Olesya Vartanyan Former Giustra Fellow, now Senior Analyst for the South Caucasus region at Crisis Group 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 Former Giustra Fellow, now Senior Analyst for the South Caucasus region at Crisis Group Latest Updates Event Recording / Europe & Central Asia 15 September 2023 Nagorno-Karabakh: Prospects for De-escalation (Online event, 15 September 2023) Op-Ed / Europe & Central Asia 27 June 2023 It’s make or break time for Nagorno-Karabakh’s future Q&A / Europe & Central Asia 22 May 2023 New Troubles in Nagorno-Karabakh: Understanding the Lachin Corridor Crisis Podcast / Europe & Central Asia 04 April 2023 Protests in Georgia and Tbilisi’s Complicated Relationships with Russia and the West 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 Load more