News

    02/09/2022 - 16:42

    Georgia Hosting European Basketball Championship – EuroBasket 2022

    For the first time in the history of Georgia, the country is hosting the 41st European Basketball Championship – FIBA EuroBasket 2022 from 1-7 September. The national basketball teams of 24 countries are participating in the championship, which is hosted by the Czech Republic, Germany, and Italy, alongside Georgia. The…
    02/09/2022 - 15:47

    IDFI: Russians Dominant Group Receiving Georgian Citizenship

    The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) published a study on 1 September regarding applications for Georgian citizenship from 2018-2022 which found that 72% of those who received citizenship in that period were Russian citizens. In the first 7 months of 2022, Georgian citizenship was granted to 723…
    02/09/2022 - 14:10

    Georgia’s Annual Inflation at 10.9% in August

    Georgia’s annual inflation rate amounted to 10.9% in August, the National Statistics Office (Geostat) reported on 2 September. On a monthly basis, meanwhile, consumer prices increased by 0.1%.   The annual inflation rate was primarily driven by price changes in food and non-alcoholic beverages (15.8% increase); transport (15.6% increase); and…
    02/09/2022 - 13:55

    Criticism Towards U.S. Not in Georgia’s Interests says PM

    Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili responded to the “criticism” and “controversy” leveled by the four ruling Georgian Dream party dissenters towards the U.S. Embassy and stated that “further expansion, deepening, and excess of this controversy is not in the interests of our country.” Three Georgian Dream MPs Step Outside Party,…
    02/09/2022 - 12:48

    Georgian President Talks CEC Chairperson, New Amb. to UN, and EU-bid

    President Salome Zurabishvili delivered a speech on 1 September to address the European Commission’s 12 recommendations and the country’s European aspirations, her decision to veto the controversial surveillance law amendments, the appointment of the new Georgian Ambassador to the United Nations, and nominations for the Central Election Commission’s (CEC) chairperson.…
    01/09/2022 - 18:00

    Georgian Dream Presents Candidate for Senaki Local Council By-elections

    Ruling Georgian Dream party Irakli Kobakhidze presented Zaza Kurashvili as the ruling party’s candidate for the by-elections scheduled in October in the Senaki Local Council (Sakrebulo) for one vacant seat representing the villages of Teklati and Chaladidi. ISFED Calls for Extraordinary Elections in Senaki Local CouncilAnnul Senaki By-Elections, Urges Civil…
    01/09/2022 - 17:55

    GD Chair Pledges to Comply with EU-negotiated deal on Chief Prosecutor Selection

    Ruling Georgian Dream party chairperson Irakli Kobakhidze led a briefing to announce the drafting of the law for the election of the Prosecutor General in line with the European Commission’s 12 recommendations in which he emphasized that “against the background of sabotage by the radical opposition, Georgian Dream, is actively…
    01/09/2022 - 17:25

    Kakha Kaladze Sues TV Pirveli Presenter

    Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze is suing opposition TV Pirveli presenter Maia Mamulashvili in Court on the grounds that she spread the allegedly false information that he stole GEL 60 million (USD 20.7 million) from a public tender during a 5 June 2022 broadcast. The Tbilisi Mayor filed the suit on…
    01/09/2022 - 12:02

    U.S., Georgia: Int’l Cooperation Important for Global Health Security

    The U.S. State Department released a joint statement on 29 August alongside Georgia and several other countries which highlighted the importance of international cooperation for global health security and that such programs are “devoted exclusively to peaceful purposes.” “The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of strong national capacities for…
    01/09/2022 - 11:38

    Court Sides with Dismissed Ministry of Culture Employee

    Vakhtang Baramashvili, a lawyer representing a dismissed employee of the Ministry of Culture, announced on 29 August that the Tbilisi City Court sided with the plaintiff and ordered the Ministry of Culture to compensate and reinstate them to their post. “The court directly wrote that the decision made in the…

    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…

      Opinion

        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…

        Analysis

        The Dispatch

        • The Dispatch
          Civil.ge20/07/2022 - 12:50

          Dispatch | 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…

        • The Dispatch
          Civil.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…

        • The Dispatch
          Civil.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…