The host expressed what many Georgians – and Russians – feel, but many worried that it could unnecessarily escalate the ongoing crisis between the two countries.
Tbilisi’s Russian expat community disputes Moscow’s narrative of a surge of Russophobia in the country, but some say that the ongoing tensions have put them in a complicated place.
Protesters are demanding the resignation of the interior minister, but he may be too indispensable to the real power in the country: Georgian Dream chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili.
The reform would be a long-demanded shift from a system that allows the ruling party to amass power out of proportion to its support. Protesters were not mollified.
Georgian Dream came to power promising never to use violence against protestors, as was common under the former government. Now, images of tear gas and rubber bullets have shaken Georgians.
An enforcer for former president Mikheil Saakashvili has established a new political party, pitching it to the substantial population of angry Georgians.
The homecoming has occasioned some controversy, as Azerbaijani authorities say the remains of the legendary Caucasus hero Hadji Murad were taken out of the country without their permission.
Georgian monks squared off against Azerbaijani border guards in a dispute over access to an ancient monastery that straddles the two countries’ poorly defined frontier.
