Those among our readers who happened to spend a good deal of their lifetimes in the Soviet Union may remember that there was not just one kind of socialism, but there were many different versions.

An unprejudiced look at the Georgian economy is rather disenchanting. Starting in 1990 at a per capita income that was close to Poland’s, Georgia went into a free fall as a result of secession wars, loss of markets, an explosion of crime and corruption, and the staggering incompetency of its governments.

While there are differences between regions, most of the systematic regional disparities can be explained by differences in urbanization rates across the regions; namely, relatively more urbanized regions tend to have a higher per capita gross value added, a more diverse and sophisticated economic structure, and a better developed infrastructure.

Each year, top ISET students receive promising offers to continue their education at some of the best universities in the world. Ala Avoyan, the valedictorian of the ISET 2012 class, is currently completing the first year of Ph.D. studies at New York University (NYU).

The Kingdom of Bhutan is a very special country. When in 2004 King Wangchuck announced that there would be free elections and the kingdom would be gradually transformed into a democracy, people demonstrated in the streets against these reforms.