The Daily Beat: 10 January
Supporters and activists of the pro-Russian political party Conservative Movement/Alt Info surrounded the residence of civic activist Nata Peradze, the person who defaced the icon with the image of Joseph Stalin at the Tbilisi Trinity Cathedral. Angry demonstrators led by Alt Info demanded a public explanation from Nata Peradze for “insulting the icon,” also accusing authorities of shielding the activist. The demonstration was held under heavy police presence, and after a few hours, protestors left the area without an incident.
The Polish Embassy in Tbilisi reacted to the strange discovery of an icon depicting Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in Tbilisi’s Trinity Cathedral by publishing the findings of the Institute of National Remembrance on the total number of Polish victims of the Soviet regime. The Polish Embassy, in its Facebook post, recalled that a total of 1.8 million Poles became victims of the Soviet regime, of which 150 thousand died, and 1.6 million people were repressed during various punitive operations, mainly in 1939-1941.
In stark contrast with the spirit of the Polish Embassy’s announcement, the senior ruling party lawmaker and head of the parliament’s legal affairs committee, Anri Okhanashvili, pledged to initiate legislative amendments tightening criminal liability for insulting religious buildings and objects. “In a sacredly important place for our society as a church, such non-Christian behavior and generally offensive actions towards any religion, which create a serious and real basis for incitement of hatred on religious grounds, are completely unacceptable to us,” said Anri Okhanashvili in connection with defacing the Russian icon depicting Stalin at the Tbilisi Trinity Cathedral.
According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees of Germany, 9,399 Georgian citizens applied for asylum in Germany in 2023, of which only 0.3% were approved. Germany received 351,915 asylum applications in 2023, an increase of 51.1 percent compared to 2022. Most asylum seekers came from Syria (104,561), Turkey (62,624), Afghanistan (53,582), Iraq (12,360) and Iran (10,206). Georgia ranks sixth on the list.
The Russian news agency TASS reported that Russia has abolished “customs duties” on the export of oil products and gas to the occupied Tskhinvali region. According to the same source, a zero duty will be applied to the volumes agreed upon by the Kremlin and the de facto authorities in Tskhinvali. At the same time, the Russian standard rate will continue to apply to the excess amount.
