The Daily Beat: 1 March

Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs Zurab Azarashvili resigned after meeting with Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze. PM Kobakhidze said the Minister had “management problems” that prompted his resignation. It is not yet known who will replace him in the post. Minister Azarashvili was considered a close ally and a team member of former prime minister Irakli Garibashvili.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze also fired Irakli Garibashvili’s other right-hand man, the head of the government’s administration, Revaz Javelidze, who has held this position since May 2022. Ilia Shamugia has been appointed as acting head of the government’s administration. Prior to this appointment, Shamugia served as the chief of staff of then MP Kobakhidze in parliament.

In his comments to journalists, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze called on the EU executive structures to distance themselves from the unfair decisions of the European Parliament (EP). “We are doing our utmost to maintain 85% of public support for the EU, but EP prevents us from this, so please help us to help you,” PM Kobakhidze told reporters, commenting on the recently adopted EP resolution, which mentions the pardon of ex-President Saakashvili.

In an interview with BBC HARDtalk, President Salome Zurabishvili admitted that Georgia is a “bit more” dependent, adding that it does not mean the country is “closer” to Russia. In the interview, President Zurabishvili also spoke about Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the threats it poses to Georgia, as well as about Georgia’s domestic issues, including GD founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili, and the upcoming Parliamentary elections in October.

Russian independent investigative media outlet “The Insider” reported that Nizhnevartovsk resident Ilkin Melikov, who fled from Russia to Georgia after being beaten by security forces, was kidnapped from Tbilisi, forcibly returned to Russia, taken into custody, and now remains in a pre-trial detention center of Yekaterinburg. According to The Insider, he was forced to sign a document stating that he voluntarily crossed the border.

Radiotavisupleba reported that the controversial icon of St. Matrona of Moscow, also depicting Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, would not be returned to the Holy Trinity Cathedral, quoting the cathedral’s archimandrite Iovane Mchedlishvili as saying that “the problem has been resolved.” The discovery of an icon in the capital city’s main Orthodox Cathedral raised uncomfortable questions about the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church, stoking passions between liberals and ultra-conservative groups earlier this year.

Eastern European Center for Multiparty Democracy – EECMD called on the Parliament to expedite the discussion of the draft law aimed at streamlining the Georgian emigrants’ ability to vote in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The draft bill prepared by the organization and partner political parties was submitted to the Parliament on November 21, 2023. The bill aims to allow Georgian citizens living abroad to vote remotely through online systems.