Political and business leader Bidzina Ivanishvili plans to restore an abandoned Georgian spa resort, where Joseph Stalin used to frolic in radioactive waters, to its former glory.
From openhanded hospitality to fierce blood feuds, centuries-old customs are fading in Svaneti as the remote Caucasus highland becomes a trendy tourism destination.
After the Russian foreign ministry threw them under the bus, Georgian officials were forced to change their story about who initiated a landmark meeting between the two sides.
An embattled banker and promoter of a major East-West transit project is calling on supporters to challenge Georgia’s billionaire leader in next year’s election.
The minimum wage now amounts to only $7 a month, by far the lowest in the region. And Georgia’s business-friendly political consensus is not interested in change.
The Georgian capital has become a stage set for a Hollywood action flick; some joke that the name of the film franchise is just driving as usual in the city.
Local families rushed to move belongings out of their farmsteads, as masked Russian soldiers began fencing off their property from the rest of Georgia.
The owner of Rustavi2, who just wrested back control of the station, now says he wants to sell it. Government critics see an elaborate plot to gag an opposition-friendly outlet.
After being weakened by massive protests, Georgia’s ruling party has regained its footing and has taken several steps to neutralize government critics.
