Vanessa-Mae to Grace the Black Sea Stage

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Issue no: 861
• JULY 15 - 18, 2016
• PUBLISHED TWICE WEEKLY
PRICE: GEL 2.50
In this week’s issue...
EU Commissioner
Johannes Hahn
Visits Georgia
NEWS PAGE 2
The Georgian
Sky Isn’t
Falling
POLITICS PAGE 4
FOCUS
ON NATO LET-DOWN
And so the wait goes
on for Georgia
PAGE 3
Vanessa-Mae to
Grace the Black
Sea Stage
S
Two Key Ministers Quit as
Georgia’s Election Campaign
Season Begins
uperstar and Britain's most successful artist, Vanessa-Mae, a violinist who
has sold over 10 million albums globally, is to perform her world famous
hits during a grandiose concert at the newly-opened Black Sea Arena in
Shekvetili on August 6th for Georgian and international guests.
The queen of electronic classical music is the first ever classical performer
to receive the Brit Awards nomination for the Best Female Artist. Being one of the
most famous stars of the classic scene, she has received numerous other awards,
among them the 1997 World Music Award.
Tickets can be purchased from 9:00 am on July 18th on tkt.ge.
POLITICS PAGE 5
Rattling the Sabre: Ogden on
the Georgian Armed Forces
SOCIETY PAGE 11
Hyperrealist’s
Talent Lauded by
Ferrari Designer
CULTURE PAGE 17
Dinamo Arena to be Available
for Visually Impaired
SPORTS PAGE 19
2
NEWS
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 15 - 18, 2016
EBRD to Support Solid
Waste Management
in Georgia
Photo: EBRD
T
he European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (EBRD) is providing a EUR 10 million (26 million GEL)
sovereign loan to Georgia’s Municipal
Development Fund as part of a campaign to improve solid waste management throughout 64 municipalities including in remote areas of
the country.
Georgia’s Finance Minister Nodar Khaduri and
the EBRD’s Director for the Caucasus, Moldova
and Belarus, Bruno Balvanera signed the loan agreement on July 12.
The project is a significant step towards the implementation of the Georgian government’s plan to
modernize the country’s waste management system
to European Union standards and help preserve
the environment, the EBRD said.
A minimum of 140 new solid waste collection
vehicles and approximately 7,000 containers will
be included in the project. Khaduri also said the
EBRD and finance ministry will cooperate on future
ventures.
“I am very happy to sign this agreement, which
marks another important successful step in the
development of the municipal infrastructure sector in Georgia,” said Balvanera. “Creating better
public awareness of the benefits of sustainable solid
waste services is an integral part of the project,
and we will continue working on a better and
healthier environment.”
The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in
Georgia. Since the start of its operations in the country, the Bank has invested over EUR 2.73 billion (7
million GEL) into 195 projects in the financial, corporate, infrastructure and energy sectors, with 91
per cent of these investments in the private sector.
EU Commissioner
Johannes Hahn
Visits Georgia
T
he EU’s Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn visited Georgia on July 14 to deliver the keynote
speech at the 13th Annual Batumi
International Conference, meet with Georgian
officials and visit EU-funded projects in Adjara,
Georgia’s Black Sea Region.
He will also hold a bilateral meeting with Prime
Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, President Giorgi
Margvelashvili, Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze
and the Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic
Integration David Bakradze.
The Batumi conference is widely
regarded an important forum
for officials from Georgia,
and other EU partner
nations, to analyze and
Contact: www.edelbrand.ge
Phone: 599 461908
discuss European affairs and other current issues
as well as to exchange ideas on EU-related challenges.
After the conference, Hahn visited a number of
EU-funded agriculture projects in the Adjara region
with the EU’s Ambassador to Georgia Janos Herman and United Nations Resident Coordinator
Niels Scott.
The visit included meetings with small farmers
who offered their assessment of the role of agricultural cooperation aimed at boosting rural development in Georgia.
The projects are funded through the EU’s ENPARD
program. Since 2013, ENPARD has supported
Georgia’s agricultural and rural development
with donations of over USD 106 million (250
million GEL).
Read the latest on georgiatoday.ge
NEWS
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 15 - 18, 2016
3
NATO Warsaw Summit: Only a
Minor Favor for Georgia?
BY ZVIAD ADZINBAIA
O
n July 8-9 Warsaw hosted
a NATO Summit that
brought together 28 Alliance members to discuss
the security challenges the
Euro-Atlantic community faces. Georgia
was invited as a loyal partner to the Alliance, who has done everything to become
a member of the family but has yet to
see its NATO dream come true.
The final declaration of the Summit
reiterated the decision made at the 2008
Bucharest Summit that Georgia will
become a member of NATO with the
Membership Action Plan (MAP) as an
integral part of the process. It also welcomed the significant progress realized
since 2008. “Georgia’s relationship with
the Alliance contains all the practical
tools to prepare for eventual membership,” the document stated.
Interestingly, an important emphasis
was given to this year’s parliamentary
elections that “will be another key step
towards the consolidation of democratic
institutions.” In addition, NATO “highly
appreciates Georgia’s significant and
continuous contributions to the NATO
Response Force and the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan and recognizes the sacrifices and contributions
the Georgian people have made to our
shared security.”
All the Alliance member states officially
said that [they] will continue to provide
the resources needed to strengthen
Georgia’s capabilities and, thereby, help
Georgia advance in its preparations for
membership in the Alliance. The allies
in particular will provide support to the
development of Georgia’s air defense
and air surveillance.
NATO stated that it does not recognize
the so-called treaties signed between
the Abkhazia region of Georgia and Russia in November 2014, and the South
Ossetia region of Georgia and Russia in
March 2015. “These violate Georgia’s
sovereignty and territorial integrity and
blatantly contradict the principles of
international law, OSCE principles and
Russia’s international commitments.”
Prior to the Summit, six major political
parties in Georgia, including the Ruling
Georgian Dream coalition and United
National Movement, jointly addressed
NATO that despite their substantial
domestic political disagreements, they
stand united on one principle: “Georgia
is a sovereign, independent state, and
the Georgian people are committed to
building a European democracy that
cherishes freedom, economic opportunity, and security, and aspires to full
membership in all Euro-Atlantic institutions.”
Former Georgian Ambassadors to the
US, Vasil Sikharulidze and Batu Kutelia,
hoped for Georgia’s to become part of
NATO’s wider Black Sea regional strat-
egy with Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania and
Turkey. The NATO declaration only
generally stated that the allies will also
deepen their focus on security in the
Black Sea region.
In their article on the Atlantic Council,
US, the two ambassadors highlighted
that Georgia’s NATO membership will
put an end to uncertainty about the future
of Georgia and, in turn, the future of
Europe and its eastern flank.
US Army Colonel and a professor in
the Department of National Security and
Strategy at the US Army War College,
Robert E. Hamilton, said that NATO’s
declared policy that every country has
the right to choose its own alliances, is
untrue, referring to Georgia. He said
that, having such a principle, in reality,
Georgia would already be a NATO member, emphasizing Russia’s obstructive
role in the process.
Hamilton believes that the US should
consider guaranteeing Georgia’s security
against external attack in this period
between the announcement of Georgia’s
invitation to join NATO and its actual
accession into the Alliance. He calls the
MAP process outdated as “Georgia has
met all MAP requirements already.”
Summarizing the Summit results, James
Stavridis, former NATO Supreme Allied
Commander, currently the Dean of the
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
at Tufts University, said that among other
losers coming out of Warsaw are Ukraine
and Georgia.
“Both have been invaded by the Russian Federation (Ukraine in 2014 and
Georgia in 2008), and the Russians continue to occupy significant chunks of
their territory,” the security expert said.
“Given these disputes with Russia, the
likelihood of full membership seems
quite distant, and the Warsaw Summit
did not offer much in the way of hope
for their goals.”
Officials in Tbilisi, including Foreign
Minister Mikheil Janelidze, underscored
that Warsaw was a success as a sitting
of the NATO-Georgia Council within
the Summit was held for the first time
and NATO reaffirmed its commitments
toward Georgia and sent clear messages
in terms of Georgia’s sovereignty and
territorial integrity.
On the other hand, security experts in
Georgia explain that while the Summit
was not a failure for Georgia, it did not
bring very much to a country that is facing fundamental security threats from
Russia.
Opinions are also divided as to whether
the Georgian government needs to carry
out more proactive diplomacy and pursue more effective policies or if NATO
should make a firm decision and open
its door to the South Caucasian heartland. The answer can be two-fold: Georgia should do its best in terms of advancing further democratically, growing
economically and becoming a more
reliable partner for the western countries
and the Alliance as a whole. On the other
hand, NATO’s further expansion will
probably much depend on the consequences of the forthcoming US elections
and on geopolitical fluctuations on the
old continent.
4
POLITICS
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 15 - 18, 2016
The Georgian Sky Isn’t Falling
BY LINCOLN MITCHELL
T
he Georgia Analysis is a
twice monthly analysis of
political and other major
developments in Georgia.
Lincoln Mitchell is a political development, research and strategic
consultant who has worked extensively
in the post-Soviet space. He has agreed
to share some of his analyses exclusively
with GEORGIA TODAY.
On the eve of the Warsaw Summit, with
the Parliamentary elections only a few
months away, it is easy to see all the big
picture problems facing Georgia. Russia
is not going away; NATO membership
is not going to happen anytime soon;
Abkhazia and South Ossetia are still
functioning as de facto Russian protectorates or even colonies; political life is
still extremely polarized; and while economic proposals are easy to come by,
solutions to Georgia’s ongoing economic
challenges are not in the immediate offing.
In the strange logic of Georgian political life, it is possible that both major
political blocks will agree on these points
in the election discourse. The difference
will be that the opposition United National
Movement (UNM) will seek to blame
all these problems on the incumbent
Georgian Dream (GD) coalition, while
the GD will argue that these problems,
which may be getting slightly less severe,
were caused by the decade of UNM
misrule.
Lost on both these parties is another
possibility, one for which there is an
increasing amount of evidence. Perhaps
things are not going quite as badly for
Georgia as the election narrative may
suggest. Moreover, it is also possible that
while the current government should
get much of the credit for this, in some
cases they are building on the work of
their immediate predecessors in the
UNM and even of the Citizen’s Union
block led by former President Eduard
Shevardnadze, that was in power
before being ousted in the 2003
Rose Revolution.
This view should not be overstated, nor should it be so
quickly minimized. It is true
that some substantial problems remain. The economy
is still not meeting the needs
of many Georgians as concerns about inflation and
unemployment have been
a constant for years, beginning well before the GD
came to power. Similarly,
Abkhazia and South Ossetia
remain under Russian control.
However, a closer look at both
the economic and foreign
policy realm is less discouraging.
More than two years after the
Russian invasion of Crimea; and
almost eight years after the RussiaGeorgia war of 2008, Russia has continued to harass Georgian citizens living
in and near the disputed territories, and
have moved the line between Abkhazia
and the rest of Georgia further south,
but they have been unable to gain any
meaningful international support for
their actions, gather the wherewithal to
move substantially further into Georgia
or figured out exactly what to do with
Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Even following Russia’s successful incursion into
Crimea, they were unable to turn their
attention to Georgia in the way that many
feared. This might be because Russian
President Vladimir Putin decided he
The positive developments in Georgia may
help frame this election as one about
choice, policy, vision and politics rather
than as being about a last chance to save
the country from collapse. Source: fanart.tv
didn’t want to commit any more acts of
aggression in Russia’s neighborhood, but
that is a bit of an oversimplification.
Rather, the network of political and
security arrangements that Georgia has
been building for years proved to be
very valuable even if they did not
lead directly to NATO membership or a Membership Action
Plan (MAP) for NATO.
Instead, political signals
from Georgia’s western
allies, increased cooperation of the kind we
saw this week in Tbilisi,
and the broad opposition to Russia within
Georgia all helped
halt whatever ambitions Moscow had
towards Georgia in
the last two or three
years.
A d d i t i o n a l l y,
Georgia is not lurching from crisis to
crisis the way it did
for many years. The
country’s political life
is no longer characterized by shooting wars
with Russia, massive demonstrations occasionally
violently dispersed, fake
invasions by Russia, spy intrigue
and similar fare. There are
still occasional government shakeups, vocal and
passionate political debates,
the continuing role of informal leadership, although that also existed before
2012, concerns about abuses of power
and the like, but no longer of a degree
where the fear of the other foot dropping dominates political life.
The coming election promises to be
close as the outcome is genuinely in
doubt with fewer than three months
until votes are cast. While partisans of
the GD and UNM undoubtedly believe
that victory for their party is essential
to the country’s future, some perspective on that is also valuable. Regardless
of who wins, Georgia is unlikely to again
lose its democratic moorings as it did in
the late UNM period. Another way to
look at the Georgian election is that there
is no likely outcome that will destabilize
the country and threaten the rights and
standing of minorities the way a Trump
victory would in the US. The possible
exception to this is if former President
Mikhail Saakashvili seeks to return to
Georgia following the election to try to
mobilize an extra-legal effort to gain
power, but even if that were to happen,
it would be unlikely to be successful.
There is, of course, a lot at stake in this
election, as is the case with any national
election, but the basic stability of Georgia will not be quite as central to the
outcome as was the case in, for example,
2012.
Building a modern functioning economy
for Georgia will be the central challenge
for whoever wins the October election,
just as it has been of the previous two
governments, but there are some accomplishments upon which the next government can build. The most significant of
these may be the slow, but unmistakable,
advance of stability in Georgia. While
Georgia still finds itself in a geographical region that is unsettled with an
aggressive Russia to the north and the
Middle East wrought with conflict, refugee crises and terrorism, Georgia itself
increasingly stands out from the region
in this respect.
The government in Georgia, while not
exuding reformist enthusiasm as publicly
and boisterously as its predecessor, has
continued to build Georgia while striking a tone that is less fraught with adrenaline and more hands off than the GeorContinued on page 5
POLITICS
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 15 - 18, 2016
Two Key Ministers Quit as
Georgia’s Election Campaign
Season Begins
BY TAMAR SVANIDZE
T
wo top Republican Ministers will leave their posts
in Georgia’s cabinet as the
Republican Party launches
its election campaign ahead
of parliamentary polls in October, the
party’s leader and Parliament Chairman
David Usupashvili announced at a special briefing Tuesday.
Defense Minister Tina Khidasheli – the
first woman to hold the position – who
has served in her post since May 2015 and
Reconciliation and Civil Equality Affairs
Minister Paata Zakareishvili, will resign
from the cabinet in the coming days and
focus their attention on the Republican
Party’s pre-election activities.
Environmental Protection Minister
Gigla Agulashvili – also a Republican –
has opted to leave the party but remain
in the government.
“We are ending our alliance with the
Georgian Dream Coalition. We are proud
that we have done a lot of work with our
partners over the past four years, but the
country needs much more,” Usupashvili
said.
At the briefing, Usupashvili announced
that the Republican Party is officially
launching its election campaign.
Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili,
who is also the chairman of the ruling
Georgian Dream coalition, has yet to
name his replacements for Khidasheli
and Zakareishvili.
The Republicans are the second largest faction in the Georgian Dream coalition. The party announced in late March
that it plans to withdraw officially from
the Georgian Dream before the October
2 elections and run on its ticket.
The departure of the Republicans is
expected to complicate the Georgian
Dream’s chances at re-election. Recent
polls have shown widespread discontent
with the incumbents due to their poor
handling of Georgia’s crippled economy
and a lack of policy cohesion amongst
its disparate members.
The coalition has been the dominant
political force in the country since it
defeated former President Mikheil
Saakashvili’s United National Movement
in the 2012 elections.
The Republicans are a self-described
pro-European, pro-Western, center-right
party that champions a liberal market
economy and close integration with Western institutions like NATO and the EU.
5
The Georgian Sky Isn’t Falling
Continued from page 4
gia of five or ten years ago. While some
see this as a sign that the government is
not competent, others see it as a welcome reprieve and a signal that business
will be unharassed by government. The
fruits of that approach are visible for
those who care to look. The indicators
are still mixed, but the recent upgrade
from a low-middle to upper-income
country, the increasing investment from
abroad and the steady expansion of tourism all suggest that the economy is not
as bad as many suggest.
This may or may not have much bearing on the upcoming election. In democratic countries voters have the right,
even the obligation, to ask their leaders
“what have you done for me lately?”
Accordingly, Georgian voters may determine that the pace of progress has been
too slow, that the current government
is not likely to solve the remaining and
ongoing problems facing Georgia or
simply that it is time to give another
political party a chance. However, the
positive developments in Georgia may
help frame this election as one about
choice, policy, vision and politics rather
than as being about a last chance to save
the country from collapse.
Claiming that victory for your party is
all that is standing between your country and disaster is a well-worn political
ploy because it is easy and always appeals
to the hardest core supporters of that
party. Rarely has that tactic been pursued
more unambiguously than in the US
election this year. This tactic is appealing and can lead to short term success.
However, when it is clearly the result of
hyperbole rather than more objective
analysis it is damaging to the country,
any country, in the longer term, and
makes it harder for that country to meaningfully address problems or achieve
politically stability.
Contesting elections without relying
on what might be called the Chicken
Little approach to politics is a challenge
to both the opposition party as well as
to the incumbent party. It forces both to
articulate a view more sophisticated than
simply raising irrational but alluring
fears about the opposition. This is what
Georgia needs now, but it is not something with which Georgia’s political class,
regardless of party, has much experience.
The GD, after all, came to power warning, not without accuracy, that their victory in 2012 was essential to stave off
creeping authoritarianism in Georgia,
while the UNM stayed in power for years
by claiming that their defeat would mean
victory for Russia, and, in so many words,
the end of the Georgian state.
Breaking old habits, particularly ones
that have worked under similar, but also
critically different, circumstances, is difficult, but it will be essential for Georgia’s
future. In 2016, the politics of anger and
calamity have thus far proven successful
in many places, although most polling
suggests that it will not continue to be
the case in the US in November. Georgia,
however, can ill afford this approach.
Recognizing the accomplishment not
just of the GD government, but of the
Georgian state, is essential both for deepening Georgian political stability and
for building on those accomplishments.
6
POLITICS
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 15 - 18, 2016
Georgia’s Ruling Coalition Releases Georgian President’s
Statement the Right Step,
List of Election Candidates
says Volker
BY TAMAR SVANIDZE
BY IA MEURMISHVILI,
VOICE OF AMERICA
T
he head of the Georgian
Dream coalition and current
Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, announced his
party’s list of candidates set
to run in the upcoming October 8 parliamentary elections.
Kvirikashvili named 15 new candidates
who will take part in the parliamentary
elections. Of note is the fact that eight
from 15 are Western educated, and several
are accomplished women in their 30s.
After publicly presenting the new candidates, Kvirikashvili said that it is critical
for Georgian politics “to have new energy,
a new vision.”
“Today’s realities push for a new agenda,
new requirements…and our party meets
these challenges with a renewed team
that is ready to respond to every challenge,” said Kvirikashvili.
“I believe that along with the existing
team, the Georgian Dream’s newest members will win a convincing victory in the
elections,” Kvirikashvili said without
specifying how the newly named candidates would be positioned in Georgian
Dream’s party list.
Candidates ranked higher on their respective party’s list of MP candidates have
more chances of getting a seat in the legislative body if that party clears the 5 per
cent threshold in a nationwide vote.
The Georgian Dream has yet to name
its MP candidates in single-mandate constituencies.
Under the constitution, the Georgian
Parliament’s 150 members serve four-year
terms, with 77 seats set by proportional
representation and 73 in single-seat constituencies.
The ruling Georgian Dream coalition
A
dominates the current parliament with
85 seats.
The coalition - founded by Georgia’s
eccentric billionaire oligarch Bidzina
Ivanishvili - swept to power following a
major prison scandal in 2012.
Comprised of six independent parties,
it won the parliamentary elections four
years ago and unseated pro-Western President Mikheil Saakashvili’s United National
Movement (UNM) in the process.
The Georgian Dream candidates for the
October elections are:
Nino Goguadze – A member of Georgia’s Central Election Commission,
recently a member of the Tbilisi City
Council she is a member of the Conservative Party, which has been in the Georgian Dream coalition;
Tamar Chugoshvili – Head of a Tbilisibased legal advocacy group Georgian
Young Lawyers’ Association in 2010-2012;
Tamar Khulordava – First deputy minister of the penitentiary system since
September 2015;
Sophio Kiladze – Former deputy rector
of the Police Academy;
Archil Talakvadze – Deputy Interior
Minister since December 2014;
Giorgi Gakharia – Business ombudsman
at the PM’s office since the GD coalition
came into power in late 2012;
Irakli Kobakhidze – The coalition’s
executive secretary since early 2015;
Sopho Japaridze – An Essex University
graduate, PM’s assistant on human rights
and gender equality issues;
Mariam Jashi – Former deputy healthcare minister, who now chairs state-run
charity Solidarity Foundation; A Harvard
University graduate, a holder of Kennedy
School of Government master’s degree
in public administration;
Irina Pruidze – A chairwoman at the
Eurasia Regional Committee of the World
Scout Movement; she was with the New
Rights Party almost a decade ago.
Sophiko Katsarava – Former political
officer at the British embassy in Tbilisi;
Kakha Kuchava – Legal scholar, Nottingham University graduate and corporate law master’s degree holder. Currently
a corporate lawyer;
Mamuka Mdinaradze – a practicing
lawyer;
Roman Kakulia – Head of the EU assistance coordination department at the
State Ministry of European and EuroAtlantic Integration;
Akaki Zoidze – Columbia University
graduate specializing in governance with
seven years of experience in public service. He served as deputy state minister
in healthcare.
t the NATO Warsaw Summit, Georgian President
Giorgi Margvelashvili
announced a joint statement
by all the major political
parties in Georgia, in which the signatories unite under an overarching national
goal to advance the country’s EuroAtlantic aspirations. Executive Director
of the McCain Institute for International
Leadership and former US Ambassador
to NATO, Kurt Volker, participated in
coordinating the agreement. Ia Meurmishvili of Voice of America spoke with
Volker about the significance of the joint
statement.
WHAT DOES THIS DECLARATION
MEAN FOR GEORGIA?
I think it is tremendously important.
When you have a country with Georgia’s
geography and history, and you have a
population that has always looked west–
always looked to be a democratic country, a market economy, a part of the community of Europe –for all of the political
leaders of the current and former governments to get together around this
one idea is tremendously significant.
I’m not aware of anything else where we
have seen the government and opposition
parties unify around one statement, one
idea, in the past. Seeing it this time – presented by the President of Georgia at the
Warsaw Summit – is very significant.
HOW DOES IT REFLECT ON
GEORGIA’S IMAGE OUTSIDE
OF THE COUNTRY?
I think it is important to look at both
sides – internally, inside Georgia, and
externally, outside.
Starting externally, one of the image
problems Georgia has had over the past
several years is that it is not a mature
democracy: that the different political
parties in Georgia cannot agree on anything, cannot work together; that there
have been politically oriented prosecutions; that there have been fights over
controlling the media; that there have
been accusations about one party or the
other. Despite all of that, and despite all
the differences among them, the political parties have shown that they are
united around this one idea – that Georgia is a European democracy that belongs
to the community of transatlantic nations
and should be a part of the EU and part
of NATO – is tremendously significant.
Internally: when you look inside Georgia, there are always debates, questions
and doubts: “Can Georgia make it as a
European democracy?” Russian propaganda certainly plays on that – trying to
convince Georgians that they have no
alternative, that they will be tied to Russia. This is a statement of all the political party leaders in Georgia – of the
current and former government – saying
‘No. We believe that Georgia does have
a future as part of Europe and, despite
everything, we will work together towards
that goal.’
Continued on page 8
POLITICS
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 15 - 18, 2016
7
#shareyoursuccess
#
shareyoursuccess is an active
campaign which has taken off
on social networks. Based on
the principle of sound competition, representatives of
various companies are encouraging each
other to participate in the Business Award
2016, jointly organized by TBC Bank and
Geocell. Online registration on http://
businessaward.ge will last until August
15. Companies can participate and compete in the following nominations:
•
Tourism enterprise of the year;
•
•
•
•
•
Agricultural enterprise of the year;
Georgian product of the year;
Innovative enterprise of the year;
Small enterprise of the year;
People’s favorite.
Snap Fitness Georgia is a tightly knit
team with an ambition to do sound business. We believe that nothing is impossible and want to pass this drive to others. We have already registered for the
competition and would like to encourage
everyone to participate in Business Award
2016. SMEs should not miss this excellent opportunity to make their business
popular with more people. We should
all share our success to encourage the
creation of more enterprises. Sound
competition is good for consumers, as
well as for the development of business,”
- says famous basketball player and
founder of Snap Fitness Georgia, Zaza
Patchulia.
Designer Zviad Tsikolia has already
started working on the design of the
prize, which will go to the winners at
the award ceremony, in November.
“The concept of the prize design in
based on infinite opportunities, 360
degrees, a circle – this is a symbol of
infinite opportunities and development.
I think that civilization and development
is not possible without sharing success,
and what is more important, success is
contagious: this is why it is important
that everyone tells their stories,” says
designer Zviad Tsikolia.
Winners of the Business Award 2016
will be revealed by a special jury that is
comprised of specialists in the fields of
economy and business. The list of finalists will be revealed in September and
their marketing support will be carried
out by TBC Bank and Geocell.
Business Award 2016 is the largest
award to aim to support successful entrepreneurs and encourage them to achieve
even more. It also aims to inspire others,
embrace diverse opportunities that exist
in the country, and develop businesses.
ADVERTISING
8
POLITICS
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 15 - 18, 2016
A Road Runs though It
OP-ED BY ZAZA JGARKAVA
T
he 135 km highway between
Tbilisi and Vladikavkaz, the
only road connecting us with
Russia, destroyed by a natural disaster, has been restored
after a closure of two-weeks. Truck drivers from neighboring Armenia, who waited
patiently, were especially happy with the
restoration, unlike the representatives of
their government, who were able to create a new scandal within this short period,
with the Minister of Transport, Gagik
Beglaryan, visiting Tbilisi to ask Prime
Minister Kvirikashvili to give them permission to take their cargo through occupied South Ossetia. Moscow was also
involved in the talks.
“The road crossing South Ossetia is in
good condition, and so negotiations are
taking place between Russian and Georgian parties so that they can come to an
agreement,” Beglaryan was cited as saying in Armenian media. PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili confirmed that consultations took
place (apparently within the KarasinAbashidze format), however the agreement was not made, since, as he said,
Russia raised political demands about the
status of the occupied territories.
“To me the hysteria following [Beglaryan’s] announcement is absolutely unreasonable,” said PM Kvirikashvili. “The law
about the ‘occupied territories’ includes
the point where in force majeure situations the cargo can be released with neutral status through the occupied territories.
That is how we wanted to move the
stopped cargo, in order not to create
greater loss to our businessmen and others. The Russian Federation responded
with an answer directly connected with
the status of the territories recognized
by them, and so we refused to let the
cargo through on the alternative road.
Our offer was to open this route only if
in compliance with our legislation,” said
Kvirikashvili.
Kvirikashvili’s words were confirmed
by the so-called President of the South
Ossetia Leonid Tibilov, who at the time
Beglaryan was seeking alternatives for
the cargo, was for some reason in Moscow talking about transportation issues
in the Kremlin. It does not need much
guesswork to deduce Tibilov was urgently
invited to Moscow to talk exactly about
this road issue. However, the Russian side
was unable to make him agree, or to be
more precise, they did not try hard enough
to make him agree and
both Tbilisi and official
Yerevan were given a
diplomatic
refusal. Tibilov
then announced the
official position of the Kremlin:
“We talked about the issue of the opening of the road through South Ossetia
with our partners in Moscow, but Armenia has not addressed us officially about
this case and everything depends completely on the normalization of relations
between the two states (that is South
Ossetia and Georgia).”
The prompt restoration of Dariali Gorge
and opening of the highway has apparently put a full stop to this political scandal, however the stability in such an
unstable place as Dariali is quite theoretical, as nobody knows when the road
crossing Georgia, which is
vital for Armenia, will be
closed again. This
could be the reason
our neighboring Armenia
is so active in the issue of diversifying transportation routes in Georgia, offering recommendations about
opening the railway through occupied
Abkhazia. However, this “support” from
Official Yerevan only goes as far as transportation and does not include other
directions, for example, in the voting that
took place in the UN some weeks before
the disaster about returning Georgian
IDPs to their homes, Armenia voted
against. Naturally, their decisions are
shaped by Russian interests. Thus, all we
can hope for is that if the Georgian Dream
is unable to answer our neighbors, at least
nature will help us in doing so.
Georgian President’s Statement the Right Step, says Volker
Continued from page 6
DO YOU THINK THE STATEMENT
CLARIFIES ANY AMBIGUITY
IN REGARDS TO GEORGIA’S
WESTERN ASPIRATIONS IN
THE MINDS OF WESTERNERS?
I think it’s a step in the right direction.
Under the previous government, we had
questions in the West if Georgia really
was a mature democracy and– as a result
– if we were ready for membership, or
the “Membership Action Plan” at the
Bucharest Summit (in 2008). NATO
decided to take a pause on that.
Since then, we've had questions under
the current government as well about
what direction Georgia is taking. This
statement is now something that everyone can point to, whether it is NATO,
the EU, or political leaders inside Georgia. It is unequivocal that this is the
direction all the political leaders of
Georgia want take.
WHAT NEXT?
I think it’s important to build on the unity
in this area, and start developing concrete
steps that need to be taken to make it a
reality. In order for Georgia to qualify as
a member of the EU, or as a member of
NATO, there is still a lot of work to do. If
we want to look at how Poland, the Czech
Republic, or Hungary developed at the
time - in terms of democracy, market
economy, good relations with neighbors,
interoperability with NATO, contributions
to common security –all of these things
took time to settle in society. It took time
to build consensus around them, to build
the programmatic steps behind them, and
to strengthen institutions to support them.
DO YOU THINK THERE WILL
BE A REACTION FROM RUSSIA
ABOUT THIS UNITY?
The one thing I would say about Russia
is that you cannot really pay attention
to what they say. Russia is always trying
to influence the actions and beliefs of
others through what it says. Russia would
of course react to this very negatively, if
they react at all. They will say that it is
just a statement, that NATO does not
really mean anything, that the Warsaw
Summit will not offer the MAP… and so
they will point to this as a failure. Do
not believe any of it! That is just Russia’s way of trying to influence what
Georgians think. What is more important is that all the political leaders in
Georgia are reflecting what Georgians
actually think which is that they deserve
to be a free society, a democracy, and a
market economy, just as much as any
other Europeans – and that they deserve
to have security just as much as any other
Europeans. And this idea is now firmly
anchored in the policies of both the government and the opposition.
One of the things I think is important
about this declaration that the president
has put forward is that each of the political parties is taking responsibility. This
was not something that was thrown
together or imposed on them- each of
them is accepting responsibility that this
is important for Georgia. That idea that
there is a national interest that is greater
than any one party’s political interest is
a tremendously important idea. I hope
that this is something that begins to
strengthen Georgia, and becomes a way
of shielding Georgia’s democracy from
the influences that can pull it apart.
DO YOU THINK THIS
UNITY COULD SERVE AS A
PRECEDENT INTERNALLY
FOR THE GOVERNMENT
AND OPPOSITION TO
WORK TOGETHER TOWARDS
ACHIEVING A NATIONAL GOAL?
I hope so, but I wouldn’t want to make
too much out of it at this point. As a matter of foreign policy and national security,
I think there is agreement on this orientation for Georgia, and it was possible to
write it down for the parties to agree. On
domestic politics, there are still a lot of
very deep differences. Over time, I hope
that will be possible to establish overarching national goals that go beyond any one
party’s interest– whether it is in foreign
policy or a domestic issue. At this point,
because Georgia is going into an election
season, it would be very difficult to see
this develop further, but at least this one
step forward. Every bit of progress made
starts with a step somewhere.
POLITICS
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 15 - 18, 2016
The Liberating
Power of Brexit
OP-ED BY ISIDOROS KARDERINIS
T
he referendum of June 23,
2016 regarding Britain’s
remaining in or exit from
the European Union (EU),
through its subversive
BREXIT result undoubtedly shook the
dominant British and European political and economical system.
The British, taken as a whole, are not
the people of a protectorate who might
have a slave mentality. They are the
proud people of a great country that in
the past has been an empire and today
is one of the world's largest economies.
The British, who are also the winners
of two world wars, have developed a
highly dignified attitude and behavior.
So, it is understandable that the British
citizens who endured with unprecedented fortitude and bravery the fierce
bombardments of the Nazi air force in
World War II, would not be able to
accept, against any short-term negative
economic impacts arising from the
BREXIT, German domination and leadership in the EU.
Thus, the incredible surprise of the
German political leaders and far away
standing bureaucrats in Brussels coming from this amazing, liberating for
ordinary people result, on that promising and sunny dawn of June 24, 2016,
does not comply in any way with any
historical knowledge and thorough
data analysis.
Germany's assiduous effort to put
under its complete control the European
people and once again the continent –
this time not through the use of military
weapons as in the past, but the use of
economic ones-, presents a similar ignorance of history characteristics. It is
obvious that the Germans, who cannot
control in any way their great political
and economic power, are completely
ignorant of history, and so now, find
themselves -by mathematical determinism- on the verge of a new defeat that
will come through the imminent unraveling of the EU.
The EU, which in 1993 through the
Maastricht treaty replaced the until
then EEC, is basically by default an
unnatural and defective political and
economic union of states with different
political, legal, economic, military and
cultural levels, but as well a union of
people who feel like strangers to each
other, without any mutual or brotherly
feelings of solidarity Thus, the grandiose pronouncements and unrealistic
visions for a democratic and prosperous
from end to end EU could not but be
bitterly ruled out.
Germany, taking advantage of the
impacts of the crisis erupting in September 2008 through the grandiose
collapse of the banks (Lehman Brothers), and invoking -of course- the Maastricht Stability Pact and the need for
reform packages so that the negative
effects of the crisis could be confronted,
has been implementing since then, with
exaggerated dominance, a kind of economic totalitarianism, mostly against
the weak Member States of the European periphery.
The anti-grass roots economic plans
of the strictest neoliberal austerity
imposed by Berlin have indeed leveled
the societies of the southern European
countries. In Greece, which is certainly
the most typical example of the pilot
implementation of these incredibly
absurd and economically irrational
policies, unemployment has increased
dramatically to 26.8 percent of the workforce, while 36 percent of the Greek
population lives below the poverty line.
In Italy, 24.4 percent of the population
is facing the risk of poverty and social
exclusion. In Spain, 22.2 percent of
households live below the poverty line
and more than one in three children,
2.6 million, are facing the risk of poverty
and social exclusion. In Portugal, one
in four children lives below the poverty
line and a total of about two million
people, 20 percent of its population,
live amid poverty and destitution.
At the same time, Germany has clearly
received unprecedented economic
benefits. Its extreme profits arise from
the transfer of investors’ money to
“low risk” German bonds due to the
crisis plaguing the eurozone. Especially after 2009, yields on German
bonds have reached the bottom of the
barrel, while in some cases (eg 5-year
German bonds) reached negative inter-
9
TBILISI-BATUMI
BATUMI-TBILISI
KUTAISI AIRPORT
TBILISI CENTRAL
BATUMI CENTRAL
09:00, 12:00, 20:00, 01:00 09:00, 12:00, 19:00, 01:00
2 Station Square
TAMAR MEPE AVE.
595 99 00 00
www.eurobus.ge
Source: Manny Francisco
www.straitstimes.com
est rates. That means that Germany
not only does not pay to borrow, but
on the contrary, investors, given the
insecurity in the euro zone, pay it in
order to safeguard their money. Thus,
in five years (2010-2015), Germany
managed to save a total of EUR 100
billion, equivalent to 3 percent of its
GDP, precisely because of the dramatic
reduction in borrowing costs.
It is obvious that the EU, and surely
the extremely neoliberal Eurozone,
operates in the interests of the hegem-
onic and dominant Germany at the
expense of other Member States and
mainly at the expense of the southern
European countries. The extremely high
trade surpluses achieved by Germany
(for example, in 2013 it had a trade surplus of 200 billion thus remaining a
highly competitive state) are certainly
due to the great German economic
machine but at the same time are scandalously increased by the unfair eurozone monetary system.
Continued on page 10
10
POLITICS
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 15 - 18, 2016
The Liberating What We Want is Not
Power of Brexit Always What We Can Get
SOCIETY
Continued from page 9
Germany for the first time in many
years, apart from its economic boom,
has become a first rate international
player, given that its political leadership
has found itself in a key position thus
being able to represent the other European countries without being asked to.
So the exit of Great Britain- the first
military power, a permanent member
of the UN Security Council and the
country with the third largest contribution to the EU budget- from the EU,
represents a fatal blow to the international status of the EU and first of all
to the status of Germany.
Likewise, EU institutions and decision-
Thus comes the
time for enslaved
countries within
the EU to follow
the shining
example of Great
Britain; to break
their steel shackles
and become
liberated
making processes lack democratic
legitimacy and they are distant and
inaccessible to the ordinary European
citizen. Thus, a deep democratic deficit
directly opposing the founding treaties
of the EU grossly violating the original
declaratory core of values, is clearly
visible. The people of Europe exert
absolutely no direct influence on the
important EU decision-making institutions, i.e the European Council with its
strong centralized role and the European
Commission with its highly bureaucratic
and technocratic nature, while these
institutions have absolutely no accountability to the citizens. On the other hand,
the directly elected European Parliament, which is based in Strasbourg,
possesses no sufficient powers and
continues to be a weak link.
In conclusion, the European Union,
which has been reduced to a type of
German colony, despite the illusions
cultivated by certain political circles,
is not willing to change or improve, or
even to acquire a democratic, social
role. Thus comes the great time for the
enslaved countries within the European
Union and the euro zone to follow the
shining example of Great Britain and
the proud British people, to break their
steel shackles and become liberated,
looking forward with greater hope and
optimism.
Isidoros Karderinis was born in Athens in
1967. He is a novelist, poet and economist
with postgraduate studies in the tourism economy. Articles of his have been published in
newspapers, magazines and on websites
worldwide. His novels and three of his poetry
books have been published in the USA and
Great Britain.
OP-ED BY NUGZAR B. RUHADZE
L
et us drop our political concerns this once and embark
on something more humane
like our regular happiness day
in day out, part of which, as I
understand, must be the agreement
between our desires and solvency.
Georgia is a typical country of contrasts,
where prices for service are of a Western
level and the ability of the majority of
people to pay for that service is as low
as it would be in any developing country,
maybe even less. Incidentally, I recollected here my son’s quick joke of several
years ago: ‘Dad, it’s so frustrating to have
a Lord and Taylor eye, but a Wal-Mart
pocket-book all your life’.
I do not exclude that one of the main
obstacles to business development here
is the fact that people want to use certain
amenities, suggested by various businesses, but are unable to afford to do so.
For instance, tourists do not want to return
to Georgia because of price incongruity
on many products and services, especially
in the short summer season they intend
to enjoy here. I come across sporadic
stragglers in chic boutique or perfume
stores in Tbilisi – another example of the
sharp discord between our appetite and
ability to quench it with dough.
Compounding the story, Georgia has
places where it is just a pleasure to be.
We have all heard, for example, about
the Gino Paradise which is just a haven
to hide out in for a day – with equal
pleasure in winter and summer – but
with summer offering something out-
Source: nooga.com
standing: numerous swimming pools,
both outdoor and in, spas, eateries, entertainment and what not. They often do
courtesy admissions in special cases,
giving a chance to those who cannot
afford the pleasure. I have personally
witnessed some of those events a couple
of times. The other day, Gino Paradise
hosted the schoolchildren from socially
vulnerable families to enjoy an entire
day program, including transportation
and food. On the other hand, Gino is a
business which was created thanks to a
huge financial investment, and it is easily understandable that it needs to make
money to operate as a remunerative
enterprise. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be
able to stay in business. Gino definitely
has ample clientele, especially in the
summer season, but the regretful thing
is that the general economic situation
among the broader population does not
allow all of us to splash in the wavy
waters of its main pool under open skies.
What I am trying to say is that sometimes Georgia amazes us with the level
of service business, like Gino. Yet sometimes even at its lowest prices, it might
still be financially out of reach to many
of us, the reason being the low standard
of living in the country rather than prices
there. Frankly, the same kind of service
would have cost us in America five times
as much, if not more. What can businesses like Gino do? Should they go for
charity all the time? Impossible! Lower
the prices to the minimum level? Then
you cannot run the business at all!
So, how to turn things around? Probably, through the general enhancement
of living standards in Georgia to the
point where entertainment centers like
Gino would thrive thanks to the solvency
of the population. Otherwise, there might
be an empty plot, as there was not very
long ago, just where Gino stands today.
Nobody wants that to happen. Just the
contrary, we all wish to have our water
parks full of kids and their happy parents
watching their progeny learning how to
swim, how to become physically fit and
how to relax.
Gino is just an example. There are
numerous other businesses that are sailing in the same boat with Gino. Generally speaking, entrepreneurs in Georgia,
both foreign and local, are trying hard
to build useful businesses – spending a
lot of money on this – to make profit and
to cater to all desires and appetites, but
they also need people in the market who
can pay for their service. Why would
their efforts make sense otherwise?
Welcome to Indian Restaurant
Sanjha Chulha
Indian Restaurant
Website www.sanjhachulha.ge
Mail [email protected]
Agmashenebeli Avenue, 130
Tbilisi 0112 Georgia
Mobile + 995-596-03-1313
+ 995-596-56-1313
Phone +995-322-95-96-14
Skype: SANJHA.CHULHA
Facebook: sanjha chulha
Indian Cusine
GEORGIA TODAY
SOCIETY
JULY 15 - 18, 2016
11
Rattling the Sabre: Ogden on the
Georgian Armed Forces
OP-ED BY TIM OGDEN
W
hat with the parliamentary elections
coming up and manifestos being thrown
around like confetti,
I've found it rather odd that so little
emphasis has been placed on defense.
Although NATO membership is being
talked about a lot, little is being said
about what the future of Georgia's Armed
Forces might be, which seems odd to me
since the two seem to go hand in hand.
NATO forces have helped Georgia
train its own troops over the years, as
well as building bases and training centers throughout the country as part of
its jargon-laden packages that it gives
to Tbilisi rather than anything meaningful like membership (it seems to me
that there isn't anything substantial
about the NATO Substantial Package,
the projects it has initiated being similar to those it was doing on Georgian
soil before the Package was granted).
Yet despite continuing to praise Georgia for its military reforms (and its sacrifices when Georgian troops are killed
on NATO missions) and help modernize Georgia's army, it strikes me as
strange that little is being done to
restructure the military.
Online information about the structure
of the Georgian Army is limited, but the
available information from the Internet
and military friends of mine suggests a
highly inflexible brigade model. Contrary
to popular belief, during the 2008 war
the Russians did not swarm Georgia with
millions of troops and overwhelm the
Georgian Army by sheer weight of numbers. Bad organization contributed to
Georgia's defeat – fighting Russian regulars was clearly not as easy as South
Ossetian militia, and Georgian troops
were quickly driven out of Ossetia and
then fled Gori without firing a shot. I'm
not advocating last stands around the
flag as a legitimate military tactic, but it
is oddly out of touch with the muchvaunted Georgian patriotism and fighting spirit. It sounds trite, but the will to
win is everything: ask any soldier. If you
believe you’ll lose, you've already lost.
The Army has changed a great deal
since 2008; a great number of its rankand-file have combat experience from
Afghanistan, and experience can make
all the difference in combat (I still don't
like the way the uniforms have been
directly copied from the US Army,
though). However, the Army's structure
seems relatively unchanged. This may
partly be to do with a lack of equipment
or men (although the Georgian Army
has far more equipment than it is usually given credit for), but I can't fathom
why NATO and the Georgian MoD have
not drawn more attention to this.
A Western military brigade contains
everything it needs to engage an enemy
force, whether it be made up of infantry,
armoured vehicles, air assets, or every-
thing together. A brigade might be centred around one particularly corps (such
as tanks, or light infantry) but it will still
be capable of going up against almost
any type of hostile unit. Georgian brigades, however, are centred around one
corps; infantry brigades seem to contain
only infantry, while artillery brigades
only have heavy guns etc. To my civilian
readers, imagine being given a bowl of
rice and only a knife to eat it with; a different tool for a different job.
I have it on the authority of a friend of
mine who's a junior officer in the Georgian Army that should Georgian infantrymen need support from combat engineers or artillery, they have to call for
assistance from bases some distance
away; not overly useful if the country is
ever invaded and attacked again and
Georgia finds itself facing a multitude
of threats. Georgia's light infantry units
have apparently served well in Afghanistan, but since the Taliban do not field
tanks or air assets, Georgia's brigade
structure was not an issue, especially as
Georgian contributions to NATO deployments make use of NATO combat support arms.
Another war with Russia looks to be
highly unlikely for the time being, but if
NATO really does want to improve Georgia's self-defense capabilities, it might
start with the basics rather than just
throwing equipment and training teams
at Tbilisi. Russian sabre rattling over the
Baltic States and military adventurism
in Ukraine and Syria should convince
even the most sceptical that even if the
threat is not immediate, it is ever present.
12
SOCIETY
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 15 - 18, 2016
Random
Musings:
Svaneti
BY TONY HANMER
S
ince my wife and I visited Zimbabwe, birthplace of my father,
a couple of winters ago, I see
cows here in Svaneti with new
eyes. There, we could buy (if
we were rich enough) tanned cowhide
sofa throws at USD 1000 a skin, each one
uniquely beautiful, never just a plain
solid color but the best patterns that the
species offers. The stripes, the spots, the
swirls! No need to turn to zebra, giraffe,
leopard! Now, every special bovine skin
here, still on its owner, makes me wish
I knew the tanning art, to turn it into
something potentially much more valuable than the purchase price of the live
animal.
I also see wire and metal garbage here
differently after that trip. What the Zimbabweans can make from these things
should belong in the Met in New York
as design classics, sculptures! That's
what they were selling as. My childhood
reminds me of shoebox-size cars, every
part from wire, with rolling wheels and
a working steering column which
extended up a meter or so. African boys
would take their car and run behind it,
steering as they went. Again, miracles
of form and function too. I now own a
pair, my nostalgia on that front fully sat-
isfied. Svans, are you too proud to turn
your hand to "art from garbage"?
A mountain, even a relatively small
one such as that on which half of my
village's cows graze every day through
the summer, is a big thing to get lost
on. They go up each morning if you
lead them to the edge of the village, but
won't come down again in the evening
without being chased! And if you go for
them too early, a herd will scatter six
ways into the forest, leaving you fuming while they munch away. There has
to be an easier way to do this! GPS
tracking, a responsible and mutually
agreed rota system for herding the beasts
every evening, something. At stake is
the milk, which will dry up if you abandon them to their wishes: they should
be milked twice a day, though missing
an occasional milking won't bring immediate disaster. Spring and fall they're in
local fields, which is much easier, but
this mountain!
I'm now waiting to hear back from an
actual company, UK-based, which sells
the blessed GPS cow trackers: how much
per unit for one, ten, fifty? Will this 21st
century dream come to our humble village and make our lives THAT much
easier every summer and fall? Time, I
hope fervently, will tell.
Recently, I heard from one of the members of the local Riho Svan choir that
they've just scored a double coup in a
New Runway
Opens at
Tbilisi Airport
BY EKA KARSAULIDZE
M
singing competition in Tbilisi. Best vocal
group from around 400, that's four hundred groups, and best regional choir.
Svaneti sweeps the winnings! I'm very
proud of you guys, and not very surprised, I have to say. Strength to strength.
Next door to one of the Riho guys, a
returning villager based in Tbilisi is
rebuilding a house. This is a huge
endeavor, involving several other workmen, and it represents a considerable
faith in the future of this province and
village. They're setting beams in place,
pouring concrete into forms, replacing
an entire vanished roof. No small task,
but most pleasant to see their progress
each morning as I send my pair of cows
to the edge of the village for their daily
mountain forage. Another piece of good
news. I don't yet know whether he's
planning a permanent move or just to
have a summer house, but I hope the
former. In any case, such optimism does
us all glad.
Just a few of my recent thoughts revolving around life up here, where it's never
dull.
Tony Hanmer runs the “Svaneti Renaissance”
Facebook group, now with over 1300 members, at
www.facebook.com/groups/SvanetiRenaissance/
He and his wife also run their own guest house
in Etseri:
www.facebook.com/hanmer.house.svaneti
ore than three months
after a heavily criticized
reconstruction project
began, which forced
those travelling to and
from Tbilisi to fly in the middle of the
night or early morning, the main runway
of Tbilisi’s Airport has now opened to
regular traffic, Economy and Sustainable
Development Minister Dimitry Kumsishvili said.
“We plan to do everything to make the
airport ready for any new challenges
ahead,” said Kumsishvili. “The new lighting system will further improve the flight
safety level of the airport. The incoming
and outgoing aircraft will now be able
to better land and take off during poor
weather conditions.”
The decision to upgrade the runway
was made after the government renewed
its agreement with TAV Holding, which
is responsible for operating the Tbilisi
and Batumi airports.
The renovation project cost USD 30
million (70 million GEL) to carry out.
The airport will begin building a new
terminal later this year, with the completion date set for late 2017.
14
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eading Foreign specialists this week
conducted an international conference
on the topic: “Competition Law – New
Challenge for Georgia.” The international
conference was organized and financially
supported by Rompetrol Georgia and took place
under the aegis of Tbilisi State University.
The conference was held at hotel Rixos in Borjomi, the first conference of such scale and level
dedicated to competition law issues. The world's
leading specialists and international law company
partners made speeches at the conference.
“In Georgia the competition agency launched operation several years ago. Rompetrol is trying to incentivize the field development in Georgia on behalf of
our country. The objective of the agency is to promote
market liberalization, free trade and competition.
Rompetrol is trying to develop the competition law
in Georgia and these efforts will have a positive influence on competitive environment development,”
Rompetrol representatives noted.
As part of the international conference, trainings
- Capital Provision Norms, Merger and Competition Principles - were held. Those speaking at the
conference included:
James Hanks, Venable LLP partner, expert, lecturer, who spoke about “Major Statutes and Cases
in the US Antitrust Law.”
Bertold Bar-Bouyssiere, DLA Piper partner, who
discussed: “The Application of Competition Law
in Life Science Industries (Interface competition/
patents and etc.)”
Felix Scala, Head of the Competition Law Department in the German Office of Deloitte, spoke about:
“Antitrust Compliance Programs from a European
Perspective.”
David Iakobidze, economist and professor at
Georgian Technical University talked on: “Structured Transformation of Competitive Environment
in Small Economies.”
Varsha Kale, advisor of the London Antitrust and
Competition Group for Meyer Brown, and Aleksandra Aninoiu, lawyer for Antitrust and Competition London Office of Meyer Brown together
talked about “Cartels under the EU law: Legal
developments and Practical Challenges.”
Rob Davis, advisor for Venable LLP, discussed:
“US Developments related to Proof of Agreements
and Hub-and-Spoke Conspiracies.”
Dr. Jan Joachim Dreyer, Partner of DLA Piper,
spoke about: “Recent Developments in German
Competition Law – enforcement highlights.”
70 persons interested in the mentioned issues are
taking part in the conference, including magistrates,
lawyers, competition agency representatives, business ombudsman and officials of the Prime Minister's economic board.
The conference ended July 13th
KMG International (former Rompetrol Group
NV) was bought by KMG in 2007. The company
owns two oil refineries in Romania and a network
of petrol filling stations in EU countries.
ADVERTISING
Direct Flights Dammam-Tbilisi-Dammam
Bring Arabs to Enjoy Georgian Summer
D
irect flights on the Dammam-TbilisiDammam route started operation
from July 13, three times a week, on
Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays with
B-735/737 and CRJ 100 type aircrafts.
The flights, operated by Georgian Airways, come
in cooperation with Yekta Safar Georgia, Seven Sky
and Dream Travel and will allow more Arabians
to be able to explore Georgia.
Arabians have already taken advantage of the new
flight schedule to visit Tbilisi from Dammam, and
are currently enjoying Georgia’s green environment and rich culture.
“With these flights Arabs will have a better opportunity to get to know Georgia; they already love the
rich green nature, forests and woods here,” Mr. Ali
Akbar, representative of Seven Sky in Georgia said.
It is expected that up to 500 travelers will arrive
in Georgia each week via the new scheduled flights
in the coming months.
The tours offered them include in and around
Tbilisi, Batumi and Borjomi. The Tbilisi tour also
offers a trip to Mstkheta and a stay in Hotels &
Preference near Tbilisi Sea. Batumi, as a tourist
hub, will host the guests at hotels Intourist Colosseum and President Plaza.
"The trip to Borjomi is not only to enable the
guests to enjoy the astonishing and amazing nature
but also, with the collaboration of Rixos, to relax
with special spa treatments," Akbar added.
"We faced several challenges with these tours, in
particular the demand for five star hotels, which
are few, and the availability of halal meat in restaurants."
The passengers are not only considered as leisure
tourists but are also interested in investing in the
Georgian market and real estate. One of the activities of the mentioned companies is to introduce
and promote Georgia as a tourist-investment hub.
"We believe Georgia is a perfect hub for tourists,
and we are ready to cooperate with high standard
resorts and tourist destinations in different regions
throughout the country," Akbar said.
The tours are being handled to the highest standards specifically for the demands of the Arabs.
Halal meat, Arab-Georgian tour guides and other
facilities will be available to let the guests get the
best experience while discovering Georgia.
GEORGIA TODAY
CULTURE
JULY 15 - 18, 2016
Georgian Opera
Stars Come Out
against Tbilisi Opera
Theater Management
BY MAKA LOMADZE
A
bsence of repertoire, corruption,
nepotism and threats of unfair dismissal... World-famous Georgian opera
singers such as Mzia Nioradze, Tamar
Iveri, Nana Kavtarashvili, Anita Rachvelishvili, and Lado Ataneli, with members of the
Tbilisi opera choir, are up in arms at the current
situation in the opera and have named their artistic director Davit Kintsurashvili “unprofessional”
for having only staged three operas in the two years
of his leadership at the opera theater.
Mzia Nioradze, Mezzo Soprano, principal soloist
at the Metropolitan Opera: “In the two years of
Kintsurashvili as artistic director, there have been
no artistic councils. Only now, following a recent
meeting with the Minister of Culture to bring our
complaints to light, was it suggested and a council
formed. It’s unimaginable for any theater in the
world to function without an artistic council. Now,
the soloists are stuck without a repertoire. If a
singer does not sing on stage for a year or two, it
can be the end of their career!”
Among other things, the singers accuse the opera
head of redistributing 335,000 GEL among 17 members of the management since January. “The bookkeeper received 21,000 GEL. This all happens while
not a single soloist or choir singer has received an
extra penny as a bonus,” Tamar Iveri a soprano
with a successful international career since her
debut at La Scala in 2011, having appeared at Covent Garden, Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State
Opera, Royal Opera House, Opera Bastille, and
others, told GEORGIA TODAY.
The protestors also say that while the former
Minister of Culture, Guram Odisharia, expressed
his good will by letting the opera theater hold
democratic elections, they were bitterly deceived.
Iamze Gurchiani, member of the Opera Choir,
who has participated in rallies against the regressive leadership of Kintsurashvili: “We were waiting
for the re-opening of the Opera House for six years,
and in vain. We can’t realize our creative potential
while secondary modern musical pieces are given
priority. We have the Philharmonic Concert Hall
and Music and Drama Theater for such concerts,
but the Opera is first and foremost for an opera
repertoire. It is pure fact that the Head of the Opera
House does not have enough competence to handle his duties. Choirs are an inseparable part of
opera, and a rich repertoire exists in world music
history. Our choir is the core of the theater, we have
magnificent voices; we are all worthy soloists.”
“We also have a great school of conductors, starting from the fabulous Odyssey Dimitriad, Jansugh
Kakhidze, Evgeni Mikeladze, Vakhtang Machavariani, and Zaza Azmaiparashvili. Today, Kintsurashvili, who was previously unknown to the Georgian
musical elite, has appeared and is now using the
Opera Theater for his own gains,” Nioradze said,
going on to tell GEORGIA TODAY of the time the
Opera was hired out to a Russian Oligarch for his
daughter’s wedding and how, on a separate occa-
“In two years, only
three performances
have been staged. It’s
an embarrassment to
us and to the
international
community who want
to hear us sing!”
Zura Balanchivadze, facebook
sion, the entrance hall was used to host a lesbian
strip-tease show. “Kintsurashvili graduated from
the faculty of choir conducting; he is not even a
conductor of orchestra. Thanks to the PR he does
worldwide via articles and lies, in three months,
he says he has “staged seven performances,” which
is absurd. Ingolstadt recently invited him, but after
his failure, they quickly said a polite good-bye to
him,” Nioradze said.
“Even though the majority are united, Kintsurashvili says that this [protest] is merely a well-organized conspiracy against him,” Iveri said. “Yet we,
the singers, merely want a stage to sing on. We will
always be happy to serve our theater as best we
can. In the two years since Kintsurashvili took on
the position, there were 40 ballet premieres, thanks
to Nino Ananiashvili’s dedication. Yet Kintsurashvili has only organized one new and two old opera
performances, when our opera can take pride in
having 36 soloists. Less than 10 are actively employed,
while the rest are currently receiving salaries as a
pension, depressed and without any chance of selfrealization. There is a police regime inside the
theater. Kintsurashvili strictly controls all the comments on social media and then reprimands authors
of anything negative and threatens to sack them.
Nor has he kept his word to open an atelier workshop in the theater, for decorations and costumes,
meaning the Opera House is no more than a concert hall. These days it is a house without a foundation,” Iveri continues.
It seems fault for today’s disarray can be found
within both the current and former Opera administration and within the way the Ministry of Culture
has handled the complaints.
Kakhaber Tetvadze, Chairman of the Trade Union
of Opera and Ballet Theater, Bass, told us: “There
were juridical question marks inside the administrative order. Recently, Kintsurashvili made a number of concessions and came to an agreement to
make some amendments. Our first step forward
was the election of a trade union. However, the
theater is going backwards. I will be very straightforward: the Ministry of Culture is where the shoe
pinches. They sent an audit, but it was again staffed
with Kintsurashvili supporters. However, we
shouldn’t blame him for everything. The previous
Opera Head, Sakvarelidze, having been dismissed,
ordered the burning of costumes of 10 performances,
as there was a problem where to store them. Had
his orders not been carried out, it would have been
easier to stage many more operas.”
“I left Georgia in 1994, when there was no electricity, no gas, nothing in Georgia. In those days,
there were no embassies in Tbilisi,” Mzia Nioradze
said. “I attended ‘Clowns’ recently and saw that
the hall was full of tourists. I know a lot of ambassadors who wish to come and see the famous Tbilisi opera, but what will we show them? We have
a theater of European standards, world-famous
stars, and it can offer nothing to its spectators who
had been looking forward to its opening. I just
returned from Riga Theater, which despite being
old and needing renovation, has such a high artistic level- they dedicate a separate festival to Verdi!
Here, nothing happens. We wish to sing on our
native stage, but how, if there are no performances?”
“However, we won’t stop, as this is a national
matter of dignity. We will fight to the end.”
15
16
CULTURE
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 15 - 18, 2016
Ballet from Georgia to Japan
BY KATIE RUTH DAVIES
G
eorgia boasts a long history
of ballet. Yet in Japan it
was, until not so long ago,
considered the “art of the
enemy” and even today it
is seen by many as a hobby, not a career
choice. The new generation are hoping
to change that view.
Next week a number of the Georgian
State Ballet Company’s top ballet soloists will be travelling to Fukuoka, Japan
to put the final touches to the first Fukuoka
International Ballet Festival, having spent
the past two years planning it.
GEORGIA TODAY spoke to the lead
organizers, Frank van Tongeren from
the Netherlands and Machi Moto, from
Fukuoka, prior to the Festival.
HOW DID YOU COME UP
WITH THE IDEA OF THE
FESTIVAL? WHY DID YOU
DECIDE TO DO IT IN JAPAN
AND WHY IN FUKUOKA?
Frank: Machi is originally from Fukuoka,
which is the capital of the southern island
Kyushu. Over the past eight years I’ve
often travelled to Fukuoka. The city has
a lot of ballet schools, several great theaters, and whenever there’s a ballet performance by either a ballet company
from abroad or a gala concert that tours
Japan, it generates a lot of interest with
the local people. Over my time as a student and professional dancer I met many
dancers that are originally from Fukuoka
or its surroundings and who now work
ROUTING
TBILISI - ISTANBUL ATATURK AIRPORT
ISTANBUL ATATURK AIRPORT - TBILISI
TBILISI - ISTANBUL SABIHA GOKCEN AIRPORT
ISTANBUL SABIHA GOKCEN AIRPORT - TBILISI
BATUMI - ISTANBUL
ISTANBUL - BATUMI
in well-known ballet companies around
the world. To me it was strange that these
dancers were unable to share their art
form at home through their own festival.
In February 2014 I got the idea to organize a performance that would bring the
‘Fukuoka born’ dancers together (at
home) in which they would share the
stage with their colleagues and friends
from the international dance scene.
Machi and I took on the challenge and
spent a lot of time talking to people in
the area, looking at the theaters and
consulting dancers and organizers with
experience of such event-planning.
We realized we should present not only
classical or already known works but
something new, created especially for
the Festival. We have three
choreographers that have
created new work that will
premiere at the Fukuoka International Ballet Festival Gala Concert. One of them, Yuka Kawazu, is
originally from Fukuoka and is now
working in Germany. Then we have
Kaloyan Boyadjiev from the Norwegian
National Ballet and Peter Leung from
the Dutch National Ballet.
'TEAM' BE INVOLVED?
Karin has been helping promote the
event on the web. He will also travel
with us to Fukuoka to act as a translator
between the Japanese team and the foreign dancers that will participate. Yuma
has been providing Japanese and English
subtitles for the promotion videos. Yonen
Takano and Nutsa Chekurashvili will
perform at the Gala Concert and we’ve
done a photo shoot with them which
- Fukuoka is 2 hours by boat from Korea
and 6 hours from Tokyo by high speed
train.
- It is the fastest growing city in Japan
- It was recently rated the 7th most
liveable city in the world
WHO IS WORKING WITH
YOU ON THE PROJECT?
Two ballet schools, technicians and an
experienced architect in Fukuoka, a web
designer in Tokyo and the Japanese dancers at the State Ballet of Georgia, Karin
Washio, Yuma Sumi and Yonen Takano.
Will Pratt is also helping with administration.
TK 379
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WEEK DAYS
EVERYDAY
EVERYDAY
1/2/4/5/6/7
3
EVERYDAY
1/2/4/6/7
1/3/4/5/7
1/2/4/6/7
1/3/4/5/7
DEPARTURE
ARRIVAL
02:35
06:35
22:55
01:40
18:10
21:15
04:25
05:05
19:40
10:35
20:15
06:25
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04:05
08:05
00:30+1
04:55
21:30
00:30+1
05:50
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22:55
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21:20
09:20
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teachers that can inspire students to
pursue a career as a ballet dancer.
WHAT CHALLENGES
HAVE YOU FACED?
We hope to organize this festival once
every two years. We really hope that this
first time will have a great impact on the
audience and the students at the workshops and that we can increase our support for the second edition of the festival.
Of course, we want to keep inviting
members of the State Ballet of Georgia
and who knows, Nina Ananiashvili could
be with us next time in Fukuoka as well!
As a dancer each day is very physical so
it’s challenging to come home after
rehearsals or a performance and start
replying to e-mails, create promotional
material, write letters to get financial
support, etc. We’ve been working until
2 or 3am most nights!
We don’t aim to make a profit from this
event, but we want to cover our costs
from the ticket income and the few sponsors helping us with the finances… it’s
not easy, especially since we
are dancers ourselves and
we want to treat the Festival dancers how we would
want to be treated. We are going
to lay a special dance floor (sprung
floor) in the theaters there, like we have
here at the Opera House in Tbilisi. You
can still perform on linoleum, but it’s
very uncomfortable when you land from
jumps because the surface under the
linoleum is very hard, increasing the
chances of injuries and bringing the level
of the performance down. We will rent
the floor from Japan Arts in Tokyo.
WHAT ARE YOUR
EXPECTATIONS FOR
THE FESTIVAL?
We believe that we have a very
unique program and something
truly special to offer the audience. We’ll
also be offering workshops with great
HOW WILL THE GEORGIAN
FLIGHT NUMBER
we’ve used for posters, flyers and the
web. Yonen is also trying to get some
ballet critics interested in reviewing the
event.
10 Galaktion Street
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS
FOR THE FUTURE?
WHAT HAVE YOU
LEARNED FROM THE
PREPARATORY STAGE?
We learned how much organization you
need to create one performance! This
event has totally changed our view and
we now understand every single aspect
that comes with this beautiful art form!
I’m sure that most people underestimate
what it takes when they watch a performance...
The Fukuoka International Ballet Festival will
take place on July 27 at the Fukuoka City
Acros Fukuoka Symphony Hall and on July
28 in Kitakyushu (Fukuoka State) at the Kitakyushu Performing Arts Center. The workshops
will be held in Fukuoka from July 30 to August
1 and in Kyoto on August 3rd and 4th.
Machi Moto has been dancing ballet since
she was nine, inspired by friends. Frank van
Tongeren says he was following in his elder
sister’s footsteps when he chose ballet. At age
11 he joined the professional ballet academy
in Amsterdam.
Tel: (995 32) 2 45 08 08
E-mail: [email protected]
CULTURE
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 15 - 18, 2016
17
Hyperrealist’s
Talent Lauded by
Ferrari Designer
BY MAKA LOMADZE
D
avid Dron is a young freelance artist and illustrator.
For a week, visitors had an
opportunity to see his
hyperrealist water-color
and pencil sketches at Art Palace, Tbilisi.
GEORGIA TODAY went along to find
out what makes him tick.
David Dron is a freshman of the International School of Design coming from
a course of industrial design at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts. His career, it
seems, is rocketing.
“My first introduction to design happened when I was only five, at the Youth
Technicians’ Club, where I met Zviad
Tsikolia, a prominent Georgian designer,”
Dron told us. “The model cars I saw there
made a strong impression on me. Before
that, I was drawing for fun, but when I
drew a black Porsche, I realized I was
going in the direction of hyperrealism.”
Cars are an on-going theme in his works,
yet the 22-year old has no car of his own.
“It’s too stressful to drive in Tbilisi,” he
says.
But he does have a computer- the
entrance of which into his life encouraged him further in the techniques of
hyperrealism.
Dron says that there are very few hyperrealists in Georgia. “It requires a lot of
observation, nerves, patience and concentration. First and foremost, you should
love your job very much. The most difficult sketch I did was a Mustang that I
spent over a year on. My average startto-finish time is four weeks. I basically
paint from the Internet. The main goal
for me is to paint so that the pictures
have an impact on spectators.”
Legendary models like the Lamborghini
Miura, Lamborghoni Countach, etc are
also something Dron takes great interest in. The latest exhibition at Art Palace was dedicated to cars, with just
three portraits of his collection on display, showing Charlie Chaplin, Audrey
Hepburn and Winston Churchill. On
the back of Audrey’s portrait, Giorgetto
FOR SALE: BMW – 321 model
Date of issue 1936
PRICE 10.000 USD
Giugiaro, the designer of Ferrari and
Lamborghini, on a visit to Georgia in
2012, had written “Bravo” and praised
the artist for his talent. “I painted Audrey
when I was 17 as a gift to my mom. It is
one of my best pencil sketches. I went
to an event in Batumi where Guigiaro
was visiting with his son, and showed
him my work. I was still in public school
then. It was a great day in my life- I’ll
never forget it. He took off his sunglasses
and put on glasses just to see my Audrey
better,” David remembers in rapture.
Reportedly, the portrait of Churchill
was an order from his American neighbor, as was Chaplin.
He remembers one interesting story:
“One day, at the age of 14, I saw a red
Ferrari for the first time in Tbilisi. I was
delighted. My mum wouldn’t let me near
it but I went back. Walking around it I
saw the owner, an Italian businessman,
with an interpreter, sitting inside the car.
He asked what I was doing. I told him I
was fond of cars and showed him some
of my sketches in my phone. He was very
interested and asked me to show him
the pictures themselves. I took a taxi and
brought them to him immediately. He
liked them a lot and offered me a job.
That is how my talent helped me to find
work at the age of 14.”
Car design, concept-art, industrial
design – this is an incomplete list of
directions in which the artist works with
pleasure. And he is in demand in Europe.
The European School of Design says
Dron could get a 100 percent scholarship. Dron says: “I have two options:
either graduate from the International
School of Design, or quit and continue
getting an education abroad,” he confides. We wait with interest to see where
this talented young man will end up.
Historic Video Footage of Tbilisi
Projected onto Riverside Cliff
BY EKA KARSAULIDZE
H
istoric video footage of Georgia’s
capital is being projected onto the
rocks of the old city’s Legvtakhevi
Gorge in the old city’s Abanotubani
district until July 25, the Tbilisi Center
of Cultural Events said.
Visitors will be able to see historic photos of Old
Tbilisi, as well as newly produced video compilations of Georgia, shot by a drone, as well as a history
of the city and video animation.
The Legvtakhevi Gorge is one of the most popular
tourist destinations in the Georgian capital. As the
Tbilisi Center of Cultural Events noted, this site is
an ideal fit for the project as it uses both technology
and the natural surroundings to tell the history of
Tbilisi.
According to the organizers, the project hopes
popularize and inform foreign visitors about the
1,500-year history of Tbilisi.
CONTACT PERSON 557 12 38 90
18
CULTURE
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 15 - 18, 2016
WHAT’S ON IN TBILISI
THEATER
GABRIADZE THEATER
Address: 13 Shavtelis St.
Telephone: 2 98 65 93
July 17
THE AUTUMN OF MY
SPRINGTIME
Directed by Revaz Gabriadze
English subtitles
Start time: 20:00
Ticket: 10-30 GEL
MOVEMENT THEATER
Address: 182, Aghmashenebeli Ave.,
Mushthaid park
Telephone: 599 555 260
July 15
RECITATIVE IN THE CITY
Directed by Kakha Bakuradze
Start time: 21:00
Free Entry
July 16, 17
FAN DO’S MAGORY
Directed by Kakha Bakuradze
Start time: 20:00
Ticket: From 10 GEL
CINEMA
AMIRANI CINEMA
Address: 36 Kostava St.
Telephone: 2 99 99 55
www.kinoafisha.ge
Every Wednesday ticket price: 5 Lari
July 1-7
ME BEFORE YOU
Directed by Thea Sharrock
Genre: Drama, Romance
Cast: Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin,
Janet McTeer
Language: Russian
Start time: 22:00
Ticket: 13-14 GEL
GENIUS
Directed by Michael Grandage
Genre: Biography, Drama
Cast: Colin Firth, Jude Law, Nicole
Kidman
Language: English
Start time: 19:30
Language: Russian
Start time: 17:00, 19:30, 22:00
Ticket: 10-14 GEL
RUSTAVELI CINEMA
Address: 5 Rustaveli Ave.
Telephone: 2 55 50 00
www.kinoafisha.ge
Every Wednesday ticket: 5 GEL
July 1-7
ME BEFORE YOU
(Info Above)
Start time: 22:30
Ticket: 13-14 GEL
SADAKO VS KAYAKO
Directed by Kôji Shiraishi
Genre: Horror
Cast: Mizuki Yamamoto, Tina
Tamashiro, Aimi Satsukawa
Language: Russian
Start time: 17:30, 19:45, 22:30
Ticket: 11-14 GEL
THE SHALLOWS
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Cast: Blake Lively, Óscar Jaenada,
Brett Cullen
Language: Russian
Start time: 12:45, 15:15, 22:00
Ticket: 8-14 GEL
MUSEUM
GEORGIAN NATIONAL
MUSEUM
SIMON JANASHIA MUSEUM
Address: 4 Rustaveli Ave.
Telephone: 2 99 80 22, 2 93 48 21
www.museum.ge
PERMANENT EXHIBITION:
GEORGIAN ARCHAEOLOGY
FROM 8TH MILLENNIUM B.C.
TO 4TH CENTURY A.D
THE CAUCASUS NATURAL
HISTORY MUSEUM
COLLECTION RENEWED
EXHIBITION
EXHIBITION OF GEORGIAN
WEAPONRY
NUMISMATIC TREASURY
The exhibition showcases a long
history of money circulation on the
territory of modern Georgia from
the 6th century BC. to 1834.
June 11 – March 11 (2017)
Georgian National Museum and
Korneli Kekelidze National Center
of Manuscripts present
THE EXHIBITION “MEDIEVAL
TREASURY”
The exhibition showcases preChristian and Georgian medieval
art which reflects the continuity of
the cultural traditions that were the
basis for the formation of Georgian
statehood and national identity.
June 16 – December 16
THE EXHIBITION “NEW
DISCOVERIES - GEORGIAN
ARCHAEOLOGY”
The exhibition will be held in
the frame of the international
conference On Salt, Copper, and
Gold: The Origins of Early Mining
and Metallurgy in the Caucasus”
MUSEUM OF SOVIET
OCCUPATION
Address: 3 Sh. Rustaveli Ave.
PERMANENT EXHIBITION
Here, visitors can discover the
State’s personal files of “subversive”
Georgian public figures, orders to
shoot or exile, and other artifacts
representing Soviet-era cultural
and political repression in Georgia.
The exhibition hall is equipped
with monitors on which visitors
can watch documentaries of
various historical events.
IOSEB GRISHASHVILI
TBILISI HISTORY MUSEUM
- KARVASLA
Address: 8 Sioni St.
Telephone: 2 98 22 81
July 6 – August 30
EXHIBITION “QUARTER OF THE
DAY” BY TAMAR MELIKISHVILI
The exhibition showcases 70
paintings depicting people united
by emotions: passion, melancholy,
alienation, and mystery.
SHALVA AMIRANASHVILI
MUSEUM OF ART
Address: 1 Lado Gudiashvili St.
Telephone: 2 99 99 09
www.museum.ge
May 18 – July 18
AVANT-GARDE 1900-1937
July 16-30
THE EXHIBITION "UNROLLING
THE UNIVERSE" BY GEORGIAN
ARTIST IRINA GABIANI
The exhibition presents a selection
of large-scale mix media works
by the artist, who is inspired by
the micro and macro worlds that,
seen in a different perspective,
becomes a source of endless
inspiration. Showcased artworks
have been created especially for the
exhibition.
GALLERY
THE NATIONAL GALLERY
Address: 11 Rustaveli Ave.
www.museum.ge
PERMANENT EXHIBITION
Niko Pirosmanashvili, David
Kakabadze, Lado Gudiashvili and
sculptor Iakob Nikoladze
June 24, 2016 – June 24, 2017
NIKO PIROSMANASHVILI’S
WORKS “YARD CLEANER” AND
“EAGLE SEIZING A HARE”
TBILISI FLEA MARKET
Address: Mtatsminda Park
July 16
TBILISI NIGHT MARKET
Music by KONO and VINCENT
Snacks and drinks available
Start time: From 18:00
EXHIBITIONS
Start time: 12:00 - 19:00
FOLKLORE REGION: ADJARA
Start time: 19:00-22:00
FINAL CONCERT NINO
KATAMADZE, “INSIGHT”
Start time: 22:00
Ticket: From 23 GEL
July 17
FOLK CRAFTS AND
CONTEMPORARY ART
EXHIBITIONS
Start time: 12:00 -19:00
FOLKLORE REGION: RACHA,
POTI
Start time: 19:00-22:00
THE FINAL CONCERT NIAZ
DIASAMIDZE”33A”
Start time: 22:00
Ticket: From 15 GEL
MOVEMENT THEATER
Address: 182, Aghmashenebeli Ave.,
Mushthaid park
Telephone: 599 555 260
July 19, 21
JAM SESSION
WITH THE RESO KIKNADZE
QUINTET
Start time: 21:00
Free entry
July 20
TANGO MILONGA
Start time: 20:00
Tango Lesson: 5 GEL
BATUMI
MUSIC
ART GENE FESTIVAL
Address: Ethnographic Museum
Season ticket: 70 GEL
July 15
FOLK CRAFTS AND
CONTEMPORARY ART
EXHIBITIONS
Start time: 12:00 -19:00
FOLKLORE REGION: KASPI,
PANKISI, TUSHETI
ABKHAZIAN DAY
Start time: 19:00-22:00
FINAL CONCERT "FRANI"
Start time: 22:00
Ticket: From 17 GEL
July 16
FOLK CRAFTS AND
CONTEMPORARY ART
BLACK SEA JAZZ FESTIVAL
Address: Batumi Tennis Club
July 15
QUINCY JONES & THE GLOBAL
GUMBO ALL STARS
Start time: 20:00
Ticket: 50 GEL
July 16
MILES ELECTRIC BAND
Start time: 20:00
Ticket: 50 GEL
July 17
Ms. LAURYN HILL
Start time: 20:00
Ticket: 50 GEL
OUTDOOR CINEMA
July 17
Start time: 20:00
Address: Batumi Black Sea beach
THE CONCERT OF FOLK
AND MUSIC GROUPS
July 16, 17
Start time: 13:00
Venue: Khulo Municipality,
Beshumi resort,
Open Air
GEORGIAN CORNER
Georgian National dishes
Cheese, Wine
Every Day
Start time: 19:00
Address: Batumi Boulevard
Colonnades
MUSIC FESTIVAL ‘ORANGE
KOBULETI’
July 15, 16, 18, 21
Start time: 19:00
Address: The Amphitheater,
Seaside Park, Kobuleti
BATUMI ART CENTER
Address: 1 O. Dimitriadis Str.
July 16
CONCERT OF CTA "VIPMUSIC"
Free Entry
July 17
MUSICAL EVENING ‘SPRING
MELODIES’
Start time: 20:00
SPORTS
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 15 - 18, 2016
19
CULTURE
Black and White
Work by Georgian
Photographer Goes on
Display in Tbilisi
Dinamo Arena to be Available
for Visually Impaired
BY EKA KARSAULIDZE
T
he Ministry of Sport and
Youth Affairs of Georgia
integrated an international
system of audio description
(Tiflo commentary) for
visually impaired fans at Dinamo Arena
stadium for the first time during the
Champions League qualifying round
match between Dinamo Tbilisi and
Armenian club Alashkert FC on July 12.
Tiflo commentary was created to enable fans with any degree of visual disability to receive an audio description of the
match they are attending. Thanks to this
system, they are able to feel the real
atmosphere at the stadium as much as
possible.
Specially trained commentators narrate the game through an audio system
reaching visually impaired people via
their personal mobile devices and headphones. The commentary includes details
like physical descriptions and facial
expressions, to recreate the full experience seen by non-disabled supporters
present at the games. The audio description technology can be used to cover the
entire football stadium with its frequency,
meaning disabled fans can choose any
seat and still receive the service.
This system has already been widely
used at leading football matches for several years around the world. For example,
visually impaired fans were able to fully
enjoy the Euro 2012 and World Cup 2014
matches, as well as the recent Euro 2016
in France.
The system was implemented in Georgia with the support of Center for Access
to Football in Europe (CAFE), Georgia's
Ministry of Sport, and Tbilisi City Hall.
In the framework of the program, commentators have been retrained to provide
people with disabilities with specific
information. The new technology was
tested before the recent match by a
selected group of visually impaired individuals.
Photo: Beso Gulashvili
A
series of black and white
photos by Georgian photographer Beso Gulashvili,
known for his famous
photo of Begi the Hippo
wandering around the center of the
Georgian capital after a deadly flash
flood in June 2015, are now on display
at Tbilisi’s T.G. Nili Art Space.
More than a dozen black and white
photos from his collection, taken
between 2006-2008, are on public dis-
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George Sharashidze
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play throughout July.
The T.G. Nili Art Space is located at
12 Grishashvili Street in central Tbilisi.
The exhibition is free to the public
and is open every day from noon to 6
pm.
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