The Big Picture: The Caucasus

Azerbaijan National Folkdance, by Seferçik

A battleground for culture, religion and politics, the Caucasus is a collection of countries wedged between Turkey, Iran and Russia. Comprised of Chechnya, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and a handful of Russian republics, its rich ethnic history coupled with territorial disputes make it perhaps one of the most fascinating places on Earth.

With reports of violence regularly emerging and peace efforts continually stalling, the future of the Caucasus remains uncertain.

A Georgian Jew in a Tbilisi Synagogue, Georgia/Creative Commons/by BarryGeo

Lahic, Azerbaijan, known for its handcraft traditions/Creative Commons/by indigoprime

A child on the streets of Tbilisi, Georgia, where poverty is widespread/Creatieve Commons/by anjči

A chicken in Mulki, a rural town around an hour outside Yerevan/by Dave Chapman

A Domik in Gyumri, Armenia. Thousands of residents in Gyumri have been living in these metal shacks since the Spitak Earthquake 21 years ago/Creative Commons/by Thomas Frederick

Azerbaijan National Folkdance, by Seferçik

Long-Hand Crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus) at Lake Sevan, Armenia/Creative Commons/by Arthur Chapman

Store front in Krasnodar/Creative Commons/by smartptr

Decaying Russian Orthodox church in Northern Armenia/Creative Commons/by Tommy and Georgie

South Ossetia, 1985/Creative Commons/by Alexander Abuladze

The Heart of Chechnya mosque, described as the biggest in Europe built a few years ago, can hold 10,000 worshippers/Creative Commons/by Maalokki

A goat in Dagestan, recently described as the most violent country in the Caucasus/Creative Commons/by Bolshakov

A man in religious vesture in Kazbegi, known for its views of the Greater Caucasus Mountains/Creative Commons/by morstan

Gudauri, Georgia, a ski resort located on the southern slopes of The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range/Creative Commons/by Lidia Ilona

Tombstone at Noraduz, a cemetary near Lake Sevan with a number of early Khachkars/Creative Commons/Tommy and Georgie

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