Georgian police come down violently on anti-Saakashvili demonstration. A first-hand account

Ian F. Carver 27 May 2011

Ian F. Carver was witness to a ruthless operation by Georgian special police forces against anti-government demonstrators in central Tbilisi. The events saw at least three people killed, including one policemen. A dozen are reported missing. (Title, standfirst updated June 22 2011 - openDemocracy)

Georgians from Abkhazia: beyond limbo

Magdalena Frichova Grono 25 May 2011
Many Georgians displaced by the Abkhazia war of 1992-93 now live in rudimentary centres around the country. They face great difficulties in building their lives. But a survey of their views and aspirations contains some surprises, says Magdalena Frichova Grono.

Pro-democracy activists arrested in Georgia

Ian F. Carver 24 May 2011
Staunch former Saakashvili supporters and political insiders take to the streets of Georgia - and are arrested - as protests in the capital Tbilisi continue.

Wikileaks, South Ossetia and the Russian "reset"

Hans Mouritzen 4 April 2011

Wikileaks has finally settled the controversy over who attacked whom first in the Russo-Georgian war of August 2008, with papers firmly pointing to a miscalculation by Georgia and its superpower friend. For Hans Mouritzen, however, such historical details are dwarfed by a more significant subsequent development: the US-Russia great-power reset.

The Arab revolt and the colour revolutions

Vicken Cheterian 10 March 2011
The fate of the popular insurgencies in Serbia, Georgia, Ukraine and elsewhere in the early-mid 2000s could offer guidance or warning to the middle-east uprising of 2011 - and to western states, says Vicken Cheterian. 

Tbilisi: tearing down the past

George Nonidze 23 November 2010
Charming old buildings in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi, often listed, are being pulled down and the city disfigured. International organisations are pouring grants and loans into rebuilding projects, but there is little accountability and no building control, laments George Nonidze.

Armenia and Georgia foil latest uranium smuggling plot

Luke Heighton 10 November 2010
Joint anti-nuclear proliferation operation results in multiple arrests in Georgia. One year after Fort Hood shootings, US army outlines plans for radical security overhaul. Somali pirates land largest-ever ransom payment. All this and more in today's security briefing.

Russia and Georgia: the Circassian question

Sufian Zhemukhov 9 November 2010
A series of recent international conferences have pushed the Circassian question on to the international agenda. Sufian Zhemukhov considers the historical background to the relationships between Georgia and the North Caucasus and possible future developments.

The lightness of history in the Caucasus

Thomas de Waal 4 November 2010
The Caucasus is often depicted as a region of peoples locked in enduring and invariant nationalist enmity. The reality is more complex and therefore more hopeful, says Thomas de Waal.

Georgia at a crossroads: after the post-war

Jonathan Wheatley 22 October 2010
In Tbilisi, memories of the bitter conflict with Russia in August 2008 are fresh, but everywhere too are signs that forces of change are pushing Georgia in new directions. Jonathan Wheatley takes the measure of a fluid political moment.

Georgia's politicians chip away at constitution

Nino Tsagareishvili 15 October 2010
Today, 15 October, the latest amendment to Georgia’s Constitution is being rushed through with indecent haste. It is passing into law without even waiting for the recommendations of the Venice Commission. It weakens parliamentary control over government and fails to enshrine the independence of the judiciary. Yet again Georgian’s leaders are denying their people democratic accountability.

Georgia’s mafia: the politics of survival

Gavin Slade 20 August 2010
A prominent feature of Georgian life both before and after the Soviet period has been the influence of a powerful criminal network, the “thieves-in-law”. Its rise and endurance is closely linked to the changing character of the Georgian state, says Gavin Slade.

The guns of August: two years later

Rein Müllerson 17 August 2010
The bitter conflict over South Ossetia in August 2008 has turned to post-war stalemate. But just as the war and the current impasse involve more than Georgia and Russia, says Rein Müllerson, so progress in the region and beyond requires bold diplomatic thinking on all sides.

Sakartvelo: a political prospect

Alexander Rondeli 11 August 2010
The two years since the war of August 2008 have been tough for Georgia. But in domestic politics and foreign relations alike the country has achieved more than once seemed possible, says Alexander Rondeli.

Georgia's plan for reunification

Temur Yakobashvili 9 August 2010
Georgia’s Minister for Reunification Temur Yakobashvili outlines his government’s plan to retrieve the territories lost two years ago, in its war with Russia

This week's editor

Heather McRobie


Niki Seth-Smith is a freelance journalist and co-editor of OurKingdom.

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