GEORGIA: Family Purity Day & more – 22nd May 2025

Gamarjobat from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Georgia Update from the 22nd of May twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Georgia.

Last week we reported on an open letter from Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze to President Trump and Vice President Vance. In it, he voiced frustration over the lack of dialogue between the two countries, the sanctions imposed on Georgian politicians—especially Ivanishvili—and the failure to make progress in restarting relations from a clean slate.

TV channel Formula asked the U.S. Department of State for a comment on the letter and received a response on Saturday, the 17th.

State Department representatives said that the U.S. has already made it clear to the Georgian Dream or the Kotsebi what steps they need to take to show they are serious about improving relations, and that they would not make more in-depth comments about it. They also said that Washington is expecting a large delegation of Georgian businessmen that week and that they’ll be happy to host them.

This story continued several days later. On Wednesday, the 21st, Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, attended the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations to answer questions from its members. Representative Joe Wilson, the most anti-Kotsebi American politician, asked Rubio what the US plans to do about the anti-American government in Georgia, which has close ties to China. Rubio said the State Department’s main goal is protecting American interests, so they’ll ask themselves whether it’s in America’s interest to have an anti-American government in such an important region. If the answer is no, they’ll make sure that they pay a high price for such a stance. He also said that while no decision has been made yet, the issue is actively being discussed.

In similar news, the U.S. isn’t the only one showing a cold attitude toward the Kotsebi, who have been using aggressive rhetoric and spreading disinformation against Peter Fischer, the German Ambassador to Georgia.

In an interview with TV channel Maestro on Friday, the 16th, Fischer said that while Georgia wants to join the European Union, its ruling party is not only criticizing the EU but also spreading disinformation about it, which isn’t exactly a smart move for a country trying to become a member.

Fischer also called out the main government propaganda channel, Imedi, which says he’s the one giving instructions to radical opposition parties. He demanded to know on what basis these accusations were made and asked Imedi to provide evidence.

Since we mentioned Imedi, Nikoloz Laliashvili, former director of the channel, was appointed as an ambassador to Hungary, whose government is the Kotsebi's strongest European ally. Before this appointment, Laliashvili had been serving in the same position in Kazakhstan since twenty twenty-two.

Changing topics, while the rest of the world marked the International Day Against Homophobia on Saturday, the 17th, Georgia celebrated Family Purity Day instead. The Kotsebi government and the Georgian Church created this holiday ten years ago specifically to overshadow the Day Against Homophobia and to make sure no pride march could ever take place on Rustaveli Avenue, right in the heart of the city.

This year, the government went a step further by banning any gatherings or demonstrations related to the LGBTQ+ community —turning the already risky task of organizing a Pride march into an outright illegal act. Not content with that, thousands of people, led by priests and the Kotsebi-affiliated celebrities, filled the center of Tbilisi to celebrate the questionable holiday.

On the same day, during the Family Purity Day celebration, Archbishop Shio—second in command in the Georgian Orthodox Church and likely successor to Patriarch Ilia II—addressed the crowd at Sameba Cathedral about the topic of abortion. He called it a grave sin and a danger to Georgia's demographics.

Shio said that society needs to become more aware of this issue, that schools need to push anti-abortion rhetoric to high schoolers, and that stricter laws should be passed to regulate the practice.

Last week, one of the hottest topics in Georgian politics came from an unexpected source. The ruling party withdrew its candidate for Secretary-General of the UN World Tourism Organization and chose to back the nominee of the United Arab Emirates (or UAE) instead. Zurab Pololikashvili, who had already served two terms and stood a strong chance of winning a third, openly expressed his anger over this, saying the Prime Minister has been hiding from him and refusing his calls.

Several possible reasons explain why the Kotsebi pulled support. Rumors suggest they struck a deal with the UAE in exchange for investment. Pololikashvili also clashed with the party after he hired Georgia’s former ambassador to the Czech Republic, who resigned in protest over the Kotsebi freezing EU accession talks. Lastly, Pololikashvili played a key role in expelling Russia from the World Tourism Organization, which the Kotsebi might not have been happy about.

In other news, Kakhi Kaladze, the mayor of Tbilisi, and Prime Minister Kobakhidze attended the opening of a new tunnel in Tbilisi on Wednesday, the 21st. Kobakhidze praised Kaladze in front of journalists and all but confirmed that he will be the Kotsebi’s candidate for Tbilisi Mayor in the municipal elections in October. He said that Kaladze has ambitious plans for the next four years and his previous two terms serving as mayor have drastically changed the capital for the better, including the improvement of infrastructure and creation of green spaces.

There are no term limits for the position of mayor, and Kaladze remains the most popular figure in the Kotsebi, despite his alleged connection to the criminal world and accusations of rampant corruption.

On a related note, Ana Buchukuri, one of the leaders of Gogi Gakharia’s party For Georgia (or Sakartvelostvis), confirmed to the journalists that they are planning to participate in the municipal elections. This contrasts with other opposition parties—some of which have already announced they will boycott the elections, while others have yet to make an official statement. She said that boycotting the elections is a political dead end, and those advocating for it do not understand the wishes of their voters.

An ugly incident took place in Gori, in the northwest of Tbilisi, on Friday, the 16th. A group of minors physically assaulted two brothers, both of whom were also underage. The conflict apparently began on TikTok, where one of the brothers posted a negative comment about the criminal underworld. One of the attackers, who already has a record of assault and theft, took offense over that comment and arranged for them to meet. The victim took his brother for protection. In the end, the criminal and his friends attacked the brothers—with one ending up in the hospital.

Police have arrested four people involved in the group attack, but the victims’ parents say that more individuals took part.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, the 17th, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that simplifies the process for citizens of Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia to get Russian citizenship. The rule applies to people over eighteen who held Abkhazian or South Ossetian citizenship as of the 26th of August, two thousand eight. These individuals can now apply for Russian citizenship without meeting standard requirements.

This move will further solidify Russia's grip on two regions, even further integrating them into Russia without formally annexing them and placating their population.

Closing this edition, the European Commission recently released its Economic Forecast report, which also includes an overview of Georgia’s economy. According to the report, Georgia’s money supply increased by over 9.4% in twenty twenty-four. This was mainly driven by household and government spending, a substantial rise in wages, lower unemployment, and easy access to consumer loans.

The fastest-growing sectors were IT, construction, and tourism. Georgia also continues to benefit from increased trade and strong immigration from Russia—both effects of the invasion of Ukraine.

On the downside, business confidence has dropped sharply this year due to political turmoil and uncertainty. Georgia continues to import far more than it exports. The increase in the money supply is expected to slow in twenty twenty-five and twenty twenty-six, but it is projected to stay solid at around 5–6%.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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Nakhvamdis!