Report News ›› Caucasus

Our Journalists

Samira Ahmedbeyli
IWPR Reporter

I was born in Baku on March 13, 1978 and have spent most of my life here. I do not consider myself a native though, since my parents moved here from Shamakhi, 100 kilometres or so to the east. As a child, I lived in the capital’s Khutor region, which at the time was mainly home to Armenians. Most of my friends were Armenians until I turned 10, when they fled the inter-ethnic violence that heralded the Karabakh war.

Sopho Bukia
IWPR-trained journalist

I was born in Moscow in 1979. My father was working there as a football coach, and my mother is a chemist. We returned to Tbilisi for good on March 31, 1991, the very day that Georgia held a referendum on independence.

Shorena Latatia
Project Coordinator, Georgia

Shorena Latatia joined IWPR as a project coordinator in March 2011, before she authored numerous articles on social concerns and political developments.

Karine Ohanian
IWPR-trained reporter

Stepanakert, where I was born on November 19, 1972, is a small town in the South Caucasus with many trees, clear air, and a highly relaxed pace of life. No one hurries. It has none of the pressure of a big city.

Shahin Rzayev
Country Director, Azerbaijan

I was born on April 22, 1965 in the village of Surakhany near the Azerbaijan capital of Baku in an important oil-producing area. I have lived there all my life.

Tea Topuria

I was born in Sukhumi, Georgia in October 26, 1977 and lived there until the outbreak of war in 1992. My parents and close relatives are maths teachers. I am the only person in family who loves writing.