While the country’s volatile politics went to the back burner during the coronavirus pandemic, the opposition is getting into action again with a new unity slate and a planned weekend protest.
The two presidents spoke following the violent breakup of a protest by Azerbaijani labor migrants in Dagestan. Details of a possible diplomatic resolution of the situation have been scant, however.
Last year, the TV host insulted Vladimir Putin in an obscene rant. Now, he says, Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov is trying to kill him, and Georgian authorities seem to agree.
The labor migrants are trying to return home after losing their jobs in the coronavirus pandemic. Tensions are rising, and a protest on the border has been violently broken up by Russian police.
Articles on the U.S. Embassy-sponsored website call COVID-19 a "fake pandemic" and oppose vaccines. Health experts warn it could make the crisis worse.
This newest escalation of the history wars threatens to drag the Caucasus into the larger post-Soviet struggle over the memory of World War II that has poisoned ties between Russia and many of its neighbors.
The allegations are not taken very seriously outside Georgia's opposition, but they are taking on new life after Tbilisi terminated its contract with an American energy company.