Khramort, Nagorno Karabakh
© Onnik James Krikorian 1994

Onnik James Krikorian is a journalist, photographer and media consultant from the United Kingdom. Published by The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, BBC, National Geographic, Geographical, The National, Stratfor, New Internationalist, EurasiaNet, Transitions Online, Institute of War for Peace Reporting, UNICEF and others, he has also fixed for the BBC, Al Jazeera English, The Wall Street Journal, and National Geographic.

He has over thirty years experience in the national and international media, including working contracts at The Bristol Evening Post, The Independent, and The Economist. For five years, from 2007-2012, he was the Caucasus Regional Editor for Global Voices.

He has covered the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno Karabakh since visiting the disputed territory for The Independent in 1994. In August 2008 he also covered the Russia-Georgia war. This has led to related work as a trainer in conflict-sensitive reporting as well as new and social media.

He has also been a consultant for international organisations on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE).

LATEST BLOG POSTS AND ARTICLES

Militant Groups Resurface in Armenia’s Struggle Against Radicalization

Militant Groups Resurface in Armenia’s Struggle Against Radicalization

Last month, Armenia arrested several individuals accused of recruiting others to stage a coup in the country. The group has a history of recruiting Armenian citizens as foreign fighters in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The Armenian government faces a potential vulnerability from militant groups as progress occurs in the normalization process with Azerbaijan following the 2020 44-day war and recent conflict in Karabakh, fueling discontent among many Armenians.

read more
Yerevan and Baku at a crossroads

Yerevan and Baku at a crossroads

Though there had been hopes that some kind of agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan could be initialled or signed by November this year, the situation looks increasingly uncertain as Russia once again enters the fray.

read more
Pashinyan Press Conference Highlights Progress and Pitfalls in Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Talks

Pashinyan Press Conference Highlights Progress and Pitfalls in Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Talks

Pressure on Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to deliver a peace agreement with Azerbaijan before the 2026 parliamentary elections is mounting, driven by questions surrounding the longevity of Armenian economic growth.

Pashinyan’s efforts to advance negotiations have seen both progress and setbacks. Unresolved issues, particularly those related to regional connectivity and the influence of external actors such as Iran, highlight the complexity of achieving a lasting resolution.

read more

FROM THE ARCHIVE

LIFE IN NO MAN’S LAND

Following a 1994 ceasefire agreement that put fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno Karabakh on hold, there are also disagreements on the return of lands surrounding Nagorno Karabakh too.

First published 2001

CLEARING THE KILLING FIELDS

A few kilometers from the border of the officially unrecognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, a shepherd sits with his grazing cattle in the lush pastures of Armenian-controlled Azerbaijan. The scene could grace the front of any postcard from the scenic Caucasus.

First published 2004

POVERTY IN ARMENIA

Natural disaster, conflict, blockade, corruption, and economic collapse following independence has seen poverty sky-rocket in the former Soviet Republic of Armenia.

First published 2003 

FROM THE ARCHIVE

SUFFER THE CHILDREN

YEREVAN, Armenia — A mother waits patiently to enroll her son at an Auxiliary Boarding School for children with learning disabilities somewhere in the heart of the Armenian capital. It doesn’t seem to matter to the staff that the twelve-year old isn’t disabled, all the school requires, the Director says, is a medical certificate.

First published 2003

BEING YEZIDI

Caught between competing ideological interests, members of Armenia’s largest ethnic minority struggle to define their identity. Some allege arguments about the origins of the Yezidis are politically motivated.

First published 2004

CHILDREN OF THE SOUTH CAUCASUS

At just eight months of age, Tiesa and her two sisters were abandoned by a roadside. They survived by eating roadkill — frogs, in fact — and drinking water from puddles before being discovered. The children, two of them with learning disabilities, were placed in Tbilisi’s Infant House, an orphanage by any other name.

First published 2014

PORTFOLIO OF SERVICES

JOURNALISM

Over 30 years on short to mid-term contracts with leading publications and freelancing for international broadcast, print, and online media.

PHOTOJOURNALISM

Over 25 years of personal and commissioned photojournalistic projects on poverty through minorities to conflict.

CONSULTANCY

Over 15 years on conflict sensitive journalism, media literacy, and Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE).

COMING SOON

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Galleries including Nagorno Karabakh in 1994, Landmines and Unexploded Ordnance (UXO), Street Children in Tbilisi, the August 2008 Russia-Georgia War, Poverty in Armenia and Georgia, and much more.

LATEST VIDEO PROJECT

BOOKS

 

Electronic PDF format versions of two published books of my articles and photographs from the mid-2000s. 

FROM THE ARCHIVE

CONTACT FORM

This site is currently under construction. Please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates in the meantime. Twitter is the main social media platform that I’m using.

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