TBILISI, September 16 – Georgia’s prime minister is escalating attacks on jailed opposition activist Elene Khoshtaria, accusing her of being in the Kremlin’s pay.
Speaking Tuesday after the Dutch ambassador visited Khoshtaria in detention, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze blasted the envoy for “grossly violating” the Vienna Convention and claimed the meeting was interference in Georgia’s democratic process. He then zeroed in on Khoshtaria herself, saying she receives money from Russia’s federal budget.
“It would be good if the Dutch ambassador comments on such facts,” Kobakhidze told reporters. “These so-called anti-Russian liberals in Georgia, who block streets and stage protests, in reality take money from Russia’s treasury.”
The same talking point has been repeated in recent weeks by Georgian Dream parliamentarians Tengiz Sharmanashvili and Irakli Zarkua.
Khoshtaria has long acknowledged that her family receives payments from Russia, but insists they are royalties tied to the legacy of her father, the late theater artist and scenographer Soliko Virsaladze, whose productions are still staged worldwide. “My father is the heir of Soliko Virsaladze, a theater artist who worked at the Mariinsky Theatre. For 25 years royalties have been paid from all of his productions,” she has explained. She has also denied that this amounts to Russian state funding.
The clash reflects a long-running pattern in Georgia’s politics: both ruling and opposition forces frequently accuse each other of being “pro-Russian.” Even former president Mikheil Saakashvili faced the same smear while in power.
