Last year ended with a state of emergency declared in Georgia, but few could imagine that the events of 2008 would eclipse those of 2007. Three presidential elections, a war, and yet another state of emergency defined the South Caucasus this year, and bloggers were there to document events from the ground even when the local and international media wasn't. True, the presidential election held at the beginning of the year in Georgia passed largely without incident, but trouble was already brewing in neighboring Armenia ahead of its vote to determine succession to the incumbent president the following month. Blogging on politics naturally intensified and mirrored the deep divisions in the country. Signs that the 19 February presidential election in Armenia would end in bloodshed were already becoming evident. That there would be mass demonstrations immediately after the presidential election held last week in Armenia was known long ago. Many observers also figured on yet another attempt by the radical opposition to stage a colored revolution of the type seen in Georgia and Ukraine. However, few expected it to succeed, but a week after the 19 February vote, the situation is now gearing up for what might be serious confrontation between opposition supporters and the authorities. […] […] bloggers such as The Armenian Observer still fear that it might all end in violence with a state of emergency being declared in the country. Levon Ter-Petrossian Rally, Liberty Square, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian, Licensed under Creative Commons Less than seven days later, on 1 March, a botched attempt to disperse opposition supporters protesting the outcome of the election forced a showdown that left a reported eight people dead and a state of emergency declared in the country. The number of those who lost their lives in the clashes between opposition and security services eventually rose to at least 10. On Saturday 1 March, the inevitable came true. At least eight people died in clashes between police, soldiers and opposition supporters. Shops were looted, cars set on fire, molotov cocktails were thrown, and in addition to the fatalities known so far, 16 servicemen and 18 protesters were wounded in shooting between the two sides. Each side blames the other and protests their innocence while the majority of residents in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, resigned themselves to the worst case of election-related violence in the country's short history as an independent state. […] Eventually outnumbered and out gunned, demonstrators never stood a chance against the military, and a state of emergency was declared in the capital. […] 1 March, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian, Licensed under Creative Commons With the media forced to comply with draconian censorship introduced as part of the 20-day state of emergency that followed, blogs were remarkably untouched and came of age, although YouTube was blocked by the authorities. Citizen journalism moved in to fill the gap, albeit in sometimes mutually hostile ways between the two camps, and became the new samizdat. Samizdat (Russian: самиздат) was the clandestine copying and distribution of government-suppressed literature or other media in Soviet-bloc countries. Copies were made a few at a time, and those who received a copy would be expected to make more copies. This was often done by handwriting or typing. This grassroots practice to evade officially imposed censorship was fraught with danger as harsh punishments were meted out to people caught possessing or copying censored materials. Vladimir Bukovsky defined it as follows: “I myself create it, edit it, censor it, publish it, distribute it, and [may] get imprisoned for it.” But even though opposition protests continued after the state of emergency was lifted, attendances were small. The inauguration of the new president, Serge Sargsyan, was held under tight security while relatives of those protesters killed on 1 March mourned their loss 40 days later on 9 April. Besides, Armenia, along with its two neighbors, Azerbaijan and Georgia, was already preoccupied with the Eurovision Song Contest. Moreover, the authorities in Yerevan were fast becoming aware of the power of new media and were soon to allow pro-government bloggers into press conferences. […] not all bloggers welcomed the news and there was also much criticism in the Armenian blogosphere. Pro-opposition blogger Nazarian, for example, remarked that “The invited were palace bloggers serving the needs of the regime.