For centuries, the Caucasus has been one of the most embattled areas in the world – between Christianity and Islam, east and west, tradition and modernity. In the numerous wars that never seem to end, Azerbaijanis are fighting against Armenians; Georgians and Chechens sometimes for, then against, Russia. But 2017 was a rare year of relative silence in the Caucasus. That was a year with no fighting on the Russian-Georgian border, a year without war in Nagorno-Karabakh and in Chechnya. How was everyday life in the big cities and in the border areas of the republics during this relatively quiet phase? And what does normality mean in the Caucasus? To answer these questions, I made the journey through the Caucasian Republics.