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Issue no: 859
• JULY 8 - 11, 2016
• PUBLISHED TWICE WEEKLY
PRICE: GEL 2.50
In this week’s issue...
Hualing Merges to Create
Third-Largest Bank in Georgia
NEWS PAGE 2
Future NATO
– Restoring
Power and
Purpose
POLITICS PAGE 4
FOCUS
ON KERRY VISIT
Azeri Banker under Indefinite
Arrest for Politically Motivated
Charges Faces Illness Alone
US Secretary of
State John Kerry
in Georgia to talk
key bilateral and
regional issues
POLITICS PAGE 5
PAGE 3
Abkhaz Opposition Storm Ministry
Demanding Resignations, Referendum Delay
BY TAMAR SVANIDZE AND NICHOLAS WALLER
M
ore than 1.500 opposition party
supporters in Georgia’s breakaway
region Abkhazia stormed the rebel
republic’s interior ministry building on Tuesday, demanding the
resignation of Internal Affairs Minister Leonid
Dzapshba and the postponement of a planned referendum on early presidential elections scheduled
for July 10.
According to the news website, Caucasian Knot,
the protesters broke down the gates surrounding
the interior ministry building in the de facto capital
Sukhumi on July 5 and clashed with police. At least
four people were seriously injured in the violence,
according to reports from news portal Ekhokavkaza.
Continued on page 2
Tbilisi Airport Buses to
Operate 24 Hours
BBC, Getty Images
SOCIETY PAGE 12
Nina Ananiashvili Rounds-Up
164th Ballet Season, Looks
ahead to the Next
CULTURE PAGE 16
Georgia Joins European
Stadium Security Convention
SPORTS PAGE 19
2
NEWS
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 8 - 11, 2016
Hualing Merges
to Create ThirdLargest Bank in
Georgia
BY EKA KARSAULIDZE
C
hina’s Hualing Group, which owns
Basis Bank in Georgia, announced
Tuesday that it had signed an agreement with the Societe Generale Group
and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for the acquisition of Societe Generale’s majority stake in Bank
Republic.
In its press release, Hualing said it would merge
the two banking institutions to create the country’s
third-largest bank that “would become a stalwart
of the Georgian market”.
Hualing will now own controlling stakes in the
new bank and occupy a majority on its supervisory
board.
Societe Generale Group will retain approximately
8 per cent of the shares in the new combined entity
and remain a member of the supervisory board.
The EBRD will also retain a minority 3.9 per cent
stake in the new combined entity and remain a
member of the Supervisory Board as well as a committed financing partner for the Georgian banking
market, according to Hualing Group.
“The merger…will not only strengthen Hualing
Group’s banking operations and promote a more
balanced competitive structure in Georgia’s banking sector, but also benefit the bilateral economic
and trade relationship between China and Georgia,”
Hualing Group said in a prepared statement.
The new bank will provide a full range of quality
financial services to inbound Chinese companies,
as well as to local corporate and individual customers.
Hualing Group is the largest foreign investor in
Georgia and involved in major projects that include
construction, real estate, logistics, hospitality, livestock husbandry and meat processing. The company also manages and rents the country’s largest
trade and shopping centers, as well as its wholesale
markets.
Abkhaz Opposition Storm
Ministry Demanding
Resignations, Referendum Delay
Continued from page 1
Contact: www.edelbrand.ge
Phone: 599 461908
Abkhaz President Raul Khajimba announced the
temporary suspension of Dzapshba, but later labelled
the protestors’ actions “a provocation aimed at
destabilizing the political situation in Abkhazia.”
Khajimba steadfastly refused to delay the referendum and castigated the opposition parties for
demanding that he agree to their demands.
“The situation has yet to be resolved, and the
opposition has different requirements that are
unacceptable. Negotiations will continue tomorrow, and we will see where they lead,” Khajimba
told Russia’s TASS news agency.
Khajimba did, however, say he would meet the
opposition’s demand to allow people with expired
passports to vote in the referendum.
A referendum on early presidential elections was
scheduled for July 10 on the initiative of Abkhazia’s
opposition parties. Those opposed to Khajimba,
the head of Abkhazia since 2014, claim he failed to
fulfil his campaign promises, in particular, forming
a coalition government and carrying out substantial constitutional reforms.
“The group of authorities who constantly violate
the law, who came to power as a result of violations
of the constitution and cannot simply comply with
the law…are those with policies based on deception and lies. We declare that under these conditions we won’t go to a referendum and will call for
a full boycott of the vote,” Henri Jergenia, a member of the opposition’s political council, said.
Immediately following the collapse of the Soviet
Union, Russian-backed rebels in Abkhazia broke
away from Georgia. Moscow occupied and effectively annexed the area, as well as Georgia’s other
breakaway South Ossetia region.
Moscow recognized South Ossetia and the other
occupied Abkhazia region as independent states
following the 2008 war.
International law and the United Nations continue
to state that the regions remain part of Georgia.
More on this story on page 11
NEWS
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 8 - 11, 2016
3
Kerry Vows More US Support
During Visit to Georgia
BY ZVIAD ADZINBAIA
U
S Secretary of State John
Kerry on Wednesday
arrived in Tbilisi for a
two-day trip to discuss
key bilateral and regional
issues with top officials in the Georgian
government.
Kerry said US President Barack Obama
is deeply committed to supporting Georgia’s sovereignty, security and EuroAtlantic aspirations at a time when “our
cooperation is deepening.”
While meeting with Georgian Prime
Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Kerry noted
“the daunting challenges that Georgia
faces, and we are proud to be part of
helping you define your future. The
United States has contributed some $4.3
billion in aid and we are working very
hard on bolstering the partnership when
it comes to defense.”
Kerry’s visit is a precursor to the NATO
Warsaw Summit that begins Saturday,
where Georgia expects to receive high
praise for its European and Euro-Atlantic integration progress.
“I’m happy to stop here right before
I go to the NATO Warsaw Summit,
because obviously, I know your membership is much on your mind and an
important consideration,” Kerry told
Kvirikashvili.
Kerry also clearly underscored that
significance of the upcoming parliamen-
tary elections scheduled for October 8,
saying the US respected the reforms
being implemented that would ensure
a free and fair election.
For his part, Kvirikashvili thanked the
US government for firmly backing Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
The day’s most notable event came
when Kerry and Kvirikashvili signed a
Memorandum of Cooperation in the
defense and security spheres.
Following the signing, Reuters reported
that “Kerry told Georgia that the United
States would help to bolster its army as
he reassured a close ally just before the
NATO summit is expected to focus on
the threat from a resurgent Russia.”
Kvirikashvili told reporters that the
memorandum enables Georgia to purchase arms from the United States. Spe-
cifically, the agreement calls for greater
military and security cooperation,
enhanced information sharing, and help
in building up Georgia’s defensive capacities, including its combat readiness.
The US’ security support for Georgia
is currently focused on training Georgian
troops for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
During the press conference, Kerry
called on Russia to once again fulfill its
obligations under the 2008 Ceasefire
Agreement requirements that calls for
a withdrawal of its combat forces in the
region.
Kakha Gogolashvili, an expert on international relations, said Kerry’s visit is a
signal to other NATO member countries
“of Georgia’s significant participation in
the Alliance.”
Georgia’s former ambassador to the
US, Batu Kutelia, commented that Kerry’s remarks on the forthcoming elections of October 8 was a simple message
that Georgia was on the right path towards
meeting internationally accepted democratic norms.
The October elections are widely
regarded by outside observers as a litmus
test for Georgia’s democratic reforms.
Kerry visits Ukraine on Thursday,
before heading to Warsaw to join US
President Barack Obama for the NATO
summit.
Georgia’s government is keeping a close
eye on the Summit as it awaits more
tangible commitments from NATO
despite being told Georgia would not be
offered a formal path towards membership.
Georgia was originally promised eventual membership in NATO at the 2008
Bucharest Summit, and later received a
“Substantive Package” agreement in 2014.
Full integration into NATO, however, is
likely not on the table as many of the 28
members fear Russia’s reaction if either
Georgia or Ukraine joins the Alliance.
4
POLITICS
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 8 - 11, 2016
The More the Merrier
OP-ED BY NUGZAR B. RUHADZE
I
f you hate a political party or a
person associated with that particular political power, would you
feel frustrated and angry if that
person – a compatriot of yours at
the same time – achieves significant
international success? The answer would
probably be both Yes and No. Yes, because
the person is of your own blood and No,
because you hate his political past. After
all, what reason might be sufficient
enough to enjoy the triumph of your
vested enemy, and to congratulate him
with the achieved success, no matter
how valuable his victory might be to
your mutual motherland?
I am talking about a longstanding Georgian parliamentarian, who, in addition
to membership of the local parliament,
has been functioning, in the last couple
of years, as one of the vice-presidents
of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. He was nominated by
the European People’s Party to run for
president of the Assembly, but the ruling
party of Georgia had a problem with his
candidature because he represented the
opposition party in Georgia which was
severely defeated in parliamentary elections four years ago and had been charged
with faults and failures in handling of
human rights issues in the country. This
was a purely political struggle, and one
could not expect the ruling party to
gladly hold up the opposition party’s
outstanding accomplishment.
Consequently, the ruling party put in
black-and-white its negative attitude
towards electing the nominated candidate, and addressed it to the Assembly,
hoping that the Assembly would consider
their opinion. The logic of political struggle totally justified this act of denial. The
grudge was obvious but understandable.
Personally, I would be proud to see my fellow countryman – associate or adversary
– somewhere in a politically conspicuous place, because time will pass and the
history of Georgia will maintain that person’s name as a considerable piece of
memory and a subject of national pride. Source: www.euractiv.com
Future NATO
– Restoring
Power and
Purpose
BY NANA SAJAIA, VOICE OF
AMERICA GEORGIAN SERVICE
Apparently, if the man was voted into
the OSCE parliamentary President’s
Office, the ruling party would feel the
bitterness of defeat on the level of European politics, not just in the national
realm.
The question was raised as to whether
electing a Georgian politician to a high
European office was good for Georgia
or not, or in fact made no difference at
all. Here, the sentiments and political
reasoning were mixed. Some thought
that he deserved the post; others said he
should never be allowed to be elected.
No politician in the world is liked by
their entire country of origin. Politicians
are loved and hated, and they are often
rebuked for not being good enough for
the good of the nation. Part of the nation
accepts the politician as a positive power
and another part takes him as a negative
force. The final decision is in the people’s
hands, but none of those politicians
should be discarded as they can all serve
as an asset to the country’s aggregate
political power, each of them having
their share of fifteen minutes of fame
and action. So if the nominated Georgian
choice did no specific harm to Georgia,
then having him up there might be con-
sidered as something agreeable.
The decision was made on July 7, 2016.
In the end, the Georgian candidate was
not elected president of the Assembly.
As a result, the ruling party relaxed and
felt saved from the inconvenience of a
certain embarrassing nature. In generic
terms, let’s say, this was not very good
for Georgia!
Personally, I would be proud to see my
fellow countryman – associate or adversary – somewhere in a politically conspicuous place, because time will pass
and the history of Georgia will keep that
person’s name as a considerable piece
of memory and a subject of national
pride. History might also remember, to
a certain extent, the struggle between
the parties of a definite period, but the
selfsame history will keep for good the
name of that particular Georgian who
managed to let the world know one more
Georgian name. After all, there are not
so many! And most of them are remembered as political monsters, with some
exceptions of course. To count the famous
Georgian names that have influenced
the world we might not even need all
five fingers on our right hand. Frankly,
the more, the merrier, right?
A
s NATO leaders head to
Warsaw, international security analysts say the Alliance faces its most complex
challenges since the end of
the Cold War. With the Brexit referendum, migration, and refugee crisis, “the
Alliance faces the greatest threat to peace
and security in Europe” reads the Atlantic Council’s report ‘Restoring the Power
& Purpose of the NATO Alliance.’
We spoke with the authors of that
report, Former US Ambassador to NATO,
Nicholas Burns, and Former Commander
of US European Command, General
James Jones, on NATO’s future role,
threats facing Europe’s Eastern Frontier
and Brexit implications on Euro-Atlantic aspirant Georgia.
In light of Britain’s historic Brexit vote,
transatlantic leaders are discussing what
allies must do to bolster NATO’s strength
and solidarity. The study is premised on
the belief that the Alliance is facing its
greatest challenges and calls for renewed
leadership by the United States and key
allies to restore NATO’s power and purpose.
“Transatlantic leaders must confront
a jarring reality: the peace, security, and
democratic stability of Europe can no
longer be taken for granted,” reads the
report, which goes on to outline four
fundamental strategic challenges – “a
revanchist Russia, eroding stability in
the greater Middle East, a weakened
European Union, and uncertain American and European leadership.”
When asked how Brexit might effect
NATO, General James Jones says it is too
early to tell, but “I think in a way it will
help, it will focus people on NATO a little bit more, and, hopefully, if it focuses
on the need for NATO and the EU to find
a common ground politically, we can be
more efficient, more rapid in the way we
make decisions and execute them.”
According to General Jones, Britain’s
historic vote to leave the European Union
“should probably not have too much of
an impact” on countries with EuroAtlantic aspirations like Georgia and
Ukraine as “we have to wait on that a
little more anyway.”
For Former Ambassador Nicholas Burns,
former US Envoy to NATO and Board
Director at the Atlantic Council, Brexit
showed how the Kremlin, in its propaganda campaign, is trying to divide
Europe. “There is no doubt about it,” he
says, quickly adding that he is optimistic
about the future of Europe. “I sense that
Germans are very formally attached to
the European Union, the Dutch are
attached, the Italians, the Spanish, the
Belgians are attached; these are core
countries that deeply believe in Europe,
so I don’t think the sky is falling- we are
not going to see a rush to exit.”
Speaking about specific implications
of Brexit, Burns said it will effect NATO
if “countries will not be capable militarily.” That is why, he adds, it is important
for European countries of NATO “to
enhance their defense spending by a
significant amount.”
Continued on page 6
POLITICS
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 8 - 11, 2016
Azeri Banker under
Indefinite Arrest for
Politically Motivated
Charges Faces Illness
Alone
Jahangir Hajiyev, ex-Chairman of
International Bank of Azerbaijan
BY EUGEN ILADI
O
ne of Azerbaijan’s top bankers has
been jailed indefinitely as part of
what appears to be an attempt by the
ruling family to take control of the
bank he led for many years.
Jahangir Hajiyev, 54, isn’t a household name outside Azerbaijan, but he is known as a respected
and powerful executive there. Or rather he was
until March 2015 when he abruptly quit as Chairman of International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA), the
largest in the country. He was arrested in December and charged with a dizzying array of crimes,
including misappropriation, abuse of office, causing significant damage by fraud, embezzlement
through abuse of office and bribery.
Hajiyev’s detention pending trial has been extended
three times for three months each time. He is still
in prison even though a dozen other individuals
associated with IBA were released and, remarkably,
no investigation has been launched by the government against the bank itself. He also is said to be
ill and in need of hospitalization.
The long list of charges against Hajiyev, the
repeated extensions of his detention and the sudden fall from grace of this prominent, well-connected
banker may have something to do with IBA’s loan
portfolio for large infrastructure projects that carry
a whiff of crony capitalism. But it smacks more of
political score settling in a country known for its
concentration of power and authoritarian rule. It
is common for former communist countries in the
Commonwealth of Independent States and Eastern
Europe to have a mixed legislative and judicial
system that criminalizes economic and business
activities. Criminal charges are often leveled at
political opponents or those who fall out of favor
with the ruling elites.
Hajiyev had a stellar track record and had been
with IBA for 14 years. He served as Chairman of
the Baku Stock Exchange and was seen as a contender for a prized governorship at Azerbaijan’s
Central Bank. His star was on the rise. The year
prior to his arrest, IBA acquired an oil company,
Bahar Energy, and a construction conglomerate,
Azinshaat. The bank also made significant investments abroad, particularly in Russia and the United
Arab Emirates.
Some of these forays went better than others and
IBA’s loan portfolio took a big hit. A 34 percent
drop in the local currency, the Manat, relative to
the US dollar at the beginning of 2015 and low oil
prices combined with the bank’s high exposure to
foreign currency denominated loans triggered a
rise in the cost of the bank’s credit portfolio by
about 20 percent. Foreign investors in the bank
sensed an impending crisis and started to pull out,
compounding its already weakened position.
The State, which held a 50.2 percent stake in IBA,
took full control and has poured about 2 billion
Manat (USD 1.91 billion) into the bank to cover the
losses caused by devaluation and nonperforming
loans. Hundreds of jobs were axed and some bank
managers and prominent local businessman were
arrested in conjunction with these loans. High
government officials were displeased with IBA’s
performance and blamed Hajiyev for the ill fortunes. They used the financial crisis as an excuse
to remove him as CEO of the bank in a manner that
ensures that he will never return and challenge
their positions of power.
Various media reports indicate that sources in
the Azeri banking industry are afraid to discuss
the situation for fear of retaliation and the possibility of joining Hajiyev in jail. Some of them
speculate quietly that the Finance Minister, Samir
Sharifov, may be paving the way for a new financial institution, Azturk, to become the country’s
main bank, replacing IBA at the top of the sector.
To that end, the former head of Capital bank and
a close ally of Sharifov’s, Elmar Mammadov, was
appointed chairman of Azturk. Finance Minister
Sharifov is also related by marriage to Azerbaijan
President Ilham Aliyev, whose family and close
advisers are already significant shareholders in at
least eight major Azerbaijan banks, according to
the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting
Project. A close aide to Sharifov is now running
IBA.
Another possible connection that points to political interference in the case is the fact that Hajiyev’s
brother-in-law, National Security Minister Eldar
Mahmudov, was dismissed just two months prior
to the banker’s arrest.
In the meantime, according to his attorney, Agil
Lajydžov, Hajiyev’s health is deteriorating. The
banker was given first aid and is reportedly suffering from a heart condition, high blood pressure
and a herniated disc. Repeated appeals to higher
courts for his release were denied.
The fact that IBA has hit a rough patch is unfortunate. That the decline occurred as the country’s
economy also dipped surely made those problems
worse. In most functional market economies, if
management mistakes cause financial losses, top
executives are often punished by losing their jobs
and not arrested on politically trumped up charges.
If a legitimate investigation is ever to take place, it
should be conducted transparently and without
holding anyone under indefinite arrest. That is not
the case with Hajiyev in Azerbaijan today.
5
6
POLITICS
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 8 - 11, 2016
Fallout Zone: Ogden on
the Aftermath of Brexit
OP-ED BY TIM OGDEN
T
hat Britain leaving the European Union would produce
bad consequences was obvious to just about everyone,
but the disastrous forecast
for the future was mostly limited to British economics and international relations, as well as the implications for the
EU to a more limited degree. The true
impact of Brexit, however, was not anticipated by anyone.
That Scotland would threaten to leave
the Union was predicted, as was an
immediate fall in the value of the pound,
but nobody expected the divisive confusion that now grips the country. The
Leave campaign did not even expect to
win (indeed, one anonymous Leave
insider admitted as much to Sky News),
but had instead hoped for a narrow
Remain majority to be victorious while
Brexit supporters would have turned out
in enough numbers to have their views
taken seriously in Parliament. Likewise,
most British voters were so convinced
that Remain would win that they did not
even vote at all; the subsequent shocking Leave victory has triggered widespread demand for a second referendum,
which has been met with outrage by the
victorious Brexiteers.
The questions and arguments over
what is to happen next, however, is arguably putting Britain under its greatest
strain since the Second World War.
Disenchanted Brexit voters have long
abhorred government practices of hold-
ing multiple referendums until the ‘right’
answer is hit. It will (not unreasonably)
be considered anti-democratic; the fact
that the Remain campaign was weak and
voters were complacent are not fair
grounds for another referendum. Yet
since most people in Britain have since
decided that quitting the EU was a bigger mistake than the Somme, a democratic ruling that does not have the support of the majority is hardly democratic.
It must also not be forgotten that the
referendum was officially nothing more
than a survey, in no way legally binding
despite the government’s promise to go
with whatever result might emerge. Seeing the public backlash against Brexit, it
is possible that the government might
ignore the result entirely and not trigger
Article 50 (which starts the official exit
process of the EU). The move would be
legal, but would send Leave voters into
a frenzy; civil strife and riots are not
outside possibilities if Parliament has
the gall to do it.
Furthermore, a legal firm in London
has claimed that any attempt to trigger
Article 50 without a parliamentary vote
would be unconstitutional. With the
Remain campaign finally waking up and
making noise and many Leave voters
having publicly changed their minds
since the referendum, Brexit would not
likely win a parliamentary vote, but here
we enter the murky waters of what is
(and is not) constitutional, since Britain
has no written constitution.
The wider implications for the EU are
just as serious. Exit campaigns in France,
the Netherlands and Austria have treated
Brexit as their own victory, and should
The questions and arguments over what is to happen next, however, is arguably
putting Britain under its greatest strain since WWII.
Photo: LEON NEAL, AFP/Getty Images
they gain momentum the future of the
Union could be at stake. Internal division within the EU is also dangerous for
Brussels; Paris advocates a punitive
approach towards Britain (also serving
as a deterrent to other nations), while
Berlin is calling for a more moderate
approach. No course of action has yet
been decided on, and nor will it be until
Article 50 is triggered.
Article 50 itself can only be activated
by the British Prime Minister, and though
David Cameron has stepped down his
successor will not take office until October. It also remains unclear as to who
Cameron’s replacement will be, since
popular Leave campaigner Boris Johnson
shocked the nation by stating he does
not intend to run for office. The other
contenders enjoy mixed ratings amongst
the public.
Brexit has been especially galling for
Georgia. The Union that Tbilisi has long
sought to join now appears to be in peril;
others have questioned the wisdom of
joining a political body that established
and prosperous nations are seeking to
leave.
Yet Brexit is good news for Russia,
which will be delighted to see its chief
rival divided and bickering amongst
itself; most notably, Poland and the Baltic states have called for unity in the face
of inter-EU conflict.
What will happen next in both Britain
and the EU is unknown and next to
impossible to predict; the only certainty
is chaos.
Future NATO
– Restoring
Power and
Purpose
Continued from page 4
In the report which calls for renewed
leadership by the United States and key
allies to restore NATO’s power and purpose in the face of an entirely new security environment, the authors propose
Alliance leaders agree much more ambitious measures to rebuild the Alliance.
For which, the authors believe, NATO
allies should build up NATO’s military
presence in the Baltic States, Poland, and
Black Sea region; commit to greater
military spending among NATO allies;
keep the pressure on Moscow; and restore
strong American leadership.
NATO members and allies will meet
in Warsaw in a dramatically changed
security landscape, the report authors
claim. There, NATO allies should “reaffirm their commitment to maintaining
sanctions on Russia over its egregious
violations of Ukrainian sovereignty,” as
well as transferring long-requested lethal
defensive armaments.
The Warsaw Summit is not an enlargement summit, though Montenegro has
officially received invitation to join the
Alliance. We asked Former Ambassador
Burns what the chances are for Georgia,
to which he replied: “It is very important
that we not allow president Putin to veto
any country from membership. He should
not be able to veto Georgia; he should
not be able to veto Ukraine. There is a
long road to go for membership for those
two countries, because of the problems
within them. But they are partner countries and I think that will be the future.”
Read the story in Georgian at http://www.
amerikiskhma.com/a/future-nato/3399101.
html
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 8 - 11, 2016
POLITICS
7
Public Opinion Survey: What the Politicians are Missing
BY DIMITRI DOLABERIDZE
T
he2016Parliamentary
Election campaign
has already begun.
The 2016 parliamentary elections are of
great significance and will find
themselves in the foreign media
spotlight as well as the local. Many
experts around the globe see the
up-coming elections as a serious
test for Georgia and its society,
having to prove as it does that the
country will strictly continue the
establishment of Human Rights
Institutions following EU and
NATO requirements.
The following study was conducted at the Ivane Javakhishvili
Tbilisi State University by the
Center of Research for the Study
of Georgian Complex Development Issues, on 10-27 June, 2016.
The survey focused on 456
respondents aged from 18 to 55,
all social media users and based
in Tbilisi.
The research director was
Nikoloz Metreveli.
During free elections, when
political parties have different
financial and administrative
resources, European and American well-proven practice of using
social media in the election campaign gains particular significance.
As research has shown, the
majority of respondents believe
that the most important function
of social media is entertainment
(37%) and raising the cognitive
level (26%) and, with Internet
support, to organize civil activities (15%). We can therefore conclude that a significant majority
of respondents have a realistic
view of the major function of
social media in Georgia. Entertainment was also named the main
function of Georgian social media
according to a 2012 survey conducted by Georgian researchers
with the support of Swiss academic network ASCN. Georgian
politicians should be familiar with
the results of this study, which
would help them to make appropriate conclusions.
The majority of respondents
(32%) stated that an increased
level of cognition in the population is the main success of social
media development in Georgia.
We believe, for researchers as
well as for Georgian politicians,
it is a noteworthy fact that respondents (27%) supported the condition of information abundance as
a cause for democratic growth,
and that (21%) claim social media
represents a positive outcome for
increased population involvement
in civil activities.
According to respondents, 30%
consider it improper to replace
true reality with virtual reality,
while 22% of respondents consider the invasion of privacy
through social media as a serious
problem resulting from social
media development.
The majority of respondents
believe that the activity of social
media in the political space is
effective (41%). However, large
numbers of the represented population (30%) believe that social
media activity in the political
space is less effective. This is
clearly something which could
be considered by political campaigners.
Most respondents believe that
politician activity in social media is
inefficient (43%). Once again, this
is something which could be considered by political campaigners.
8
BUSINESS
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 8 - 11, 2016
MAQRO Construction: Three
Years of Valuable Trust-Building
M
AQRO Construction
appeared on the Georgian market 3 years ago.
However, it turned out
to be enough to gain
the trust on the Georgian market and
become one of the largest investors.
Georgia Today Business had an interview
with the Chief of Project Development,
PR, Sales and Marketing Officer – Mr.
Oguz Kaan Karaer.
SINCE 2013 MAQRO
CONSTRUCTION HAS MADE
QUITE LARGE INVESTMENTS
IN GEORGIA. WHAT MAKES
GEORGIA SO ATTRACTIVE AN
INVESTMENT FOR YOU?
International company MAQRO Construction is one of the largest investors
in Georgia. Since 2013 the company has
brought together a variety of projects
such as residential complexes with unique
concepts - Green Diamond and Green
Budapest, International 4-star Hotel
Mercure Tbilisi Old Town, Furniture
store chain Bellissa and restaurant Dinehall, unique for its culinary creations
and marvellous interior.
As in Georgia there is a healthy and
stable investment environment, we recognized the need for quality construction on the Georgian market. Therefore,
we decided to share our own experience
and entered the market in 2013 and to
this day have invested more than USD
70 million. The residential complexes
Green Diamond and Green Budapest
are the largest-scale investments of international company MAQRO Construction. The key to our success at MAQRO
Construction is a responsive approach
to business, quality control and the management team’s ability to recognize
changes in the marketplace and adapt
to them. MAQRO Construction continues to invest in the Georgian market and
has ambitious plans for the near future.
DID GEORGIA MEET YOUR
EXPECTATIONS AND HOW
DO YOU ASSESS THE
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
EXISTING IN GEORGIA?
As I mention in Georgia there is a healthy
business environment. The indicator of
the annual return for the real estate
investment is very high in Georgia, if
you compare it to the other countries.
This is the too important fact while purchasing a real estate. Investing in Green
Diamond is a very profitable. First of all,
unit planning and the concept of the
complex is very attractive, starting price
of the sq. meter is 750 USD, in case of
full payment the price is only 637 USD.
In May 2018 when the construction is
finished the customer will have more
than 50-60% profit within just 2 years. I
think you agree that this is a very high
indicator. I will tell you the second example: let’s consider 3 rooms apartment
with the price 43 000 USD. In Green
Diamond residential complex, the customer can easily rent for 500 USD. That
means that the inhabitant can recover
the cash in only 7 years with the early
14% return. In a real estate business this
rates are really high, compared to other
countries, where the yearly return is just
like 5-6%.
Flexible and unprecedented payment
conditions are one of the main reasons
for selling the apartments at this pace.
The initial price for the fully renovated
units with the kitchen furniture, built-in
appliances and bath headset is from 25
000 USD. The clients are allowed to pay
2.500 USD for the first payment and 250
USD per month. Payment terms are
extremely tailored to the customers:10%
- first payment, 30% of the total amount
is distributed for 30 months, so it means
that customers are paying only 1%
monthly. When the construction is completed (May, 2018) customers’ need to
pay delivery payment - 60%. At this
period, they can use bank credit, very
easily pay the credit from the part rent
fee and use other part for own purposes.
WHAT IS GEORGIA’S
POTENTIAL FOR ATTRACTING
FOREIGN INVESTMENTS?
Currently, the Georgian business environment is very attractive for foreign
investors, the high return for investment
and the low level of bureaucracy strengthens that fact. The government protects
investors, as all the legal processes are
developed rapidly and you don’t need
to waste much time or freeze funds. In
our case we are happy with the country,
which is why we are developing so many
projects and plan to develop much bigger investments.
For instance, we started sales for Green
Budapest in September 2014 and have
already sold nearly 90%. In the case of
Green Diamond, we sold 50% of the
apartments at the first stage in just 1
month. This achievement motivates our
company to start new projects. These
are not just numbers for our company
as we have a very sensitive approach to
our customers and take into consideration their needs and interests.
Our strategy is to develop Green projects, ecologically clean and healthy
environments. Approximately 30% of
the apartments are bought for investment and 70% for living purposes. People 35 to 55 years of age, with a busy
lifestyle, who want to have a very stable
investment, purchase an apartment in
our building complexes, as they find it
very beneficial to invest in real estate
and especially in our complexes, as to
them it has a very favourable location
and concept. On the other hand, we have
families who want to change their surroundings for a green area, healthy environment, comfortable setting, perfect
location, and quality construction.
MAQRO CONSTRUCTION
RECENTLY LAUNCHED A NEW,
LARGE SCALE INVESTMENT
– RESIDENTIAL COMPLEX
GREEN DIAMOND…
The new residential complex of MAQRO
Construction, GREEN DIAMOND
launched on 28th of May. Construction
of Green Diamond consists of three
stages, the first stage of which includes
731 units.
This unique residential complex is
being built in an ecologically clean district of Tbilisi, near to the Olympic
facilities. Next to the residential complex
Green Diamond a mega project – the
Technological University, will be established, which will be unique in Eastern
Europe. The area of the residential complex will be almost 70,000 m2, with 23,143
m2 internal green territory. It will offer
a unique, brand-new and affordable life
in Tbilisi. In the residential complex you
can find 23 living blocks and 1772 units.
You will be able to satisfy all your needs,
including with the 3 swimming pools, 4
basketball areas, 4 outdoor fitness areas,
4 children’s playgrounds, 7 pergolas,
indoor sport facilities, walking and running tracks, commercial areas, social
terraces, kindergarten and school.
As Green Budapest is the first residential complex, it became the business card
of MAQRO Constructions’ quality. In
Green Budapest we are going through
the handover period of the units, so people can be assured of the high quality, as
in Green Diamond the construction and
renovation materials will be exactly the
same as it is in Green Budapest. MAQRO
Construction has gained the trust of the
people, as the construction of Green
Budapest was completed even earlier
than the promised time, with the best
quality. Interested people can visit the
sales office, where 5 showrooms are presented- units with the renovation materials in Green Diamond will be exactly
the same as it is in the showrooms.
Creating a proper product, optimal
planning, affordable prices and flexible
payment conditions have resulted in the
success of Green Diamond. So people
are using this opportunity very actively
and this makes us happy also.
WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE
PLANS IN TBILISI? ARE YOU
PLANNING NEW PROJECTS IN
OTHER CITIES OF GEORGIA?
MAQRO Construction has huge plans
for the future. We are very proud of our
projects and we are not going to stop.
The environment shows us the need and
demand of the market. So we are thinking to construct a village of villas in an
ecologically clean area of Tbilisi, and
high rise buildings for the high income
segment in the city centre. On the airport highway we have a plot of land and
we are planning to construct a hypermarket of home items and décor.
As for outside the capital city, we are
taking into consideration construction
of a residential district in Batumi, where
we already have a plot of land. At this
moment I cannot give you more detailed
information. Let’s leave it as a surprise.
MAQRO Construction’s main goal is
to become a leader in providing valueadded services to our customers by creating a successful partnership with leading companies. Our pledge is to establish
lasting relationships with our customers
by exceeding their expectations and
gaining their trust through exceptional
performance. Company MAQRO Construction carries out the daily work based
on international best practice. Here, the
implemented quality system is a guarantee for comfort and high quality services. Our main objective is to become
a premier construction company in
Georgia.
WHAT ARE YOUR IMPRESSIONS
OF TBILISI? WHAT WOULD
YOU SAY TO YOUR FELLOW
INVESTORS ABOUT GEORGIA?
I have been living in Tbilisi since 2014.
I like the atmosphere in the country, it’s
very safe, and the people are friendly
and hospitable. Georgia is a very beautiful and interesting country, everything
that you see around you is centuries-old
glory and wealth. The nature is marvellous; in this small country you can find
alpine zones, sea, protected areas and
so on.
My suggestion to fellow investors is to
offer a high quality product with the
optimal time management, to offer a
unique product and, what is most important, to take a niche - these are the main
components for success.
MAQRO Construction has a high
responsibility approach towards its obligations and its activity is carried out of
a prior consideration of customers’ interests. MAQRO Construction builds not
only high quality buildings on the Georgian market, but provides trust and reliability to the Georgian people.
10
BUSINESS
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 8 - 11, 2016
Business Café Meeting
Held in Tbilisi
O
n June 29 ROOMS Hotel
Tbilisi hosted the fifth
meeting of Business Café
- a project initiated by
Insource, Executive
Search & Consulting Company and
exclusively supported by PASHA Bank.
The session hosted the representatives
of top management of leading companies with special guest, former President
of the National Bank of Georgia, Giorgi
Kadagidze, who presented the topic for
discussion “Innovation Management.”
The first meeting of Business Café
was held in October, 2015 and has since
grown significantly in popularity as a
format that covers topics of high relevance to the business community.
Insource and PASHA Bank plan to
organize three more meetings by the
end of the year.
It is the first time such meetings have
been held in Georgia and they serve as
a place for discussions on the current
processes and news from different fields
of business. The meetings host up to
20 participants and are moderated by
a special guest who engages the attendees into experience-sharing.
Among the moderators of the Business Café meetings were: David Gogichaishvili, Alexander Jejelava (currently
Minister of Education of Georgia), Andro
Dgebuadze and Papuna Toliashvili.
Topics discussed at Business Café
meetings are diverse: Management of
Human Resources, Organizational Corporate Culture, Management 3.0 or MBA
Books in the Mirror and Circular Organizational Structures.
“We believe that the rising interest in
Business Café among the top management of leading Georgian companies is
due to the carefully selected topics and
the prominence of invited special moderators. Listening to Giorgi Kadagidze
deliver an interactive presentation on
Innovation Management was extremely
interesting and duly appreciated by our
guests. I also need to emphasize that
partnership with Insource on this project is outstandingly productive,” said
Anano Korkia, Head of PR and Marketing Department at PASHA Bank.
PASHA Bank Joins
US Independence
Day Celebration
P
ASHA Bank, a Baku-based
financial institution providing
corporate and investment
banking services in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, participated in the celebration of the independence day of the United States of
America together with American Chamber of Commerce in Georgia.
For the second year in a row, the Bank
sponsored the traditional picnic that was
held at the Embassy of the USA in Georgia.
This special event hosted American,
Georgian and international families to
celebrate the 240th anniversary of the
signing of the US Declaration of Independence. US Ambassador to Georgia,
Ian Kelly, and AmCham Georgia VicePresident, Michael Cowgill, welcomed
nearly 1,200 guests.
PASHA Bank is an active member of
AmCham. The Chamber was founded
in 1998 and is the largest business association in Georgia, representing about
200 Georgian and American companies.
The primary mission of AmCham is to
strengthen US - Georgia business and
economic relations and to give valuable
input towards the improvement of the
business climate in Georgia.
PASHA Bank is also a member of EUGeorgia Business Council (EUGBC),
International Chamber of Commerce
(ICC) as well as Georgian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (GCCI).
“Considering the fact that PASHA Bank
provides solely corporate and investment banking services, we always try to
actively partner with the business associations and chambers that operate in
Georgia,” said Shahin Mammadov, CEO
and Chairman of the Board of Directors
at PASHA Bank. “AmCham is one of our
very distinguished partners and we are
glad to have the opportunity to contribute to the celebration of the independence day of the USA. This traditional
picnic is very popular in Azerbaijan as
well and PASHA Bank has been a proud
sponsor of this event on several occasions in Baku.”
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
+ 995-956-56-1313
Phone +995-322-95-96-14
Skype: SANJHA.CHULHA
Facebook: sanjha chulha
Indian Cusine
GEORGIA TODAY
POLITICS
JULY 8 - 11, 2016
11
Game of Mandarin Thrones
“I can’t dismiss myself. The only thing I can do is to resign, but I will not violate the law.
What kind of President would I be then?” de facto Abkhazian President Raul Khajimba
told his opponents. Source: president.tatarstan.ru
OP-ED BY ZAZA JGARKAVA
T
he hassle continues in the
occupied Abkhazia. This
time protestors demanded
a change to the date of the
referendum planned for
July 10th, the resignation of the so-called
Minister of the Interior Affairs and also
the right to vote with the so-called expired
passports. The de facto President partly
satisfied the demands, though the date
of the referendum has remained
unchanged. “I can’t dismiss myself. The
only thing I can do is to resign, but I will
not violate the law. What kind of President would I be then?” Khajimba told
his opponents. Khajimba dismissed the
de facto Minister of Interior Affairs on
July 5th and recognized expired passports
as effective. It will soon be made clear
whether the population of the occupied
territory trusts de facto President Raul
Khajimba or not at the referendum.
Although observers should have no
questions regarding the referendum,
they say in Sokhumi that together with
this upcoming one, the ghost of yet
another referendum lurks in Abkhazia,
directly connected with Russia, and that
these protests are in fact towards the
latter. The Opposition fears that after
winning this referendum, Khajimba will
automatically begin privatization of real
estate, everything will be handed over
to foreign citizens and the process will
become irreversible.
The Opposition does not exclude the
fact that after the referendum, Russia
might ask Abkhazians to hold a referendum about joining Russia, like South
Ossetia. There is no smoke without fire
and this issue has been leaked not only
on the social networks, but in official
Abkhazian and pro-Abkhazian Russian
language media as well. The Kremlin is
keeping a close eye on it all, hoping that
the existing problems will be resolved
through constitutional means. According to Russian media, the Press Secretary
of the President of Russia, Dmitry Peskov,
declared: “The Kremlin is paying close
attention to the events taking place in
Abkhazia. We want to see Abkhazia,
which borders the Russian Federation,
as a stable and developing state.”
Moscow rules out the possibility of
events developing according to the Ossetian scenario in Abkhazia, saying that
this lie is spread and fueled by street
press, Khajimba’s opposition and foreign
agents. Russian political analyst, Dmitry
Kulikov is confident that for many the
strategic partnership between Moscow
and Sokhumi is inconvenient and that
they are using every method possible to
radically change these relations, blaming especially Turkey in this political
game, as, after downing the Russian
bomber, it has led a more active policy
towards Abkhazia. “Shallow and obscure
publications from unknown authors can
be seen all over the internet talking about
Abkhazia playing games with Turkey
behind Russia’s back, and Russia in turn
striving to swallow Abkhazia and planning to use the referendum to this end,”
Kulikov said in an interview with the
agency Sputnik Abkhazia.
Official Tbilisi has not commented on
the ongoing turmoil so far and is playing
the card of disinterest in these issues.
No guesswork needed to predict that
Tbilisi will declare the referendum of
10th July as illegitimate. Therefore, it
seems that Khajimba’s fate does not matter. However, in reality, the battle for
power in occupied Abkhazia is approaching a crucial phase and whether proRussian Khajimba or one of his more
neutral opponents will be in charge of
the de facto government should by no
means be of no interest to Georgia.
The former Minister of Justice of the
autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, Paata
Davitaia says that the ongoing protests
were predictable and no surprise. “Former President Alexander Anquab is trying to regain power by supporting the
Amtskhara party, an attempt to repeat
what Khajimba did to Anquab. The fight
against Anquab was based on the economy, while that against Khajimba is based
on the frustration about him handling
all control to Russia. Whether the upcoming referendum will become the root for
yet another Mandarin Revolution will
be clear in a few days, but before that
Russian tourists are leaving occupied
Abkhazia, which for ordinary Abkhazians means a failed tourist season and
being stuck without income until next
year.”
America’s Angry Voting Bloc
BY GSR
T
here are four months to go
until America elects its next
President. It is generally
believed at this time that
Hilary Clinton will defeat
Donald Trump, primarily due to her
governmental experience. Mr. Trump is
perceived by many as being a loose cannon, whose blunt manner is unsuitable
for the nation’s highest office. Late June
polls show Ms. Clinton leading by an
average of five points, but as pollsters
cautiously note, the 2016 presidential
campaign is full of unforeseen surprises.
The meteoric rise of Mr. Trump and
Senator Bernie Sanders has caught the
political experts off guard. How a Real
Estate tycoon and professed Democratic
Socialist became the leaders of a major
political insurgency reflects a restive
citizenry that is unhappy with the current state of affairs.
This discontent is noticeably evident
among America’s middle class, whose
share of the economic pie has decreased
since the beginning of this century. Several factors explain why this has occurred:
America’s transition from a labor-intensive industrial to a specialized, information based society; foreign trade agreements which enable American
manufacturers to move their operations
to less expensive overseas locations; the
growing list of Federal, state and local
regulations that US companies have to
maneuver without incurring financial
penalties. The labor force participation
ROUTING
TBILISI - ISTANBUL ATATURK AIRPORT
ISTANBUL ATATURK AIRPORT - TBILISI
TBILISI - ISTANBUL SABIHA GOKCEN AIRPORT
ISTANBUL SABIHA GOKCEN AIRPORT - TBILISI
BATUMI - ISTANBUL
ISTANBUL - BATUMI
rate (a measure determining how many
people are employed nationwide) currently stands at 62.6 percent, its lowest
rate in nearly forty years. These transformations have especially impacted the
male population. Their workforce participation rate is at a record low, with a
significant percentage pessimistic about
their future prospects and subsequently
dropping out of the job market.
Suffice to say, these circumstances pose
a challenging environment to middle
class families. There has been minimal
income growth for this segment of society amid steadily rising health, insurance
and consumer expenses. While parents
struggle to make ends meet, their children face burdensome educational costs
and an uncertain job market upon graduation. Their political representatives
– Democrat and Republican alike – seem
tone deaf to their concerns, espousing
respective party doctrines with no perceptible impact. Frustration ensues,
bringing about an alienated constituency.
Trump and Sanders have tapped into
this undercurrent of discontent with the
status quo, albeit from different sides of
the political spectrum. Projecting themselves as “outsiders” who weren’t beholden
to backroom politics and special interest
groups (even though Trump’s commercial
and Sander’s legislative backgrounds suggest otherwise), their respective messages
resonate throughout middle class communities. Mr. Trump’s motto “Make
America Great Again” evokes a renewed
sense of patriotism that contrasts with
the globalist tendencies of the Obama
administration. Senator Sanders nowsuspended campaign advocated “A Future
FLIGHT NUMBER
TK 379
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WEEK DAYS
EVERYDAY
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1/2/4/5/6/7
3
EVERYDAY
1/2/4/6/7
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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
16:20
04:05
08:05
00:30+1
04:55
21:30
00:30+1
05:50
06:30
22:55
11:40
21:20
09:20
19:20
to Believe In” for those who had been
marginalized by their changing environments. Compare these slogans with
Hillary Clinton’s “I’m With Her”. Whereas
Trump and Sanders express their goals
and ideals to the general public, the Clinton campaign conveys the notion that its
sentiments are already known and don’t
bear specifying.
Many Americans are rankled by this attitude since it denotes that the Clinton name
is reason enough for being elected to the
presidency. The same rationale troubled
Jeb Bush’s short-lived candidacy. A family’s
political legacy can be a detriment in the
current environment. The Bush and Clinton’s devotion to public service has an elitist “insider” aspect to it, a sense that they
know what’s best for America. Much of
the nation believes otherwise, discarding
what they perceive as patronizing dynasties with shopworn remedies.
A region that may become pivotal to
the election’s outcome is the Upper Mid
West. This area is generally referred to
as the “Rust Belt,” due to the numerous
industrial towns and cities scattered
throughout the region. The population
is predominantly working middle class,
blue collar communities that have seen
better economic days. The Rust Belt has
been severely impacted by “globalism”
and the “new economy”. Numerous
factories have either shut down or moved
elsewhere because of such circumstances,
leaving huge social and economic voids
in their wake. As for remaining plants,
they confront a widening array of labor
and environmental regulations, whose
net effect often results in workforce
reductions or part-time employees.
10 Galaktion Street
It is generally believed that Hilary Clinton will defeat Donald Trump, primarily due to
her governmental experience. Trump is perceived by many as a loose cannon, whose
blunt manner is unsuitable for the nation’s highest office. Source: 2020americabook.
com / Bill-Muckler
These environs have supported the
Democratic Party’s nominee in recent
presidential elections, but there are indications this might be changing. Political
analysts are noting the re-emergence of
what’s known as the Reagan Democrats.
As the term implies, these are people
who will cross party lines when they feel
the nation needs a major overhaul. This
noticeably occurred in 1980, when many
registered Democrats decided to cast
their ballots for Ronald Reagan, who was
the Republican Party’s candidate.
A similar situation is emerging within
Rust Belt surroundings, where a significant number of Reagan Democrats
reside. They have been a largely dormant
factor since the Reagan years, either
returning to the Democratic fold or simply not voting, dissatisfied with whom
the choices were. Trump’s emergence
has grabbed their curiosity, his outlook
and persona somewhat reminiscent of
Reagan’s. He directly addresses the
region’s fear and concerns, especially its
rapidly dwindling industrial base. The
continuous haranguing against “professional politicians” and their sincerity is
a further draw, vulnerable aspects per
Ms. Clinton’s campaign.
Recent polls taken in the states of Pennsylvania and Ohio indicate that the Rust
Belt will be a closely contested region.
The Clinton campaign is slightly ahead
by an average 2.7 points, half of her
nationwide lead. Ohio is a very critical
gauge – no president has made it to the
White House without winning this state
in recent history. The polls also show
approximately 20% of both states’ voters
are undecided as to whom they’ll support come November. Reagan Democrats
might once again be the determining
factor in a general election.
GSR is a policy analyst who has worked with
democratic development projects in Turkey
and the Caucasus. Copyright GSR, 2016
Tel: (995 32) 2 45 08 08
E-mail: [email protected]
12
SOCIETY
Tbilisi Airport
Buses to
Operate 24
Hours
T
bilisi Transport Company,
which operates public bus
services between the Georgian capital’s center and
its international airport
18km away, announced Monday that a
new 24-hour operating schedule would
begin effective immediately.
Public Bus 37, which operated the
regular airport line, will now run an
overnight service from 00:00 am to 7:00
am with buses making the trip every 35
minutes for 50 Tetri (USD 0.20).
Nearly all flights arrive at the airport
after midnight or early in the morning
due to ongoing repairs on the airport’s
runway that force the airport to close
during the prime daylight hours.
The poorly-timed repair works have
become a logistical nightmare for the
airport as visitors are forced to manage their arrival and departure times
based on a condensed schedule.
Most visitors arriving in Tbilisi frequently complain about the capital’s
poor public transport infrastructure
both to and from the airport.
Due to the repair works, visitors had
been forced to use a private taxi, as
city bus services end prior to midnight
and do not begin until 7:00am. This
has allowed taxi companies and private
drivers who service the airport to
exploit the current situation by driving
up prices for foreigners to as high as
50 Euros for a 20-minute drive to the
city center.
The maximum official price for a taxi
to or from the airport and central core
of the city is 25 GEL.
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 8 - 11, 2016
Live Chain to Support Patients
with Rheumatoid Arthritis
M
embers of the Union of
Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis organized
a campaign ‘Everything
is in Our Hands,’ aiming to reach every member of the community with an important message. They
are requesting funding for treatment of
rheumatoid arthritis for adult citizens.
With signatures collected through an
online petition in hand, the campaign
participants applied to the Ministry of
Health and the Tbilisi City Council.
The main objective of the campaign is
to increase public awareness about Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) as a severe disease,
in order to diagnose it promptly and
ensure access to adequate treatment. All
volunteers are welcome take part in the
campaign and support patients by joining the live chain: ‘Healthy Joints – this
can be achieved.’
“RA patients can hardly move due to
unbearable pain, their joints become
deformed and lose their function and
finally fully restrict movement. Our goal
is to increase public awareness about
this disease, since the support of each
and every one of you increases the chance
of sufferers having access to adequate
treatment,” said Marina Sagharadze, one
of the founders of the Union of Patients
with Rheumatoid Arthritis.
“Real desires and physical abilities
never coincide with each other,” said
Rusudan Ebanoidze, one of the members
of the Union. “It’s very stressful. I am at
the IV stage of the disease. As well as
suffering from extreme pain, my limbs
have begun to deform. Unless the biological medicines are used promptly, the
outcome can be life-threatening. These
are the medicines that bring miraculous
changes; they in fact halt the illness.”
The number of online petitioners was
announced and the published results were
sent to the Ministry of Health and Tbilisi
City Council with the request to increase
the availability of biological medicines
for RA patients in Georgia. As representatives of the Ministry noted, they
were already familiar with the problem
and expressed hope that new services
would be added to the Universal Health
Insurance. However, in the meantime,
RA patients will be able to apply to the
Ministry with a request that will be
reviewed by the respective Commission
and a respective decision will be made
on expediency of funding allocation.
The outreach campaign was provided
by the Gepra Company.
ADVERTISING
14
SOCIETY
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 8 - 11, 2016
Transforming the
Educational Approach from
Youth to Lifelong Experience
On June 5th, the Sheraton Metechi Palace team travelled to Gremi, Kvareli
region, to donate a number of items to the Temi Charitable Union
Sheraton
Metechi Palace
BY MERI TALIASHVILI
Participants at the Festival of Adult Education 2016
BY MAKA LOMADZE
O
n July 1-2, Rooms Tbilisi Hotel hosted
the Festival of Adult Education 2016,
organized by German Association
International Cooperation Institute,
DVV International. Its aim was to
raise awareness and help society realize the main
conception of the occasion – “Learning throughout
Life.”
Georgia’s aspiration to integration into the united
European Educational space presents a number of
new challenges to the educational politics of the
country, highlighting the importance of raising the
level of education while we are alive. “If in the past,
we were accustomed to the fact that education is
only associated with youth, now, we have to realize
that it is a lifelong process,” said Alexander Jejelava,
Georgian Minister of Education. “Moreover, adults
are much more motivated, having well realized
what they lacked and thirsty to keep up-to-date
with new skills now to get employed. ” The Minister went on to express his belief in adult education, remembering his long service in the training
system, saying that adult education can give very
prompt results.
Continued on page 17
S
ocial responsibility has been the cornerstone of Sheraton Metechi Palace during
its 25 years of existence. Although the
Hotel has been undergoing major renovation works for year and a half and is
currently closed, it remains focused on its work
and aims to support those in need. On June 5th, the
Sheraton Metechi Palace team travelled to Gremi,
Kvareli region, to donate a number of hotel items
– room accessories, bed matresses, pillows, full
sets of linen, furniture, pottery, and household
appliances to the Temi Charitable Union.
“We are proud to grant such a variety of items,
likes furniture, bedding, crockery, and clothing to
Temi. Over two decades, Temi has been doing a
priceless job with the support of international
organizations, and we wanted to do our part and
also to encourage others, including international
and Georgian companies, to help Temi,” Tamuna
Guledani, Sheraton Palace Sales and Marketing
Department Head told GEROGIA TODAY.
Currently, Temi shelters more than seventy people of various ages and capacities aiming to give
them better life conditions, providing them care
and creating an environment where all treat each
other as equals. That was one of the reasons Sheraton decided to help.
“Temi carries the belief very deeply that all are
equal, a concept we agree with wholeheartedly.
This donation of ours is not one off project. We
regularly help those in need in whatever way we
can,” said Andreas Heidingsfelder, General Manager of Sheraton Metechi Palace Hotel.
As part of Starwood Hotel & Resorts, since 1997
Sheraton Metechi Palace Hotel has carried out
numerous projects assisting the socially vulnerable.
Delivering food and beverage products to the homeless retired, providing August 2008 IDPs housed
temporarily in a nearby school with household
items, repairing the heating system and bedrooms
of children in the House of the Future, giving Christmas charity dinners for elderly people, the Hotel
is also actively involved in environmental protection activities, planting and watering plants around
the city. Sheraton globally leads the worldwide
initiative to support UNICEF’S immunization and
malaria programs for vulnerable children in developing countries of the Check Out for Children
organization.
“We are thankful for the charitable donation of
furniture, kitchen and household items from Sher-
aton Metechi Palace,” said Tatiana Trofimchuk,
Project Coordinator at Temi. “These donations will
help better the lives of disabled and socially vulnerable residents in our community. We would like
to thank the Sheraton Metechi Palace team for
coming to our community and for their kindness,
support and friendship.”
Temi has been actively supporting people with
different physical and intellectual abilities and the
socially vulnerable for more than 25 years, with
the aim to improve their living conditions, increase
their quality of life, and provide opportunities for
personal growth and development.
Temi residents include people with impaired
motor/movement abilities, hearing and visual
impairments or short limbs; people with a combination of physical and intellectual disabilities;
with different stages of autism, cerebral palsy, and
anxiety; people with slight physical and intellectual
disabilities experiencing discrimination and exclusion from society; abandoned elderly people; single
mothers; orphans; and children born to parents
with disabilities.
Temi’s school-age children attend the local public school in Gremi village, while young people
who grew up in Temi now attend technical colleges,
universities, work in their chosen professions or
work in social enterprises at Temi.
To support the social integration, healthy development, active lifestyles of community residents,
Temi organizes a variety of activities, including
music therapy, physical therapy, and lessons in
handicraft, playing music instruments, singing,
dancing, art activities, literature and languages lessons and other activities that respond to the interests of community residents.
Further, community residents with different
abilities participate in recreational events, such as
football games, scavenger hunts, excursions to local
lakes and parks. Educational and recreational
activities help with social skills, group relationship
skills, and self-development of community members.
Social enterprise activities promote the independence and teamwork skills of disabled and vulnerable community residents and also help the community become self-sustaining. Ongoing projects
include vegetable gardens, greenhouse, vineyards,
wine production, bread making, community carpentry, agricultural tourism, chickens, pigs, beehives and others. Temi believes in the necessity of
a healthy and inclusive working and living environment, that teaches stewardship of the earth. Community members work together with local artisans,
farmers and also foreign volunteers.
GEORGIA TODAY
SOCIETY
JULY 8 - 11, 2016
The Eagle Drone
has Landed
Ascended: Svaneti
BY TONY HANMER
C
ontinuing the adventures of the transcaucasiantrail.org team in Svaneti!
And their interactions with one highly
bemused transplanted foreigner-resident.
Our heroes (and one heroine too) recently
attempted to find the best crossing of one of Etseri’s
rivers, the one between us and Pari, in this highwater season. This proved to be difficult, and a
bridge will need to be constructed near the Photreri
hamlet of Etseri to facilitate crossing. At low-water
times, the procedure is much easier, but we’d like
to cross whenever we feel like it, right, serendipitous hikers? So, bridge. Put it on the to-do list,
please.
Today Jeff dropped in with a shiny new toy, his
quad-copter drone. This is a historic day for me:
being a lifelong science fiction enthusiast, and having heard and read about drones for more than a
year now, it was the first time I came into personal
contact with one of the little flying camera machines.
He can link to it via radio from the ground up to 5
km away, and can also program it to make zigzag
grid patterns of photographs and then integrate
these seamlessly into one gigantic image.
The slick little white thing powered up its four
propellers with a loud buzz like an angry hornet,
and then just... lifted smoothly into the air. Ascended
fast to 120 meters, moved to its mission starting
point and began taking photos, sending a confirmation beep for each one along with its location
on the grid. The future, in short, had arrived. I was
dazzled. Hi Mom, here I am waving at you from
the ground in real time, if you like!
Hearing about these things, reading all the gossip
about them being shot down by angry Texan neighbors or being used to deliver parcels or as weapons
platforms, is one thing. Actually having the machine
take off from my front yard, before my wide eyes,
is another entirely. On the iPad I could see a little
video inset window of its actual progress into the
sky and then beginning the grid pattern. It will keep
itself steady thanks to those four propellers (if the
wind stays normal), and later the stitching software
will automatically align and overlap those hundreds
of images into one. Now, today, before your eyes.
I was like a kid in a Ray Bradbury novel, every
third sentence ending in an exclamation point! The
rush of joy was just like that. I’ll never be the same
again, and this day will remain in my memory as
a life-changer. I can’t downplay it; the anticipation
was high, knowing that Jeff would be by sooner or
later with the Drone, and suddenly here he was,
and me thrilled, never disappointed. Allow me to
gush a bit, if you will.
Want a DAILY version of exactly that same map
we just made? Done, to show weather and seasonal
changes through a whole year, from precisely the
same time each day even. Add layers of detail and
information, as I wrote here earlier? Up to your
imagination. 3D? Go for it! A video tour of your
village from the sky? Whatever. These things won’t
ever replace you coming here and seeing the place
for yourself, I dearly hope; instead, let them only
entice you to come experience the reality for yourself, not virtually through some helmet from the
safety and comfort of your armchair, but real, tactile, olfactory, audio-video, people-relational real.
You know, REAL real. Really.
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
15
16
CULTURE
Georgian Architect’s Project
Receives International Prize
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 8 - 11, 2016
Nina Ananiashvili RoundsUp 164th Ballet Season,
Looks ahead to the Next
BY KATIE RUTH DAVIES
T
The yet-to-be-built Shekvetili wellness resort in Guria, western Georgia.
Source:architizer.com
BY EKA KARSAULIDZE
G
eorgian architect Giorgi
Khmaladze, famous for
designing the futuristic
building currently housing
the Batumi McDonald’s,
was awarded once again, this time for
his new wellness center project, to be
located in Shekvetili resort in Guria
region, western Georgia. The architect
took the jury’s Special Mention prize at
the Architizer A+ Awards 2016, the largest architecture awards in the world.
Two years ago, Khmaladze took first
place for the Batumi McDonald’s project
in the competition. Following the victory, the Georgian architect quickly
became famous in architectural circles
and began to receive orders from different countries.
“The victory is very important in order
to raise awareness,” Khmaladze told
Business Contact. “The McDonald’s
project is well known inside the country,
but after the competition, it went beyond
the borders. As a result, we saw a lot of
interest from different foreign projects,
and were invited to closed competitions
in Abu Dhabi, where we received orders
from Baku, for example.”
The new Shekvetili resort is a local
project and was mentioned in the
Architizer A+Awards’ Unbuilt Projects
section. The future wellness center and
hotel will be located in a pine forest on
the Black Sea coast. The existing rich
vegetation, topography and orientation
towards the adjacent sea shore are the
key drivers of the design.
It was highlighted that the building will
be placed in a location already free of
trees and intense vegetation. The three
main components forming the 90 guestroom hotel will be the main building,
the forest suites and the garden suites,
with diverse spatial conditions.
According to the project, the main building is divided into two main levels, one
on the ground level, sunk into artificial
hills, and the other elevated above the
treetops. The ground level is to house the
main lobby, wellness center and all supporting spaces, connected to the rest of
the building by three structural cores
which both support the level above and
serve as vertical circulation shafts – for
stairs, guest elevators and service lifts.
The upper level is 18 meters above ground
to provide hotel suites with a direct sea
view and leaving an open space below
for sheltered decks.
The forest suites will be placed on small
hills farther from the sea shore, from
where the sea view and horizon will still
be visible. The garden suites are to be
placed on the flattest and lowest location.
The Architizer A+ Awards is the largest awards program focused on promoting and celebrating the year’s best architecture and products, this year taking
place for the fourth time. Its mission is
to nurture appreciation of meaningful
architecture throughout the world and
champion its potential for a positive
impact on everyday life.
The jury is composed of more than 300
prominent representatives of different
sectors – architects, designers, modelers,
publishers and real estate agents.
his weekend the 164th Georgian ballet season will draw
to a close with a performance
of Balanchine’s Symphony
in C, Concerto Barocco and
Sir Frederick Ashton’s Marguerite and
Armand on July 9th.
The Friends of the Georgian Ballet (FGB)
met with Prima Ballerina and Artistic
Director of the Georgian State Ballet,
Nina Ananiashvili, and a selection of her
multi-national soloists, to hear a roundup of the season and find out what’s on
the calendar for next year.
The FGB is an enthusiast group of mostly
expats who support the Ballet Company
by offering donations, arranging charity
performances and spreading the word of
the Company’s talent. They also support
the new generations of young Georgian
dancers by offering student scholarships
at the Chabukiani State Ballet School. On
March 29 the FGB helped to organize the
Japanese-Georgian “Sleeping Beauty”
ballet gala at the Rustaveli Theater, there
raising enough money to buy 80 rolls of
much-needed specialized non-slip tape
to seal down the lino in the dance studios
at the School. The American Friends of
Georgia, represented by Lena Kiladze,
gave a one-year scholarship to a student
of the School. Andreas Heidingsfelder,
General Manager of the Sheraton Hotel
Tbilisi, held a private party at which he
asked guests to donate cash to the Friends
of the Georgian Ballet. Altogether he
raised over 1300 GEL. The FGB recently
said a fond farewell to two of its most
energetic and inspiring board members
of the past years, Pirjo Turk and Caroline
Wilkes, and now welcomes three new
board members: Aleid Douma, Francesca
Huemer Kelly and Enid Burki, who will
work alongside existing members Orsolya
Sarossy and Luba Protsiva
At the meeting, which took place in the
Blue Hall of the Opera House, Nina told
us how she is particularly pleased with
the development of her soloists this year.
The dancers have excelled themselves,
having enjoyed the second half of the
season back “home” in the newly renovated Tbilisi State Opera House.
“The new Opera House has really broad-
Friends of the Georgian Ballet met with
Prima Ballerina and Artistic Director of the
Georgian State Ballet, Nina Ananiashvili,
and a selection of her multi-national soloists
ened the possibilities of what we can
achieve in a performance- the lights,
technical aspects; everything is possible,”
Nina said.
Finances, as always, are the limitation
for the Company which, with a greater
budget, would happily put into effect a
number of initiatives to boost interest in
the ballet and improve the material effects
of the Company, such as costumes. One
gripe Nina rightly has is the difficulty fans
of Georgian ballet have in seeing the performances of their “Home team” abroad.
“In the ten years we’ve been representing
Georgia abroad there have been consistent problems for Georgians to get visas
to come with us. Football fans can go
abroad to support their teams, but the
Arts suffer a disadvantage in this regard.
We want our Georgian enthusiasts to be
able to come with us on our tours to Japan,
the US, Italy; to see for themselves how
successful we are in the world beyond
these walls!”
Soon, the Company will be travelling
to the US to take part in the United States
International Ballet Competition (USA
IBC) 2016 Grand Prix Reunion Gala. Nina
will be returning to dance the stage where
she won the first City of Jackson Grand
Prix Award in the 1986 USA IBC. Two
years ago, on a visit, she promised the
organizers to bring and show off her
Company, which she is now able to do.
GEORGIA TODAY asked her about her
plans for the 165th season of Georgian
Ballet. “At the end of September we’ll be
dancing Giselle, followed by a remake of
the Balanchine program- Maria Calegari
and Bart Cook will come to train and
refresh the dancers. We’ll have a revival
of Kylian, which my boys danced so beautifully this past season, and Don Quixote.
It’s also my dream to have us stage
Chabukiani’s Laurencia.”
Nina hopes to begin an annual Ballet
Festival in Tbilisi and invite other companies to dance here, though this, of
course, depends on the budget. The Company has tours planned in Spain, Japan,
Estonia and possibly Finland.
The daily classes and rehearsals go on.
To relax, aside from eating (which they
all claim to be big fans of!) and spending
time with their families, many of the
dancers work on other artistic pursuits.
“We have quite a few talented painters
in the Company,” Nina says proudly. The
idea of holding a sales-exhibition to raise
funds is then suggested and members of
the FGB board take eager note and start
to brainstorm.
Some of the soloists have no time to
relax at the end of the season- taking
Nina’s lead in over-flowing energy by
organizing their own events. Soloists
Frank van Tongeren (the Netherlands)
and Machi Muto (Japan), who came over
to Georgia together after meeting Nina
in Japan, will be holding a Ballet festival
at the end of this month in Fukuoka, with
members of the Georgian Company in
attendance. More on that in next week’s
GEORGIA TODAY.
CULTURE
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 8 - 11, 2016
17
Don Quixote on a Shoe
String, World-Famous Hidalgo
Hits Tumanishvili Stage
BY MAKA LOMADZE
T
heTumanishviliFilmActors’
Theater recently staged the
premiere of the immortal
Don Quixote. The actors?
Puppets!
Alonso Quixana is an elderly gentleman who lives in La Mancha, in the
Spanish countryside. He has read many
books of chivalry. He loses his wits and
decides to roam the country as a knighterrant named Don Quixote de La Mancha. Neither his niece nor his housekeeper
can stop him from riding his old horse,
Rocinante, out into the country. Sancho
Panza, a common peasant, his faithful
servant, joins him on the journey, quickly
realizing that his master is mad, but hoping that Quixote will make good on his
promise to name Sancho the Governor
of an island. Quixote attacks a windmill,
believing it to be a giant, destroying his
lance in the process. Indeed, Quixote
gets involved in several altercations and
violent disputes while on the road.
The Tumanishvili puppet version of
the classic performance is fascinating in
both form and management. Among the
‘actors,’ are just two puppet theater professional actors, while the rest of eightperson team comprises a diplomat, a
drama theater actor, a psychologist, and
others, all united around one and the
same idea of the epochal book. Unlike
in other puppet theaters, the actors here
are visible to the audience, performing
together with the marionettes.
At the beginning of this performance,
well-known introductory music can be
heard- a tribute to the old Georgian staging of ‘Don Quixote,’ a revolution in its
time in Georgia’s theatrical space and
starring the late great Otar Meghvinetukhutsesi.
The magic of painter Nino Kitia made
it possible to fit the giant classical masterpiece into the tiny modern theatrical
space and the puppets alone are worth
seeing- and even if you don’t speak Georgian, the music and painting will offer
you enough story-telling, even more so
that the plot is well-known to most.
“A woman is a man’s heart,” is heard,
an idea that at first seems like old-fashioned romanticism but what else can
fashion do with eternal values? Don
Quixote, commonly considered as insane,
seems to be much saner than the cold
world in which violence, fear, poverty
and torture reign. “If humans can find a
small piece of light against the hopelessness and wickedness, then life would
not be a mere endurance,” the main hero
repeats again and again.
GEORGIA TODAY spoke to young
director Giorgi Apkhazava after the performance. “Sadly, live Don Quixotes are
lacking nowadays, which is why I decided
to stage this classic with puppets,” he
said. “I’m sure that in all epochs there
were such blank spaces, empty of idealists. There were many cases when Georgia had very clever ‘uncles’, full of common sense, but there has been a long
absence of such kinds of crazy people
who desperately struggle for kindness. It
took hard work and one-and-a-half years
to turn the two-volume novel into a short
theatrical performance but we did it and
the results can well be seen today!”
From September, the new season will
be launched and Don Quixote is set to
remain an inseparable part of the Tumanishvili Theater repertoire.
SOCIETY
Transforming the Educational Approach
from Youth to Lifelong Experience
Continued from page 14
Matthias Klingenberg, Regional Director of Caucasus, Turkey and SouthEastern Europe, stated: “Sometimes I
ask myself why it is so important to
advocate life-long learning and adult
education and is not it more important
to teach children sufficiently at school?
These questions can be heard in the
EU, Georgia, and elsewhere. There is a
cluster of answers. I think that now is
problematic for the EU. Therefore, adult
education is even more important. When
I think of answers, the recent terror
attacks in Ataturk Airport, Istanbul, and
Brexit come to my mind. The exit of
Great Britain from the EU as a result of
the referendum is a nice example of
what adult education could have
changed. The Brits did not really understand what the consequences of the
Leave would be, because they just trusted
social media. That showed that civic
education is lacking in Europe. It taught
us how politics can be manipulated by
different kinds of media. Therefore, this
festival is very important to say once
again that it is never late to learn. I am
convinced that these festivals are important not only for Georgia and this region,
but for the EU itself.”
The organizers believe that if the abovementioned concept is applied, such serious local problems as high level of
employment, incompliance between
qualification and market demand, and
low self-consciousness rate of citizens,
can be resolved.
After the festival, Lali Santeladze, Country Director of DVV International, told
GEORGIA TODAY, “We already have 9
adult education centers in different
regions of Georgia. We choose those
places that are particularly remote from
civilization. Annually, these centers have
8000 beneficiaries. In September, a new
center will be opened in Racha. Next
year, we also plan to cover Imereti region.
We act on the basis of local surveys that
reveal the real demands of this or that
profession, rather than on our own
agenda. However, we provide courses
of English and computer to all regions.“
The Georgian Adult Education Network is a member organization of the
European Association for Education of
Adults (EAEA), one of the biggest organizations in Europe working in the sphere
of Adult Education. It unites more than
200 European and non-European Adult
Education providers or organizations
who are strongly lobbying the principles
of Adult Education.
“Georgia had a great opportunity when
it was engaged in the recent general
assembly of the EAEA. The main message was the validation of non-formal
and informal education, as they should
be recognized by market and other,”
Khatia Tsuramua, Director of the Georgian Adult Education Network, told
GEORGIA TODAY.
“Around 15-20% of our beneficiaries,
who are aged 6 to 89, have been employed,
including the local population and the
community of IDPs from Abkhazia,”
Maia Chanturia, Director of the Adult
Education Center located in Jvari town,
Tsalenjikha Municipality, told us. “They
even come from Gali region to get some
skills. We have many self-employed people as a result of the center’s activities.”
On July 2, the official opening was followed by outdoor activities and an exhibition of hand-made products by the
non-formal adult education providers.
The festival has existed since 2002 and
is held annually in Tbilisi as well as in
the regions. This time, it was held with
the support of the Georgian Ministry of
Education and Science and Tbilisi City
Hall.
FOR SALE: BMW – 321 model
Date of issue 1936
PRICE 10.000 USD
CONTACT PERSON 557 12 38 90
18
CULTURE
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 8 - 11, 2016
WHAT’S ON IN TBILISI
THEATER
GABRIADZE THEATER
Address: 13 Shavtelis St.
Telephone: 2 98 65 93
July 9
THE AUTUMN OF MY
SPRINGTIME
Directed by Revaz Gabriadze
English subtitles
Start time: 20:00
Ticket: 10-30 GEL
July 10, 11
MARSHAL DE FANTIE’S
DIAMOND
Directed by Revaz Gabriadze
English subtitles
Start time: 20:00
Ticket: 10-30 GEL
July 12
RAMONA
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 8
RECITATIVE IN THE CITY
Directed by Kakha Bakuradze
Start time: 21:00
Free Entry
July 9, 10
PERFORMANCE
“SILENCE, REHEARSAL”
Directed by Kakha Bakuradze
Start time: 19:00
Ticket: 15 GEL
CINEMA
AMIRANI CINEMA
Address: 36 Kostava St.
Telephone: 2 99 99 55
www.kinoafisha.ge
Every Wednesday ticket price: 5 Lari
July 8-14
ME BEFORE YOU
Directed by Thea Sharrock
Genre: Drama, Romance
Cast: Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin,
Janet McTeer
Language: English
Start time: 19:30
Language: Russian
Start time: 17:00, 19:30, 22:00
Ticket: 10-14 GEL
INDEPENDENCE DAY:
RESURGENCE
Directed by Roland Emmerich
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Cast: Maika Monroe, Joey King, Jeff
Goldblum
Language: Russian
Start time: 17:15
Ticket: 11-12 GEL
DEMOLITION
Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts,
Chris Cooper
Language: Russian
Start time: 22:15
Ticket: 13-14 GEL
THE LEGEND OF TARZAN
Directed by David Yates
Genre: Action, Adventure
Cast: Margot Robbie, Alexander
Skarsgård, Ella Purnell
Language: Russian
Start time: 22:00
Ticket: 13-14 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
The exhibition is opened within the
Georgian National Museum week
dedicated to International Museum
Day.
June 22 – July 15
SOLO EXHIBITION
“RETURNING FROM JOURNEY’S
AFAR” BY ALEXANDER PAVLOV
The exposition showcases 21
paintings by the Ukrainian artist
and writer whose works are
characterized by the aesthetics of
abstract expressionism. Presented
artworks reflect the artist’s
thoughts on the current state of
culture and society.
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”
FOLKLORE REGION: SHIDA
KARTLI, SVANETI
Start time: 19:00-22:00
FINAL CONCERT “GAMOUVALI
MDGOMAREOBA”
Start time: 22:00
Ticket: 15 GEL
July 12
FOLK CRAFTS AND
CONTEMPORARY ART
EXHIBITIONS
Start time: 12:00 -19:00
FOLKLORE REGION: GURIA,
MTSKHETA MTIANETI
Start time: 19:00-22:00
FINAL CONCERT
“SHAVPAROSNEBI”
“CHVENEBUREBI”
Start time: 22:00
Ticket: 15 GEL
July 13
FOLK CRAFTS AND
CONTEMPORARY ART
EXHIBITIONS
Start time: 12:00 -19:00
FOLKLORE REGION: KVEMO
KARTLI, LECHKHOUMI
Start time: 19:00-22:00
FINAL CONCERT “REGGAEON”
Start time: 22:00
Ticket: From 14 GEL
MUSIC
ART GENE FESTIVAL
Address: Ethnographic Museum
Season ticket: 70 GEL
July10
FOLK CRAFTS AND
CONTEMPORARY ART
EXHIBITIONS
Start time: 12:00 -18:00
FOLKLORE REGION: SAMTSKHEJAVAKHETI, SAMEGRELO
Start time: 18:00-21:30
GEORGIAN STATE PANTOMIME
THEATER VAZHA-PSHAVELA
POEM “HOST AND GUEST”
Directed by Amiran Shalikashvili
Start time: 20:30
FINAL CONCERT
“SUKHISHVILEBI”
Start time: 22:00
Ticket: From 21 GEL
July 11
FOLK CRAFTS AND
CONTEMPORARY ART
EXHIBITIONS
Start time: 12:00 -19:00
July 14
FOLK CRAFTS AND
CONTEMPORARY ART
EXHIBITIONS
Start time: 12:00 -19:00
FOLKLORE REGION: IMERETI
Start time: 19:00-22:00
FINAL CONCERT: ROBI
KUKHIANIDZE “OUTSIDER”
Start time: 22:00
Ticket: 12 GEL
MOVEMENT THEATER
Address: 182, Aghmashenebeli Ave.,
Mushthaid park
Telephone: 599 555 260
July 12, 14
JAM SESSION
WITH THE RESO KIKNADZE
QUINTET
Start time: 21:00
Free entry
July 13
TANGO MILONGA
Start time: 20:00
Tango Lesson: 5 GEL
BATUMI
FOLK CONCERT
July 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
FOLK CONCERT
Start time: 19:00
Address: Batumi Boulevard
Colonnades
BATUMI ART CENTER
Address: 1 O. Dimitriadis Str.,
Batumi
July 8
DAYS OF CHINESE CULTURE
Free Entry
July 11
ANNIVERSARY CONCERT OF
SINGING AND DANCING
Free Entry
MUSIC FESTIVAL ‘ORANGE
KOBULETI’
July 9, 12
MUSIC FESTIVAL ‘ORANGE
KOBULETI’
Start time:19:00
Address: Kobuleti Amphitheatre,
Seaside Park, Kobuleti
BATUMI TENNIS COURTS
July 13
KETA TOPURIA AND STUDIO
CONCERT
Start time: 19:00
SPORTS
GEORGIA TODAY
JULY 8 - 11, 2016
19
Georgia
Joins
European
Free Theater Marks
Stadium Security
15th Anniversary
Convention
CULTURE
BY MAKA LOMADZE
T
bilisi has a plethora of theaters, good taste and a rich
artistic school. However,
without exaggeration, Free
Theater is among the best.
Its building takes the form of a ship, as if
the Troupe within has been lucky enough
to escape the cruelty of the rest of the
world to dwell in that most wonderful
and peaceful island called theatrical art.
Saturated with solar energy, as here the
main form of relation is love and respect,
adorned with a cluster of talented young
actors, and headed by a very original
director who is open to novelties (but
never ever using modern technologies),
the theater truly justifies its name.
“This day means everything as we
have been able to exist for 15 years without any help,” Avto Varsimashvili, main
director of the theater, told GEORGIA
TODAY. “Just the contrary, all the governments fought us, but we stuck to the
principles of our theatrical life and went
on staging performances. Our greatest
achievement throughout these years is
our audience. I am proud of 15 years of
non-stop sell-outs!”
“This is a very important date, as during 15 years, this theater has made its
name and found its niche in the rich
Georgian theatrical palette,” Jaba Kiladze,
one of the Free Theater’s leading actors,
noted. “I’m happy that I’ve been with
this theater from day one. From season
to season, the theater has evolved and
its members increased. A lot of actors
and actresses became very famous
through us. I’m sure a lot of generations
will step on its stage in future, too!”
No official speeches were made at the
anniversary event, nor were any officials
invited. Here, everybody was united without hypocrisy or pose. The main surprises
of the opening ceremony, which was as
original as the performances themselves,
were the openings of new statues of Niko
Gomelauri, deceased leading actor of the
Troupe, and Slava Natenadze from the
most popular performance ‘Comedians,’
just in front of the theater building. Another
statue was unveiled from the performance
‘Waltz before Going to Bed’ in which only
actresses participate, showing a remarkable reincarnation from a young age into
old women.
At the end of the anniversary, there
was a short screening to commemorate
all the important performances, many
of which are no longer in the repertoire
due to the death of Niko Gomelauri. Avto
Varsimashvili thanked all the staff, from
those manning the box office to the actors
and directors who have worked in the
theater. We look forward to the new
season after the summer.
PUBLISHER & GM
George Sharashidze
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DEPARTMENT
Commercial Director:
Iva Merabishvili
Marketing Manager:
Mako Burduli
GEORGIA TODAY
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT:
Editor-In-Chief:
Katie Ruth Davies
BY EKA KARSAULIDZE
G
eorgia, on Sunday, signed
on to the Council of
Europe’s Convention on
integrated safety, security
and service measures at
football matches and other sports events.
The signing ceremony was held at the
Stade de France prior to Sunday’s UEFA
2016 quarterfinal match between France
and Iceland.
The convention was signed by representatives from Bulgaria, France, Greece,
Lithuania, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia,
Switzerland, Macedonia and Ukraine.
“Our task is to make all games safe so
fans can enjoy world-class football. We
have a great atmosphere for football
here, but we have to stop the moments
Journalists:
Tony Hanmer, Tamar Svanidze,
Zviad Adzinbaia, Beqa
Kirtava, Meri Taliashvili, Eka
Karsaulidze, Zaza Jgarkava,
Maka Bibilashvili, Karen
Tovmasyan, Dimitri
Dolaberidze, Maka
Lomadze, Tim Ogden,
Ana Akhalaia, Robert Isaf,
Joseph Larsen, Will Cathcart,
Vazha Tavberidze, Nugzar B.
Ruhadze
of aggression. They always remind us
that even a small number of hooligans
could spoil a great celebration,” said the
Council of Europe’s Secretary-General,
Thorbjorn Jagland.
The convention aims to streamline
safety measures for spectators both inside
and outside stadiums, improve dialogue
between police, local authorities and
football clubs as well, as and to prevent
and punish hooliganism through effec-
Photographer:
Giorgi Pridonishvili
Layout:
Misha Mchedlishvili
Webmaster:
Sergey Gevenov
Circulation Managers:
David Kerdikashvili,
David Djandjgava
tive unified measures.
The convention will ban stadium visits
and limit travel abroad during international matches for those found guilty of
hooliganism. The document should also
improve the interaction of law enforcement bodies and facilitate the exchange
of information as well as personal data
during international football matches.
The convention will come into force after
its ratification by three signatory states.
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