President Saakashvili, who once called Batumi his “daughter”, has made this Black Sea resort town a showcase of his drive to transform Georgia into tourism destination; this drive, he says, also aims at destroying, as he put it, “slave mentality”, which Russia was planting for years to make Georgians believe that they are losers. Saakashvili receives many foreign dignitaries visiting Georgia in Batumi and personally takes them on tour of the city, showing them ongoing or planned projects. When one art critic called facelift in Batumi and in some other towns “architectural bijouterie” and “kitsch”, citing that the process in many cases harms authenticity and identity of local urban architecture of each individual town, Saakashvili, while opening a new Radisson Blu hotel in Batumi, responded: “You poor.”
Read Next
News
17/09/2025 - 18:03
Court Sets Bail for Elene Khoshtaria, But She Refuses to Pay
News
17/09/2025 - 15:51
Olympic Champion, Ex-Georgian Dream MP Zurab Zviadauri Arrested
Moscow Calling
17/09/2025 - 13:55
Moscow Calling – September 17
17/09/2025 - 18:43
Seven People, Including GD-Linked Figures, Arrested in Counterfeit Alcohol, Cigarette Case
17/09/2025 - 18:03
Court Sets Bail for Elene Khoshtaria, But She Refuses to Pay
17/09/2025 - 15:51
Olympic Champion, Ex-Georgian Dream MP Zurab Zviadauri Arrested
17/09/2025 - 15:16
Georgia Clears Decades-Long Debts With Russia, Other Regional Creditors After Final Payments
17/09/2025 - 14:04
‘Tinder Swindler’ Simon Leviev Placed in Extradition Custody in Georgia
17/09/2025 - 13:55