Issue no: 1099 PRICE: GEL 2.50

NEWS PAGE 3

• NOVEMBER 9 - 12, 2018 • PUBLISHED TWICE WEEKLY

BUSINESS PAGE 7

POLITICS PAGE 5

In this week’s issue...

SOCIETY PAGE 12

British Council Funds 35 New Int’l Partnerships to Develop Creative Economies

Guram Kashia & Locomotive Speak Out against Bullying

Ex-PM Kvirikashvili Releases Statement

NGOs Accuse Saakashvili of Making Xenophobic Statements

Continued on page 3

BY SAMANTHA GUTHRIE

Coming off a wave of successful meet-ings in China on the opportunities for Georgia to export to the country, Minister of Economy and Sustain-able Development Giorgi Kobulia

visited Singapore this week. On Tuesday in the massively wealthy southeast Asian city-state, Kobulia attended the Bloomberg New Economy Forum. Founded by American billionaire Michael Bloomberg, the forum brands itself as “a new community for the new economy.” The forum aims to capitalize on the “pivotal moment in history” in which we are living, where “economic power is shifting dramatically from the West to new economies and “new markets and new lead-ers are exercising unprecedented infl uence over the course of economic change on a global scale.” The goal of the forum is to support “a new com-munity of leaders thinking, innovating and work-ing together to create the thriving, inclusive global economy of the future.”

Kobulia attended an offi cial reception hosted by the representatives of the state delegations by Michael Bloomberg and founders of the forum on its opening day and participated in a round-

table discussion dedicated to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Kobulia spoke about the possibilities for Geor-gia to play a signifi cant role in the new Silk Road project and become a regional hub in the cor-ridor connecting Europe and Asia. The Minister noted that Georgia is a small country for which

transit routes for goods and freight are profi t-able. "We are also trying to develop the infra-structure and logistics of railway and ports as much as possible. The most important thing is that the development of infrastructure contrib-utes to Georgian companies getting into the world market,” he said.

Image source: Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development

Minister of Economy Visits Singapore, Talks Trade & Maritime Cooperation

FOCUS ON THE OPERAWorld-renowned conductor Daniel Oren is set to lead Verdi and Beethoven at the Tbilisi Opera PAGE 13

GEORGIA TODAY NOVEMBER 9 - 12, 20182 NEWS

BY AMY JONES

November 6, the Council of Europe and the Delega-tion of the European Union presented results of their joint projects in

Georgia from 2015 - 2018.The projects, funded by 4.1 million Euros

from the EU (85%) and European Coun-cil (15%), helped Georgian authorities in applying the European Convention on Human Rights; civic integration of national minorities; supporting the Georgian Bar Association, improving health care in prisons; countering money laundering; promoting freedom, professionalism and pluralism of the media; protecting inter-net freedom, and assisted in the elections.

The meeting, its fourth kind in Tbilisi, discussed the results of the fi rst phase of the project, which aimed to harmonize the Georgian system to European standards.

Results of EU, CoE Projects in Georgia 2015 - 2018 Presented

Pilar Morales, Head of the Program-ming Department at the Council of Europe (Strasbourg), mentioned how, although the joint venture was not always easy, useful lessons have been learned and good results were achieved. For example, the federal judges received training in the European Convention on Human Rights in association with the Georgian Bar Association, leading to a better quality of justice in Georgia. This has notably helped women who were victims of violence, she mentioned.

The second part of the project will commence at the beginning of next year.

Photo: European Union Extended Action

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Georgian PM Meets EBRD Managing DirectorBY THEA MORRISON

Georgia’s Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze met Mat-teo Patrone, Managing Direc-tor of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Develop-

ment (EBRD) for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus on November 7 in Tbilisi.

Projects of strategic importance being implemented in Georgia with the engage-ment of the EBRD were the key issue of the meeting.

The Georgian PM’s Press Offi ce reports that construction of the Anaklia Deep Sea Port was also discussed at the meet-ing, underlining the strategic importance of the project and engagement of the Government of Georgia in the referred

initiative.The sides underlined that the Anaklia

Deep Sea Port is signifi cant not only for Georgia, but for the entire region, add-ing it is expected to acquire a geo-polit-ical signifi cance for the entire continent.

Approaching establishment of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Arbitration in Georgia was also referred to, along with its importance for the attraction of foreign investments to the country.

GEORGIA TODAY NOVEMBER 9 - 12, 2018 3NEWS

The forum was attended by more than 400 government and business repre-sentatives from around the world, including high-impact leaders such as Gary Cohn, former Assistant to the US President for Economic Policy; Janet Yellen, former Chair of the US Federal

Reserve; Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Minis-ter of Finance of Indonesia; Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the IMF; Ian Bremmer, President and Founder of Eurasia Group; Henry Kissinger, and many others.

On Wednesday, Kobulia met with Andrew Taun, Chief Executive Director of the Singapore Navy and Port Author-

ity to discuss possibilities of deepening trade relations between Georgia and Singapore. The focus was on the impor-tance of signing a bilateral intergovern-mental agreement on maritime trading. A draft agreement has already been written up by the Georgian Ministry of Economy and was presented to the Sin-gaporean side this week.

It was also noted during the meeting that a new project is being considered in Georgia – maritime clusters, which would establish special tax benefi ts. Since Singapore has one of the most successful maritime clusters in the world, the Georgian side expressed its interest in cooperating in this regard and sharing experiences.

The sides also discussed cooperation between maritime education institu-tions to prepare students for exchange programs and collaborative learning opportunities, and the possibility of offering a special training course at the Maritime and Port Authority of Singa-pore (MPA) Academy for Georgian Maritime Authorities.

Continued from page 1

Minister of Economy Visits Singapore, Talks Trade & Maritime Cooperation

BY THEA MORRISON

Former Georgian Prime Min-ister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, who resigned on June 13 after a disagreement with the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) founder

Bidzina Ivanishvili, has released a state-ment ahead of the second round of the October 28 Presidential Elections.

In the statement, Kvirikashvili says he is not going to return to politics.

“I decided to remain silent during the whole period and I am not going to be active in politics. However, I want to say that I support the values which were

Ex-PM Kvirikashvili Releases Statement

protected by the Georgian people in 2012,” he stated, meaning the defeat of the previous ruling party United National Movement in the 2012 parliamentary elections by the GD coalition.

“Taking everything into account, the values still need to be protected. I will never tire from protecting these values, like many in our country,” he added.

Kvirikashvili was Prime Minister of Georgia from 30 December 2015 to 13 June 2018. Prior to that he was Minister of Economy and Sustainable Develop-ment from 25 October 2012 until 1 Sep-tember 2015, Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1 September 2015 until 30 Decem-ber 2015, and Deputy Prime Minister from 26 July 2013 until 30 December 2015.

Kvirikashvili has led initiatives to advance Euro-Atlantic and European integration and highlight Georgia as an attractive

location for foreign investment.On 20 June 2018, Mamuka Bakhtadze,

who previously served as Kvirikashvili's

Minister of Finance, was approved by the Georgian Parliament as the PM of the country.

GEORGIA TODAY NOVEMBER 9 - 12, 20184 POLITICS

Lincoln Mitchell spoke to GEORGIA TODAY and the Realpolitik show to clarify some of the circulating accu-sations against him and his

viewpoints. This is part two of the defi n-itive Lincoln Mitchell interview.

SALOME ZURABISHVILI, AS WELL AS PUTTING THE BLAME ON GEORGIA FOR THE AUGUST 2008 WAR, ALSO MENTIONED THE US PLAYED A ROLE Offi cial American channels, the US Sec-retary of State and the US Ambassador to Georgia of the time, all made it clear to Saakashvili that he shouldn't get drawn into a war, but people around Saakashvili were constantly engaged in dialogue with people in other leadership positions in the foreign policy establishment who said, “we will support you if you do” So, basically, they called around until they got someone who said “yes, go for it,” and they went for it. I know it because I've talked to a lot of people in the Amer-ican government who were there in 2008 and that's what they told me. I’m not going to name any names, but I will say there were a lot of people in and around the then-Vice President's Offi ce.

THAT'S A VERY SERIOUS STATEMENT THAT HAS NOT BEEN PUBLICLY MENTIONED BEFORE. TELL US MOREIf I said it in Washington in an academic setting, it would not be a controversial statement. The US Secretary of State told Saakashvili not to go to war and if the Secretary of State says don't do some-thing and somebody much lower down the food chain says do it, then the mes-sage is clear: the message is don't. But what the Georgian government was doing was forum-shopping: going around until they got a yes, but most people said no. The Georgian government knew what it was doing. I don’t believe the US gov-ernment policy was to mislead Georgia into this confl ict with Russia. I was no fan of the Bush Administration, but I wouldn’t say they did this: it was not the offi cial position.

BUT YOU SAY THERE WERE PEOPLE IN POLITICAL CIRCLES IN THE US WHO WERE TRYING TO GREENLIGHT THE NOTION THAT THE US WOULD STAND BY GEORGIA AGAINST RUSSIA. WHY?I'm not sure about the word “greenlight,” but I think that's a good enough phrase, so we'll stick with it. Why? Because they thought that if Georgia held out for a while, the American military would have no choice but to follow and support them more aggressively than we eventually

did. Why? Because these are ultra-hawks who wanted to push back against Russia and they thought this was a good way to do it.

DID THEY REALLY BELIEVE THE US WOULD GET INVOLVED IN A WAR EVEN IF THE TOP GOVERNMENT WAS SAYING NO?Now, I want to be clear we're speculat-ing now. What I believe they thought was that if this happens, even though the offi cial position is don't do it, once it's done we'll go back to the leadership, to the Secretary of State, and say now we have to do something, and that the views would change. That's not what happened.

SOME SAY NO SUCH THING TOOK PLACE AND POINT TO THE RUSSIANS. DO YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TRANSPIRED? [Such people] naturally want to be respectful of their allies, the US and oth-ers, but I'm pretty sure such processes took place.

DO YOU HAVE PROOF SO AS NOT TO HARM THE RELATIONS BETWEEN THE TWO STATES?I don't think it harms the relations between the two states: it’s something that happened ten years and two admin-istrations ago. While I appreciate the concern from people who are not Amer-ican that somehow I’m anti-American, if you’re a good American, it is your duty as a citizen to constantly question and criticize the decisions your government makes, and if you're not doing that you're not being a good American.

BUT AT THE COST OF SOME MAKING ACCUSATIONS THAT YOUR NARRATIVE SERVES RUSSIA’S INTERESTS, AS THEY DO OF ZURABISHVILI’S STATEMENTS?My narrative serves Russian interests? There was a time when I got upset when people in Georgia would call me pro-Russian, but now it's just funny. I get it: serving Russian interests means you don't like Saakashvili or the UNM. Look, if you want to serve Georgia's interests, stop talking about the Russian narrative: my family fl ed Russia 120 years ago and never looked back. I've as much reason as anybody to be anti-Russia.

What is the evidence that I’m support-ing Russia's interests by pushing back against a Georgian narrative about the war that is not believed at all outside of Georgia?

SOME OF THE GEORGIAN AUDIENCE ARE REASONING

THAT YOUR ANALYSIS CANNOT BE CONSIDERED OBJECTIVE BECAUSE YOU PAID CONSULT TO IVANISHVILI BACK IN 2012 AND THAT'S WHERE YOUR ALLEGIANCES LAYYou don't have to think my analysis is legitimate: not everyone has to agree with me. In American academic circles, a client from six years ago it's not viewed as your client today, but if someone in Georgia says, “Lincoln worked for Ivan-ishvili, Lincoln has always been a critic of Saakashvili,” I'm going to discount it. I’d hope people would read my writing on its own basis. A few years ago, I was in Georgia and caught up with Bidzina, and he said to me in a kind of stern tone of voice, “you know, I'm aware what you're writing” (because I've written some things that are critical of him), and I laughed and said, “if you're worried about what I'm writing, you don't know what's going on out there.” I mean, yeah, I've been critical of Bidzina, but I've hardly been his harshest critic. So, he's not happy with me either, but that's okay.

PART OF THE CRITIQUE AIMED AT YOU RESTS ON ALLEGATIONS THAT YOU WERE ASSOCIATED WITH

THE LOBBYIST COMPANIES THAT WORK FOR ABKHAZIA AND OSSETIAStephen Ellis, who was a lobbyist for Abkhazia, contacted me on several occa-sions by email and phone and therefore they had to write that down; meaning my name appears as having been contacted by the lobbyists for Abkhazia. I didn't reach out to him, he reached out to me. So, if the question is did I ever take a phone call or an email from a lobbyist for Abkhazia, the answer is yes. Does that make me a lobbyist for Abkhazia? I think your mind would have to be pretty deep in conspiracy to think that.

SO, NO NEGOTIATIONS OR MEETINGS TOOK PLACE?I talked to the guy on the phone. He came to New York and we had coffee. He had a guy he wanted me to meet and we met with him, but I'm a researcher: like, I have to meet with these people. When we went to Abkhazia in 2010, I called him to ask how to get a visa, but I've never lobbied for Abkhazia, I've never advocated for Abkhazian independence: quite the opposite and you know my public statements on that. How bad am I supposed to feel that someone called me or emailed me? That seems crazy.

THERE IS ANOTHER ARGUMENT AGAINST YOU THAT YOU LOBBIED FOR IVANISHVILI AND YOU SHOULD HAVE REGISTERED ON THE FARA LIST, WHICH YOU APPARENTLY NEVER DIDI consulted for Ivanishvili in Georgia; that's not considered lobbying. Lobby-ing means you go to Congress and say, “hey, you should support Ivanishvili over Saakashvili,” or vice versa, or you go to the American media and say, “here's a good story you should write about Saakashvili or Ivanishvili.” I didn't do that, I don't have those kinds of skills or connections, so I was not a lobbyist; that's why I didn't register as a lobbyist.

DON’T MEDIA ACTIVITIES INCLUDE LOBBYING?Not in Georgia. Here, what’s considered lobbyism is if, let's say, I call the New York Times and pitch a story: that's con-sidered a lobby.

BUT YOU DID AUTHOR SEVERAL PIECES IN US OUTLETS AT THAT TIMEI wrote pieces mostly on my own site, so I don't know whether that counts or not. I talked to three lawyers who said I didn't need to register in FARA.

Lincoln Mitchell Answers Accusations against Him

BY AMY JONES

November 7, a grant agree-ment signing ceremony of the project “Support-ing Participatory and Inclusive Governance in

Mountainous Guria and Adjara” between the British Embassy in Tbilisi and the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies (Rondeli Founda-tion) took place at the British Embassy.

The project, designed to support civic integration and regional development in Georgia, should also increase the

capacity building of the local commu-nity in decision-making processes.

H.E Justin McKenzie Smith, British Ambassador to Georgia, and Ekaterine Metreveli, President of the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and Interna-tional Studies (GFSIS) both signed the agreement.

The ceremony was also attended by the Deputy Head of the Good Govern-ance Fund Unit in London, Tracey McLelland, along with representatives from the Pillar Projects of the Good Governance Fund Georgia.

Pillar Project implementors include the United Nations Development Pro-gram, PricewaterhouseCoopers, the

National Democratic Institute, the Brit-ish Council, GFSIS, and CDD.

Covering a variety of civil service and civil society issues, the projects have already successfully implemented impor-tant changes in government bodies and religious groups, among others. They have conducted various training ses-sions, research, and activities on both regional and central levels. All programs also covered gender aspects.

The UK Good Governance Fund has provided assistance in Georgia since 2015. The fund is of particular impor-tance as civil service and society play a central role in building a strong Geor-gian future.Photo: Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies Facebook

UK Good Governance Grant Agreement Signed at British Embassy

GEORGIA TODAY NOVEMBER 9 - 12, 2018 5POLITICS

BY THEA MORRISON

The non-governmental sec-tor of Georgia claims that the third President of the country Mikheil Saakash-vili, is making xenophobic

statements and uses hate speech towards some foreign nationals.

The NGOs, united under the civil plat-form ‘No to Phobia’ criticized Saakashvili for making “anti-social” statements on November 4.

The civil sector says Saakashvili used a negative word to describe Bangladeshi and Indian tourists in a video clip when he was speaking about the tourist poten-tial of Georgia.

“We need rich tourists from all over the world. We do not need these poor and lame tourists who bring their own food. We need people from Emirates, not Bangladesh. I do not have anything

Photo source: Foreign Policy

NGOs Accuse Saakashvili of Making Xenophobic Statements

against the people from Bangladesh…They are simple workers. Indians? They do not have enough income. We need sheikhs who alone will spend as much money as 200 people,” Saakashvili stated in his video address.

He also added that Georgia needs all kinds of tourists, but underlined that it is preferable to have visitors from Ger-many, the UK and the US.

“We need high-quality tourism, not quantity. Let the rich tourists from Rus-sia, Ukraine or China come…But we have such quarters in Tbilisi where you can-not hear even one Georgian word. I am not happy about this, but I will be happy if Georgian families have more income from the tourism,” he added.

The platform member organizations call on Saakashvili and other politicians to refrain from using hate speech and to further actively promote equality, toler-ance and human rights-based political ideas in society.

The NGOs say Saakashvili made sim-

ilar statements in July, August and Sep-tember, when he stated that jobs in Georgia were being taken by “poor Ira-nians, Turks and other foreigners.”

“Instead of rich investors, who should have given jobs to Georgians, we received migrants who can hardly employ them-selves,” Saakashvili’s Facebook post read.

The NGOs stress that anti-migrant rhetoric is part of the agenda of enhanced ultra-conservative political groups, add-ing it is unfortunate that such ideas have actively taken a place in the Georgian political sphere too.

“In the pre-election period, politicians use xenophobic and racist sentiments for electoral mobilization which pro-motes social confl icts and obviously contradicts the idea of Georgia as a democratic and human-rights-oriented state,” the statement of the civil platform reads.

The NGOs call on political parties not to use hate speech and to support the principle of equality.

Sir Alan Duncan: Georgia Is a Role-Model in the Region

BY THEA MORRISON

Sir Alan Duncan, the UK's Min-ister for Europe, is on a visit to Georgia to open the fi fth Strategic Georgia-UK Dialogue on November 8.

"This year, the Wardrop Strategic Dia-logue takes place against a backdrop of two important milestones for Georgia, the 100th anniversary of Georgia’s inde-pendence and the 10th anniversary of the Georgia - Russia confl ict," the state-ment of the British Embassy reads.

The dialogue will allow Georgia and the UK to continue talks about strength-ening economic ties, cooperation in defense issues and overall values.

The Embassy also released Sir Alan Duncan’s comment on his visit.

“This year’s Wardrop Strategic Dialogue will demonstrate very clearly that UK-

Georgia relations are going from strength to strength, and I look forward to discuss-ing the many areas of shared interest and co-operation with Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze and Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani,” the Minister stated.

He also noted that in the 10 years since the war between Georgia and Russia, the UK has continued to stand with Georgia in support of its territorial integ-rity, sovereignty and security.

“Georgia plays a pivotal role in the wider security of the region against ongoing Russian aggression… Georgia is a role-model in the region for reform, democracy and human rights. We applaud Georgia’s ambitious reform agenda. However, there is more to do to help Georgia deliver on the necessary reforms and reach its economic potential – that’s why the UK uses £4m of its Good Gov-ernance Fund to support reform projects in Georgia," Sir Alan Duncan’s comment reads.

GEORGIA TODAY NOVEMBER 9 - 12, 20186 POLITICS

Image source: bbc.com

BY EMIL AVDALIANI

The US had its mid-term elections where the Demo-crats, after gaining control of the lower chamber of Congress, the House of

Representatives, will likely to have a larger infl uence on both the foreign and domestic policy of the country. In the US political system, the executive branch - the White House - is dominant in the formulation and conduct of the US for-eign policy.

At the same time, it is important to remember that the Democrats' victory in the House of Representatives is coun-terbalanced by the Republicans' domi-nation in the Senate.

There is a possibility that this balance of power might create more confusion than any orderly foreign policy at a time when the US faces numerous challeng-ers across the Eurasian landmass. That explains why the US elections were watched around the globe, with various analyses and forecasts made on the pos-sible infl uence the results will have on relations with Russia, China and the European Union.

The Democrats are generally viewed as more moderate in their views on the necessity of active US involvement in the affairs of the Eurasian continent. Many will remember how Barack Oba-ma’s foreign policy was less active fol-lowing George Bush’s military campaign in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, even then, Washington’s policy did not alter drastically: they just became less mili-tarily-dependent.

Nowadays, the US faces geopolitical competitors which are regarded by both Republicans and Democrats as real prob-lems for Washington’s economic and military order in Asia-Pacifi c and Eastern Europe. Indeed, even before the elec-tions, when the two chambers of Con-gress were largely under Republican control, the Democrats were united on the question of Russia’s annexation of Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula and fomented separatism in eastern Ukraine.

The Democrats and Republicans see that modern-day Eurasia is indeed more chaotic, and this unpredictability repre-sents a marked break with what the US had to cope with in previous decades. In the more predictable Cold War era, geopolitics was important, but it was hidden under democratic and idealistic premises.

In modern Eurasia, though, there is a clear shift towards a new, more unten-able world order. Take, for example, the new US national security document signed by President Trump. It has for-mally ushered in the end of ethical and moral grounds in international relations and heralded the return of geopolitics – a step rooted in the experience of past generations.

The Democrats, like their Republican counterparts, understand how danger-ous Russia’s actions have become in the former Soviet space and Eastern Europe. It is important to remember that fi rst and most important, anti-Russian sanc-tions were introduced under Democrat Obama, with the Trump government merely continuing the trend.

Beyond the immediate Russian secu-rity threat to its neighborhood, the US faces China, which aspires to change the existing political balance of power in their regions. China’s economic rise, coupled with its military development, has poised it to become a powerful world player in international politics. More importantly, its strategic impera-tives clash with those of the US. Beijing needs to secure its procuring of vital oil and gas resources, which are cur-rently available mostly through the

Malacca Strait. In the age of US naval dominance, the Chinese imperative is to redirect its economy’s dependence as well as shift supply routes away from Malacca. This is the reasoning behind the almost trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, which is intended to recon-nect the Asia-Pacific with Europe through Russia, the Middle East, and Central Asia. At the same time, Chinese naval ambitions are on the rise to thwart US dominance close to its shores.

In addition, Iran’s growth of geopo-litical capital through the chaos in Iraq and Syria makes it yet another compet-itor of Washington. The sanctions re-

imposed by the Trump administration will likely stay untouched under the Democratic House.

Georgia, too, carefully watched the results of the US elections. In a time of high tensions with Russia, when the rhetoric in Georgia is overly anti-Russian, having Washington change its stance on Georgia would amount to a geopolitical weakening of Tbilisi’s position. But here, too, it is unlikely that any change would happen. Trump’s security advisor John Bolton’s recent visit to Tbilisi proved that it will be very diffi cult to change the existing pattern of American diplo-matic and military support to Georgia.

US Elections Results Unlikely to Change Washington’s Stance on Russia & China

OP-ED BY CHRISTINA PUSHAW

Following United Opposition candidate Grigol (Gregory) Vashadze’s unexpectedly strong result in the fi rst round of the Georgian presidential election

on October 28, government-backed can-didate Salome Zurabishvili held a very brief press conference in which she implied that a victory for Vashadze would be a victory for the Kremlin.

Supporters of the ruling Georgian Dream party (GD) have amplifi ed this message for months. In the pre-election period, Vashadze’s campaign posters were defaced with spray-paint reading “KGB;” today, Photoshopped images purporting to show Vashadze smiling beside Russian President Vladimir Putin are making the rounds on social media. In a viral social media campaign, GD

provocateurs fi lmed Ukrainian staffers, and Alexey Romanov, a blogger who is highly critical of Russia’s occupation of Georgia, speaking Russian in Vashadze’s HQ to imply that “Russian agents” work for the opposition.

Such smears are not limited to rogue activists. On November 1, political ana-lyst Ghia Abashidze implied in an inter-view on the government-friendly POSTV that Vashadze had “KGB connections.” Abashidze also referred to Vashadze’s campaign strategist Vitali Shkliarov, a Belarusian national who worked with Russian opposition and US presidential campaigns, as a “Russian spin doctor.” Zurabishvili’s daughter, Kethevane Gorjestani, has also accused Vashadze of being a KGB veteran and mirrored Abashidze’s inaccurate claim: that a “Russian PR fi rm” is leading Vashadze’s campaign, promoting “hate speech and fake news.”

Ironically, Zurabishvili is the only can-

didate in the run-off who has actually used hate speech to mobilize voters. As for the Zurabishvili camp’s “fake news” allegations, the facts about Vashadze and Russia speak for themselves. Born in 1958, Vashadze was educated in Russia during the Soviet era, but this does not imply an abiding allegiance to Russia as Vashadze formally renounced his Rus-sian citizenship nearly a decade ago.

Amid competing narratives, Georgian voters should not lose sight of the most important evidence of Vashadze’s alli-ances: his track record of service to his country. As the Foreign Minister of Geor-gia from 2008 to 2012, Vashadze led dip-lomatic efforts in the aftermath of the Russian invasion to ensure the non-rec-ognition of Russian-occupied territories in Georgia and won full international support for Georgia's territorial integrity.

Vashadze also built closer defense and security ties with the West, signing a charter on a strategic partnership with the US that pledged deeper cooperation in defense, trade, and energy security. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice commended the accord, confi rming that it would advance Georgia's bid to become a NATO member.

GD has criticized Vashadze for send-ing a letter to the Russian Ministry of Culture in November 2008, after the Russian invasion of Georgia. In the let-ter, Vashadze proposed a Georgian con-cert in Russia as a form of cultural diplo-macy. After GD-aligned academic Gia Khukhashvili published the letter in 2013, Vashadze asked how Khukashvili (who had no offi cial government position) could have received a classifi ed docu-ment from the Russian government. Khukashvili refused to respond.

As the saying goes, “Show me your friends, and I will show you who you are.” This maxim is especially relevant as the second-round campaign heats up. Over a dozen opposition parties, includ-ing European Georgia, Republicans, and

Girchi, which are not aligned with for-mer President Mikheil Saakashvili, have endorsed Vashadze. Despite their disa-greements, these parties coalesced around Vashadze because they share his com-mitment to advancing closer ties with the West and, perhaps more importantly, they view a Zurabishvili presidency as a dire threat to this objective.

In total, over 60% of the electorate voted for an opposition candidate in the fi rst round, and the majority share the United Opposition’s grave concerns about Zurabishvili. This is understand-able: Since 2008, Zurabishvili has repeat-edly blamed the Georgian side and occa-sionally the US, for Russia’s invasion and occupation of Georgian territory. Unsur-prisingly, Russian President Vladimir Putin has quoted Zurabishvili’s position in support of Russia’s actions. Zurabish-vili has repeated other Kremlin talking points; e.g., that NATO membership should not be a foreign policy priority

for Georgia. Meanwhile, who (besides the ruling

party) has endorsed Zurabishvili? The overtly pro-Russian Alliance of Patriots Chairman urged supporters to vote for Zurabishvili, warning that a Vashadze victory would result in “bloodshed.” The Georgian March, a self-declared neo-Nazi group, has also voiced support for Zurabishvili, but did not ultimately endorse her, after GD refused the Mar-chists’ demand to change their position on legalizing the cultivation of marijuana.

Most interestingly, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Duma’s Fed-eration Council, Konstantin Kosachev, of Putin’s United Russia party, stated that Russia will “carefully observe” the Georgian presidential election and implied that a Vashadze victory would have “very unpleasant consequences.”

Armed with the facts, Georgian voters must ask themselves: unpleasant for whom?

The Manchurian Candidate?

GEORGIA TODAY NOVEMBER 9 - 12, 2018 7POLITICS

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BY KATIE RUTH DAVIES

A new British Council pro-gram, ‘Creative Spark: Higher Education Enter-prise Program,’ will fund 35 new international part-

nerships between higher education and creative institutions in the UK and Arme-nia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. The winning partnerships, including Georgian cultural institutions, are: Cre-ative Georgia and the Tbilisi State Acad-emy of Arts, to partner with Advantage Creative; Georgian Technical University to partner with Keele University; Crea-tive Georgia with the University of East Anglia, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University and V.Sarajishvili Tbilisi State Conservatoire with the University of Essex Change School and Ilia State uni-

British Council Funds 35 New Int'l Partnerships to Develop Creative Economies

versity with University of the West of England in Bristol.

This initiative has been developed in response to an underdeveloped creative sector and a demand for entrepreneur-ship training in these countries. The UN has previously recognized the creative economy as one of the most rapidly grow-ing sectors of the world economy. Crea-tive Spark aims to give the next generation opportunities to develop skills required to compete in a global job market.

Each partnership will be granted a maximum of £50,000. Representatives from the UK and all program countries involved will meet in Georgia for the fi rst time on 20-21 November to kick off their plans.

The partnerships will focus on giving young people improved access to inter-national networks, markets and resources. Over the course of this year, partners will work together and deliver enterprise skills training packages to students and crea-

tive entrepreneurs. Topics covered will range from pitching ideas and starting a business, to protecting intellectual prop-erty and securing fi nancial support. Skills will be developed further through a ‘video pitch’ competition, open to 100,000s of students across the program countries next summer. Prizes will be UK-based professional development courses.

The British Council will deliver an English Learning Program with a range of new digital language learning content. This will include online learning packs on the English Channel platform, online courses and new Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) focused on English for entrepreneurship.

Richard Everitt, Director Education and Society, Wider Europe, British Coun-cil comments: “We received over 100 applications, so will be offering a pack-age of support for those who wish to keep engaged with the Creative Spark and did not receive grant this year.”

Image source: thetablet.co.uk

OP-ED BY ZAZA JGARKAVA

The Orthodox world is wait-ing for the Tomos to be issued, which will serve as the fi nal point for the rec-ognition of Ukraine’s auto-

cephaly. After this, all 24 Orthodox Churches will have to decide whether they will pray for the Ukrainian Church and its Patriarch. If they do, it will be a public “no” to the Russian Church, which is categorically against the autocephaly of Ukraine and is threatening a big church controversy. The Georgian Church is also facing this dilemma and will need to make a decision very soon, choosing between siding with the Russian Ortho-dox Church or the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I.

It has been months since the Georgian Church started silently observing the controversy, the Church leaders respond-ing with heterogeneous, shallow com-ments like: “we will once again review the historical and canonical sources.” At a time when the Ecumenical Patriarch is making such a decision, obviously he has taken into account the historical and canonical sources, especially consider-ing the fact that he has access to much broader and more complete archives than the Orthodox Church of Georgia. It doesn’t need much analysis and dis-cussion as to why the Georgian Church remains silent: obviously they fear that supporting this recognition will ignite deep confl ict with the Russian Church which could result in Moscow issuing autocephaly of autonomy to the Churches in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali.

Choosing SidesThis could be one of the reasons, but there

are more: if the Georgian Church refuses to recognize the autocephaly of Ukraine, it could happen that the Ecumenical Patriarch himself will recognize that of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali. In short, the Georgian Church has to choose the one that will have a less unfortunate outcome.

Last week, it became known that the Ecumenical Patriarch had publicly announced his position on the Abkhaz-ian and Tskhinvalian self-recognized churches: “I will visit Georgia if the Patriarch so wishes, and I will publicly announce from Tbilisi that the Abkhaz-ian and Tskhinvalian self-recognized autocephalous Churches do not have the support of the World Patriarchate. I will announce that the only Bishop and Patri-arch of Abkhazia is his holiness and beatitude Ilia, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, and that the regions of Abk-hazia and Tskhinvali are occupied.” This message was spread on the facebook page of Bishop Zenon, who wrote: “When I told His Holiness that the information existed that instead of calling you Patri-arch of Georgia they mentioned you as their sanctifi er, as if they are encouraged by Constantinople, he said that both Abkhazia and Tskhinvali are within the canonical borders of the Georgian Ortho-dox Church and that this will not be reviewed.”

The Kremlin has indirectly responded to this announcement from the World Patriarch: the President’s Administration of Russia issued a change and Abkhaz national Inal Ardzimba was appointed as Head of the Public Committee of Youth Affairs between confessions at the Russian Patriarchate. Deputy Chair-man of the Supreme Council of the IDP

BUSINESS

Government of Abkhazia, historian Jemal Gamakharia PhD, says, “This is a defi nite implication and a warning from the Rus-sian Church – be careful about the Ukrain-ian Church issues, or else…wasn’t there anyone apart from Ardzimba? Therefore, the Russian Church, like the government, is attacking us from all directions. I hope we can defend ourselves.”

Inal Ardzimba also happens to be the person the Kremlin wants to replace Raul Khajimba with, the so-called Pres-ident of Abkhazia. His surname has been heard during protest rallies held in

Sokhumi a number of times.The Ukrainian Orthodox Church

expects to get a Tomos on autocephaly and is getting ready for the grand cer-emony. Patriarch Filaret is asking the Georgian Church to openly speak about its position, because restoring the his-toric justice has no alternative. In his interview with Radio Freedom, the Patri-arch implied that the Georgian Orthodox Church was in a similar position, having lost its autocephaly upon entering the Russian jurisdiction.

“We want to remind them that there

was a time when the Russian state destroyed the autocephaly of the Geor-gian Church and appointed a Russian Exarch in Georgia. The Georgian Church should remember its history which can be likened to that of the Ukrainian Ortho-dox Church,” declared Patriarch Filaret.

Truly, historical justice has no alterna-tive, therefore, sooner or later, the Georgian Patriarchate will have to take the step, even more so as Russia does not have any canonical or legislative leverage to recog-nize the autocephaly of the Churches based in the occupied territories.

GEORGIA TODAY NOVEMBER 9 - 12, 20188 BUSINESS

INTERVIEW

As a result of successful Austrian-Georgian coop-eration, the fi rst biodiesel enterprise has opened in Georgia. Martin Mitelbak,

PHD Doctor of Chemistry; Murman Pataraia, the founder of Biodiesel Geor-gia; Rusudan Ramazashvili, General Director of Frego; and Kakha Karchkhadze, renowned researcher of Renewable Energy at Ilia State University, managed to implement a large-scale plan and con-tribute to the development of Georgia's bright, and cleaner, future.

Since July 6, every driver in Georgia who has a diesel car has been able to buy B10 biodiesel at Frego petrol sta-tions- a Georgian product, and choose not to pollute the air and to become a participant of the important process of ecological restoration.

HOW DID YOU START WORKING ON THE PROJECT AND HOW DID YOU IMPLEMENT IT IN GEORGIA?(Martin): We started working on the chemical creation of diesel at our uni-versity a long time ago. The fi rst attempts were conducted in the 1980s. We wanted to test the product practically in order to take it out of the laboratory. The main objective was to use biodiesel fuel in agricultural machinery. Later, the idea was developed to cover all segments of transport. Georgia is a pioneer in the fi eld of biodiesel production in the region and I am very glad that to be a partici-pant of this process.

(Kakha): Over the last two decades, while millions of tons of biodiesel was

Biodiesel - the World's Most Eco-Friendly Fuel Already in Georgia!

being produced worldwide, we in Geor-gia were "sleeping peacefully" and com-plaining about the rise in oil prices. In the end, we found ourselves “in the claws of a big monster” and in a poor condi-tion, totally dependent on imported fuel. Fuel consumption and car restriction is so unrealistic that this process is not even implemented. There is a severe ecological condition in the city, mainly caused by transport. The danger of car-cinogenic diseases in Tbilisi today is high. That's why it was so important for Georgians to fi nd alternative and eco-friendly ways of producing fuel. The answer to all these problems and the effective solution is the production of biodiesel.

Biodiesel is not a new product to the world and now it’s Georgia’s turn. The US produces 12 million tons of biodiesel annually, Europe – 10. These countries produce alternative and renewable fuel and use it in their urban environments. I came up with the idea of producing biodiesel in Georgia while working at US universities. We introduced the tech-nology, created the fi rst samples of bio-diesel, and for the fi rst time in the history of Georgia, the fi rst cars were run not on oil products, but on fuel obtained from plants.

This successful project was followed by cooperation between science and business. Oil Company Frego contacted Ilia University and we decided to com-mercialize this project. We worked inten-sively for one year, improved the tech-nology, selected a space for manufacturing, brought the equipment, built a biodiesel factory and started manufacturing. We have already released the fi rst products of biodiesel, which were snapped up by Frego.

(Rusudan) The idea of selling the B10

fuel was born at Frego a few years ago. Then we came up with the idea to start manufacturing locally instead of bring-ing the fuel from abroad. Manufacturing in Georgia is better as it helps local manufacturers to utilize used oil, which is itself quite important in this process. There were no utilization rules before, and the used oil was sent to drainage, soil, or chicken farms, which pollutes the environment. Gastronomers such as McDonald's and Wendy's employ utili-zation. So far, we have signed a contract with McDonald's and there is a selection of small restaurants set to deliver used oil to us. It will be very important for Georgia’s economy and for the environ-ment, too. Biodiesel will protect the environment from harmful effects. The product is already available at Frego petrol stations in Tbilisi and in various regions throughout Georgia.

WHAT ARE THE DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PRODUCT?(Kakha) Biodiesel is a high-quality fuel. Biodiesel has a number of indicators, such as lubrication coeffi cient, etc. that are higher than oil, meaning that the engine will work better and longer. Most importantly, biodiesel has a great advan-tage in terms of ecology. While using biodiesel, sulfur dioxide is not spread and the population does not get poi-soned. Straight diesel fuel pollutes the air, while biodiesel is the more eco-friendly option.

(Rusudan) B10 Fuel is a combination of Europian standard diesel and biodiesel. The biodiesel portion in it is up to 10%, and the exact amount of biodiesel is explained in our regulations, according to which the amount of biodiesel changes. It might be less in winter, but this infor-mation will be avaliable to our custom-ers.

The amount of Sulfur in our fuel is so low that the harmful substances do not spread while using it. This is a prior condition of taking care of the environ-ment. According to European experience and our practices, the most suitable for cars is the 10% fuel combination. If we compare it to the 10 best European BPMs, the B10 is distinguished by containing a bit more oil, less sulfur and other harm-ful mixtures. In Georgia, diesels contain-ing a high amount of sulfur are sold, while biodiesel is much safer for the environment. It costs 2.42 GEL at this stage and if we compare it to high-qual-ity diesels of other brands, the price is quite acceptable.

IN GEORGIA, WE’VE BEEN FACING PROBLEMS REGARDING THE HARMFUL EMISSIONS OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN RECENT YEARS. DO YOU THINK THE EXISTING FUELS USED FOR MUNICIPAL TRANSPORT WILL BE REPLACED BY BIODIESEL, JUST LIKE IN AUSTRIA?(Kakha): In this case, Tbilisi would set everyone an example of how minimal fi nancial expenses and improvement of the city's ecological situation can be possible in a short period of time. Pub-lic transport in Austria works entirely on biodiesel. And now we’ve opened the enterprise, biodiesel became available in Tbilisi too. It is possible that the yel-low buses and mini-buses will gradually switch to the biodiesel and the level of air pollution emitted by municipal trans-

port will be signifi ciantly reduced, per-haps by the end of the year in Tbilisi. If there is the right attitude and political will to solve the ecological problems, Tbilisi can become the fi rst capital city not only in Transcaucasia but in the whole of Eastern Europe where munic-ipal transport works entirely on eco-friendly fuel.

(Rusudani): If we see the State’s inter-est and initiative, we will be happy to satisfy the problem of municipal trans-port pollution.

WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS IN GEORGIA? WILL WE SEE BIODIESEL AT OTHER COMPANIES' PETROL STATIONS?(Martin): Based on Austrian experience, they could act more quickly. We will use this fuel for heavy-load vehicles at the outset. Control is the main thing in bio-diesel production and we have this aspect at the highest level. At fi rst, we produced a few dozen tonnes, but now we need more in industrial production and there-fore, alongside increasing the quantity, we plan to develop quality control mech-anisms and introduce new techniques.

(Murman): I have an important state-ment for your readers: fi rst, restaurants should employ the proper utilization of used cooking oil. Using it for a second time is absolutely unacceptable, as it harms human health. I call on everyone to use used oil as biodiesel fuel. Used oil should not be sent to drainages and should not be poured away. The use of oil in biodiesel production is a serious opportunity to get rid of waste in terms of environmental pollution.

(Rusudan) The idea of selling B10 was to reduce emissions in the city. Nowa-days, the air in the capital city is so pol-

luted that living here is becoming impos-sible. This issue is a problem for everyone. Consequently, if biodiesel is used by the majority of cars, the situa-tion will improve signifi cantly. As soon as the production of "Biodiesel Georgia" is increased so that it meets our demands, we will sell the product to any company.

TELL US ABOUT THE FUTURE PLANS(Kakha) We are going to work in several directions: developing the technology and increasing production. At this stage, we produce 12 tons per month. We hope that this number will be signifi ciantly increased by the end of the year. Now, our product is B10 biodiesel. We think that B20 biodiesel will be added to it soon.

There are already individuals, corpo-rate clients and institutions who have shown serious interest in using our bio-diesel. They realize that it is time for Georgia to switch to European and American standards, which has been working successfully in the West for a long time. Since ‘Biodiesel Georgia’ started implementing this work and the company Frego brought it into its branches, Georgia already has the pleas-ure of using alternative, clean fuel.

(Murman) The most important factor is that we start simultaneously working on more large-scale projects, which means that in the next three years, we will construct a larger enterprise equipped with the latest technologies, where we will mobilize an investment of 10 million Euros, while the number of employees will increase to 150. At this stage, bio-diesel is avaliable only in the Frego net-work in Georgia, but in case of increased production, we will offer the product to other networks as well.

GEORGIA TODAY NOVEMBER 9 - 12, 2018 9SOCIETY

BY SAMANTHA GUTHRIE

The Municipal Development Fund (MDF) of the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia (MRDI) conducted an Open Day for real estate developers on the

topic of constructing residential buildings for IDPs and presented the bidding announcement to the companies in attendance.

There are plans to construct nine buildings that will house 780 IDP families in Zugdidi, Samegrelo and Tskaltubo, Imereti.

The meeting held with the developers was attended by Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Regional Devel-opment and Infrastructure Maia Tskitishvili and Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, Davit Sergeenko.

“We are proceeding with the meetings within the Open Day format and the concerned parties and developers at those meetings will be able to famil-iarize themselves with the particular projects. Since

MRDI to Build New Housing for 780 IDP Families

2012 we have provided 16 thousand households with housing, however it is only part of the need that we are facing nowadays. Today we have talked about the construction of 9 buildings in the towns of Tskaltubo and Zugdidi and it represents only a minor part of plans that we are to implement by means of the MDF. Next year we intend to spend GEL 50-60 million in this direction and respectively, we will hold such meetings in future too,” said Tskitishvili.

Each new apartment will have gas, hot water and room heaters, the buildings will have outdoor infra-structure, access roads to residential houses, and parking lots.

“The governmental changes that took place sev-eral months ago resulted in dividing activities that we had been performing for IDP housing, however, the work process was not weakened. I do consider that by the end of the year we will be able to pre-sent an increased budget in this direction. As for today’s meeting and its format, it will be useful for developers as they will have a clear awareness of the quantity of work that we are to commence in the forthcoming months, that will be completed in two years," said Sergeenko.

Photo: Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure

BY ANA DUMBADZE

On November 4, the Kiwi Vegan Café on 6 Machabeli Street hosted a spe-cial meeting for animal-lovers.

Within the framework of the meet-ing, citizens collected food, warm

blankets and medicines for cats and dogs to send to specifi c people in Tbilisi and the regions who are caring for dozens of animals in their homes.

Within the framework of the ‘Feed the Vulnerable Animals’ event, citizens also donated money to contribute to the cost of the medication Bravecto, the latest generation of drugs that successfully treat tick and fl ea infestations and various skin diseases. Treatment with a single dose of Bravecto has a vis-ible effect within 10 days. One of the main purposes of the meeting was to collect as much of the above-mentioned medicine as possible and treat suffering dogs throughout Georgia. The price of this medi-cation varies from 75 to 80 GEL.

At the event, veterinary clinic ‘Lucky Fou’ vet-erinarians talked about the most problematic dis-eases found among homeless animals in Georgia and ways to combat them.

The meeting was organized by a group of young people who have been working to help unprotected and vulnerable animals for fi ve years already. They do not represent an organization, but a group of kind people who care about our four-footed friends without any fi nancial benefi ts.

At the end of the meeting, a discussion between animal-lovers was held about the issues of home-less animals and ways to solve these problems. The organizers of the meeting introduced their activi-ties and future plans to the audience. As they told GEORGIA TODAY, the discussion was yet another opportunity to exchange experience and fi nd new ways to save vulnerable animals throughout the country and assist the local population who unself-ishly care for them.

Civil Activists Help to Improve Living Conditions of Vulnerable Animals

According to the organizers of ‘Feed the Vulner-able Animals,’ they are going to continue their kind initiative through various campaigns and activities in future to help the gentlest, friendliest and at the same time, most unprotected creatures around us.

“Thank you for your help. You are amazing peo-ple. This week, we will carry out our activities in the various cities of Georgia with your help, namely in Gori, Kaspi, Samtredia, Batumi, Brotseula, and Tbilisi. We have no words to express our gratitude and we are very proud,” the organizers of the event wrote on the Facebook page ‘ცხოველთა გადარჩენის სახალხო ფრონტი’.

One of the organizers of the event, social activist Tiko Kvaliashvili, elaborated on their activities and expressed her gratitude to the people who unself-ishly helped stray animals within the framework of the event.

“I have been trying my best to help unprotected

animals and bring animal-lovers together for fi ve years already. Exactly 5 years ago. I created the Face-book page ‘ცხოველთა გადარჩენის სახალხო ფრონტი,’ which now has approximately 44,000 followers. Thanks to this page, we have already saved many animals and found shelter for them. As for the cam-paign itself, we have been conducting the ‘Feed the Vulnerable Animals’ event for two years. Last year’s event was also held at Kiwi Café. Previously, we held the event outside, near Rustaveli Metro, but as the winter is coming and it is getting cold on the streets, Kiwi Vegan Café kindly gave us its space and we are very thankful for it. I want to express my deep grati-tude towards the people who came here today and brought food, warm blankets, medicines and money to buy the essential medication for stray dogs. Thanks to the kind people who participated in today’s event, we will collect money, buy Bravecto and cure home-less animals who are suffering from various skin

diseases,” Tiko elaborated.According to one of the organizers of the event,

Levan Lomtadze, the main purpose and motivation of his activities is to do a kind deed and contribute to improving vulnerable animals’ lives. Levan also noted that there is a much more complicated situ-ation in the regions of Georgia in terms of caring for stray animals, and one of the main purposes of their activities is to raise public awareness about this problem there.

“I wanted to improve the living conditions of stray animals, so I contacted Tiko and we started working on this issue together. Within the frame-work of today’s event, we will collect food, blankets, and medicines for homeless animals. During the next days, we will visit the regions of Georgia and deliver them to the people who care for unprotected animals. There, the situation is much more diffi cult than in Tbilisi, and we need to raise public aware-ness of the issue there. It is our civic duty. For instance, some people shelter about 40-50 cats and dogs in their home, and fi nd themselves severely criticized by the neighbors who complain that it might lead to the spreading of various diseases. Some of them say that it is a big discomfort for them. Due to the bad economic conditions, people are irritated and express their aggression towards the innocent animals. This is why we work to visit the regions countrywide and raise awareness about this problem,” he said.

Levan also stressed the importance of exchang-ing ideas and experience between animal-lovers. He said one of the main purposes of the meeting was to bring together people who care about ani-mals and discuss new ways to help them.

“Today’s event brought together people who care about animals. We will share our experience with each other and fi nd new ways and opportunities to help our four-footed friends. We are not an organization, we are a group of ordinary citizens, and it is our civic responsibility to take the initia-tive and try to solve the existing problems through-out the country,” he added.

GEORGIA TODAY NOVEMBER 9 - 12, 201810 SOCIETY

BY AMY JONES

The number of Georgian asylum seekers in Germany has increased signifi cantly since the EU granted Geor-gian citizens the right to

visa-free travel. Does this rise spell the end of visa-free travel for Georgians? How are Germany and Georgia tackling the issue?

Living behind austere barbed wire fences and the bleak walls of the initial reception facility in the Dresden district of Friedrichstadt are 500 people seeking new lives in Germany. Most have fl ed from war-torn regions like Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Yet, many also hail from a democratic and peaceful country: one-fi fth of the inhabitants are Georgian.

In March 2017, the European Union declared that Georgian citizens could visit visa-free for up to 90 days. Many Georgian’s celebrated the collective sense that Georgia was beginning to move closer towards European membership. However, Georgia may risk losing this privilege due to the large increase in citizens not just visiting Europe, but also seeking asylum.

Since the ruling that Georgian citizens no longer need visas, the number of asy-lum seekers coming to Germany tripled. According to fi gures from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), 2,976 Georgians applied for asylum in Germany between January and July this year.

Many applicants seek asylum on grounds of political persecution. Yet, only 2% of applications are accepted as German authorities fail to fi nd evidence. Eter Hachmann, a Georgian who has legally

Image source: Deutsch Welle

Germany Cracks Down on Georgian Asylum Seekers

worked in Germany for eight years, told the Deutsche Welle German news outlet that she believes Georgians are attracted to Germany as it offers higher wages and a much better standard of living. Indeed, the German state provides asylum seek-ers with accommodation and 400 Euros per month, which is much higher than the average salary in Georgia.

However, the press spokesman of the Saxon Refugee Council, Mark Gaertner, described the authorities’ actions as “ruthless”. He does not regard Georgian refugees as “economic migrants.” Accord-ing to him, many children with disabili-ties are being sent back to Georgia, where they cannot receive the qualifi ed medi-cal care they require. This could pose a threat to life, which can be regarded as legitimate grounds for asylum.

Nonetheless, many believe that some asylum seekers are taking advantage of the system. German politician Stephan Meyer told Die Welt newspaper that it is “brazen and unacceptable” to abuse visa-freedom “in order to apply for asy-lum that will not be granted just to receive welfare payments and take advantage of our healthcare system.”

Georgian’s seeking asylum in Germany are putting additional strain on the immi-gration system in Germany, which has struggled to keep up with the number of migrants arriving since the beginning of the refugee crisis in 2015.

The crisis is fuelling right-wing poli-tics. Migration is a painful issue which plays an important element in electoral politics across Europe, especially in Ger-many. The far-right party ‘Alternative for Germany’ uses anti-immigrant rhet-oric to gain voters, which has proved relatively successful. They became the third-largest party in Germany after the 2017 federal election, winning 94 seats

in the Bundestag, signifi cant for a party which had previously never won seats.

The crime rate of refugees in Germany contributes to the argument of far-right parties. In 2016, prior to the visa liber-alization, Georgian nationals contributed to 1.1 percent of the total number of migrants who are criminal suspects, the highest fi gure among ex-Soviet countries aside from Russia.

Deporting Georgians is a costly under-taking. According to the Saxon Refugee Council, each charter fl ight used to send Georgians back to Tbilisi costs roughly 95,000 Euros. Two charter planes carry-ing about 100 Georgians each fl ew from Leipzig in September and October. According to the Saxon Ministry of the Interior, there are currently 511 Georgian

citizens in Saxon whose applications were rejected, meaning they will also be fl own back.

German and Georgian governments are working to tackle the problem. Ger-many is considering following in the footsteps of France, once a favorite among Georgian asylum seekers, to list Georgia as a safe country. This would make it easier to reject applications. Since France added Georgia to its list of safe countries, asylum denials have become more com-mon.

Moreover, the German government has warned that Georgia may lose its travel privileges should the trend continue. If the rate of increase nears the 50 percent threshold set by the EU, then member states may apply the so-called Suspen-

sion Mechanism designed to ensure that visa-free travel is not abused.

The Ambassador to Germany, Elguja Khokrishvili, wrote in a statement to Deutsche Welle that measures have been implemented in Georgia such as an “intensive and extensive information campaign, amendments to the law on criminal prosecution for aiding and abet-ting illegal migration and tighter controls on departure.” Applications have indeed fallen. “The fi gures from September show a 77.7 percent decrease compared to January 2018.”

The decrease gives reason to believe that the measures are relatively effective. The question remains as to whether the numbers will continue to fall in the com-ing months.

EXCLUSIVE TO GEORGIA TODAY

Schengen Visa Info, one of the largest, fastest, independent Schengen Visa-related informa-tion and news publishing web-sites in the world, has published

the latest results on Georgian Schengen visa applications. Let’s have a look how it stands from their research.

Three-fourths fewer Georgians are said to have applied for a Schengen visa in 2017 than in the previous year, as shown by the offi cial Schengen visa statistics released by SchengenVisaInfo.com.

Georgians have been able to travel to the Schengen zone without needing to get a visa ahead of time since the EU removed the visa requirements in March 2017. The effect of this move came fast, seeing the number of Schengen visa appli-cations take a huge down-turn.

In 2016, 106,024 Georgians applied for a Schengen uniform visa while in the past year, this number dropped to just 23,354 applications. Among all the consulates, the Embassy of The Netherlands rejected the largest portion of applications, though it was in second place in the list of coun-tries whose embassies received the larg-est number of applications in Georgia.

In 2017, SchengenVisaInfo.com claims the German consulate in the capital of Tbilisi received 4,444 Schengen uniform visa applications. The total number of uniform visas granted by them was 4,063.

Georgians Schengen Visa Applications Declined by 70% in 2017

29.7% of these, or 1,208, were Multiple Entry (MEV) visas. 371 (8.3%) of uniform visa applications were rejected. Ten suc-cessful applicants received a Limited Territorial Validity (LTV) visa.

The Netherlands Embassy had also a large number of applicants in 2017, but far fewer than it had the previous year. 4,348 Georgians made a Schengen uniform visa application during the past year but, in contrast to the Ger-man Embassy, The Netherlands con-sulate was highly reluctant to issue Schengen visas, granting just 3,095 uniform visas. MEVs made up more than half of these (55.6% or 1,721 MEV visas granted). Yet, in comparison with every other listed consulate, the Dutch

embassy rejected the highest number of visa applications in Tbilisi. 1,179 Georgians that applied to this consu-late received a negative response, maintaining a portion of 27.1% of the total uniform visa applications.

Italy was the third country with the highest number of Schengen uniform visa applications in Georgia. 2,910 applications were sent to the Italian Embassy and 2,543 of these were awarded a uniform visa. 722 (28.4%) of these successful applicants were granted an MEV visa. The Italian Embassy rejected 367 uniform visa appli-cations, 12.6% of the total uniform visa applications.

Only three embassies received less than a thousand Schengen uniform visa appli-

cations: Poland, Estonia and Switzerland.At the Swiss consulate, 650 Georgians

submitted a visa application and 581 of them were granted one. With 147 of the total issued visas, MEV visa holders shared a quarter of the total grants (25.3%). 66 uniform visa applicants failed to get their visa, meaning a 10.2% rate of refusal.

SchengenVisaInfo.com is one of the largest, fastest, independent Schengen Visa related information and news publishing websites in the world.For over 5 years, it has been following and reporting on policy changes about the Schen-gen zone and is now the leading source of information with over 18 million annual read-ers who rely on it to get information.

•70% fewer Schengen visa applications by Georgian citizens in 2017• The German Embassy granted the highest number of Schengen visas to Georgians• The Netherlands rejected the highest number of Schengen visa applicants in Georgia

GEORGIA TODAY NOVEMBER 9 - 12, 2018 11SOCIETY

BY KATIE RUTH DAVIES

The British Council, in part-nership with the Ministry of Education, Science, Cul-ture and Sport of Georgia, invited Tim Wheeler, inclu-

sive art and festival expert, to Tbilisi. The visit comprises two components: On 5-6 November, the expert will hold consultancy meetings with the repre-sentatives of the Ministry, disabled per-formers/artists and persons involved in the arts sector. On 8-10 November, Wheeler will deliver a training on pro-ject proposal writing, planning, delivery, and evaluation.

Tim Wheeler is a freelance arts con-sultant, teacher and performance maker. He is a former artistic director and co-founder of Mind the Gap theater com-pany, Bradford, with 30+ years’ experi-ence devising, managing and leading 18 national touring and site-specifi c pro-ductions and 100+ arts projects and edu-cational programs.

Within the consultancy meetings Wheeler will elaborate recommenda-tions for Georgia to achieve a high level of engagement of disabled people in the inclusive arts. He will suggest ideas as to how to improve the quality of their work and promote easy access to arts products and arts spaces for disabled people. The British Expert will meet representatives of cultural institutions and individuals interested in inclusive arts and most importantly the repre-sentatives of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia.

On 8-10 November, a three-day train-

British Expert Tim Wheeler Holds Consultancy Meetings & Training Sessions in Support of Inclusive Art in Tbilisi

ing component will be devoted to project proposal writing, planning, delivery and evaluation for the disability arts sector. This training will help managers and individuals engaged in Inclusive/Inte-grated Arts to develop their professional skills in project writing, planning, deliv-ery and evaluation. Training participants will

• Discuss sample project proposal and evaluation

• Set up clear project ideas• Learn about the importance of

advanced planning and timeframe• Get familiar with the distribution of

roles and responsibilities• Discuss budget components and cal-

culations• Find out the importance of marketing

planning and promotion

• Discuss the Risk Assessment• Discuss Importance evaluating feed-

back received from project participants, sponsors and general audience.

Tim Wheeler’s visit is part of the Brit-ish Council’s ‘Unlimited: Making the Right Steps’ Program. The aim of the program is to support the promotion and development of inclusive arts by sharing the UK experience involving people with disabilities in the arts and in the creation of an accessible environ-ment for them. Its activities help disabled and non-disabled artists to gain the nec-essary skills, cooperate in an integrated environment and develop new relations. Both components of Tim Wheeler’s visit are expected to signifi cantly support the inclusive arts sector in Georgia to develop the sector and improve skills.

UNICEF Welcomes Gov't Decision to Up Support for Socially Vulnerable Children

BY THEA MORRISON

UNICEF has welcomed the Georgian government’s decision on a fi vefold increase of support for socially vulnerable chil-

dren under the age of 16.The statement was made by the

UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Shanelle Hall, at a meeting with the Prime Minister of Georgia, Mamuka Bakhtadze, in Shanghai.

“We respect the Georgian govern-ment's decision, and we are excited about it. A study was done on the chil-dren that are most vulnerable and there is evidence that really established the importance of changing the policy, and

the Government was bold enough to do so. We are really looking forward to seeing the positive impact this will have on the most vulnerable children in Georgia,” the UNICEF Deputy Execu-tive Director stated, adding that the cooperation between UNICEF and the Georgian government is “really incred-ible.”

“We really appreciate that coopera-tion. We appreciate that we are able to do our work on advocating for children and getting evidence what is needed for them, and that the government is strong and critiques that evidence, and also makes its own policy decisions on what is good for children. It is a won-derful cooperation,” she noted.

Hall went on to underline that UNICEF is also excited and proud of the Geor-gian government's decision on the

implementation of the World Bank's Human Capital Project.

“Congratulations to the Government of Georgia for taking the decision to be one of the early adopters of the World Bank's Human Capital Project. UNICEF could not be more excited about that. We are keen to see children put in the center of it, and we could not be more supportive of the importance of people as part of economic development and we are very proud that the Georgian Government has taken such a bold deci-sion,” she added.

Bakhtadze announced the increase of support for socially vulnerable children under 16 last week, saying that instead of the current 10 GEL, families will get 50 GEL per child under 16 years.

He stated the initiative will apply to almost 140,000 children in the country.

GEORGIA TODAY NOVEMBER 9 - 12, 201812 SOCIETY

BY SAMANTHA GUTHRIE

On Tuesday, Georgian foot-ball (soccer, in US parlance) player Guram Kashia and players for the Tbilisi Loco-motive football team visited

the British-Georgian Academy in the capital to talk with students about bully-ing. They were also accompanied by the deputy minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport.

Guram Kashia & Locomotive Speak Out against Bullying

The football players were promoting the campaign “ძლიერები არ ძალადობენ” (dzlierebi ar dzaladoben - the strong do not bully). Kashia spoke with the young students earnestly, sharing painful mem-ories from his childhood when he himself was a victim of school-yard bullies. Some of his peers had a sort of criminal men-tality, he explained. At the time, sports were not cool and Kashia’s love for foot-ball was dismissed and ridiculed. The cool kids, who followed a ‘kai bichi’ life-style (a youth criminal subculture, popu-lar in the 1990s and early 2000s, associated

with the Georgian mafi a), would stand at the cafeteria doors and force other students to pay them money to enter. Kashia admitted that he was not popular, had few friends and was afraid to stand up to the bullies. He would tell his parents he was sick so he could stay home from school and avoid them. When he was in school in the 1990s, said Kashia, there were no conversations about bullying, and both parents and children saw bul-lying and physical fi ghts as normal and even healthy for young boys.

He never told his parents, or his younger

brother, the truth about the bullies, wor-ried that they would not take his fears seriously, and tell him to simply resist them. Kashia told students that he regrets that approach and wished that he would have shared the burden with his brother, that they could have stood up to the bul-lies together. Importantly, Kashia also spoke directly to the boys in the room, telling them that it is okay to show emo-tions, that it is okay to cry. He often cried when he was bullied as a child, he explained, and a boy should not feel ashamed to show his tears.

The football star’s fi nal piece of advice to the kids was to be open – to talk with someone about their feelings, to tell an adult if they are being bullied, to seek advice from peers. He even offered to talk with the students through his per-sonal Instagram account if they do not feel comfortable talking to other adults about bullying.

After talking with the students, Kashia and the players from Locomotive went out to the school yard to play football with the kids. Kashia said he is glad to see sports becoming increasingly popu-lar among young people and replacing the criminal and violent mentalities that dominated when he was in school.

Today, Kashia is the vice-captain of the Georgian national football team and cur-rently plays for the San Jose Earthquakes in California, USA. He joined the Earth-quakes in June this year, alongside fellow Georgian Vako Qazaishvili. Kashia played

for Dutch club Vitesse from 2010-2018, making nearly 300 appearances and scor-ing over 20 goals. The defender was named Georgian Player of the Year in 2012 and 2013 and was awarded the Eredivisie Player of the Month Award for August 2015.

In August, Kashia was awarded UEFA’s inaugural #EqualGame Award for his support of the LGBT community on the football fi eld. The award is given to a player who has acted as a role model in promoting diversity, inclusion and acces-sibility in European football.

“Kashia won the award for taking a cou-rageous public stand for equality. Whilst playing for Dutch top-division outfi t SBV Vitesse last season, the 31-year-old central defender joined other team captains at domestic matches in the Netherlands in wearing a rainbow armband, signifying support for the LGBT community.

“Kashia’s gesture was greeted with an extremely negative and hostile response in certain quarters in his native Georgia. There were even calls for him to renounce playing for the national team. Neverthe-less, he was defi ant in the face of the abuse and threats he received, insisting he had no regrets about wearing the armband and underlining his full support for diver-sity and inclusion.” – UEFA.

After winning the award, Kashia said “I believe in equality for everyone, no mat-ter what you believe in, who you love or who you are...I will always keep defend-ing equality and equal rights for everyone, wherever I play."

Image source: Sportall.ge

BLOG BY TONY HANMER

Winter has decided to delay its arrival up in our mountains, and we’re not sorry. Only the surround-

ing peaks have had one of those sprin-klings which is seen only when low clouds dissipate, revealing what they were working on in secret. The white stuff hasn’t appeared in the village at all yet. We’ve even had a few straggling guests, on foot and bike, enjoying the late easy access before certain roads, like the rough but magnifi cent one down from Ushguli to Lentekhi, are snow-closed for up to half the year.

Instead, it’s all autumn reds, yellows and evergreens together in a fantastic display which only now is losing its splendor as the leaves fall, briefl y mak-ing bizarre shadows under the trees that are the same hues as the leaves were, before they dry up to brown.

The annual harvest festival at school was even held outdoors recently, a fi rst in many years. Warm autumn sun let the classes deck their tables with all the trimmings of autumn bounty in the sports stadium. Corn, potatoes, apples, pears, pumpkins, squashes, hay, all the leaves you could want as decoration and made into crowns. Someone was even making churchkhela, the ubiqui-tous national sweet, strings of shelled walnuts or hazels dipped into thickened grape juice, and handing them out!

The different grades made verbal presentations of memorized material, poetry and prose about the season rat-tled off while I hoped that some of it would stick in their heads. Parents, teachers and classmates looked on and

applauded their efforts. The grade 10s danced too, to canned music, and although not in national costume, they looked suitably festive and acrobatic.

How different this was from having snow thick on the ground already, minus temperatures, howling winds, cloudy skies. It may not bode well in the global

warming scheme of things, but we know how much proper winter we typically have to “look forward to,” and lessen-ing this by a month or so can make a

big difference to people’s moods. See, it’s not so bad after all, we can get through this and spring will return as well, you’ll see!

Perhaps only the winter sports enthu-siasts, and there are plenty of them here too, are longing for more snow than we’ve had so far. They’re itching to get up on the slopes of Tetnuldi and Hatsvali resorts near Mestia, with their European-class lifts and world-class runs, and go wild on skis or snowboards, either of which can be rented if you don’t own your own. But this period will come soon enough, and at its higher elevations typically will last longer than Bakuriani’s or Gudauri’s, if you can spare the extra travel time and stay long enough to make it worth your while.

Until then, we mellow in the colored glows, stack up our fi rewood, let our animals graze outside as long as pos-sible, winterize water supplies and pipes, dig out the cold-weather clothing and put away our shorts and sandals, and enjoy this respite for what it is. Autumn isn’t going away just yet, so let’s not wish it to, but be content with this extra sun and warmth before the heat-refl ec-tive white transforms everything and nature really starts to hibernate. Up in Svaneti, winter is a serious thing, not to be taken lightly: an annual test of fortitude and relationships.

Tony Hanmer has lived in Georgia since 1999, in Svaneti since 2007, and been a weekly writer for GT since early 2011. He runs the “Svaneti Renaissance” Face-book group, now with over 1900 mem-bers, at www.facebook.com/groups/SvanetiRenaissance/He and his wife also run their own guest house in Etseri:www.facebook.com/hanmer.house.svaneti

Gold Harvest: Etseri, Svaneti

GEORGIA TODAY NOVEMBER 9 - 12, 2018 13CULTURE

BY LIKA CHIGLADZE

On November 10 and 14, the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theater is set to present two concerts, conducted and led by great Maestro Daniel Oren, currently the Musical Director of the

Tbilisi Opera. "Ready for a week of great music and of great

emotions with such a wonderful public in Georgia!" the conductor tweeted of his upcoming perfor-mances in Tbilisi.

On November 10, the Tbilisi Opera will present Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi, a concert to feature distinguished Georgian artists and bright stars like Iano Alibegashvili, Nino Surguladze, Otar JorJikia and George Andghuladze.

Verdi's Requiem offers a drama of opera and the thrill of wonderful symphonic writing combined with stellar, virtuosic solo moments. Requiem was composed in memory of Alessandro Manzoni, an Italian poet and novelist whom Verdi admired. The fi rst performance, at the San Marco church in Milan on 22 May 1874 marked the fi rst anniversary of Manzoni's death. Since then, the mesmerizing piece has been performed in the world’s top operas and theaters. It is known as probably the most frequently performed major choral work composed since the compilation of Mozart's Requiem.

Verdi’s well-known production is to be followed by yet another eternal classic in Tbilisi: Symphony No. 9 by Ludwig van Beethoven will come to life on the stage of the Tbilisi Opera on November 14. The cast includes Iano Alibegashvili, Nino Surgu-ladze, George Andghuladze and Armaz Darashvili as well as the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theater choir and orchestra as key elements in the concert.

Ludwig van Beethoven’s work, remarkable not only for its grandness of scale but especially for its fi nal movement, which includes a full chorus and vocal soloists who sing a setting of Friedrich Schil-ler’s poem “An die Freude” (“Ode to Joy”), pre-miered on May 7, 1824, in Vienna. Symphony No. 9 has withstood the test of time and, indeed, has made its mark and now the well-known piece will be voiced in Tbilisi Opera by world-famous Geor-gian artists. In 1972, the prelude to "Ode to Joy", the 4th movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's 9th Symphony, was adopted as the Anthem of Europe by the Council of Europe and subsequently by the

Legendary Conductor Daniel Oren to Lead 2 Productions at Tbilisi Opera & Ballet Theater

European Union in 1985. Now the anthem serves as a symbol for the whole of Europe.

“I have been collaborating with Daniel Oren since 2003. He was one of my fi rst maestros,” Nino Sur-guladze, world-famous Mezzo Soprano told GEOR-GIA TODAY. “We have recorded three DVDs of Nabucco by Verdi together. One of them was recorded in Piacenza, where I used to perform with Paata Burchuladze and the others at the Arena di Verona. The latter at Arena di Verona was made together with George Gagnidze, a Georgian bari-tone. Daniel has had close ties and friendly rela-tions with Georgian artists that possibly also fos-tered him becoming Musical Director of the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theater. I’m extremely happy to perform together with my friends and Maestro Oren on my beloved Opera Theater stage,” Surgu-ladze noted.

“I performed together with the Maestro for the fi rst time in 2011. Since then, I was fortunate enough to work with him and sing on a number of stages worldwide. We have very close ties and friendly relations. He has an amazing talent for transform-ing the same piece and interpreting it for each concert. I think he has greatest musical instinct among the world’s leading conductors,” said world-famous Georgian bass George Andguladze.

As a 20-year-old student of conducting in Ger-many, Oren claimed fi rst prize at the Berlin-based Herbert von Karajan International Conducting Competition in 1975. In 1978, he began conducting in the US and also established his career in Italy. Oren served as a conductor at such prestigious theaters as Trieste, Teatro di San Carlo in Naples and the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa. He was appointed Artist Director at the Verdi Opera House in Salerno in 2007. In 2018, he took on the role of Musical Director of the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theater. The famed artist had his debut as Musical Director on January 16 and 18 when he conducted Opera Fantasy, a program involving overtures and pieces from opera classics.

“It is a great honor and responsibility to work with such an eminent maestro as Daniel Oren,” said Otar Jorjikia, Georgian tenor. “Through working with him, you learn many things and grow professionally. I’m excited, since I’ll be performing an amazing piece by Verdi for the fi rst time in Georgia together with my colleagues. I wish all the participants good luck with this amazing performance at the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theater,” he added.

Daniel Oren has been actively performing as a

guest-conductor at the Metropolitan Opera House (New York), Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera, and the major opera houses of San Fran-cisco, Houston, Buenos Aires, Paris, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, and Moscow. He has also conducted world-wide acclaimed ensembles, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, and the Munich Radio Philharmonic. Oren is best known for his interpretations of the works of Verdi and Puccini. He has worked with some of the most famous singers in opera, including Alfredo Kraus, Josè Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Raina Kabaivanska, Ghena Dimitrova, Fiorenza Cedolins, Marcelo Álvarez, Ruggero Raimondi, Leo Nucci, and countless others. He has recorded for RCA, Decca, Arthaus Musik, TDK, and other major labels.

“I feel so honored to be part of this concert and I’m happy to perform in company with one of the world’s greatest conductors. This will be yet another big experience in my career,” Armaz Darashvili, Georgian tenor, told GEORGIA TODAY.

“Daniel Oren is a natural-born talent,” said excep-tional Georgian Soprano, Iano Alibegashvili. “I’m lucky enough to have the opportunity to perform together with him for the second time already. He is captivated by a love of the Georgian audience. I remember after he conducted Aida in Tbilisi Opera, he came and told us that he hadn’t wanted the per-formance to end,” he recalled.

Unforgettable concerts await opera enthusiasts in the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theater on November 10 and 14, so don’t miss out on the chance to enjoy the world’s greatest productions performed by bright stars and led by internationally recog-nized and progressive conductor of our time, Dan-iel Oren.

GEORGIA TODAY NOVEMBER 9 - 12, 201814 CULTURE

WHAT’S ON IN TBILISICLIMAXDirected by Gaspar NoéCast: Sofi a Boutella, Romain Guillermic, Souheila YacoubGenre: Drama, Horror, MusicalLanguage: Russian Start time: 16:45Ticket: 14 GEL

CAVEA GALLERY2/4 Rustaveli Ave.TEL (+995 32) 200 70 07

Every Wednesday ticket: 8 GELNovember 9-15

OVERLORDDirected by Julius AveryCast: Wyatt Russell, Mathilde Ollivier, Pilou AsbækGenre: Action, Horror, MysteryLanguage: English Start time: 22:15Language: Russian Start time: 15:00, 17:30, 20:00Ticket: 11-19 GEL

HUNTER KILLERDirected by Donovan MarshCast: Gerard Butler, Gary Oldman, CommonGenre: Action, ThrillerLanguage: Russian Start time: 14:00, 20:15Ticket: 11-19 GEL

THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER'S WEBDirected by Fede AlvarezCast: Claire Foy, Sylvia Hoeks, Lakeith Stanfi eldGenre: Crime, Drama, ThrillerLanguage: English Start time: 17:30Language: Russian Start time: 14:30, 22:00Ticket: 11-19 GEL

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODYDirected by Bryan SingerCast: Rami Malek, Joseph Mazzello, Mike MyersGenre: Biography, Drama, MusicLanguage: English Start time: 22:00Ticket: 16-19 GEL

SMALLFOOTDirected by Karey Kirkpatrick, Jason ReisigCast: Zendaya, Channing Tatum, Gina RodriguezGenre: Animation, Adventure, ComedyLanguage: English Start time: 12:15Ticket: 10-15 GEL

MUSEUM

GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM SIMON JANASHIA

MUSEUM3 Rustaveli Ave.TEL (+995 32) 299 80 22, 293 48 21www.museum.ge

Exhibitions: GEORGIAN COSTUME AND WEAPONRY OF THE 18TH-20TH CENTURIES

NUMISMATIC TREASURY

STONE AGE GEORGIAARCHEOLOGICAL TREASURENEW LIFE TO THE ORIENTAL COLLECTIONS

November 1-15THE UNIQUE ARCHIVE OF THE ZUBALASHVILI BROTHERS, GEORGIAN INDUSTRIALISTS AND PHILANTHROPISTS

MUSEUM OF SOVIET OCCUPATION

4 Rustaveli Ave. TEL (+995 32) 2 99 80 22, 2 93 48 21 www.museum.ge

PERMANENT EXHIBITION

November 6-30The Georgian National Museum, in cooperation with the Katyn Museum, the division of the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw and the

THEATER

GIFT - GEORGIAN INT’L FESTIVAL OF ARTS IN TBILISI

November 11PLASTER JUDADirected by Marina SalukvadzeMusic: Zaza MarjanishviliMedia opera in one actCast: Sopo KhalvashiStart time: 20:00Venue: Rustaveli Theater

November 12, 13SIMULACRUMWinter guests and Alan Lucien ØyenDirector and Choreographer: Alan Lucien ØyenKabuki choreo, Music, ‘Natsue’: Kanjuro FujimaLanguage: GermanGeorgian, English SubtitlesStart time: 20:00Ticket: 15-40 GELVenue: Marjanishvili Theater

November 14, 15STATE Ingri Fiksdal CompanyNorway/DenmarkGeorgian, English SubtitlesStart time: November 14- 20:00,November 15- 18:00Ticket: 20 GELVenue: Royal District Theater

November 15SHOWHofesh Shechter CompanyThe entrance. Clowns. ExitChoreography and Music by Hofesh ShechterPerformed by Shechter IIStart time: 20:00Ticket: 10-50 GELVenue: Rustaveli Theater

TBILISI ZAKARIA PALIASHVILI OPERA AND

BALLET THEATER25 Rustaveli Ave.TEL (+995 32) 299 04 56

November 10REQUIEMGiuseppe Verdi Start time: 20:00Ticket: 10-120

November 14SYMPHONY No. 9Ludwig van Beethoven Start time: 20:00Ticket: 10-120 GEL

GRIBOEDOVI THEATER2 Rustaveli Ave.TEL (+995 32) 2 93 43 36

November 10SAINT PETERSBURG CULTURAL NIGHTS IN TBILISIDON QUIXOTE

Directed by Zherom KaplanChoreographer: Iohan KobborgStart time: 19:00Ticket: 40-100 GEL

MUSIC AND DRAMA STATETHEATER

182 Agmashenebeli Ave.TEL (+995 32) 234 80 90

November 13WELCOME TO GEORGIA A musical, theatrical play and romantic comedy telling a story about Georgia and its people by combining song, dance, culture, traditions, history, national costumes and local cuisine.MusicalLanguage: English, some Georgian (with English subtitles)Start time: 20:00Ticket: 50-80 GEL

SHALIKASHVILI THEATER27 Rustaveli Ave.

November 9HOST AND GUESTBY VAZHA PSHAVELAStart time: 19:00Ticket: 15 GEL

November 9LULLABYStart time: 20:00Ticket: 15 GEL

November 10LIKE THISStart time: 20:00Ticket: 15 GEL

GABRIADZE THEATER14 Shavteli Str. TEL (+995 32) 298 65 93

November 9MARSHAL DE FANTE’S DIAMONDRevaz GabriadzeDirected by Revaz GabriadzeEnglish SubtitlesStart time: 20:00Ticket: 20, 30 GEL

November 10STALINGRADRevaz GabriadzeDirected by Revaz GabriadzeEnglish SubtitlesStart time: 20:00Ticket: 20, 30 GEL

November 11RAMONARevaz GabriadzeDirected by Revaz GabriadzeEnglish SubtitlesStart time: 20:00Ticket: 20, 30 GEL

November 14, 15Animated documentary fi lm REZO

Directed by Leo GabriadzeStart time: 20:00Ticket: 15 GEL

MOVEMENT THEATER182 Aghmashenebeli Ave.TEL (+995) 598 19 29 36

November 10INTRO Directed by Kakha BakuradzeStart time: 20:00Ticket: 10-15 GEL

November 11THE STORY OF A MURDERERDirected by Kakha BakuradzeStart time: 20:00Ticket: 10-15 GEL

November 15DON JUANDirected by Kakha BakuradzeStart time: 20:00Ticket: 10-15 GEL

TBILISI CIRCUS1 Heroes’ Sq.

November 10, 11AUTUMN SHOWStart time: November 10- 17:00,November 11- 13:00, 17:00Ticket: 10-25 GEL

CINEMA

AMIRANI CINEMA36 Kostava Str.TEL (+995 32) 299 99 55www.kinoafi sha.ge

Every Wednesday ticket: 5 GELNovember 9-15

THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER'S WEBDirected by Fede AlvarezCast: Claire Foy, Sylvia Hoeks, Lakeith Stanfi eldGenre: Crime, Drama, ThrillerLanguage: English Start time: 19:30Language: Russian Start time: 14:00, 22:00Ticket: 12-15 GEL

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODYDirected by Bryan SingerCast: Rami Malek, Joseph Mazzello, Mike MyersGenre: Biography, Drama, MusicLanguage: English Start time: 22:15Language: Russian Start time: 19:30Ticket: 13-14 GEL

VENOMDirected by Ruben FleischerCast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Woody HarrelsonGenre: Action, Horror, Sci-FiLanguage: Russian Start time: 19:30Ticket: 15 GEL

Polish Institute in Tbilisi, present the exhibition KATYN - IT HAS BEEN AN UNUSUAL MORNING

GALLERY

THE NATIONAL GALLERY11 Rustaveli Ave.TEL (+995 32) 215 73 00

September 11 – November 25EXHIBITION BERNINI'S SCHOOL AND THE ROMAN BAROQUE

October 9 – January 17 (2019)NIKO PIROSMANI’S RENEWED EXHIBITION

TBC ART GALLERY 7 Marjanishvili Str.

October 31- November 17EXHIBITION ELGUJA AMASHUKELI 90

MUSIC

RUSTAVELI THEATER17 Rustaveli Ave.TEL (+995 32) 272 68 68www.rustavelitheatre.ge

November 9ANNIVERSARY CONCERT TBILISI BAROQUE FESTIVALI.Documentary Film‘GEORGIAN SINFONIETTA 10’Directed by N. AkhvledianiII.EARLY DANCESJean-Philippe Rameau- Entrée and Gavotte from the opera ‘Les Boréades’ I and II, Tambourin from the opera-ballet ‘Les Indes Galantes’, Henry Purcell- aria ‘Dido’s Lament’ from the opera ‘Dido and Aeneas’, Marin Marais- Chaconne from the opera ‘Alcyone’,Tarquinio Merula- Chaconne, Georg Philipp Telemann- Sarabande from the suite ‘La Bizarre’, Marin Marais- Prelude, Tempeste and March from the opera ‘Alcyone’, Girolamo Frescobaldi- Passacaglia,Jean-Baptiste Lully- Turkish March, 2 Airs and Canarie from the ballet ‘Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme’, Henry Purcell- Prelude and Monkey Dance from the opera ‘The Fairy Queen’, Jean-Philippe Rameau- 2 Rigaudons and Orage from the opera ‘Platée’, Henry Purcell (1659-1695) - Aria ‘Cold Song’ from the opera ‘King Arthur’, Jean-Philippe Rameau - Menuet and Contradance from the opera ‘Les Boréades’, ‘Georgian Sinfonietta’, Mikheil abramishvili (countertenor), Anna Kurdovanidze (harpsichord/positive organ), Kakhi Chargeishvili (Salamuri), Merab Sanodze (drums)Small StageStart time: 19:30Ticket: 10-40 GEL

DJANSUG KAKHIDZE TBILISI CENTER FOR MUSIC

& CULTURE125 Aghmashenebeli Ave.TEL (+995 32) 296 12 43

November 9CONCERT OF PIANO MUSICGiorgi Gigashvili and David Khrikuli Will perform piano works by Haydn, Liszt, Chopin, Rossini, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin and Ravel.Start time: 19:00Ticket: 10 GEL

CLUB 10/116 Saakadze Downhill

November 10ANRI JOKHADZE'S EVENINGStart time: 20:00Ticket: 20-30 GEL

KELLER BAR36 M. Kostava Ave.

November 9SUMO, LEBOVSKIStart time: 23:00Ticket: 10 GEL

GEORGIA TODAY NOVEMBER 9 - 12, 2018 15CULTURE

GEORGIA TODAY

PUBLISHER & GM George Sharashidze

COMMERCIAL DEPARTMENT Commercial Director: Iva MerabishviliMarketing Manager: Anuka Poladishvili

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT: Editor-In-Chief: Katie Ruth Davies

Journalists: Tony Hanmer, Zaza Jgarkava, Maka Bibilashvili, Dimitri Dolaberidze, Vazha Tavberidze, Nugzar B. Ruhadze,Thea Morrison, Samantha Guthrie,Amy Jones,Ana Dumbadze

Photographer: Irakli Dolidze

Website Manager/Editor: Katie Ruth Davies

Layout: Misha Mchedlishvili

Webmaster: Sergey Gevenov

Circulation Managers: David Kerdikashvili, David Djandjgava

ADDRESS 1 Melikishvili Str. Tbilisi, 0179, Georgia

Tel.: +995 32 229 59 19E: info@georgiatoday.ge F: GeorgiaToday

ADVERTISING & SUBSCRIPTION+995 597 97 21 12E-mail: marketing@georgiatoday.ge

Reproducing material, photos and advertisements without prior editorial permission is strictly forbidden. The author is responsible for all material. Rights of authors are preserved. The newspaper is registered in Mtatsminda district court.

Reg. # 06/4-309

BY KATIE RUTH DAVIES

On November 6, a book launch ‘Unlock-ing the Door: Writing from Georgia’ was presented jointly by the Embassy of Georgia to the UK and the Royal Asiatic Society.

The book, published by Cezanne Printing House, contains pieces of translation from Georgian by students of the University of Oxford, supervized and edited by Lia Chokoshvili, a Georgian language tutor at the Oxford University Language Center. The book brings together short stories and plays by Erlom Akhvlediani, Guram Rcheulishvili, Lasha Tabukashvili, Goderdzi Chokheli and Aka Morchiladze.

Dr Alison Ohta, Director of the Royal Asiatic Society, and Neli Shiolashvili, Senior Counsellor of the Embassy of Georgia, addressed the audience with welcome remarks.

Donald Rayfi eld, Professor of Georgian and Rus-sian Studies at the Queen Mary University of Lon-don, who rendered editorial assistance to the trans-lators of ‘Unlocking the Door’, talked about the successes and challenges of translating from the Georgian language.

Wardrop Inheritance: A Journey through Translation from Georgia

Dr Gillian Evison, Head of Bodleian libraries’ Oriental Section and Indian Institute Librarian and Chair of the Marjory Wardrop Fund presented a talk about the importance of the Wardrop heritage and priorities of the Marjory Wardrop Fund, includ-ing teaching of the Georgian language and sup-porting translation from Georgian.

Lia Chokoshvili, who has been teaching the Geor-gian language at the Oxford University Language Center for more than 20 years, spoke on the entire ‘journey through translation’ right from creation of the idea all the way to its publishing.

Translators Clifford Marcus and Walker Thomp-son shared their experience on the peculiarities of translating from Georgian, while Emily Tamkin, Geoffrey Gosby and Oliver Matthews ‘joined’ the event through their recorded video-messages as they were not able to attend the book launch itself.

Later, guests had the chance to purchase the book. Discussions about the book and Georgian literature in general continued during the wine reception, also hosted by the Embassy of Georgia.

The Royal Asiatic Society has an important his-toric signifi cance for translation of Georgian lit-erature. In 1912, the translation of Shota Rustaveli’s “Knight in the Panther’s Skin” by Marjory Wardrop was published there for the fi rst time.

BY NUGZAR B. RUHADZE

This is something comparable to the Italian school of operatic singing – the supplier of vocal stars to the world. Yet, it so happened in life that the Georgian classic singers have also

conquered the world’s most illustrious stages and this is no longer news for anybody, having been the case for the last hundred years, starting with the legend of operatic singing, Tenor Vano Sara-jishvili, the famous Georgian Nightingale, and end-ing with Georgian soprano Nino Lezhava, currently the Artistic Director of the Renata Tebaldi & Mario Del Monaco International Sing-ing Academy of Pesaro in Italy.

Georgian operatic male and female stars are singing all over the planet and each of them absolutely deserve an individ-ual contribution in this won-derful weekly edition of ours. This particular journalistic instance is totally bestowed to Nino Lezhava. Thanks to her initiative and organizational efforts, in close and longstand-ing cooperation with the Geor-gian Embassy in Rome, our opera performers successfully participated in musical events dedicated to the 150th anniver-sary of the great Italian com-poser Gioachino Antonio Rossini, born in 1792 in Pesaro, one of the Papal States of Italy.

The fi rst concert was held on November 4 at the Teatro Comunale di Cagli and the second on November 6 at the Teatro della For-tuna di Fano. The outstanding group of the Batumi Musical Center, complete with conductor Davit Mukeria and soloists, tenor Irakli Kakhidze, Soprano Nino Lezhava, Mezzo-soprano Inga Jakhutashvili, and Base Sulkhan Jaiani, staged the most perfect presentation of the well-known Stabat Mater by Rossini.

Speaking historically, Rossini’s masterpiece has sounded through centuries in almost every coun-try of the globe. The latest concert was a direct

product of mutual cooperation between the Pesaro Academy and the Batumi Center.

Last November, the Days of Culture of Pesaro were held in Batumi, which was the great mutual success of the Pesaro Municipality and the Geor-gian Embassy in Italy. Following it was the Days of Georgian Culture in Pesaro last April, which was organized by the Embassy and the Leadership of the city of Pesaro, headed by the Pesaro Vice-Mayor Daniele Vimini as well as under the patronage of the Marche Region of Italy. It has to be specially noted that Daniele Vimini is truly a devoted patron and untiring leader of all those Italian-Georgian musical exchanges, attracting the most amazing attention of the public in both countries, especially those which have been performed in honor of the

universally beloved Italian composer. The musical festi-val was also dedicated to the anniversary of the beginning of UNESCO activities in Pesaro.

The well-known Georgian Soprano Nino Lezhava, who is currently working in Italy at the Pesaro Singing Academy, gave a solo concert at the Batumi Music Center on Octo-ber 25, dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Batumi State Symphony Orchestra. Nino performed in the accompaniment of the Orchestra and the Choir. The concert was conducted by the director of the Belgrade State Opera Savic, who was visiting Batumi as a special guest of honor. On October 26, Lezhava

conducted a master class at the Paliashvili Music Concert Hall. Following that, she selected young listeners for the master class of Jose Carreras, the outstanding Spanish opera singer, which is going to take place between January 19 and 26 at the Rossini Opera Theater in the city of Pesaro in Italy. Notably, she chose one young singer to attend the class for free.

The musical cooperation between Georgia and Italy continues with great vigor and professional-ism, all included – friendship, culture, politics and celebrations of the talent of both nations.

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