Politics

June 03, 2021

Church-Run Orphanage Controversy Continues

The controversy around the Orthodox Church-run Ninotsminda orphanage took a new turn yesterday, as the Public Defender’s Office cited reports from prosecution and the Interior Ministry that four criminal cases related to the orphanage have opened since 2016

Politics

June 03, 2021

Annual Inflation 7.7% in May

Georgia’s annual inflation rate in May stood at 7

Politics

June 03, 2021

The Dispatch – June 2/3: Countryside Blues

Reports: Violence, Rape Lawsuits Involving Church-Run Children's Home | Bishop Talks Political Ambitions | Magical Thinking: #GakhariaFactor | Chiatura Miners' Village Goes International | Dangerous Escalation in Rioni Valley? | EP Vice-President Backs Namakhvani Cause As Tbilisi talks about new political arrangements, the state may be employing its worst practices to stem the protests

Politics

May 31, 2021

The Dispatch – May 31/June 1: Water Guns

Ex-PM Prefers bygones to be bygones - The Games We Play: MPs Toying with Water Guns and Children's Rights - - Rioni Valley Still Tense - Police Day is (not) for the Faint-Hearted Georgia went through a long weekend, with ex-PM presenting his new party, and the largest opposition party announcing ending the boycott

Politics

May 28, 2021

The Dispatch – May 28/29: Handshake Culture

MEP Von Cramon Meets Misha, GD Miffed | Vasadze Spotted with Dugin | Rioni Protests: Symbolic Moves | Gakharia Party | Kutaisi Goes Bronze Age | Nurse Wins Over Med-Giant Both locally and globally, women look to higher goals and talk unity among those who are usually at odds with each other

Politics

May 24, 2021

The Dispatch – May 24/25: Strange Alliances

2 Days of Namakhvani Protests in Tbilisi - Strange Alliances, Main Paradoxes, and Controversies | Discourse around Protests Draws a Line of Key Social Divisions | Troubled: Queer Support for Rioni Valley Protests | Egoistic Thinking: Georgian Reaction to Ryanair Incident As the protests against the controversial Namakhvani HPP moved to the Georgian capital on May 23, some ugly truths hit Tbilisi too: after more than 200 days of protests, the Namakhvani cause - coming from the "outside" of the political and intellectual "center" - still reverberates and shocks it

Politics

May 24, 2021

New Deputy Economy Minister Appointed

Mariam Kvrivishvili, 30, has been tapped as the new Deputy Economy Minister today, to oversee the development of tourism, aviation, and resorts

Politics

May 22, 2021

The Dispatch – May 21/22: Stalker’s Paradise

Georgia's Big Personal Data Protection Problem - State Inspector Rules on MP's Phone Number Bullying - Patriarchate Checks Raise Health Data Confidentiality Questions - Public Defender Denied Access to Church-Run Foster Home In Georgia, where everyday struggles mostly focus on political or physical survival, protection of personal data is not yet taken very seriously

Politics

May 21, 2021

Public Defender Monitors Refused Access to Church-run Orphanage, Again

The Public Defender's Office said on May 19 its representatives were denied - for the second time - a monitoring visit into the Ninotsminda Orphanage, housing 56 children and run by the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC)

Politics

May 18, 2021

The Dispatch – May 17/18: of Love & Hate

Decisive Political Moves, Hate Attacks, and EuCo President's Stormed FB Post - IDAHOT 2021 in Georgia | Fresh Stats on Hate Crimes | Major Unrest in Dmanisi Ends in Reconciliation, Authorities under Fire for Failed Handling | Glovo Faces Major Strike | GPB Forced to Reinstate Unlawfully Fired Staffers Things around May 17, the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOT), first appeared calmer than expected: despite some hate attacks, a couple of good news lifted moods, and the announced hater rally seemed less scary than first thought

Politics

May 15, 2021

The Dispatch – May 14/16: Rebel Rebel

Rally Season Opens: Rally Canceled – Approaching Right-Wing Gathering – Rioni Valley Activism Targeted with Discreditation Campaign – Lelo Gaining on Strength – Surprise Rebellion of Ruling Party MP The following weeks look tense in Georgia: diverse groups are to hit the streets for diverse causes

Politics

May 13, 2021

First Opposition Parliamentary Faction Established

Four Lelo party MPs and three other opposition lawmakers, Armaz Akhvlediani and Shalva Shavgulidze, elected through the European Georgia party list, and Salome Samadashvili, established today the Lelo - Partnership for Georgia faction, opposition's first in the new Parliament

Politics

May 11, 2021

The Dispatch – May 10/11: Next Chapter

UNM Chair Bailed Out, Party Undecided about Ending Boycott | In Church, Physical Violence Meets Techno-Eccentrics | Reversed Vaccine Crisis | Mystery over Young Woman's Shocking Death Yet another milestone in a slow end of Georgia’s political crisis: the EU posted bail (through EED, its NGO-funding branch) and got opposition leader Nika Melia released from jail, at least temporarily

Politics

May 08, 2021

The Dispatch – May 7/8: Awakenings

(Another) Businessman Enters Politics - More Physical Violence in Church - Presidential Veto That Wasn't - More Workers Strike Across Georgia - Public Defender on Discriminatory Social Policies - Rumors on Navalny's Comrades Moving to Georgia Greetings from Georgia, where past days were marked by the feared awakening of ultra-conservatives, failed awakening of Presidential checks, and a relatively successful awakening of workers

Politics

May 01, 2021

The Dispatch – April 30/May 1: Working Class Heroes

SSG Head Talks Dialogue with Abkhaz & Ossetian "Brothers" - Attacks on LGBTQ Intensify - Foot-Washing and its Contrasts - Attacking Attacked Journalist - Happy May 1! Georgians switch into a feasting mode for Orthodox Easter celebrations, which are going to be particularly long this year: a period stretching from April 30 to May 12 has been declared public holidays – the solution authorities found to tame the surge of COVID-19 infections, while also avoiding the spat with the church that proved costly last Chrismas

Politics

April 28, 2021

The Dispatch – April 28/29: Unusual Activities

Opposition's Taken Seats & 1st Legislative Battles - Suspicious Activity in Patriarchate Yard - Surprise High Demand of Sinopharm Shots - Labor Leader's New Allegations Against U

Politics

April 24, 2021

The Dispatch – April 23/24: Business People

Lelo Party May Have Scored a Try - Top MEP Supports Namakhvani Protests - Occupation Creep Renews in Shida Kartli - Watchdog Finds Something Fishy in Poti Port - CSO Studies Judge Diplomas, Sees Worrying Trend Signing the EU-proposed deal was supposed to begin the end of the political crisis

Politics

April 22, 2021

The Dispatch – April 21/22: Prisoner’s Dilemma

Tale of 3 UNM Chairs - Ethics of Amnesty - Heads Fall over Interior Ministry Hazing - Continued Drama in Chkondidi Diocese - Rioni Valley Activists Give Gov't Time till Friday President Charles Michel might have popped champagne and gone home, but there is no rest for the wicked

Politics

April 20, 2021

The Dispatch – April 19/20: Headcount

Crisis Ends, but Splits Continue - Top Member Joins Deal, Hints Farewell from UNM - Awkward Tweet by Presidential Palace - National Interests vs Academic Freedom It was on a relatively calm Sunday, April 18, when the unexpected news about the renewed push for a compromise deal, proposed by European Council President Charles Michel to end the government crisis, broke in Georgia

Politics

April 14, 2021

The Dispatch – April 14/15: Everyone Knew

Celebrity Domestic Violence Allegations Spark Outrage - Third Covid Wave Breaks Upon Absurd Traditions - Police Wall Up Rioni Valley - UNM Chair on Prison Diet Georgians are (or act) shocked as another celebrity heartthrob succumbs to the domestic violence allegations