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 Georgian government held a mass demonstration partly to claim that its supporters can outnumber protesters, a well-established tactic in Georgia’s political playbook.
Turkmenistan is eager to gin up some good vibes as another year of shortages and economic stagnation draws to a close. But even when wares appear in the market, the problem is finding cash.