Olesya Vartanyan Senior Analyst, South Caucasus Crisis Group Role Olesya Vartanyan is Crisis Group’s Senior Analyst for the South Caucasus region. Based in Tbilisi, she researches and produces reports on regional security issues in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, with a particular focus on breakaway regions in the South Caucasus – Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh and South Ossetia. Professional Background Olesya Vartanyan has worked on conflicts in the South Caucasus for more than ten years. Before joining Crisis Group in 2016, Olesya worked as a journalist, with a particular focus on security and conflict-related issues in Georgia and its breakaway regions. With her field reporting during the 2008 Russia-Georgia war, Olesya contributed to the ground-breaking investigations of The New York Times about the origins of the conflict. Enjoying unique access to Abkhazia, for a number of years she covered crisis developments in this region for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. In 2013, Olesya received the first EU Monitoring Mission’s special prize in Peace Journalism. She holds master degrees from the King’s College London’s War Department and from the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs’ Media School. Languages Russian English Georgian Armenian In The News 15 Dec 2022 With the current crisis in Ukraine, it is not easy for those in the West to support the Russian presence in Nagorno-Karabakh. Eurasianet Olesya Vartanyan Senior Analyst, South Caucasus 3 Oct 2020 This is a more serious escalation [over Nagorno-Karabakh], much better prepared, with more troops, and happening simultaneously on all parts of the front line. The Economist Olesya Vartanyan Senior Analyst, South Caucasus 28 Sep 2020 We are a step away from a large-scale war (between Armenia and Azerbaijan). Al-Jazeera Olesya Vartanyan Senior Analyst, South Caucasus 16 Jul 2020 It seems unlikely the [Azerbaijan-Armenia] crisis would escalate, as neither side has territorial claims on northern border areas and the fighting had not spread to Karab... Al Jazeera Olesya Vartanyan Senior Analyst, South Caucasus 13 Jul 2020 Many people would be very surprised if clashes at the Armenia-Azerbaijan border spiral out into war, but that doesn’t mean something cannot happen, say, in the Nagorno-Ka... OC Media Olesya Vartanyan Senior Analyst, South Caucasus 20 Jan 2020 [January] events in Abkhazia come at a time of long-simmering tensions. Civil.ge Olesya Vartanyan Senior Analyst, South Caucasus Latest Updates Photo Essay / Europe & Central Asia 06 December 2022 Fenced In: Stabilising the Georgia-South Ossetia Separation Line Podcast / Europe & Central Asia 03 November 2022 The Still-Perilous Path Toward Peace Between Armenia and Azerbaijan Q&A / Europe & Central Asia 09 August 2022 Warding Off Renewed War in Nagorno-Karabakh Commentary / Europe & Central Asia 18 July 2022 Türkiye, Armenia Take Tentative Steps toward Normalisation Podcast / Europe & Central Asia 10 June 2022 Peacemaking After Ukraine: A Look at Nagorno-Karabakh and Libya Commentary / Europe & Central Asia 21 March 2022 Preserving the OSCE at a Time of War Load more