A Brazilian soap opera would look tame by comparison. In the latest installment of Georgia's ongoing clash between Orthodox Christian fundamentalists and cultural liberals, Malkhaz Gulashvili, the founder of the ultra-radical People's Orthodox Movement, has hightailed it to separatist South Ossetia after a TV station fistfight which he claimed was the work of a pro-government think tank.
Liberals counter that Gulashvili's People's Orthodox Movement disrupted the broadcasts at Kavkasia television station, which had the indiscretion to discuss the smutty, anti-Church novel Saidumlo Siroba/Holy Crap in a May 7 talk show that included Gulashvili, publisher of The Georgian Times.
Police arrested seven young activists for the brouhaha, but Gulashvili, allegedly skirting both Russian and South Ossetian border guards, fled through the mountains with his son to Tskhinvali, a flight he claimed was prompted by an attempt by Tbilisi assailants to rape the young man.
Confused yet? But wait, there's more. Brandishing the charge of "fascism," some liberals have accused Gulashvili of being a Russian spy on a mission to destabilize Georgia in the run-up to the country's May 30 local elections.
Tune in next week when, undoubtedly, in one format or another, the drama will continue.
Giorgi Lomsadze is a journalist based in Tbilisi, and author of Tamada Tales.
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