REZEPT: Khinkali, für Freunde gemacht in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (sakartwelo.de)

Zutaten:
etwa 1 kg Weizenmehl
1 kg Fleisch (500 g Rind- und 500 g Schweinefilet)
5 mittelgrosse Zwiebeln
Petersilie, Koriander, Thymian, Paprika und Salz nach Ihrem Geschmack
Schwarzen gemahlenen Pfeffer zum Bestreuen

Zubereitung: Mit 0,5 l lauwarmem, nach Geschmack gesalzenen Wasser und Mehl einen harten Teig kneten. Das Fleisch zusammen mit den Zwiebeln und Kräutern durch einen Fleischwolf drehen, Paprika und Salz dazugeben und mit etwa 150-200 g warmem Wasser auffüllen.Den Teig ausrollen, kleine runde Stücke (1 cm hoch und 4 cm Durchmesser) ausschneiden, einzeln dünn ausrollen, jeweils einen Eßlöffel Fleischmasse darauf legen, als Falten zusammenziehen und den "Stiel" gut verschließen, damit der Fleischsaft nicht herausfließt. Die Chinkalis in etwa 3-4 l kochendes Salzwasser geben (die Anzahl der Teigtaschen im Topf hängt von der Größe des Topfes ab, man kann die Chinkalis halb-halb oder in drei Teile kochen ) und zudecken. Einige Male leicht umrühren, damit die Chinkalis nicht an den Topfboden kleben. Wenn das Salzwasser im Topf wieder aufkocht und alle Chinkalis an der Oberfläche schwimmen, muss Chinkali noch 5 Minuten ziehen. Dann mit einem Schaumlöffel herausnehmen, auf einen Teller legen und gleich nach Geschmack pfeffern. Chinkali wird noch heiß mit Schnaps (ChaCha) oder Bier serviert.

Mehr Rezepte hier: www.sakartwelo.de

JOB: Technical Manager: Central Eurasia Project - EurasiaNet (soros.org)

Antwortadresse: humanresources@sorosny.org

Von: Cornelius Graubner
Datum: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 15:18:14 -0400

Maybe the job posting pasted below is of interest? Solid Russian language skills and a US work permit are necessary requirements.

http://www.soros.org/about/offices/newyork/techmgr_20090701

Best, Cornelius
________________________________

POSIITON AVAILABLE
Technical Manager
Central Eurasia Project - EurasiaNet
July 2009

The Open Society Institute works to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens. Open societies are characterized by the rule of law; respect for human rights, minorities, and a diversity of opinions; democratically elected governments; market economies in which business and government are separate; and a civil society that helps keep government power in check.
To achieve its mission, OSI seeks to shape public policies that assure greater fairness in political, legal, and economic systems and safeguard fundamental rights. On a local level, OSI implements a range of initiatives to advance justice, education, public health, and independent media. At the same time, OSI builds alliances across borders and continents on issues such as corruption and freedom of information. OSI places high priority on protecting and improving the lives of marginalized people and communities.
Investor and philanthropist George Soros in 1993 created OSI as a private operating and grant-making foundation to support his foundations in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Those foundations were established, starting in 1984, to help countries make the transition from communism. OSI has expanded the activities of the Soros foundations network to encompass the United States and more than 60 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Each national foundation relies on the expertise of boards composed of eminent citizens who determine individual agendas based on local priorities.
OSI's Central Eurasia Project (CEP) acts as a policy advocacy center, grant-making program, and OSI liaison for Soros foundations and programs in the South Caucasus, Central Asia, Mongolia, Turkey and Afghanistan. EurasiaNet is a daily news web site that operates under the CEP's auspices. EurasiaNet provides information and analysis about political, economic, environmental and social developments in the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as in Russia, Afghanistan and Turkey. The Technical Manager reports directly to web site's editor;

For more information visit http://www.eurasianet.org

The Technical Manager works full time for the CEP's website EurasiaNet, an online magazine that posts original stories concerning political, economic and social developments in the Caucasus and
Central Asia. The Technical Manager oversees all technical aspects of the site's operation, including both the English and Russian language sections, in particular the formatting of stories and photographs for uploading on to EurasiaNet's servers, and promoting stories via web-based social networking platforms. Other responsibilities include;

Responsibilities
* Oversees all technical aspects of the site's operation, including both the English and Russian language sections, in particular the formatting of stories and photographs for uploading on to EurasiaNet's servers;
* Promotes the distribution of stories via web-based social networking platforms.
* Organization of EurasiaNet's photo archive;
* Primary point of contact between EurasiaNet, and the website's contributing editor for photography.
* Responsible for adapting the site to accommodate multi-media packages, comprising text, images and audio.
* Maintains the website as an information resource, searching for new outlets to which EurasiaNet can link, while deleting outdated links,
* Communication with partner organizations to ensure that EurasiaNet material is properly distributed according to existing arrangements.
* The Technical Manager may, on occasion, work on developing and maintaining the website of partners projects within OSI.
* Coordinating the posting of audio/visual projects.
* Proofreading.
* Maintaining the website as an information resource via links to other websites.
* Handling administrative tasks, including generating consultancy agreements for EurasiaNet contributors and processing payments. (Approximately 10 hours per week).

Qualifications
* B.A. degree.
* Solid journalism skills;
* Familiar with the Drupal content management system, as well as have thorough knowledge of HTML, XML, Photoshop, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Office;
* Familiarity with Coldfusion and at least some web design skills are a plus.
* Ability to manage Microsoft Excel spreadsheets is essential.
* Experience with various social networking platforms, including Facebook and Twitter.
* knowledge of the Russian-language a plus;
* Basic familiarity with political, economic and social developments in the Caucasus and Central Asia is a plus.
* Solid proof-reading skills

To Apply
Please email resume and cover letter with salary requirements before August 10, 2009 to: humanresources@sorosny.org
Include job code in subject line: TechMgrCEP

ART: Wato Tsereteli in New Art Cafe. Descriptions: Tbilisi (Almost 15 min video) 2009

New Art Cafe - 12 July 2009 - 20:00 - Orbeliani st 31

ANALYSIS: The (second) Georgian war will not take place? (realclearpolitics.blogs.time.com)

Will there or won't there be another Russian attack on Georgia? Since I raised the issue in my Wall Street Journal op-ed a few days ago, a follow-up.
In a July 7 article on Grani.ru (Russian-language link), Andrei Piontkovsky, one of the commentators who have warned most strongly about the possibility of a new war this summer, writes that he now believes the risk is considerably reduced.
Why? For one thing, Piontkovsky (not a big Obama fan) thinks "Obama has done what he could," both by bringing up Georgia during his Moscow visit -- apparently in rather firm tones -- and by sending Vice President Biden to Tbilisi. (There's a new function of the Veep role: a human shield!)
However, he believes the actions of another president -- the president of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan -- may have been even more important.

full text >>>

POLITIK: Nato-Russland-Rat (faz.net)

Virtuose und virtuelle Projekte
Von Reinhard Veser, Korfu

29. Juni 2009 Von einem „großen Schritt“ und einem „Neustart“ in den Beziehungen zwischen Russland und der Nato sprach der deutsche Außenminister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, von einer „nützlichen Begegnung“ der russische Außenminister Sergej Lawrow. Auf der griechischen Insel Korfu kam am Samstag der Nato-Russland-Rat zum ersten Mal wieder auf der Ebene der Außenminister zusammen, seit die Nato die regelmäßigen Begegnungen im August vergangenen Jahres aus Protest gegen den russischen Einmarsch nach Georgien ausgesetzt hatte. Sowohl der Russe als auch die Nato-Außenminister bekräftigten die Notwendigkeit, auf Gefahren, die allen drohen, auch gemeinsam zu antworten - etwa Terrorismus oder die Verbreitung von Atomwaffen. Aber Lawrow war in der Bewertung des Treffens zurückhaltender. Die Bringschuld für eine Verbesserung der Beziehungen sieht er offensichtlich vor allem auf Seiten der Nato.


Der ganze Artikel >>>

STRATEGY: Die Nato bleibt ein Schreckgespenst für Russland, weil Russland es so will. (taz.de)

Die Nato bleibt ein Schreckgespenst für Russland, weil Russland es so will
Pragmatische Kooperation

KOMMENTAR VON KLAUS-HELGE DONATH

Russlands Realpolitik ist aufgegangen. Nach zehnmonatiger Kommunikationssperre nimmt der Nato-Russland-Rat seine Arbeit wieder auf - obwohl die Meinungsverschiedenheiten zwischen Nato und Kreml in der Kaukasusfrage bestehen bleiben. Nach Moskaus Georgienfeldzug im Sommer 2008 hatte die Nato die Kooperation mit Russland aufgekündigt. Der Kreml reagierte erbost, hatte seine Ziele aber erreicht: den Kaukasusstaat zu destabilisieren und eine unüberhörbare Warnung an ehemalige sowjetische Satelliten auszusenden, darunter die Ukraine, sich nicht allzu forsch gegen Moskaus Besitzansprüche zu stellen. Am Status quo im Kaukasus wird sich auf lange Sicht nichts ändern.

Der ganze Artikel >>>

REPORT: Die roten Dächer von Zchinwali (nzz.ch)

Zehn Monate nach dem August-Krieg ist Südossetien ein geschundenes, armes und abhängiges Land

In Südossetien ist seit dem Krieg vom vergangenen August wenig geschehen. Die Spuren der Zerstörung prägen in Zchinwali das Bild. Politisch und wirtschaftlich hängt das Land am Tropf Russlands. Die Bevölkerung schwankt zwischen Resignation und Hoffnung.
Von unserem Korrespondenten Markus Ackeret

Der ganze Text >>>

TOURISM: Mountains, seas and crisis. From Tbilisi, Tengiz Ablotia. (osservatoriobalcani.org)

Georgia has great touristic potential with beaches, mountains, ancient cities, castles and churches, but political instability, conflicts and economic crisis have not made the country attractive to visitors from the West. The war and the global economic crisis have hit all sectors of the Georgian economy, but the tourism sector, which had begun to recover in the last 2 to 3 years, has taken the hardest fall.

full article >>>

ARTIKEL: Blauhelm-Schwund im Kaukasus (freitag.de)

Am 15. Juni läuft das UN-Mandat für Georgien aus. Um weiter eine Rolle in der Region zu spielen, müsste sich die Weltorganisation im Kaukasus-Konflikt neutral verhalten.

Der Kaukasus-Krieg im August 2008 und die kurz darauf folgende staatliche Anerkennung Südossetiens und Abchasiens durch Russland haben das internationale Management der dortigen Konflikt schwer erschüttert. So musste etwa die OSZE ihre Mission in Südossetien einstellen, während die EU eine vollkommen neue, die European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) nach Georgien entsandte. Diese Zäsur ließ auch die Vereinten Nationen nicht unberührt. Sie waren seit 1993 mit der United Nation Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) zentraler Akteur bei dem Versuch, den georgisch-abchasischen Konflikt einzudämmen. Seit dem militärischen Schlagabtausch vor knapp einem Jahr ist dieses Mandat lediglich technisch verlängert worden – am 15. Juni 2009 nun ist diese Gnadenfrist abgelaufen, eine nochmalige Verlängerung scheint möglich, ist aber alles andere als sicher.

Der ganze Artikel >>>

mehr zu Georgien aus "derFreitag" >>>

REPORT: CENTRAL ASIA AND CAUCASUS: DARK DAYS FOR DEMOCRATIZATION (eurasianet.org)

By Joshua Kucera 7/01/09

The countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia experienced a decline in their democratic development in 2008, according to a report issued June 30 by the American watchdog group Freedom House. Nearly every country in the region saw its rankings drop in Freedom House’s Nations in Transit 2009 report, according to numerical measurements that the organization developed to try to quantify democratization in several crucial areas, including civil society development, independent media, elections and corruption. Azerbaijan experienced the largest decline among the 29 post-communist countries that Freedom House examined. Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan for the first time joined the ranks of the "consolidated authoritarian regimes," joining every other post-Soviet Central Asian state in that category, along with Russia, Azerbaijan and Belarus.

full report >>>

ARTICLE: What Is the Connection between the Imprisonment of Luka Ramazashvili and Telavi TV Company 2 Jul. '09 (humanrights.ge)

By Gela Mtivlishvili, Kakheti

Human Rights Commission of the Conservative Party granted Luka Ramazashvili, former head of Kakheti regional office of the political party “Entrepreneurs”, with the status of political prisoner. Telavi District Court charged Ramazashvili for robbery, damage of other person’s property, extortion and other crimes. Ramazashvili has been serving his term for four years already. The Human Rights European Court accepted the suit of Ramazashvili. Enri Kobakhidze and his business-partner, director-general of the Company “Kazbegi” Gogi Topadze claim that local authority sent Ramazashvili to prison in order to get hold of the regional TV Company.

more >>>

ARTICLE: EU to delay Georgia war report (euobserver.com)

By ANDREW RETTMAN, 04.07.2009

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The result of an EU-sponsored enquiry into the origins of the 2008 Georgia war is set to be delayed by two months, amid rising fears of fresh hostilities in the region.

more >>>

Press Articles
Der Spiegel story
Heidi Tagliavini reaction

ARTICLE: A moment of truth for Obama in Moscow. By M K Bhadrakumar (atimes.com)

In the annals of Russian-American summitry, Moscow has never before choreographed a welcoming ceremony for the visiting United States president in this fashion. The dramatic run-up to the arrival of US President Barack Obama in Moscow on Monday underscores the complexities of the context in which the two countries are going through at the summit.

full text >>>

Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar was a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service. His assignments included the Soviet Union, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kuwait and Turkey.

COMMENT: Ice age in Caucasus (news-en.trend.az)

Trend News commentator Polad Hamidov

Renewal of military cooperation between Russia and NATO froze next conflicts in Caucasus, including Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian-Ossetian. Intensive relations of the Alliance with the Russian Federation lasting almost 10 months from August events of 2008 were the only factor promoting urgency of conflicts geopolitically.

full comment >>>

ARTICLE: Mikheil Saakashvili: Georgia on his mind, Moscow on his back (independent.co.uk)

After the disaster of last summer's war, the charismatic president of the former Soviet republic hopes it won't be sacrificed to improve US-Russian relations. Shaun Walker meets Mikheil Saakashvili

full article >>>

ANALYSIS: Georgia's pluralistic feudalism: a frontline report

By Ilia Roubanis, 3 - 07 - 2009

Georgia's leader-fixated politics lacks an institutional base and competing visions of the country's future. No wonder the gap between the rhetoric and reality of democracy is so sharp, finds Ilia Roubanis in Tbilisi.

full article >>>

GEOPOLITIC: The Forgotten South Caucasus: Where Oil and Water Mix (circleofblue.org)

A "New Great Game" of Geopolitical Control Surfaces in Russia’s Old Backyard

by Nadya Ivanova

Maps by Hannah Nester and Eric DaighCircle of Blue

Almost 20 years after Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan bounced back to full national sovereignty following decades of Soviet control, the winds of change in the South Caucasus have largely faded, leaving behind a region whose geopolitical identity and long-term stability remain uncertain. Once off the radar of Soviet geopolitical analyses, water management problems are now emerging as a cross-cutting issue critical to the stability of volatile regional relations and delicate geopolitical dynamics in the area.
It is often assumed that competition for water will trigger conflict. But in the South Caucasus — a globally strategic corner of the world where Russia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia converge — a proposal to clean up and share management of the region’s largest river basin could well serve as a new route to political stability. And the consequences, diplomats and scientists say, could have strategic importance far beyond – to Europe, Russia, and the United States.

full text >>>

ENERGY: Gazprom threat to Nabucco overstated? (upi.com)

TBILISI, Georgia, July 8 (UPI) -- The gas deal between Russian energy giant Gazprom and Azerbaijan will have only a minor impact on the heralded Nabucco pipeline, Georgian analysts say.
The State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan Republic and energy monopoly Gazprom signed a deal in June to secure 1.7 billion cubic feet per year from Azerbaijan in 2010.
Analysts say the Russian move into the Caspian region is a sign the Kremlin is seeking to tighten its grip on the European energy market. Gazprom in January cut gas supplies to its Ukrainian counterpart Naftogaz, leaving Europe in the cold as much of its Russian gas travels through Ukrainian transit routes.
Europe has put its hope in energy diversification in the $10.7 Nabucco pipeline, but analysts had worried that the SOCAR-Gazprom deal would undermine European ambitions.
But Tbilisi analysts say that, while Baku is keen on solidifying its relationship with Moscow, Nabucco, with its capacity of 1.1 billion cubic feet, needs more than just Azeri gas to move forward, Georgian Business Week reports.

full article >>>

BLOG: Stalin’s Downgrading of Abkhazia from Union Republic Status Decried (windowoneurasia.blogspot.com)

Vienna, July 7 – Among Stalin’s many mistakes as a ruler, according to a reviewer of an émigré book on Stalin republished a few years ago in the Russian Federation, was the Soviet dictator’s decision to lower the status of Abkhazia from that of a union republic (SSR) like Ukraine or Kazakhstan to that of an autonomous republic (ASSR) like Tatarstan or Udmurtia.
Had he not done so, Andrey Yezerov suggests in a review of S.V. Dmitriyevsky’s “Stalin. The Forefather of a National Revolution” (1931, 2003), Abkhazia would have gained its independence along with other union republics in 1991 and been widely recognized rather than as a result of Russian military action in 2008 and recognized only by Russia and Nicaragua.

full blog article >>>

ARTIKEL: Georgien klagt gegen Moskau (dasjournal.net)

Menschenrechtsgericht prüft

Der Europäische Gerichtshof für Menschenrechte wird eine Staatenklage Georgiens gegen Russland prüfen.
Wie eine Sprecherin am Freitag mitteilte, wurde die Beschwerde für zulässig erklärt. Georgien wirft Moskau vor, nach der Festnahme von vier russischen Offizieren in Georgien im September 2006 georgische Einwanderer in Russland willkürlich schikaniert und unterdrückt zu haben.

Der ganze Artikel >>>

ARTIKEL: Temur Jakobaschwili: "Russland liebt Georgien, aber nicht den georgischen Staat" (cafebabel.com)

Obama zu Besuch in Russland, der G8-Gipfel und "militärische Übungen” - im Nachkriegsgeorgien bahnt sich eine heiße Zeit an. Der georgische Vize-Premier (42) zu Nachwuchspolitikern, Familie und gegenseitiger Liebe.

Der ganze Text >>>

VIDEO: Air pollution Truso Gorge, Kazbegi Region. By Hans Heiner Buhr