GEORGIA: Tensions at the Rustaveli Avenue Memorial & more – 10th April 2025

Gamarjobat from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Georgia Update from the 10th of April twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Georgia.

The 9th of April is an important date in Georgia, since it marks the nineteen eighty-nine Soviet crackdown on a peaceful rally in Tbilisi that left twenty-one dead and hundreds injured. The day honors the country’s fight for independence.

This year, families of political prisoners and other citizens gathered at the Rustaveli Avenue memorial to block the Georgian Dream or the Kotsebi officials from laying wreaths in front of the memorial. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze avoided the scene and visited the Holy Trinity Cathedral instead, calling the protest a provocation.

The Kotsebi MP Kote Zarnadze and his supporters, who were waving the Kotsebi flag, failed to reach the memorial as protesters blocked them.

The Kotsebi’s Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili compared pro-European protesters to the Soviet troops of nineteen eighty-nine, accusing them of pushing foreign agendas that threaten Georgia’s sovereignty and unity.

Adjara’s autonomous republic will have a new head of government. Tornike Rejvadze, who held the position for seven years, stepped down on Friday, the 4th, saying he had served long enough and that the region needs change. He thanked Bidzina Ivanishvili, his colleagues, and voters for their support.

On the same day, the Kotsebi’s President Mikheil Kavelashvili introduced the new head of Adjara’s government. Sulkhan Tamazashvili, who previously served as the director of Tbilisi’s police department, will take over the role.

Tamazashvili is one of the officials the UK sanctioned for his role in the massive and brutal crackdown against pro-European protesters in November of last year. For the same actions, the Kotsebi’s government awarded him an Order of Merit, praising his contribution to order and safety.

Next Up. On Saturday, the 5th, Paata Abuladze - the brother-in-law of the Mayor of Tbilisi and Secretary General of the Kotsebi - shared a video on social media showing a column of Russian tanks. Celebrating the Russian army's advance, he wrote that they had already reached Dnipropetrovsk, a city in Ukraine, and that no one cared about Trump’s demands, referring to the U.S President’s attempt to broker a ceasefire.

Abuladze regularly posts pro-Russian content on Facebook, as well as photos of his meetings with the Kotsebi leadership, like Bidzina Ivanishvili and Vakhtang Gomelauri, the Minister of Internal Affairs.

In twenty twenty-four, he visited the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Luhansk, where he wore a hat with a Russian flag and a T-shirt with the war symbol Z.

On another note, Daniel Trevis, a twenty-eight year old Brit from Liverpool, said that the Georgian police beat him in jail and are now stopping him from leaving the country. He moved to Tbilisi in September twenty twenty-three and worked as a bar manager. Trevis says that In November last year, police arrested him during protests, dragged him into the parliament building, and forced him into a staged interview for pro-Russian media to present himself as a western-paid provocateur. He said that officers beat him, denied him food for three days, and held him in a filthy, roach-infested cell for twelve days.

After his release, presumably a police car followed him for weeks. He tried to leave Georgia twice — once by plane and once by bus through Turkey—but border guards blocked him both times. One officer demanded 1,000 Laris, which is 370 dollars, to close his case, which he paid, and later another one asked for 3,000 laris, which is 1,100 dollars, but this time he refused to pay. The UK Embassy is now investigating his case.

Nika Gvaramia, the leader and founder of the Coalition for Change – Gvaramia, Melia, Girchi, Droa or Tsvlilebebistvis – says Irakli Garibashvili, a top figure in the Kotsebi and twice the country’s prime minister, is now being intimidated by his own party. According to Gvaramia, Garibashvili no longer has his passport and can’t leave the country.

Rumors about Garibashvili have circulated for years. He was once the second most powerful person in the Kotsebi, right after Ivanishvili. But after stepping down as prime minister for the second time, he mostly disappeared from the public eye, despite saying he still supports Ivanishvili.

At one point, he was admitted to the hospital with physical injuries, which the party’s press release said happened while he was working out.

Speaking of Tsvlilebebistvis, several leaders of Girchi, which is part of the Gvaramia’s Coalition, announced their departure from the party. Tsotne Koberidze and Boris Kurua, who are particularly popular among the youth, shared their decision to leave the party on Facebook, saying that they were not happy about the party’s current direction.

Koberidze wrote that he didn’t believe the opposition would be able to unite against the Kotsebi. He also mentioned that the opposition has been using the same methods for the past twelve years, and that without significant change and analysis of their mistakes, they will not win.

According to the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (or IDFI), in twenty twenty-four, the government allocated a record 527 million Lari, which is over 190 million dollars, in bonuses and allowances from the state budget, the highest figure in the past ten years.

The IDFI reports that the Ministry of Internal Affairs received the largest share of bonuses and allowances — with almost 169,000,000 laris, over 60 million dollars in allowances, and over 16,000,000 laris, almost 6 million dollars, in bonuses. These expenses were likely caused by the state cracking down on protests and rewarding bonuses to people directly involved in police brutality.

While on the topic of financing. On Monday, the 7th, the executive introduced a bill that will require government approval before any organization can receive foreign grants.

The government will have ten days to either approve the grant or deny it. The decision can be appealed, but it will remain in effect during the appeal process.

The anti-corruption bureau will oversee all foreign grants to ensure they comply with the law. Anyone who accepts a grant without government approval will face a fine equal to twice the grant amount.

On Friday, the 4th, the Polish Embassy in Georgia posted a warning on its Facebook page, alerting Polish investors about dishonest property developers in Batumi, a coastal city in western Georgia. The embassy wrote that it has received an increasing number of complaints from Polish investors who feel they’ve been defrauded.

The embassy urges Polish citizens to thoroughly research a developer’s reputation before making any real estate investments.

Since support for victims of the fraud is limited, the only option is to take the case to court. However, the Embassy cautions that this process can be long and doesn’t guarantee a successful outcome.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the 8th, part of the busy road on Tbilisi’s left riverbank collapsed after the Mtkvari River washed out the base of a support wall. Fortunately, a day earlier, a citizen had reported cracks in the road to municipal services, who blocked it off in time, so when the river fully swept away a section of the road, no one was hurt.

Municipal employees are now working around the clock to repair the damage, as the restricted traffic on the riverbank has added to the city’s already heavy congestion.

In economics, The Asian Development Bank or ADB expects Georgia’s economy to grow by 6% in twenty twenty-five, a slower pace than the 9.4% seen in twenty twenty-four. In its new report, the ADB says stalled EU membership talks and ongoing global tensions could make it harder for the country to attract foreign investment and boost exports.

Consumer spending is also expected to go down, with growth dropping to 4.8% in twenty twenty-five and 3.5% in twenty twenty-six, partly because of fewer Russian migrants and their reduced spending.

Closing with sport news, UEFA fined Georgia’s Football Federation 40,000 euros, which is almost 44,000 dollars, and ordered the national team to play one Nations League home match without spectators due to fan misconduct during the 23rd of March game against Armenia, when Georgian fans stormed the field, used lasers and fireworks, and blocked exits.

UEFA also placed Georgia under a two-year probation and similar violations during this period will result in another spectator ban.

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

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Nakhvamdis!