On July 12, the newspaper Batumelebi reported that the “Russian Club,” which is positioning itself as an “international cultural-educational union” on its website, is training 50 Russian language teachers from public schools across Georgia in the seaside town of Shekvetili in Western Georgia. The report said that lecturers in Russian language, history, and literature from universities are additionally trained.
Media reports suggested the training was sponsored by Rossotrudnichestvo, the aid and cultural relations branch of the Russian Foreign Ministry sanctioned by the European Union since July 2022. This was based on a news post on its website dated July 1, where Rossotrudnichestvo advertised an upcoming “in-person summer school for teachers of Russian as a second language in Georgia.” The agency has been running a network of “Russian Houses” that conduct activities similar to the Russian Club, including teacher training and Pushkin commemoration events. In Georgia, Russian Houses are open in occupied Tskhinvali and Sokhumi.
In a social media statement today, the Russian Club denied the allegation that it was sponsored by Rossotrudnichestvo and said it was “fully funded by the Georgian businessmen.” The Club demanded an apology from the journalists who made a “mistake” and slandered an “organization that worked for Georgia’s well-being for 21 years and never tarnished its good name.” They noted with irony, that they “welcome the initiative of the Georgian media to support the law on transparency of foreign funding and to implement it so faithfully,” pointing to the Kremlin-inspired law that is intended to curb the activities of civil society groups and media, such as Batumelebi.
They explained the presence of the head of the Russian interests section at the Swiss Embassy in Georgia, Dimitry Trofimov, as “his personal initiative” to award the children who won a painting contest dedicated to Alexander Pushkin, a renowned Russian poet.
Georgia’s Ministry of Education, security service, and police have not responded to Batumelebi’s query on whether the Russian trainers now present in Shekvetili had taught in Georgia’s occupied provinces before and thus violated the Georgian law on occupation.
What is the “Russian Club”?
The Russian Club’s website links to information about its governing body or official representatives are dead. A search of the official registry reveals that it was registered in 2010 and has been headed since by Nikolay Sventitski, Director of the Russian-language Groboedov Theater in Tbilisi. Board members include
- Alla Bezhentseva, who also leads the Union of Russian Women in Georgia. Bezhentseva received funding from the Women’s Fund of Georgia, which is, in turn, supported by Western donor agencies.
- Avtandil Varsimashvili, an actor at the Griboedov Theater, writer, and media personality.
- Valeri Khariutchenko, an actor at the Griboedov Theater.
Also Read:
