Tbilisi’s world-famous nightclubs were the country’s last businesses to reopen following the COVID lockdown. But it took a confrontation with the authorities to make it happen.
In recent years the Caucasus country has become a magnet for Iranian students, business owners, and dissidents. But now many report they’re not being allowed to enter.
The country already leads in vaccination rates in the South Caucasus. Many expect the new rules to drive a black market for fake vaccination passports.
The death of a nurse, hasty European policy decisions and the Georgian church’s indifference all have contributed to a rocky rollout for the vaccination campaign.
The coronavirus inoculation program is the first in the Caucasus and Central Asia, starting out with Chinese vaccines but incorporating Russian and Western ones at later stages.
The COVID-19 vaccination experiences of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia show that if you’re a small and poor country, you need to rely on powerful friends.