New Year’s is the main winter holiday in the post-Soviet world, after the communists took Christmas customs and melded them into the more secular January 1. But Georgia’s mekvle tradition long predates this shift.
The Oscar-nominated “And Then We Danced” faced violent opposition from far right groups, and police were forced to guard theaters throughout the weekend.
From openhanded hospitality to fierce blood feuds, centuries-old customs are fading in Svaneti as the remote Caucasus highland becomes a trendy tourism destination.
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.
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.
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.