What happened?
On September 20, the US-Sanctioned former Prosecutor General of Georgia, Otar Partskhaladze, gifted all the property and land he owned in Georgia to his son, Andria (Anzor) Partskhaladze. The properties were registered under Andria Partskhaladze’s name in an accelerated manner a few days after the US Treasury Department sanctioned his father for the attempts to influence Georgian society and politics for the benefit of Russia.
The ruling party says Otar Partskhaladze is a private businessman who plays no formal role in relations with the Russian government or political affairs. Yet, a cursory review of the activities of Andria Partskhaladze, published by the online newspaper Publika and verified by this newspaper, suggests otherwise.
Now aged 25, Andria Partskhaladze is the owner of several properties, some of which were already in his ownership before his father’s gifts, and is the shareholder of various businesses and organizations. Despite his substantial wealth, he maintains a low public profile, which has prompted inquiries into his activities and speculation about whether he may become a target for future US sanctions.
What does Partskhaladze Jr. own?
Before receiving gifts from his father, Andria Partskhaladze owned three non-agricultural plots of land near Mukhatskaro (a resort village near Tbilisi), a plot of land in Bakuriani, an under-construction apartment on Chavchavadze Avenue and a house on Kipshidze str. (both in posh Tbilisi district of Vake), and a private house in the settlement of Kaklebi, among other assets registered at the National Agency of Public Registry. Additionally, he was gifted three agricultural lands in Tsavkisi village, two rooms within a Bakuriani resort hotel complex, three commercial properties in Tbilisi’s central Vake district, and three apartments in Saburtalo district by his father.
Notably, among these land plots, there is one with a church, built by Otar Partskhaladze that now belongs to Andria. However, the church’s priest asserts that this is a temporary arrangement and that once the necessary documentation has been completed, the church will be transferred to the Patriarchate of Georgia.
Andria Partskhaladze also holds stakes in several companies: L.T.D ECO Group (where he serves as Director and owns half of the shares with another 50% owned by his mother), L.T.D Georgia Grand Consulting (where he is a Director, owning half of the shares, with another half owned by one Andria Sekhniashvili), LTD Hexa (“ჰექსა”) (where he holds 20% of the shares), and L.T.D GPS Consulting (where he was gifted 100% of the shares by his father on September 19).
Political Ambitions? “Conservative Union”
Andria Partskhaladze’s prior civic activities suggest active linkage with conservative and pro-Kremlin forces. He is the founder of a non-governmental organization, named the Conservative Union. According to findings by Publika, that organization was established on May 25, 2022. Its main aims include the establishment of strong ties among the Caucasian peoples to protect rights and freedoms in the Caucasus region. This includes “reviving and strengthening” cultural, social, economic, and educational ties with citizens living in the occupied territories of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region.
The organization’s statute says it will engage in rallies, demonstrations, and marches to achieve these goals and raise funds from domestic and foreign individuals, companies, foundations, and private or public institutions in the form of cash or movable and immovable property. It is hard to find any other information about the union online, but its chairman, Archil Bubuteishvili, is quite visible.
Dangerous liaisons
Archil Bubuteishvili actively participated in Russian-Georgian forums and conferences in the past years. He joined a Georgia-Russian Forum held in Moscow on December 7, 2022. During those meetings, the restoration of direct Russia-Georgia flights and easing of visa restrictions for Georgians was discussed, according to Russia’s Gorchakov Foundation (Alexander Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund), which was established in 2010 by Russia’s then president, Dmitry Medvedev. The Foundation is linked to Moscow’s power projection operations in the near abroad, is directly funded by the Russian Foreign Ministry, and has been sanctioned by the European Union.
In addition, Bubuteishvili took part in an online conference by the Communist Party of Russia two years ago, which also focused on improving Russia-Georgia relations. Alongside him, Shota Martinenko and Zura Makharadze, two leaders of the similarly named “Conservative Movement” – a pro-Kremlin political movement – also participated.
Last year’s Russian-Georgian Forum was also attended by the Russian deputies of the State Duma: Leonid Kalashnikov, Kazbek Taisaev, Artyom Kavinov, Vladimir Isakov. From the Georgian side, among others, there was Roman Bokeria (Otar Partskhaladze’s partner in L.T.P. Moscow Business Brokerage), and Merab Chikashvili, the chairman of the Solidarity for Peace organization, where Andria Partskhaladze also worked.
The Solidarity for Peace organization describes its foreign policy strategy as aiming to establish Georgia as a militarily neutral nation, with major geopolitical players as guarantors of this neutrality. Partskhaladze has worked as a video blogger for the organization. In one of his video blogs, he criticized the education reform initiated after the “Rose Revolution” and railed against the “liberal forces.” While Partskhaladze is not listed as formally affiliated on the Solidarity for Peace website, Chikashvili confirmed in a film released in 2022 that Partskhaladze is indeed an active member of the organization, stating: “I personally asked him to join.”
Chikashvili was also one of the first passengers on the Russian plane after direct flights to Tbilisi were resumed. He was interviewed on arrival and stated that the organization worked with the Russian side to “achieve the goal that the Georgian people have been working towards for 23 years.”
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
