The Killers Booed & more– 17th Aug 2023

Gamarjobat from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Georgia Update from the 17th of August twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Georgia.

Let’s kick this week off with the Killers Incident.

On Tuesday the 15th, the American band The Killers held a concert at the Black Sea Arena. Before performing one of their songs, Brandon Flowers, the lead singer, asked the audience if anybody knew how to play the drums. The selected drummer turned out to be Russian. Despite all the booing and middle fingers from the crowd, the group performed a song with the Russian drummer. The frontman of The Killers addressed the audience and said that the listeners in the stadium were brothers and sisters, that a person's nationality didn’t matter, and that there should be no borders between countries. Flowers' address caused even greater displeasure from the audience, and many of the listeners left the stadium because Georgians generally don't feel good when someone says Russians and Georgians are brothers and sisters. The concert organizers and the band later apologized in a written statement.

Speaking of Russians in Georgia.

On Tuesday the 15th, The Insider, an online newspaper owned by a Russian journalist, reported that Russian opposition journalists faced poisoning abroad due to their work. Irina Babloyan, a journalist from Ekho Moskvy, allegedly experienced poisoning in Georgia after relocating from Moscow to Tbilisi. She exhibited symptoms like weakness, dizziness, and palm/plantar syndrome. Her condition worsened in Yerevan, with stomach pains and nausea. Interestingly, in Berlin, her toxicology test samples vanished, and police interrogated her. A subsequent test didn't confirm poisoning. However, the report says unexplained clinical symptoms suggest exogenous poisoning. This trend of poisoning Kremlin critics, as seen with Litvinenko, Navalny, and Skripal, boosts the report's credibility. Civil.ge, an UN Association of Georgia's new project, reached out to the Interior Ministry for clarifications but it hasn't responded yet.

Monday, the 14th, marked the 31st anniversary of the beginning of the war in Abkhazia. Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, Ruslan Abashidze, the Chairman of the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, and Shalva Papuashvili, Chairman of the Parliament, paid tribute to the memory of those who died in the war.

Between nineteen ninety-two and ninteen ninety-three, the Abkhaz separatists, backed by Russian government forces and North Caucasus militants, confronted Georgian government forces in Abkhazia. Throughout the conflict, the Abkhaz separatists, Russian government forces, and North Caucasus militants committed widespread human rights violations and atrocities, primarily targeting the Georgian civilian population. There were plenty of violations by the Georgians as well, particularly in the period when they controlled Sokhumi. According to Red Cross estimates, the death toll ranged from approximately 10,000 to 15,000 individuals, although some estimates occasionally soared as high as 30,000. Also, 250,000 Georgians became internally displaced or refugees due to ethnic cleansing.

Moving on to updates on the deadly landslide in Racha.

On Monday the 14th, the United National Movement, or Natsebi, announced the summoning of Vakhtang Gomelauri, Interior Minister, to Parliament because of the Racha tragedy. Other opposition parties also support the demand to summon the minister. However, Otsneba’s opposition to creating a parliamentary investigative commission raises the following questions: why there was no SMS or text based early warning system; why the rescue operations started with a delay of three hours; why the government decided not to ask for international help in the search and rescue operations and what is the condition of the rescue equipment of the Emergency Situations Management Service. According to the latest information, the number of people who died as a result of the disaster has increased to twenty-six.

Next up, terrorism.

On Tuesday the 15th The Tbilisi City Court found Tsiskara Tokhosashvili guilty of joining a foreign terrorist organization and assisting in terrorist activities. In twenty twenty-two the State Security Service arrested him at the Tbilisi International Airport. Reportedly, the accused had joined the terrorist organization ISIS or Da’esh and had actively participated in the armed operations conducted by the Islamic State in Syria. The court sentenced him to twelve years.

Continuing with regional news.

On Tuesday the 15th, Genadi Arveladze, Deputy Minister of Economy, announced the building of a multifunctional complex called Petra Sea Resort, in the Adjara region. The complex will comprise forty-two buildings, with a 150-room five-star branded hotel located in the central building. Arveladze said It will be an energy-efficient complex with a significant focus on recreational areas with pools, bars, cafes, restaurants, and gyms. The project's total investment will amount to 236 million US dollars. The founding company Petra Sea Resort LTD belongs to three Georgian businesspersons and an individual from the UAE according to Commersant.ge. Arveladze also said the project will become one of the major investments in the region. It will create hundreds of new jobs, and construction will be completed by the end of twenty twenty-five.

Speaking of constructions.

On Wednesday, the 16th, workers building a kindergarten in the village of Kurdgelauri, in Telavi municipality, held a protest because of unpaid salaries. They said that they won't resume work until they receive their wages. Roughly fifty employees have reportedly quit the project due to salary shortages, while those who remain are protesting in order to receive their wages. The workers said the total wage arrears is in the tens of thousands of lari. The initiative to build the kindergarten began in February under the directive of the Municipal Development Fund, with subcontractor company Satave + which is in charge of the construction. The company has not issued any statements regarding the situation.

Moving on to financial news.

On Tuesday, the 15th, the local multimedia resource Business Media Georgia published information regarding Ria, a money transfer system that surpassed the Russian Unistream. According to the article, Georgian banks immediately ceased their collaboration with the Russian money-transfer company Unistream following the U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions in July. Unistream, which held an average market share of 30-35% in the total market, had been the leading money transfer system in the Georgian financial market. Nevertheless, the July money transfers statistics indicate a decline in Unistream's share from 22% in June to 12%. Ria, an Euronet Worldwide, Inc. subsidiary, emerged as the new leader in Georgia's money transfer market. The company's share surged to 22% in July, up from June's 17%.

We have some updates on Misha.

On Thursday, the 10th, the group of doctors the Ombudsman invited issued a conclusion regarding the health condition of Misha. They stated that Saakashvili's health is slowly getting worse. The doctors derived their conclusion only from the documents they received from the Vivamedi clinic, where Misha stays under arrest. They were not allowed to do a full in person check-up of Saakashvili. According to the Ombudsman's Office, Misha’s health condition aligns with the assessment made in the previous reports from the doctors’ team of the Public Defender. Misha has a cognitive deficit, ataxia, disorders that affect coordination, balance, and speech, hypoesthesia, among other diseases.

Let’s end this week's show with wine.

On Friday the 11th, TBC Capital, a brokerage, research, and investment company, published its research on the alcoholic beverages sector. According to the report, the wine sector is growing in Georgia, and it has maintained a positive trend, especially after Russia lifted the embargo in twenty thirteen. In twenty twenty-two, official wine production reached 119 million liters, almost equal to the previous level achieved in twenty twenty-one. Unsurprisingly, Russia remains the most important market for Georgian wine. Regarding revenue, Russia's share of the total income of the Georgian wine industry reached 64% in twenty twenty-two, the highest level recorded since twenty fourteen. Europe, with 13%, and the Commonwealth of Independent States, with 8%, are among the top three markets for Georgian wine.

Aaaaand that’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

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Nakhvamdis!