Georgia
Top ruling party lawmaker assesses West’s reaction to Georgia’s political crisis as “measured and soft”
Analyst suggests sanctions needed against kingpin oligarch Ivanishvili in effort to defend democracy.
COLCHIS: Georgia is in crisis, but it’s far from the end of democracy
The news from Georgia over the past few days has been depressing. Headlines like, “Georgian opposition leader arrested” and, “opposition HQ stormed” evoke the sort of post-Soviet authoritarianism Georgia wants to put behind itself
OPINION: PM's resignation is a make-or-break moment for Georgia
What next in Georgia following the turmoil in recent days that has seen the PM quit, the leader of the opposition grabbed by security forces and Irakli Garibashvili, who is refusing to hold a snap election, made the new head of government?
Police grab Georgia’s opposition leader after storming barricaded party offices
Move comes after new PM is appointed and declares: “We categorically refuse any negotiations on a snap election! This issue is closed!” Predecessor resigned five days ago saying move to detain UNM head would exacerbate divisions in country.
Georgia’s PM resigns after court orders detention of opposition leader
Amid country’s political crisis sparked by claims of a rigged general election, Giorgi Gakharia says “I want to believe that this step will help reduce polarisation”.
CAUCASUS BLOG: Georgia’s corrupted anti-corruption strategy
“Only 29 percent of Georgians believe that cases of high-level corruption are investigated properly in Georgia, while 47 percent think that they are not,” says Transparency International.