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One in a series of books analyzing the political, economic, social and national security systems and institutions of a range of countries, and how they are shaped by cultural factors. Here, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are examined both as they existed before and during the Soviet era, and how they have developed since 1991. The marked relaxation of information restrictions, which began in the late 1980s and accelerated after 1991, has allowed the reporting of nearly complete data on every aspect of life in the three countries. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Was this book financed by George Soros?
From the start until I gave up early in chapter 4, Mark MacKinnon fawns over George Soros as if he is the only champion of democracy in the free world.The inside cover states: "..and George Soros, the idealistic American billionaire behind {the democratic revolutions}".Chapter 3 gives us this gem: "Coincidentally, that...was exactly where George Soros would also soon be turning his attention."From the title of the book, I thought the topic was the cold war, not George Soros.I was sadly disappointed, and bored.

If you want to know that George Soros has spent money on something other than Move on; now you know.But you can skip the book by this author who hates George Bush, likes Bill Clinton and Madelyn Albright, and loves, loves, loves George Soros.

Foreign Invasion by the Ballotbox
It could only have been written by a Canadian!No mainstream Brit or American journalist would hold up the dirty underwear of the East European "democratic transition" in broad daylight - if only because so many of the stains orginated in London and Washington.

Mark MacKinnon has done an excellent investigative job in portraying the packaged "democracy" of the color-coded pseudo-revolutions that swept through the former Soviet bloc (and, later, targeted other sites from Lebanon to Venezuela) within the last decade: how they were spawned in "think tanks" funded by Western governments, and their agendas formulated to serve strategic Western agendas.Ironically, MacKinnon sees no difference between this subsidized subversion and the Putin-style "managed democracies" they target.And of course he's right.

Promoting "democratic revolution" has become the surrogate for direct armed invasion - though, as in Iraq, both can work well together.The strategies these ersatz movements pursue are no different from Communist Popular Front tactics in the same region after World War Two - in fact, the Ukraine's "Orange Revolution" resembles nothing so much as the Czechoslovak "Communist coup" of 1948: a great betrayal of democracy when committed by Them, a flowering of the democratic spirit when choreographed by Us.

Of course there is real frustration and disappointment in the targeted nations, and the revolutionaries of color can find fertile fields for sowing.But the end result does not serve the people whose anger has been manipulated, but invariably the economic and "security" interests of major Western powers, principally but not exclusively the United States.The danger of raising false hopes in these client regimes has been all too plainly illustrated in the case of Georgia, whose US-installed president launched an armed quarrel with Russia banking on the broad American support he'd grown used to, hoping to force his country's inclusion into NATO.When the US didn't "come through" pro-US feeling quickly turned sour, the disillusioned backlash inevitable after starry-eyed adolescent puppy-love meets the real world.Beyond doubt more such knee-jerk little wars and subsequent bad feeling await other "successful" color-coded regimes described in MacKinnon's book. ... Read more

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Ancient Colchis, which was located on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, is best known from Greek mythology as the land where Jason and the Argonauts went in search of the Golden Fleece and Jason fell in love with Medea, who helped the hero complete his legendary feat. Archaeological finds prove that Colchis was indeed rich in gold. But what defined Colchian identity beyond its wealth in this precious metal? Wine, Worship, and Sacrifice explores this question by providing an overview of life at Vani, an important administrative and religious center in Colchis. This richly illustrated catalogue, which accompanies a major inaugural exhibition at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University, is the first comprehensive English-language publication about Vani.

Wine, Worship, and Sacrifice presents findings from five of Vani's richest graves, which include an impressive array of gold jewelry as well as imports from its western and eastern neighbors. These graves also give evidence of human sacrifice and of the important role that wine, drinking, and libation played in Colchian life. Darejan Kacharava and Guram Kvirkvelia provide a historical and archaeological overview of the city, while the other contributors explore such topics such as the rich tradition of Colchian gold working and the Greek view of Colchis through the myth of Medea.

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Groundbreaking Publication from the Land of the Golden Fleece
Published in connection with the traveling exhibit of the same name, "Wine, Worship, and Sacrifice: The Golden Graves of Ancient Vani" is an important contribution to our understanding of little-known ancient Colchis, the land of Jason and Medea.Colchis lay at the extreme eastern end of the Black Sea, today the area of the former Soviet Georgia.In classical times Colchis was rich in gold and was situated at a crossroad of Greeks, Persians, and Scythians.Little studied outside Georgia, the archeology of Vani, site of fabulously wealthy graves of the Fifth through Third Centuries BCE, is thoroughly documented in this well-illustrated volume, revealing the staggering aesthetic and technical beauty of Colchian goldsmiths.Some of the smaller photographs do not do justice to the magnificent jewelry, but this is not a coffee table book, but a fascinating first look for history specialists and amateurs alike.
... Read more

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An examination of the interplay of internal and external factors at work in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, and the importance of those factors for the future. ... Read more

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The Caucasus is the mountainous region between Europe and Asia, Islam and Christianity, Turk and Slav. The break-up of the Soviet Union has given way to ethnic hatred, internecine warfare and political instability region. This book provides an introduction to each of the new republics - Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan - as well as to the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh and the micro-states of the North Caucasus, which lie uneasily within the Russian Republic. Against the background of current geopolitical rivalries and historical enmities, the author explores the issues - including the fragility of democratic institutions; the competition between the old communist apparatchiks and the new nationalist demagogues; the Ossetian, Abkhazian and Chechen secessions; ecological damage and economic disintegration; and the importance of ethnic and Islamic consciousness. ... Read more

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Pride of Small Nations
The mountains of the Caucasus, the area's remoteness, and its long incorporation in a Russian-dominated empire make it singularly little known in the West. And yet, the region is also one of the most fascinating on earth, what with its intense diversity of languages, its wild beauty, and its celebrated liquors.In recent years, it has also become one of the most troubled regions, as ethnic conflicts have proliferated.

Goldenberg, a journalist working for the Guardian, provides an excellent introduction to the Caucasus, mixing scholarship and personal observation.She makes sense of the devastating civil war in Georgia and offers a balanced account of the Azerbaijan-Armenia war.But perhaps the most valuable section deals with the North Caucasus, a region nominally part of Russia but seething with ethnic and territorial problems, as well as an Islamic revival.To those mystified by the Russian assault on Chechenya, she provides a helpful introduction:how the Chechens provided most of Shamil's troops resisting Russian conquest in the mid-nineteenth century, how they suffered from deportation to Central Asia at Stalin's hands, and declared independence in 1991.Goldenberg sketches a vivid portrait of Dzhokar Dudayev, the Chechens' military strongman, and the eccentric, violent state he has established.Two examples:his bodyguard consists mainly of hardened criminals he sprung from jail and his foreign minister comes from the Chechen population living in Jordan.

Middle East Quarterly, March 1995 ... Read more