Nino Chelidze remarked, even Geor- product goes through editors and fact checking in line pure CJ,” – Nino Chelidze says. gers on WordPress have stopped updating their media gian Public Broadcasting failed in their attempt. with journalistic standards and as such the chance of »

68 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Georgia Georgian things 69 releasing something containing propaganda decreases sig- “People, who use our web page and social network pages, civic advocacy. It requires huge effort from me to gain local problem-solving process, and any other positive nificantly. Hence, I am convinced that Georgian society will often complain about the poor quality of video voice, information from people living in the rural regions, about changes. Besides, CJ often is a good source of infor- soon decide to cooperate with professional media organi- video editing, lighting, video graphics and other techni- their local problems. Some people are really proactive mation for traditional media as well. Finally, citizen zations, as it is in Western Europe and the United States. cal errors, but at the same time they say that it’s a shame and ready to cooperate, and their contribution is valuable, journalism is an effective government oversight tool; To this end, in the present moment, I can only say project to call people and ask funds to help financially support the but they are too few in number. there are many recent examples when a video as a good idea, because the end result was development of the platform. They want cit- dRAWInGS f or photo was the reason for a govern- equal to zero. The project failed. izen journalism, but they even do not On the other hand, there are some Ro mental structure or representative s” M like when we call for charity and cases when CJ really works in g LI losing power because of their in zA h V Mamuka Kusiani feels that the to pay, for instance for inter- Georgia and has had an influ- E incorrect attitude towards t T development of new media net and communal costs. ence on the decision-mak- n A an issue. is an inevitable process Our society cannot realize ing process. In August a E i G in Georgia and it has that people in Georgia 2018 for example, a g o To this end, citizen jour- r already improved to a earn too little money to Facebook user spread R nalism is a tool in the o o certain extent, but the finance their hobbies, a photo with the text, E V hands of civil society

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R S A G W n social media”, – he added. want the control as if they are in site. Tbilisi inhabitants demanded I a socialist system. Consequently, if the immediate termination of the hotel Furthermore, Mr. Kusiani predicts that in ordinary people do not support civil activ- project. Soon thereafter Kakha Kaladze, the parallel to the development of civil society, civil engage- ism, we have no future” – Shota Martinenko says. mayor of Tbilisi, declared that the construction was ment in media projects should increase in the future. illegal and promised that the hotel would not be built in To summarize, we can conclude that the main idea the recreation area. “Alt-Info” is a conservative analytical media project. The behind citizen journalism is the enrolment in the proc- platform was established by several young male volun- ess of spreading information only for the sake of society’s We can say that Citizen Journalism is not very well teers almost a year ago with the aim of spreading con- interest. However, this process is not well organized and developed in Georgia and faces some specific prob- servative values through new media. Platform representa- is hindered by some factors in Georgia. We can discuss lems, such as: fake news, lack of civic activism, lack of tives point out that in spite of the fact that most Georgian weak and strong points of CJ in Georgia. The weaknesses financing, as well as a lack of self-organization, spon- population is conservative orthodox, media outlets are are related to Georgian civil society which has still not taneity, and instability in its development process. On overwhelmingly in the hands of liberal values-oriented managed to become a strong unit. In spite of the fact the other hand, it has great potential, as it can promote people. Thus, they decided to cater to a conservative that our western partners are helping Georgia to further civic protest against harmful problems and put pres- audience. The platform is not financed by any power, even develop civil society, the challenge still remains unsolved. sure on the government in its decision-making proc- their equipment – voice recorder, video camera, and video I am an editor at Civil Society Portal CSO.ge. One part of ess. Moreover, citizen journalists can play a valuable editing tools have been purchased by the platform found- the web-portal is Civic Journalism. From time to time I role when a crisis is underway and help create support MoRE ers themselves. As Shota Martinenko, the co-founder of cover regional issues for the website. From my experi- by mobilizing society to help solve the problem. Citizen TR AC E S the platform explains that they faced a strange reaction ence, I can say that it is too difficult to mobilize people journalists have the potential to engage with the audi- To fInd from Georgian society towards Civil Journalists. and to get them involved and interested in reporting and ence and encourage them to participate in charity, the http://ogy.de/traces-GE-1

70 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Georgia Georgian things 71 Russian Zhiguli and his collection of things for sale. dry bridgE – tracEs of russian Text and Photos: Tatia Gagua culturE in thE oldEr gEnEration 72 73 The most popular Georgian poem in Russian.

decided to visit Dry Bridge to show traces of Russian culture in the older generation. Dry Bridge is a marketplace not only for tourists. About 30 min- I utes from the center of Tbilisi you can see traces of Russian culture and buy everything from a previous life in Georgia. Side by side you can find old things from Georgian history and from the Russian epoch in Georgia. 

Do you think that the seller did it by mistake?

A tea lover. Miniature busts of Stalin covered with thick dust.

More TR AC E S to find http://ogy.de/traces-GE-2

74 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Georgia Dry Bridge – traces of Russian culture in the older generation 75 The Traces Text: Mariam Avakova of Georgian-Russian Cultural Cooperation Griboedov monument (left side) and theatre in Tbilisi. Photo: wikimapia.org

espite the conflict situation between the Georgia and Russia, these people like to use Pushkin Square as a place to meet up, and lots of people two neighboring countries have always been close to each other can be seen next to the bust of the great Russian poet, it is also a popular D through culture, their passion to tasty food, dance, a bit similar char- place where tour guides begin their tour. In addition, the monument to Ler- acter, nature. montov was built precisely where the events in his Mtsyri poem take place, at the beginning of the Military-Georgian road, along the bank of the river Mtkvari. Despite the political conflict, Georgia and Russia have stayed friendly with regard to common culture. During our visit to Georgia, everybody could feel Not only has literature left an impression on the Russian-Georgian relation- it in Tbilisi, because of the Soviet architecture, Griboedov Theater, and many ship, cinema too has been influential. Not so often as we would like, but new photo: wikimedia.org other things. Georgian films regularly appear in the programs of Russian film festivals. The reverse is also true with Russian films travelling to Georgian festivals. Geor- There is a lot of interest and general love for Georgia amongst Russians, going gian and Russian actors and directors periodically work together in Georgian back to the famous Russian writer and diplomat A.S. Griboyedov, who spent films as well. the best time of his life here and had his most productive literary period here when he fell in love with Georgian culture, its hospitality, people, and nature. Hopefully, this cooperation will be strengthened, as long as the cultural fig- ures of independent Russia and Georgia continue to have mutual interests and It was very pleasant to see that Georgians remember and honor Russian cul- respect for one another. tural and political figures. In Tbilisi, the Russian State Drama Theater was named in honor of Griboyedov and has been named so since 1961. On the bank It has to be underscored that there is no longer an active, direct Russian influ- of the Mtkvari river there is also a statue of Griboyedov. The theater’s reper- ence, but the traces of Soviet Union, the past, is preserved in Georgia.  toire also mainly consists of classical Russian plays. Also, you can visit the site where the great Russian writer is buried.

Elements of Georgian culture - songs and legends in particular - have had a More great influence on the work of great poets such as A.S. Pushkin and M.Y. Ler- TR AC E S montov. Some streets in Tbilisi are named in honor of these writers. The mon- to find uments dedicated to these poets in the city are treated with respect. Young http://ogy.de/traces-GE-4

76 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Georgia The traces of Georgian-Russian cultural cooperation 77 List of Citizen Journalism platforms in Russia:  https://navalny.com Politician Alexey Navalny began to gain popularity as a LiveJournal blogger, where he published material about corrup- tion. In 2013, he won second place in the mayoral elections in Moscow. In 2018, he participated in the presidential election campaign, but was not allowed to participate as an electoral candidate. https://varlamov.ru Businessman Ilya Varlamov also became popular on LiveJournal. He began with publishing photo essays, then he widened the range of subjects and today writes about all the significant events in the country. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMCgOm8GZkHp8zJ6l7_hIuA Journalist Yury Dud. From 2011 to 2018 he led a large sports portal, but then he launched his own YouTube channel. He quickly became one of the most recognizable interviewers in Russia. https://www.facebook.com/roizmangbn Yevgeny Roizman is a public figure and the former mayor of Ekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth largest city. On his account he covers the issues facing his native Ekaterinburg, regional policy, and speaks on resonant federal information channels. However, Roizman has an ambiguous reputation because of the working methods of the “City Without Drugs” foundation, of which he is a co-founder. Citizen https://www.facebook.com/pchikov Pavel Chikov works with the international human rights group Agora, which defended Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, represented the interests of Telegram, etc. Here. He describes the course of criminal cases, the courts, and human rights violations in Russia. https://www.facebook.com/popova.alyona Entrepreneur and social activist Alena Popova is one of the first bloggers who began writing systematically about the problem of family violence and women’s rights before the #metoo wave. https://www.facebook.com/zoiasvetova Publicist and human rights activist Zoya Svetova, the daughter of famous Soviet dissidents, who writes about political persecution in Russia. She follows high-profile criminal cases — the case of the Seventh Studio and director Kirill Serebrennikov, the imprisonment of the Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov and others. jour- Text: Sofia Krapotkina 1. LiveJournal appears in Russia thousand subscribers — used LiveJournal as a platform for citizen journalism: they wrote on political topics, reported n October 2006, Brad Fitzpatrick a 26-year-old Ameri- on protest rallies, and talked about social issues. The poli- can programmer came to Russia for the first time. tician Alexey Navalny and his corruption investigations I News about this trip appeared in Russian-language began to gain their popularity on LiveJournal. Ilya Var- media even before Fitzpatrick’s plane landed in Sher- lamov an entrepreneur, co-founder of the Urban Projects emetyevo: “LiveJournal founder Brad Fitzpatrick arrives Foundation, and publisher of the author’s media “Var- in Moscow”, “The founder of LiveJournal really flew to Mos- lamov.ru” first became known as the author of LiveJournal cow”, “Brad Fitzpatrick, founder of the LiveJournal blog- blog “zyalt”. It was here where he published photo reports ging service.com, did arrived in Moscow”. Over the next from protest actions in Moscow — the March of Dissent, nalism couple of days, Fitzpatrick took part in the “official pres- Days of Anger and rallies of the Strategy 31 movement. entation ceremony to the Russian public,” and he became the main guest of the party named in his honor — “Brad Fitzpatrick himself believed that this was due to the Fitzparty” and gave dozens of interviews to reporters from fact that “in Russia there are problems with freedom of the federal media. In one of them, he admitted that he was speech,” and “LJ is primarily a resource free of censorship.” impressed by such attention: 2. Citizen journalism and government: carrots “In America, nobody interviews me, nobody knows me. For me, it is a huge surprise that in Russia they perceive me Freedom from censorship, independence from editor this way, host me like a star. But I am grateful to the Rus- opinions and the position of publishers, made it possi- in sian community for their dedication to the project.” ble to put the interests of readers at the forefront — and the popularity of citizen journalism and blogs continued The Fitzpatrick project, LiveJournal (or LJ for short), to grow. In 2009, even the president Dmitry Medvedev was created by him to communicate with friends, and it started a LJ blog. The major media then took a closer look turned out to be an important phenomenon in the history at blogs and blog-generated traffic. of Runet. It became the first major platform that united Russian-language blogs. In 2006, 700,000 Russian users In 2010, the country’s largest news agency — the state RIA had blogs, read by 11.6 million visitors monthly. Most of Novosti — launched a project called “You are a reporter” them were personal diaries — everyday, creative or pro- to work in the field of citizen journalism. The project was fessional. However, popular bloggers — with more than a aimed at “creating a network of stringers throughout »

78 RUSSIATraces of Togetherness CJ in Russia 79 Russia and the near abroad to quickly receive a variety to become a full-fledged discussion platform”: “The web- Besttoday.ru is a blog aggregator where editors curate traffic. In 2018, it became obvious that this is no longer the of multimedia content” and to “create a new, extensive, site is structured in such a way that the material of blog- the most interesting posts on social and political topics. case. The risks to the media working with user content is loyal user audience.” Within its framework, virtual plan- gers and material of professional journalists occupy an It was launched by Marina Litvinovich, a political analyst. enormous — from Roskomnadzor’s warnings to thousands ning meetings were conducted, and the agency even gave equal space. That is, blogs are not just hidden somewhere, The site has become one of the alternative platforms to and thousands of fines (7x7 received a fine of 840 thou- the reliable authors a kind of a journalistic ID — a project as on most informational sites, but occupy the same exact Yandex.Blogs, the service provided by the large Russian IT sand rubles for blogger material). participant card. During the four years of work, the project position as journalistic material. So, we emphasize that company Yandex, where blog ratings were automatically attracted more than 3,400 authors, and it was closed in for us the messages of our bloggers are no less valuable.” created, according to parameters set by the company. 4. What’s next 2014 after the reorganization of the agency. At the beginning, Alexander Bastrykin, the Chairman of In April 2014, the company closed the service due to the the Investigation Committee and Anatoly Chubais, the adoption of the “Law on bloggers”. At this point, Bestto- However, state pressure did not lead to the disappearance In 2011, two more publicly funded projects focused on the Chairman of the Board of Rosnano, created blogs there. day.ru, according to Liveinternet.ru statistics, had more of citizen journalism in Russia. With the development of development of citizen journalism were launched: Reedus However, the site was closed on July 1, 2013, and on July 4 than eighty thousand unique visitors per month. Now this technology, new media has appeared, that is mainly built and PublicPost. its archive was completely deleted. According to the edi- figure is lower — in October 2018, the site had twenty-eight around working with citizen journalists and is associated tor, Natalya Konradova, this was due to the fact that “some thousand unique visitors. with platforms - rather than individual sites. This is now Reedus was promoted by the blogger Ilya Varlamov, and it asshole wrote a post with a headline containing the words not only happening at the federal level, for example, the positioned itself as an agency of citizen journalism. Part “Putin” and “asshole”, and then “the printout appeared on 3. Citizen journalism and government: sticks Mash news channel on Telegram (450 thousand subscrib- of the content, according to the creators, was to be pro- Putin’s table”. ers) publishes user-generated content, including content duced by professional journalists, and some by the users The 2014 “Law on bloggers” was part of a state policy to put from all regions. In 2018, the Belgorod No. 1 channel was themselves. “Our goal is to attract people to create news, There were also private initiatives for the development tighter regulations on the blogosphere and citizen journal- launched (6,000 subscribers in seven months of work) — a to shorten the way from author to reader as much as pos- of citizen journalism in Russia. In 2010, two media outfits ism. Authors of sites and blogs with an audience of more channel where users not only create content but they help sible. No blog host will offer the novice reporter immedi- were launched: the online journal “7x7. Horizontal Russia” than 3 thousand users per day were required to register finance it as well. Its author, Vladimir Kornev, even refuses ate access to thousands of people. We have this possibil- and blog aggregator Besttoday.ru. Both are currently still with Roskomnadzor and accepted some restrictions, for to call himself a professional journalist (“I am not a journal- ity directly in the structure of the site,” he wrote. At the working. example, the right to anonymity: now it was necessary to ist de jure and de facto,” he explained) and defines himself end of 2011, when thousands of protest rallies were held give your real name. In fact, citizen journalists were put on as a media worker. In Yakutia, the WhatsApp messaging in Moscow, “Reedus” gained more than a million unique The online journal “7x7. Horizontal Russia” is the only equal footing with ordinary media — and the decision was platform has become a popular tool for citizen journalism. visitors per day, publishing material from public events. media organization in this list that is not based in Mos- unsuccessful. In the first year of the law only 640 authors After initial success, there was a scandal: in May 2012, cow and does not operate in large cities. It was created were registered, and the law was abolished three years Today, both popular federal shows like VDud and regional it became known that the media belonged to the state- in the capital of the Komi Republic by several entrepre- later. “It is impossible to deny the importance of informa- ones appear on YouTube: Tambov Vlog in Tambov, vlog owned company KAMAZ. “When a year ago I was offered neurs. For the first year the online journal focused on local tion distributed on social networks and other means of of Konstantin Ishutov in Cheboksary, Vladimir Panfilov’s to create media with state funding, I did not find anything media, which was jointly created by journalists and blog- sharing user content, but since the creation of the regis- channel in Orel — and hundreds of others. wrong,” Varlamov explained in his blog in May. However, gers. From the very beginning, “7x7” abandoned the tradi- ter of bloggers, the technology has changed dramatically a few weeks later he decided to leave the media organi- tional agenda of Russian provincial media — the criminal and keeping a list of authors with a certain number of sub- Finally, in some regions the social network platforms of zation. Over the next few years, Reedus’s editorial policy chronicles and accident reports — instead they focused scribers or visitors at public expense seems unjustified,” Facebook and VKontakte remain the main discussion plat- changed. Lenta.ru published anonymous comments from on covering social and political processes, and the work were the words of Leonid Levin, the head of the State form. This is partly due to the fact that traditional media people who were introduced by former employees of the of human rights activists and charitable organizations. A Duma committee on information policy (“Vedomosti”). is forced to close the commenting function on their sites media that the editorial office was asked to “post news year later, in 2011, they opened an editorial office in Rya- partly due to legislative regulation, and partly because is about Nashi” [members of the Nashi pro-Kremlin move- zan, and then in several cities around central Russia, in Another argument in favor of repealing the law was the more convenient from a technical point of view. At the ment] and “create a negative background around some the Volga region, and in the North-West. In 2018, an online potential of pursuing authors deemed ‘inconvenient’ with same time, author’s pages are more popular on Face- oppositionists among their loyal readership”, and their journal reached a figure of over one million unique visi- the help of other tools, primarily the “extremist” Article, book, and communities are more popular on VKontakte. blogger staff was also partly filled with journalists. In tors per month for the first time. Articles from 7x7 are now number 282 of the Criminal Code. Dozens of bloggers and For example, the Saransk community “Wall of Shame” is a November 2018, according to Liveinternet.ru statistics, quoted by major federal and international media organiza- social network users were convicted — from Savva Ter- place where each subscriber post their own news there, the site was visited more than 4.5 million times. tions such as the BBC. More than half of the traffic that entyev, a musician from Syktyvkar in 2007, to Ekaterina and it has more than 60 thousand subscribers.  comes to the site is through articles written by citizen Vologzheninova, a single mother from Ekaterinburg in The second media organization, which planned to “find the journalists. For example: Ivan Ivanov, an ecologist from 2016. The Criminal cases were initiated against bloggers right balance between professional and citizen journalism” the Republic of Komi, publishes materials on the fight on the grounds that they wrote articles about insulting (as editor-in-chief Nargiz Asadova wrote in her column) against oil spills; Vasily Lebedev, a public activist from religious believers’ feelings, slander, publicly insulting with the help of state financing, was short-lived. the Republic of Mari El, talks about the changes he seeks authorities and soforth. in his native village Vodozerye; and Voronezh activist More In November 2011, with the support of Sberbank, the site Tatyana Frolova writes about regional protest actions. The attitude of professional editors toward citizen journal- TR AC E S PublicPost was launched. In an interview with Lenta.ru ists has also changed. In the early 2010s, many perceived to find Asadova said that “one of the main tasks of PublicPost is blogs as a simple and cost effective way to generate http://ogy.de/traces-RU-1

80 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Russia 81 Authors: Andrei Abramov and Polina Merkulova o find traces of Georgian culture in Ulyanovsk, we contacted a cultural representative on Facebook. T During the meeting, we discussed Georgian cul- ture, the Friendship park, and life in Ulyanovsk.

Tamara Abashidze has “If someone would come to visit, lived for around 20 years in Ulyanovsk with her I would love to be able to take husband Valery. Tamara We couldn’t be completed her secondary them by the hand and proudly education in Abkhazia. After that she moved say: Let’s go, I want to show you to Tbilisi. For Valery, he little Georgia.” was invited to come to any fewer Ulyanovsk by his friends when he was in the military, and he agreed to come with- out hesitation. He studied engineering at the Technical University of Ulyanovsk. Later, when he was in Georgia, »

New terrace in Peoples Friendship Park. (Photo: Anna Gleser)

82 83 he met Tamara and they got married. After the war, they “There is no cross-border movement and people forget moved to Ulyanovsk which quickly became their second about each other - and their culture. Georgians cannot home. However, their friends and acquaintances were easily travel to Russia. The other way around – no problem. dispersed across the whole world. Only a few relatives What kind of Friendship of Peoples Park are we talking remained in Tbilisi. “After the war, we all separated. The about? No one thinks about it.” internet has been our savior. Without the internet, it would be very difficult. Now we all keep in touch online.” Peoples Friendship Park

There is no in Ulyanovsk. Valery says he went to the Friendship Park in the 80’s. The park was always kept clean, with each republic tak- Georgian monument in Peoples Friendship Park. (Foto: Anna Gleser) As it turns out, there are only a few Georgians living in ing care of its own corner. Ulyanovsk. Tamara and Valery know almost all of them and people would just do whatever they wanted there. As – around 15 people. In the region, there are around 200. “People gathered there, they all came. I saw a Hero of the far as I can remember, there hasn’t been any information Due to the small number, there seems to be little point in Soviet Union, Meliton Kantaria, who hoisted the flag over about it on TV, where a local authority spoke about the organizing a Georgian diaspora. the Reichstag in Berlin. It seemed as if life could only get park – on how to restore it or to tidy it up somehow. I have better.” two jobs and a family. I never have the opportunity to go However, they keep regular contact with those who stayed to the park. That is the whole point.” in Tbilisi. A few years ago, they visited their relatives in According to Valery, people who visited the park in Uly- Georgia for the first time in years. anovsk would remember that there is a section for Geor- Recently, restoration work has begun in the park. With a gia. He feels that some of these people would come and presidential grant, new pathways have already been laid, “Batumi is very beautiful. We went there 5 years ago and help somehow today if they only knew. In the park’s Geor- the lighting has been restored, and shops have quickly were captivated by its beauty. When we left during the gian Republic section, nothing has changed for a long popped up. The Armenian Diaspora, under the leadership war, everything was difficult there. But when we went time. Now, only protesters go there and cause trouble of Arsen Abrahamian, is making a significant contribution back – it was very beautiful, we were overcome with emo- on occasion. Subbotniks (voluntary work days) used to to the restoration of the park. tion. Many people say Tbilisi is a gem, but there is a prob- take place here regularly. Each section of the park had a lem with that notion.” representative, who was responsible for its upkeep. But “I want to be able to go to the park, for example, when since the fall of the USSR, it has been neglected. someone would come to visit, I would like to be able to Traveling to Georgia is easy, the problems appear when proudly take them by the hand and proudly say: “Let’s go, More you go to leave. Not everyone has the resources and the “I’m not interested in the park anymore, I have no time I want to show you little Georgia.” We would arrive, take TR AC E S will to fill out the massive amounts of paperwork to get to go there. At the local level, the question of restoring photos, walk around, but currently there is nothing to see to find the required visa and to pay the duty taxes. the park is never raised. Everyone just let it go to shit, there.”  http://ogy.de/traces-RU-2

84 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Russia We couldn’t be any fewer 85 The wealth of Text: Yulia Shelkovenko the Russian culture as a result of the Caucasian influence

“Russians easily take on new things while keeping it origi- nal. It seems that the common history with the Caucasus brought the Russians many advantages. For example, s i journalist I learned Turkish and wrote several Yulia Shelkovenko: Journalist, media expert, language activist, studied in the Hermitage there are many paintings with oriental articles about migrant workers from Central Asia publishing business and journalism at Taurida Academy of Vernadsky motifs”. CFU. Winner of the Truth and Justice Journalism Contest. (Photo: Nasim and met some students from the Northern Cau- A Khuzhamov) casus. That way, I could better understand the wealth of Ceremonies the Russian culture, which adopted the best parts of the Turkic Languages. Words like “kayak”, “”, “Boga- other nations’ cultures. This includes language, cuisine, tyr”, “Yanichar”, found their way into the Russian language, The Turkic people of the Northern Caucasus do not share life style. while “Maidan”, “Ataman”, “Bazaar” and others found their only linguistic characteristics, but also have common tra- way into Ukrainian. ditions with Russians. The Turkic culture influenced the Russian. The Turkic lin- guistic family in the Northern Caucasus includes Tatars, According to historians, the first linguistic contact “Traditions are very similar – like matchmaking, Nishan Kumyks, Nogai, Karachai. The history of the Turkic people between the Turkic people and the Slavs date back to the and henna nights”, - Azerbaijani director Nabat Gasanova is closely linked to the Slavs. These ties originate in the reign of the Huns, Bulgarians, Avars and Khazars in the said. times of the Golden Horde and of the Crimean Khanate, of northern parts of the from the 4th to the 9th the Russian-Turkic War and of the Caucasian Wars. centuries. The second phase of close linguistic contact The Old Slavs: Drevlyans, Vyatichi and Radimichi had a was between the 9th and 13th centuries. At that time, the tradition to kidnap the bride. This tradition still exists in Nowadays the Northern Caucasus Turks live in the region Pechenegs, and the Polovtsians ruled the northern part , Ingushetia and Chechnya. Another interesting as well as in Siberia, in the Crimea, in Turkey, in Azerbai- of the Black Sea. And from the 11th century on, Turkic tradition for the Slavs and Caucasians is a blood feuds. jan. Most of them are Muslim and have a typically Cauca- confederations began to move into the territory of the Until 988, the saying “an eye for an eye” was taken literally. sian mentality. However, Caucasians living in Russia have South-russian principalities. sprinkle each other with water. On Maslenitsa the Ancient long since been “Russified.” Slavs used to burn the Maslenitsa winter scarecrow. I believe that Russians and Northern Caucasians have Celebration Day really deep connection. We intend to keep alive and main- They influenced the Russian culture and the people of During Novruz celebration, the children go from house to tain the same values as the people of the Caucasus do Adygea, Northern Ossetia-Alania, Ingushetia. Many of Novruz is the most popular international festival in Russia. house singing songs and the locals give them sweets. In - politeness and respect for elders and patriotism. And those people move into Russia’s big cities - Moscow and It has a lot in common with the rituals of the festivals of Russia and Ukraine kids sing Christmas songs in 7th of cultural exchange increases tolerance and understanding St. Petersburg. There, they build mosques and open Ivan Kupala and Maslenitsa. The festivals are linked with January. between our nations.  prayer areas. fire. During paganism, the Ancient Slavs worshipped fire and forces of nature. Eclectic and original Russian culture The Language More The night before Novruz people light branches and fumi- The Tajik photographer Nasim Khuzhamov, who lives in St. TR AC E S Having studied Old Church Slavonic, Ukrainian and now gate them at home. This tradition is popular amongst Petersburg, shared his thoughts about the Eclecticism in to find Turkish, I see the connection between the Slavic and Orthodox Christians. People jump over the fire and the Russian culture. http://ogy.de/traces-RU-6

86 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Russia The wealth of the Russian culture as a result of the Caucasian influence 87 Only mountains can be better than mountains

would probably agree with Vladimir Vysotsky saying – modern Lahic, where he spent the rest of his life in prayer. “Only mountains can be better than mountains...” - and In this foreign land, along the bank of a river, next to Niya- I that’s a fact. Huge, vast, tremendous with grand can- ldag Mountain, this exile was buried. Here a monument yons and caves. It is so beautiful here that it takes your was erected above his grave with the inscription “Kei breath away. I saw my first mountains long ago in the Cri- Khosrow I”. The servants of the deceased Shah proceeded This is what the streets of Lahic look like. The first mention of the village of Lahic dates to mea, but so close to them, I was only in Azerbaijan. to build a village nearby and they named it Lahic. the 12th century. Make sure to observe the stones and shop signs. The history here is well Lahic is a small picturesque village in the Ismaili district, Lahic is one of the most famous Caucasian commer- preserved. home to just 900 people. The history of Lahic is very inter- cial and craft centres, famous for its copper utensils esting. There are many legends, but we are in a fairy-tale decorated with oriental engravings, as well as for leather Yes, these are the costumes modelled on those worn by Mountain Shah. land, and I would like to tell you about some of these cen- working and carpet making. It is worth noting that this As for the little goat, well he’s not around anymore… tury old legends. protected historical and cultural site lies along the Great Silk Road – today a great tourist attraction. Once, the Persian Shah Key-Khosrow killed the ruler of one of the cities. He then fled out of fear of revenge. For a Enough talking, it’s time to introduce you to its jovial long time, he wandered through the canyons and gorges, townspeople and its narrow workshop filled alleys. » and suddenly a sanctuary in the mountains not far from

While walking around the bazaars, you can find gravestones of the Shahs. For some reason, they have been brought down from their original place in mountains. Also, pay close attention to the designs, as they also con- tain secret meanings.

There are also many mountain freshwater springs that flow to taps placed between the commercial tents. Any traveller can stop and take a drink from them. This is what one of them looks like.

Text and Photos: Nina Lyubinarskaja

88 Only mountains can be better than mountains 89 This spicy paradise!!! There is a funny story that goes along with these herbs. I said to my guides, “Listen, why don’t we go to the mountains our- Mistakes are not forgiven in Lahic! Don’t even selves, where we can pick these herbs and flowers ourselves, breathe dare to drive a bus through these narrow in the fresh air, and enjoy a good walk! “ They laughed at me and said alleys, if you do a Niva will have to come and “Nina, do you think such flowers and herbs grow everywhere? No, they pull you free. This just so happens to be our only bloom in certain places, and only the locals know where they are. uncle Ahmed and where he got stuck. But don’t They also need to first be dried for a long time, then carefully sorted as worry, 30 minutes later we were free. some poisonous herbs look similar! “

Post office and the Russian automobile plant. There are no price lists in the shops. Like all traders from the east, Azerbaijanis like to negotiate. In one tent, for example, they say a cup is worth 10 manat and in the other tent, and it gets offered for 18. So, in order for tourists to be able to ‘survive’, they have to learn how to bargain.

In this shop, I was able to save my first manat through bargaining! For a novice, I think I did ok! As you can see, he is holding an authentic lamb- skin !

A local Beauty and a young Craft Assistant. This is the local mounted police! Imagine, just putting a pillow on the horses back and riding off – no saddle or reigns! The whole time I have been wondering how many of them die falling from horseback, there are no safety precau- tions. Maybe they are just professionals and for them, its normal.

90 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Russia Only mountains can be better than mountains 91 The coppersmiths put their products immediately out for sale after the finishing touch.

This shop is the oldest, and by far dustiest. Here is where the citizens of Lahic bring their old junk and sell it. It’s something like a local flea market. The air here is full of mystery and smells of old and musty things.

More TR AC E S to find Copper craft http://ogy.de/traces-RU-3 The village of Lahic has always been known as a production centre for

artistic copper products. The Copper As if I were in a fairy-tale! This is just one city in this land, and I feel as if I have only just scratched the surface.It was such a wonderful feeling being able craft has historically been located in to experience the world through the eyes and culture of those who live here. Honestly, was a bit unnerving standing on this bridge. ;-) Peace for all! one of the larger village quarters called “Agaly”. This neighbourhood is also known as the bazaar of cop- persmith -”Misyar bazaars,” because of the many copper workshops. Each newly finished product is put on display here in the windows of the stores. 

Bronze tableware made by local craftsmen. It is all handmade! A serv- ing tray costs 100 manat! Right: Bronze medallions with zodiac signs.

92 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Russia 93 Text: Natalya Konashenkova Aragats: Photos: Artem Dubrovsky destined for greatness

t’s more than dancing. More than a song. More than art. born in Russia, with many of them not knowing the Arme- ups and downs during these 18 years, and at times I was More The vocal and choreographic ensemble “Aragats” is a nian language - one of the oldest in the world. Here is so exhausted that I wanted to give it all up, but then my TR AC E S I deep inner reflection in search of our roots. Far from where Susana Sergeyevna has just found her mission, to girls begand to dance so wonderfully, that it inspired me to find our historical motherland, we should keep little Armenia preserve and pass-on her cultural identity to children and to continue the work further.” says Susanna Asatryan. http://ogy.de/traces-RU-5 in our soul. adolescents: For 18 years, she has helped four genera- tions come closer to Armenia, getting to know and hon- At the beginning, it was hard. There were no costumes Remember the roots ouring its customs and traditions. available, and even finding Armenian music was difficult. In this development phase, the team was financially sup- Dance has played an important role in Armenian life for My family left my native Leninakan (nor Gyumri) right ported by Senik Sahakyan, who is now the chairman of the a very long time. All folk-legends, ceremonies, and holi- after the catastrophic earthquake of 1988. I have been Regional Department of the Union of Armenians of Rus- days have traditionally been accompanied with dances living in Penza for 25 years now, and I have been closely sia. With time “Aragats” became stronger, more skilled, and pantomimes. Dance has helped both maintain and linked to public work in the Armenian Diaspora for 18 of and we found our voice and quickly became known on the Taste of Armenia in Russia. pass down traditions and folk art from generation to them. At first, I taught history at the Armenian Sunday regional level. generation. Therefore our ensemble is not just a choreo- School. Over time, I realised that the children wanted to graphed performance. Everything goes much deeper. Our learn more about Armenian culture and customs. The girls Viewers of all nationalities come to see our concerts, namesake – Aragats is the highest mountain in modern were especially interested in the Armenian wedding tradi- they enjoy our dances, as they are new and unusual for Armenia. With this name, we have placed our highest tions, and this is crucial for them, because life in Russia them. Once we created a dance to accompany the song expectations in the ensemble. We try to really get to know has slowly changed them. That’s natural and inevitable. “Hapama”, named after the traditional Armenian fall dish, each other, says Sausanna Asatryan, creator, inspirer and Nevertheless, I would like to help them find direction in consisting of pumpkin and nuts. One of the elements of guardian angel of Penza “Aragats”. life and to carry the spirit of Armenia with them. Once, I the performance was the national wedding. The young wanted to introduce as many people as possible to our female performers also added with a with pride that, “the There are about six thousand Armenians in the multina- culture outside of the diaspora. Thus, I established the people of Penzea were completely captivated by our per- tional city of Penza. The younger generation were mostly ensemble “Aragrats” in 2000. There have been so many formance”. 

94 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Russia Aragats: destined for greatness 95 ussian Federation is a diverse and multicultural Caucasus. I was on the cloud nine and ready for new country. All nations are bound together in one adventures. R or another way. Even though I was born in the central part of Russia, I have always dreamed of visiting Guided by the principle “when in Rome do as the Romans Not better, the Caucasus. When sharing this desire with my family do”, I left my jeans at home and took more long skirts. I and friends, their reaction was ranging from “Hey wanna stopped using dark humor: you better not use sarcasm. It is be wiped out there?” to “You will be sold to slavery!”. Yes, not allowed to raise some topics in conversations. It is not stereotypes are still alive and kicking. permissible for a man to touch a woman’s face or hands. not worse. If you are a little bit acquainted with the relations Before coming there, I had quite a lot of stereotypes between central Russia and the Caucasus, you might be about the Caucasus natives (judging by the stories of aware they have always been a little bit fiery. From the friends and the behavior of those guys in Moscow). For- very beginning, when the Caucasus was conquered by the tunately, they didn’t come true at all! I was surrounded by Russian Empire, till now. The modern Caucasus is largely people who honor the traditions of their ancestors and Just different. a product of imperial and Soviet history. People from the respect others. They do not just talk about honor and Caucasus are known as Highlanders. There are even jokes dignity, but they show this by example. Truly admirable. that the mountain air has made them the way they are: fearless, courageous, risky but also pepperish. European Hospitality in the Caucasus is considered almost the laws are unnatural for their nature. Such laws are not most important adat (Caucasian law). Caucasians are perceived by many and therefore violated. The Caucasian proud to follow this ancient custom of hospitality. There people (and especially the Vainakhs) need laws that are are many not only sayings about also legends dedicated understood and respected by the people. For them, this to this. Old people used to say, “No guests, no goodwill”. is sharia. Moreover, each house (especially in the countryside) has a “guest room”, which is always ready to be occupied. More My dream of visiting the Caucasus came true in April 2018. TR AC E S I was working at the World Festival of Youth and Students The Caucasus is definitely a place worth visiting. Not bet- to find in 2017 and made friends with a girl from Chechnya. She ter, not worse. Just different. An integral and essential Text: Anna Ivanova http://ogy.de/traces-RU-7 invited me to participate in the students’ forum in the part of Russia with its own uniqueness. 

96 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Russia Not better, not worse. Just different. 97 About the Ear Tunnels Ring My plugs have a secret meaning. Some people just get the I have worn it since April 23rd, not because I am engaged, large gauge cut and have instant results, but I refused to but to remind me of my sweetheart. Regardless of where do this, and I stretched the holes myself from 1 to 14 mm. I am or where I go, it is always with me. I don’t care what It’s a symbol for how stubborn I can be. people think. participants Daria Tabakova Vahid Aliyev

The notebook The body piercing Phone Wristband The most important thing for me is a good notebook. I use I got the piercing in Argentina, when I was travelling alone When I was 10 or 11 years old my parents gave me my first These wristbands come from my favourite alternative it so often, that I buy a new one every year. for the first time. I got this piercing because I liked how phone. It’s like a treasure to me. music festival. It takes place in Germany, not far from the In my notebook, I write my yearly and daily goals, and my it looked on others. So, I decided to get my own. It is a Now my telephone is one of the most important things, borders with the Czech Republic and Poland, we call this dreams too. I like to check them off once they are done. symbol that will always remind me of this trip. for staying in contact with my friends, my parents, and the place “the corner of three Countries”. I first went there Every notebook contains a list of films and books that I I mostly remember the good times from the trip, the peo- outside world – that’s why it’s so important to me. Modern when I was 8 years old. Since then I’ve been back almost would like to see or read. There are also lots of sketches, ple I met, and the independence I felt. I took responsibil- technology also gives us the possibility to receive impor- every year, more than 15 times total. You could say these for example I like to draw the faces of strangers. ity for myself, solved every problem, and made it through tant news. I love my phone and use it for many tasks: I take wristbands are as old as I am. I love them a lot. Yelena Sargysan some difficult situations. photos, make videos, and I share them with my friends. Lucy Weber Meike Krauss My phone is almost like my other half, because it is always with me. I even have it with me when I sleep. Marim Mkrtchyan

98 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Russia About the participants 99 Scarf Apples Teddy bear Keyring, key and flash-drive This is my mother’s scarf. For me it’s like my mother’s What I really love and what I have here and at home, are Once I was in a shop with a friend and I saw this bear. It My important things are held together by a keyring. This is warm hands. It reminds me the place where I spent my apples. I’m not only a fan of the computer, but also a fan was really nice, but pretty expensive. But in the end my a flash drive of the Formula 1, that took place here (where I childhood. I really like the colour and there are some horse of the fruit. I grew up in a village, where there were many friend bought it for me. I have had it since 1989 or 1990, worked as a photographer), the keys to my friend’s apart- carriages on it. It is really nice. different apple trees, with many different varieties, each but it still looks great. I have travelled around the world ment and the key to the place where my work is displayed. Aysel Akhundova with their own taste. Some for the winter, some for sum- with it and I put clothes to keep it soft. When I first saw The keychain was given to me by my girlfriend for my mer – an apple for every season. I eat apples every day. it, it looked like a pilot because it was made for an airline. birthday. It also happens to be the day, when we met each There’s a funny English phrase that says: “An apple a day It was dressed in a white t-shirt, a brown leather jacket, other. keeps the doctor away.” a pilot helmet and big retro-goggles. Now it’s dressed in Ehtiram Jabi I don’t like apples that are too soft or too hard. A perfect summer clothes. apple has the balance between sweet and sour. I also saw Although I’m not a teenager, it’s with me through all the apple trees in the Friendship of Peoples Park. difficult times. When I have it near me, I feel like I am at More Matthias Schumann home. TR AC E S Stefani Streloke to find http://ogy.de/traces-RU-4

100 Traces of Togetherness CJ in Russia About the participants 101 The “Traces of Togetherness” project is supported by the Federal Foreign Office within the programme “Expanding Cooperation with Civil Society in the Eastern Partnership Countries and Russia”.

“Traces of Togetherness” is a project of Kultur Aktiv e.V.

102 of Togetherness TRACES

TRACES of Togetherness not bEttEr not worsE just diffErEnt

ISBNISBN 978-3-943897-44-9978-3-943897-44-9 0 00 9 0 9 9 0 9 0

9 783943 897449 9 783943 897449

The “Traces of Togetherness” project is supported by the Federal Foreign Office within the programme “Expanding Cooperation with Civil Society in the Eastern Partnership Countries and Russia”. citizEn journalism in thE south caucasus and russia