Latest Articles about Georgia
Fraying Georgian Government in Denial as Currency Spirals Downward
On December 5, Georgia’s national currency, the lari, fell by another 2.86 percentage points against the US dollar, hitting its lowest point since spring 2004. Overall, from early November 2014, the lari depreciated by 11.2 percent, quickly sending the prices of everyday products and commodities... MORE
Georgian Chechens Increasingly Play Key Roles in Both Islamic State and Its Rivals
After the followers of Sheikh Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed their allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) organization (sedmitza.ru, June 30), some of the rebel forces opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad became polarized. That polarization also affected the Chechen militant groups fighting in Syria, with... MORE
Russian-Abkhaz Agreement: What Is Moscow’s Plan for Georgia?
Georgian authorities are trying to devise new tactics and a new style of relations with Moscow after the November 24 signing of the Russian-Abkhazian agreement On Alliance and Strategic Partnership (Kavkavsky Uzel, November 24; see EDM, October 29, November 24). However, with Western leaders currently... MORE
Looming Annexations of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and Russia’s Growing Appetite for Territorial Expansion
On November 20, Russian-occupied South Ossetia’s (Tskhinvali region) separatist regime declared that it is negotiating a new “comprehensive agreement on integration” with Russia, which will raise the relationship between the two sides to a “qualitatively new level,” especially in the military sphere (regnum.ru, November 20).... MORE
Radio Appendage of ‘Russia Today’ Appears in Georgia
As of several weeks ago, the station Radio-Sputnik has begun broadcasting in Georgia from its studio located on Ateni Street in downtown Tbilisi. It prepares radio programs for the agency News Georgia, which, in turn, is a partner of the Russian media giant Rossiya Segodnya... MORE
Moscow Seeks to Upgrade the Status of Donetsk-Luhansk in Negotiating Formats (Part One)
Russia’s position has always been one of creative ambiguity regarding the recognition of territorial secessions from countries in Europe’s East (Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine). In each case, Russian military forces (already in place or intruding) were the direct enablers of secession. The Kremlin’s position on the... MORE
Defense Minister Alasania’s Ouster Underlines Profound Crisis of Georgia’s Political Elites
The November 4 sacking of Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Alasania by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili (Imedi TV; Rustavi 2, November 4; see EDM, November 5) and Alasania’s Our Georgia–Free Democrats party’s subsequent departure from the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) coalition to the opposition (Channel 1... MORE
Can the Georgian Dream Coalition Survive the Sacking of Defense Minister Alasania?
On November 4, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili sacked Defense Minister Irakli Alasania, who enjoys strong backing in Washington. In response to this development, Euro-Atlantic Integration Minister Aleksi Petriashvili vowed to step down the same day, and Foreign Minister Maia Pandjikidze resigned on November 5... MORE
Moscow’s Attempt to Annex Abkhazia Serves as a Bitter Lesson to Russia’s Friends and Opponents
On October 13, the Kremlin unveiled the so called “Agreement on Alliance and Integration” between Russia and breakaway Abkhazia (see EDM, October 23). To summarize this long and verbose text, the new treaty envisages a gradual but ultimately complete merger of the separatist region’s defense,... MORE
Russia Issues Ultimatum to Abkhazia
By the end of October, the authorities in Sukhumi must respond to Moscow’s proposal to sign a new agreement “On Alliance and Integration” between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Abkhazia (abkhaziya.org, October 14). The fact that the draft document was leaked to the... MORE