Last week, The Economist published a comparison of the costs of pancake ingredients across many countries of the world. The pancake recipe used for the calculations included flour, eggs, milk, and butter – all of which are also part of the Khachapuri Index regularly compiled by the ISET Policy Institute.

While it is unclear whether this project will ever be realized, it certainly shows that Azerbaijan has huge ambitions. Comparisons to Dubai come to mind, as a city with attention-grabbing architectural projects.

Twenty years ago, on 26 December 1991, USSR broke into 15 pieces, 15 independent states. Amid great hopes, each of these states embarked on a path of transition: from socialism, from one-party state system, from the relative security of a small city apartment, a dacha, and a Lada to… an uncertain future.

This weekend we visited one of the more remote parts of Georgia, the Shiraki plains at the border to Azerbaijan. After passing through Dedoplis Tskaro, the district capital and largest town in this part of Georgia, we found ourselves on a bad road going all the way to the small town of Kasritstkali.