Georgia has received plaudits for its response to COVID-19. But as the biggest event in the Christian calendar approaches, the nation finds itself torn between church and state, faith and science.
Critics are exasperated by the government’s passivity, warning that the reforms needed for Tajikistan to weather this moment should have been adopted “the day before yesterday.”
Trade has plummeted, Chinese goods are disappearing from markets, and exports of China’s favorite Central Asian commodity – natural gas – have nosedived.
The Georgian lari has become one of the fastest depreciating currencies in Europe, despite the fact that coronavirus has hit the country relatively weakly.
The church’s obstinacy in not giving up the practice of sharing spoons for communion – a clear public health threat – is causing an unprecedented debate over the church’s role in society.
As the government pretends everything is normal, families are in a state of deepening anxiety over a perfect storm that could plunge the country into an unusually severe crisis.