The Weekly Tripwire – Issue 17
Houses of ethnic Georgians near Tskhinvali stand in ruins, November 21, 2017. Photo: screengrab…
GDDG’s Constitutional Court Nomination Sparks CSO, Opposition Criticism
The parliamentary opposition and the civil society organizations criticized the ruling Georgian…
PM Speaks of Georgia’s Transit Role at Silk Road Forum
“Historically located at vital crossroads, Georgia links the economies and cultures of…
ECHR Grand Chamber Ruling into Merabishvili’s Pretrial Detention Case
Pretrial detention of Georgia’s former Prime Minister Vano Merabishvili was justified in…
Slovenian Foreign Minister Meets Georgian Counterpart in Tbilisi
Slovenian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Karl Erjavec met today with…
Opposition Slams Government for ISIS Member’s Alleged Infiltration into Georgia
The ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia came under heavy criticism from the parliamentary opposition over…
20/07/2022 - 12:50
Dispatch | 12-19 July: Credit due
13/07/2022 - 07:00
Dispatch | 6-12 July: And then they wrote…
08/07/2022 - 06:56
Dispatch | July 5-6: What’s the story?
05/07/2022 - 21:52
Dispatch | July 4-5: Amok
02/07/2022 - 17:19
Dispatch | June 29-July 1: Adapting
28/06/2022 - 10:59
Dispatch | June 26-28: Maneuvering
24/06/2022 - 12:15
Dispatch | June 23-23: Lost (or found?)
21/06/2022 - 10:58
Dispatch | June 18-21: Anger Management
18/06/2022 - 01:03
Dispatch | June 15-17: (Comfortably) Numb
17/06/2022 - 11:53
Opinion | Georgia’s Yanukovich Moment
Features
04/08/2022 - 17:18
In Stalin’s Growing Shadow
The mood was solemn on 30 July at a dilapidated house in central Tbilisi, as speaker after speaker from Soviet…
24/05/2022 - 12:00
Taming the Garden: You Haven’t Seen It All
Nini Gabritchidze was the author of The Dispatch. She is now a freelance journalist. Lately, Georgians have been rushing to…
24/07/2021 - 13:43
Redjeb Jordania Obituary
Redjeb Jordania died on July 15, 2021, almost 100 years after his birth in the French town of Vanves in…
16/11/2019 - 00:12
In Photos: Civil.ge Joins EUMM Patrol, Visits Occupation Line
On Wednesday, November 13, together with his colleagues, Civil.ge’s Otar Kobakhidze joined the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) patrols to…
26/03/2018 - 13:11
Reclaiming Georgia’s Feminist Heritage
The sun and colors of early Tbilisi spring in the air, a colorful group gathers at the stairs of the…
10/07/2017 - 14:13
Women affected by Abkhazia’s abortion ban
A year and a half after Abkhazia banned abortion, reportedly to increase the number of births, reports of women’s deaths…
25/08/2022 - 17:17
‘Violating Neutrality’ or ‘Attempts to Discredit’: ISFED Responds to Ruling Party Accusations
On 18 August, the ruling Georgian Dream party decided not to invite one of Georgia’s most influential civil society organizations working on election issues, the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), to the first meeting of the electoral reforms working group created to…
01/07/2022 - 19:48
Interview | Damon Wilson, President of the National Endowment for Democracy
In Tbilisi today, Civil Georgia’s Editor-in-Chief Otar Kobakhidze sat down with Damon Wilson, the President, and CEO of the National Endowment for Democracy to discuss Georgia’s EU and NATO integration, the role of civil society and independent media for the Georgian democracy, as well as…
16/05/2022 - 15:56
Interview | Head of EUMM Georgia Talks Abkhazia, S. Ossetia
Ambassador Szczygieł, we are speaking today as Russia continues its full-scale attack on Ukraine for more than two months, which has brought seismic shifts to the entire region. In light of this war, what is the security environment on the ground across both Abkhazia and…
13/05/2022 - 15:38
Editorial | Pawning the Country
The rapidity and zeal with which the Georgian Dream leaders and pundits rushed to the defense of their patron, Bidzina Ivanishvili’s private assets and riches, show that Georgia is not that much Ivanishvili’s political project, but his collateral in the international game – both an…
03/03/2022 - 11:13
‘Fear & Apathy’: Pundits on Georgian Govt’s Steps amid Ukraine War
The Georgian Dream government has attracted widespread criticism for what many — both at home and abroad — regarded as their half-hearted stance during Russian aggression against Ukraine. Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili’s clear-cut rejection of joining international sanctions against Russia and alleged obstruction of a…
02/02/2022 - 19:15
Waiting for Resettlement – IDPs from Georgia and Azerbaijan
More than thirty years have passed since the armed conflicts swept the South Caucasus. Amid the dramatic breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, dozens of ethno-political conflicts emerged in the former Soviet states. The nations living in the South Caucasus — once seen as…
14/01/2022 - 18:04
U.S.-Russia Talks: What Are Georgia’s Options?
As the United States engages the Russian Federation concerning the Kremlin’s ultimatum aiming to change the configuration of European security, Georgia is among the countries whose fate is being decided. The process is likely to be drawn out, with the possibility of escalations that may…
04/10/2021 - 20:25
Pundits Talk Key Takeaways from Local Elections
Two days after October 2 municipal elections, discussions continue over key takeaways from the vote and the less anticipated outcomes. The Georgian Dream party scored well above 43%, a number widely suggested as a threshold for its legitimacy after the EU-brokered April 19 deal, while…
12/07/2021 - 15:58
Georgia Lurches Towards Illiberalism
“The times when the minority decided the fate of the majority are gone,” said Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili today, saying he will only listen to the will of “95% of the population.“ “Stop threatening and scaring me and the majority of this country with the…
05/07/2021 - 10:35
Ministers Reflect | Ketevan Bochorishvili (MESD 2012-2017)
Ministers Reflect is a new interview series on “how to be effective in government”, following a model developed by the Institute for Government in London. The series seeks to capture – in former ministers’ own words – what it takes to be an effective government…
22/04/2021 - 14:11
Q&A | The Deal is Signed: What now?
After months of the deepening political crisis that followed the October 31 parliamentary elections, the ruling Georgian Dream and part of the boycotting opposition MPs signed the EU-mediated compromise on April 19. Yet, controversies persist: the United National Movement, the opposition party that got most…
18/04/2021 - 12:17
Opposition Politicians on Namakhvani HPP Protests
Thousands have been protesting in western Georgia against the construction of the Namakhvani Hydropower Plant on the Rioni River for months now. The project encompasses two separate HPPs of 333 MW and 100 MW on the Rioni River. The Government of Georgia hopes to enhance…
06/08/2022 - 14:37
Calls Increase for Visa Requirements for Russians
05/07/2022 - 22:30
Queer Festival: Tbilisi Pride Braves Disruptions
04/07/2022 - 18:00
Leaders Mull Plans as Pro-EU Rally Peters Out
29/06/2022 - 19:03
South Asian Students in Georgia Are Getting More Than They Bargained For
10/06/2022 - 20:00
Georgia’s Cost-of-Living Crunch
27/05/2022 - 12:25
Explainer: GD, UNM Make Rare Deal to Resolve Local Council Deadlocks
06/04/2022 - 21:06
Explainer: Elections in Tskhinvali
16/03/2022 - 19:21
Georgian Orthodox Church, Clergy on Russia’s Attack on Ukraine
02/02/2022 - 19:15
Waiting for Resettlement – IDPs from Georgia and Azerbaijan
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The Dispatch
Civil.ge20/07/2022 - 12:50Dispatch | 12-19 July: Credit due
In Georgia, another week has passed. As the international order is consumed in the flames of Russia’s atrocious aggression in Ukraine, and as Europe burns in the throes of the climate change whose catastrophic effects…
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The DispatchCivil.ge13/07/2022 - 07:00
Dispatch | 6-12 July: And then they wrote…
Apparently summer is the time, when Georgian politicians sharpen their quills and go on to write long, winding letters full of intrigue and surreptitious adulation. Much like the protagonists of the legendary novel of Pierre…
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The DispatchCivil.ge08/07/2022 - 06:56
Dispatch | July 5-6: What’s the story?
As the week progressed, the extent to which the Georgian politics is disconnected from reality became painfully apparent. The linguistic flip-flops and other acrobatics of the ruling party have little to do with politics, let…
Op-ed
17/06/2022 - 11:53
Opinion | Georgia’s Yanukovich Moment
Author: Ted Jonas is an international lawyer and environmental activist who has lived in Georgia for many years. Georgia is having a Yanukovich moment. That time when the government of Ukraine in 2013-2014 got orders from Moscow to drop the EU association process. The government…
26/05/2022 - 10:59
EU Should Not Heed the Calls to Differentiate Associated Trio’s Applications
Irakli Sirbiladze is a Foreign Affairs analyst, holding an MA degree in International Relations from Queen Mary University of London. His wider research interests include International Relations Theory, Georgian Foreign Policy and Russian Foreign Policy. As Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova – three Associated Trio nations…
22/05/2022 - 14:09
Op-ed | Refeudalization rather than Polarization
Hans Gutbrod is a long-time analyst of Georgia and the Caucasus. He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the London School of Economics. He is on Twitter at @HansGutbrod. With the jailing of Nika Gvaramia, we should bury once and for all the term…
28/03/2022 - 17:47
Putin’s Playbook in Ukraine Is a Century Old
Largely ignored in the discussion of Russia’s strategy in its war on Ukraine is the story of what may have been the first successful conquest of a foreign country by the Soviet Union. Vladimir Putin, who is obsessed with history, is certainly familiar with this…
18/02/2022 - 19:24
Where Abkhaz Students (Can’t) Study?
Author: Giorgi Kanashvili, peace and conflict specialist I have been part of Georgian-Abkhaz dialogue for fifteen years now. One of the topics the Abkhaz constantly raise is about Tbilisi isolating Abkhazia from the West, and pushing them to look for alternatives. In this region, one…
02/02/2022 - 20:05
Op-Ed | Local Governance Reform Can Strengthen Georgian Democracy from the Ground Up
By Peter Wiebler, USAID/Georgia Mission Director Last year’s local elections were held under difficult circumstances, most notably the COVID-19 pandemic and a tense environment before and during election day. Despite these factors, voter turnout was 52%, significantly higher than in the previous local elections. This…
30/11/2021 - 18:03
Farewell | 4 Years of Representing NATO in Georgia
Author: Rosaria Puglisi, the Head of the NATO Liaison Office in Georgia It’s time to pack my bags and say my good-byes. After four memorable years, my term as the Head of the NATO Liaison Office (NLO) in Georgia is coming to an end. During…
21/11/2021 - 10:00
Op-Ed | Georgian Dream Deliberately Frustrates Western Friends
By Jelger Groeneveld, Dutch D66 party, Board Member International Cooperation Division Friday would have marked the 50th day of Mikheil Saakashvili’s hunger strike in state captivity, amidst mounting concerns of his health condition and refusal of government authorities to transfer the former president to a…
01/09/2021 - 16:09
Perilous Choice: Georgia’s COVID Elections
Laura Thornton is director and senior fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund. Previously, she was director of global programs at International IDEA, a Stockholm-based intergovernmental think-tank with the mission to advance democracy. She has also led the National Democratic…
25/07/2021 - 21:40
Tribune |”Sack me if you can!”
Zaal Andronikashvili, Ilia State University/Leibniz Center for Literary and Cultural Research. This article first appeared (in Georgian) on the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Georgian service page. It has been insignificantly adapted by Civil.ge for an English-language audience. “Sack me, if you can!” gloated Vice Premier…
24/07/2021 - 12:24
Tribune | Wide Coalition Needed to Defend Democracy
Levan Tsutskiridze is Executive Director of the Eastern European Center for Multi-party Democracy (EECMD) Georgia has witnessed unbelievable violence during the first week of July. The homophobic mob, egged on by the religious extremists that are entrenched in the Georgian Orthodox Patriarchy and encouraged by…
19/07/2021 - 01:34
The Falling Darkness
by Regis Gente As the airplane of the European Council President Charles Michel touched down in Batumi, it was hard to shake off the feeling of déjà vu. Once again, the top European official visits Georgia immersed in a tense, almost intractable political crisis. Charles…
Archives
31/12/2020 - 21:02
2020 in Georgia: Year in Review
To say that 2020 was an eventful year is an understatement. Like every other nation on the planet, Georgia has…
31/12/2021 - 14:21
2021 in Georgia: Year in Review
In Georgia, 2021 was a tumultuous year of continued and new crises, but also a year of attempted solutions, many…
31/12/2019 - 15:12
2019: The Year in Review
2019 has been a year of political and security tribulations. No tangible progress has been reached on occupied territories as…
Photo Stories
03/07/2022 - 22:54
Photo-story | Rally at the Parliament, Moves to GD Office
Crowds started to gather, as the activists and opposition geared for their third reunion, calling for quicker accession to the…
21/06/2022 - 13:23
In Photos | Massive Pro-EU Rally in Tbilisi
On June 20, tens of thousands of Georgians have rallied on Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi’s main thoroughfare, to support Georgia’s accession…
26/05/2022 - 16:45
In Photos: Independence Day Celebration in Tbilisi
Thousands of Georgians have flocked to Freedom Square and adjacent Rustaveli Avenue in downtown Tbilisi for Independence Day celebrations, to…
24/05/2022 - 23:57
In Photos: Georgians Supporting Ukraine
Three months into Russia’s bloody war in Ukraine, ordinary Georgians all across the country continue hanging Ukrainian flags and colors…
24/03/2022 - 11:14
In Photos | Georgians Attend Grim Homecoming for Fighters Killed in Ukraine
Dozens have waved Georgian and Ukrainian national flags and lit candles as flag-draped cases carrying remains of Gia Beriashvili and…
02/03/2022 - 04:17
In Photos: Sixth Day of Tbilisi For Ukraine
Tbilisites hit the streets again on March 1 to support Ukraine, with many protesters also expressing dismay about the Georgian…
27/02/2022 - 03:15
In Photos: Third Day of Tbilisi for Ukraine
On February 26, Tbilisites hit the streets to express solidarity to Ukraine as Ukrainian troops are fighting Russian advance on…
26/02/2022 - 04:06
In Photos: Thousands Rally for Ukraine, Against Garibashvili in Tbilisi
On February 25, thousands have hit the streets in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia for the second day to show…