Georgia’s government is selling its planned overhaul of higher education as a bold modernization drive. Natia Pipia, an assistant professor at Tbilisi State University, sees it as a very expensive experiment that could reshape the country’s economy, and its protest scene. At the heart of the plan is “one city, one faculty” and a wider … Read more
TBILISI, October 23 – A veteran opposition figure in Georgia says the country’s most powerful political patron is tightening control and humiliating formerly loyal lieutenants in public view. Roman Gotsiridze, a former member of parliament for the National Movement, used a Thursday interview to paint Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire founder of the ruling Georgian Dream … Read more
TBILISI, October 8 – The violent unrest that broke out in Tbilisi on October 4 dealt a heavy blow to the reputation of Georgia’s protest movement, according to EU policy analyst Kakha Gogolashvili, but he believes the ruling Georgian Dream party will struggle to brand all forms of opposition as violent or extremist. Speaking on … Read more
TBILISI, October 6 – Georgia’s “peaceful revolution” may have failed on October 4, but according to Tbilisi State University sociologist Iago Kachkachishvili, the failed uprising didn’t kill the protest movement. It may even have breathed new life into it. “October 4 discredited the idea of a revolutionary overthrow, but not the protest itself,” Kachkachishvili said … Read more
TBILISI, October 2 – As Georgia prepares for local elections on October 4, political analyst Aleksandre Tvalchrelidze paints a stark picture of the domestic and international environment. Speaking to Interpressnews, he described the vote as perhaps the most unpopular in the country’s modern history. “The October 4 elections will likely be the most unpopular in … Read more
TBILISI, September 29 – Georgia heads into October’s local elections amid sharp criticism of its foreign policy, with former diplomat Nata Sabanadze warning that the country has become a “hollow shell” on the international stage. Sabanadze, Georgia’s former ambassador to the European Union and now a senior fellow at Chatham House, told Interpressnews that President … Read more
Giorgi Antadze, defense and security researcher at the Tbilisi think tank GeoCase, says Georgia’s October 4 local elections cannot be treated as routine. In an interview with Interpressnews, he described the elections as intimately linked to the political upheaval that has gripped the country for two years. “Impossible to call this just another municipal election,” … Read more
TBILISI, September 22 – Political analyst Irakli Melashvili says Georgia’s political scene has reached a dangerous stalemate, where dialogue between government and opposition is no longer possible. In a wide-ranging interview with Interpressnews, he painted a grim picture of a society radicalized by years of divisive rhetoric. “The main feature of political life in Georgia … Read more
TBILISI, September 8 – Georgia’s justice system is on dangerous ground, says security analyst Andro Gotsiridze, warning that politically driven courts could destabilize the country and hand Russia exactly what it wants. In an interview with Interpressnews, Gotsiridze commented on recent verdicts against around a dozen protesters convicted of assaulting riot police during last winter’s … Read more
TBILISI, August 13 – Foreign policy analyst Giorgi Bilanishvili considers the recent Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement “highly significant for our region’s long-term peace, stability, and development.” On August 8, Prime Minister Pashnyan and President Aliyev met in the White House and signed the Armenia–Azerbaijan peace agreement to end the 37 year long Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Bilanashvili noted … Read more