August 21 - 27, 2015

WEEKLY PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY www.georgiatoday.ge Price: GEL 2.50 Georgia Today 20 p. ISSUE No.780 Who will Represent the Georgian IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE State at the 70thSession of the Major Potential in BUSINESS HEADLINES Georgia-China UN General Assembly? Free Trade, Study Finds With it’s relationship with Europe firmly established, the Georgia Stepping country’s political and business Forward in the World leaders are now turning their attention toward China, says a of Business P.11 recent study by the Tbilisi- based consultancy Policy and Management Consulting Group (PMCG). P.4 Italian Missionary’s C17th Pen-and-Ink Democracy or petty squabbling? Georgia Today discusses Sketches Now in just how much damage the leadership's inability to speak Tbilisi with one voice is doing to Georgia's performance on the Visit the unique never before international stage. published collection of 17th P.2 century pen-and-ink sketches created by Italian missionary Salome Teramo Christopher de Castelli during his travels Samadashvili: Pro- around Georgia. P.15 Russian Victory in 2016 Elections Would 1878 of Chateau End Georgian Mukhrani is More Statehood than a Georgia Today met with the former Restaurant... Head of Georgia’s Mission to the Wine, high society and history. EU to hear her view on Russian Rest-orator gives you a taste of interests and the future of Georgia. P.6 the best this summer. P.15

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P.4 2 AUGUST 21 - 27 POLITICS Who will Represent the Georgian State at the 70thSession of the UN General Assembly? By Nino Japarashvili

“Mr. President, Mr. Secretary Gen- eral, Fellow Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen. It is a great honor for me to represent my country here at the United Nations,” began Irakli Garibashvili, Georgia’s Prime Minister during his speech at the UN General Assembly last year. The address followed several months of intense confrontation between the President and the Prime Minister of Georgia; both Giorgi Margvelashvili and Irakli Garibashvili insisted that the con- stitution grants him, and not the other, the right to represent the country at in- ternational summits. In July 2014, the PM’s office an- nounced that Garibashvili would attend the annual UN General Debate in Sep- tember and would also take part in num- ber of events which were organized on the sideline of the UN General Assem- Giorgi Margvelashvili Irakli Garibashvili bly. Margvelashvili announced that his visit also pay a visit to New York in the same sonally engaged in last year’s mistake up delivering the speech in New York. On the same day President’s office to the United States was deliberately period, as he has been invited by the are unacceptable.” The power struggle between the announced that Margvelashvili had ac- disrupted by the PM and his office, it Latvian President to attend the discus- At the press conference which the President and the Prime Minister of cepted an invitation from Ban Ki-Moon, was obvious that eventually Garibashvili sion “Future of Europe: Empowering the President’s administration held on Georgia has not been limited to the rep- the UN Secretary-General, who had in- would lead the Georgian delegation and Role of Women.” Wednesday, August 19, Pkhaladze fur- resentation at UN annual sessions. Simi- vited the President, together with other address the UN Summit. Maia Panjikidze, the former Foreign ther explained: “Since the President lar disputes occurred when it came to world leaders, to the UN headquarters Georgia’s representation in this Minister of Georgia, currently one of the will be in the US when the UN Gen- signing the Association Agreement with for the Climate Summit on September year’s UN annual session, one of the leaders of the Free Democrats Party, eral Debates take place, it would be the European Union. 23, which was to be held on the eve of most representative and high-level in- now says: good if he was given an opportunity As President Margvelashvili drifts opening of the UN General Debate. ternational events of 2015, is still con- “We had a very bad practice of pub- to address the UN General Assembly.” away from the Georgian Dream, the cur- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs troversial between the two respective lic discussions about who would go to According to Margvelashvili’s Advi- rent ruling party led by Prime Minister (MFA), led by then-Foreign Minister camps. Giorgi Margvelashvili, Head of the United Nations. I had hoped we sor, “Georgia’s President is the high- Garibashvili, most likely, the confron- Maia Panjikidze, tried to encourage the State, or Prime Minister, Head of the would learn something from last year’s est political figure, directly elected by tation between the two will continue President to revise his decision and not Government – this remains an issue of experience... I cannot imagine the PM the Georgian people; therefore, it is over the coming months. One could to participate in the UN Climate Sum- political speculation again as the date to be the head of a delegation and the important for the country to maximally claim this constant competition contrib- mit as PM Garibashvili, who was ex- approaches. President to be a member of the same use his authority in the international utes to democratic developments in the pected to address the UN General As- The PM’s office has already pub- delegation or vice versa. I don’t think arena.” country; but, what is more obvious, it sembly, would also be attending the lished Garibashvili’s schedule for 15 this has ever happened in the history of Davit Kereselidze, Spokesman of the seriously impedes Georgia’s perfor- same event. The Ministry claimed that September, in which he clearly plans to the UN.” Foreign Ministry, said any decision mance on the international stage, as the it would be inappropriate and “embar- lead the delegation to the UN. He is also In response to the former Foreign made at the highest level will be fulfilled dispute between the two leaders nega- rassing” for the country to send “two expected to deliver a speech on behalf Minister, the President’s Advisor for by the MFA. However, it seems likely it tively reflects on the ability of the coun- leaders” to the same event in New York. of the Georgian state. However, it ap- Foreign Affairs Tengiz Pkhaladze said: will again be Irakli Garibashvili, Bidzina try to speak with one voice in its for- As before the event President pears that President Margvelashvili will “remarks from a person who was per- Ivanishvili’s trusted man, who will end eign relations. New Bloodshed in Ukraine Rattles Shaky Ceasefire

Ukrainian government reports say that Russian-backed separatists fired upon civilians with howitzers. By Joseph Larsen ment signed between the Ukrainian gov- Lysenko made clear that Sartana is a ernment and Russian-backed separatists “civilian town” with no military instal- Last weekend saw eastern Ukraine resulted in large amounts of tanks, anti- lations. descend back into shocking violence. aircraft guns and other heavy equipment Separatist leader Alexander Zakhar- During 24 hours of fighting that began being moved back from the frontlines, chenko, prime minister of the pro-Krem- on Sunday and lasted into Monday a but it hasn’t stopped the guns from fir- lin Donetsk People’s Republic, said that total of ten people we killed, the highest ing. Bodies continue to pile up, and the government forces fired first and single-day death toll in more than a Ukrainian government claims that sepa- claimed that Kiev is preparing a renewed month. Separatists fired upon Sartana – ratists have violated the ceasefire no less offensive to retake separatist-controlled a suburb of the government-held port than 140 times during the past six territory. Russian foreign minister Sergei city of Mariupol – with howitzers, kill- months. Lavrov echoed that claim, saying that ing two soldiers and two cilivilians and The death toll adds to the more than “we are worried by the developments in wounding seven others, according to 6,800 people killed by fighting in recent days, which strongly recall prepa- government reports. Ukrainian army Ukraine since April 2014. The flare-up ration for more military actions.” forces for their part shelled the rebel- has fueled concerns that the shaky Feb- German foreign minister Frank- controlled cities of Horlivka and ruary ceasefire could collapse altogether. Walter Steinmeier expressed concern but Donetsk. The pro-separatist Donetsk Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy took pains to use language inoffensive News Agency reported that six people Lysenko interpreted the attack as part of to the Kremlin, commenting in an inter- were killed by government forces. what could be a broad separatist push view with Bild am Sonntag that “if both HAVE YOUR HAIR CUT AT OUR SALON The violence represents one of the toward Mariupol, commenting that parties do not adhere to the peace pro- AND GET HAIR DIAGNOSTIC AS A GIFT! largest violations of a ceasefire reached “what has happened in Sartana is a chal- cess, the military situation could esca- earlier this year. The February agree- lenge to our forces.” In addition, late again at any time.”

4 AUGUST 21 - 27 POLITICS Further Reshuffle Expected in GD Cabinet with laws, should have the experience choice. It can be assumed that confron- cial information, Tsouloukiani’s state and, no matter whose team he/she is tation for the parliament party lists will body is waiting for notification about the in, should be able to work in the par- become more open as time goes on. Ukrainian state structure granting liament. Usupashvili is telling me that The opinion that Prime Minister Saakashvili citizenship of Ukraine while there are not three people in our team Garibashvili is starting to restore his po- Georgia’s Ministry of Justice could ap- who are helping him. United National sition is supported by the presence of peal to Ukraine and request the docu- Movement members have a lot of ex- Justice and Foreign Ministers in the list ment. perience in this,” Ivanishvili stated of ministers that will be replaced. Re- As for Tamar Beruchashvili, ever two years ago, while still the Prime placing Tsouloukiani, according to back- since her appointment to the post of the Minister. stage talks, is connected to the disagree- Foreign Minister her position has been The speech of the actor Soso ment with the Prime Minister as the Jus- under threat particularly after joining the Jachvliani in parliament seemed to con- tice Minister refused to initiate the pro- EU-imposed sanctions upon Russia, firm fears of incompetence. The MP cedure of taking away citizenship from which was not agreed with the Prime confused the abbreviation of the Euro- Mikheil Saakashvili. According to offi- Minister. pean Bank for Reconstruction and De- velopment (EBRD) with a brothel. It is no surprise that, after watching that, the tycoon may want to influence the kind of decision that newspaper Alia an- nounced. Moreover, it can be assumed that this is just the beginning. A short By Zaza Jgharkava Right now, this remains only specu- while ago, a meeting of the political lation but the present government has council of the coalition took place. Pre- Who should address the annual UN used similar methods previously to sumably, the pre-election period and Assembly, the first or the third figure of cover up certain other problems. This party lists were discussed among other the state? The answer remains unclear. time things are a bit different. It is not issues at the meetings. According to the The President and the Prime Minister a secret to anyone that former Prime existing information, many current po- could not agree on the exact itinerary of Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili is un- litical faces will not be in the new party their trip to New York. Despite this de- happy with the current governmental lists – mostly the current MPs who are bate between the branches of govern- team and openly expresses his discon- actors and sportsmen. The work on the ment, this disagreement has been over- tent. He has pointed out in many in- lists will start soon and the process will shadowed in Georgian politics. Last terviews that his expectations for probably be followed with confrontation In the turmoil of Georgian politics, unfortunately, some important informa- week, Georgian media announced an- sportsmen and actors to become com- and the final word and decision will be tion for the country was barely reported. The Tbilisi aviation factory is starting other governmental reshuffle as the petent MPs has been largely unmet. that of Ivanishvili. Besides, there is also to work on a new airplane Ge-31 “Bora”. Its fuselage and wings will be made in newspaper Alia wrote about expected “We brought our favorite people to speculation about Irakli Garibashvili and Georgia. Navigation equipment, electric systems and most importantly engines changes in the government in the article parliament; we won elections but there Kakha Kaladze trying to put together will be made in western European countries, specifically France, Great Britain titled “Big clean-up to start in the gov- are other procedures there. We need their own people before elections. If we or Italy. ernment”, which claimed that Finance to start from laws if we want to have a judge from the recent promises of the Ge-31 “Bora” is a modernized version of the world famous, Soviet-produced Minister NodarKhaduri, Foreign Min- democratic state. Usupashvili is re- Prime Minister and the Vice Prime Min- bombardier Su-25. If we take into consideration the fact that airplanes of this ister Tamar Beruchashvili and Justice minding me everyday not to dare and ister, Garibashvili beat Kaladze in the type used to be produced at the Tbilisi aviation factory, the new project could be Minister Thea Tsouloukiani might be bring famous actors to the parliament. fight for the Interior Minister’s post. The a turning point in Georgia’s military history. replaced. Our candidates should be able to work new minister is PM Gharibashvili’s Ukrainians Growing Warmer to Idea of NATO Membership

By Zviad Adzinbaia Ukraine has held three major military macy could put the war on hold. exercises — Rapid Trident, Fearless As a conclusion, the analysis as- Last week, popular American Maga- Guardian, and Sea Breeze — with sumes that, differently from the picture zine Foreign Policy (FP) published an NATO troops” – it maintains. of five years ago, when some European article claiming that for the first time “The non-lethal support and train- leaders and Ukrainian politicians could in its post-Soviet history, a majority of ing that Kiev has received from the credibly claim that Ukraine lacked pub- Ukrainians approve of their country United States and Canada in the course lic support for NATO membership, the joining NATO. “The drastic change of of the war against Russian-backed argument is ringing increasingly hol- attitude marks a sea of change in Ukrai- separatists further boosted NATO’s low, as Ukrainians are rapidly turning nians’ attitudes toward the security al- image as a credible international part- into staunch supporters of the alliance. liance even as it poses a palpable chal- ner. Never before has a prospective al- Analysis by Georgia Today’s Zviad lenge for the country’s infantile politi- liance with Western nations had such Adzinbaia cal class,” notes FP. envisage Ukraine being part of NATO, tion of Ukraine’s accession plans at the a prominent presence on Ukraine’s po- The topic of Ukraine’s NATO acces- The publication recalls a recent but now the picture has significantly notorious 2008 Bucharest Summit. litical agenda and in the media” add sion has been in hibernation since poll by the Democratic Initiatives changed. In addition, currently, the publica- FP. Vik0tor Yanukovych came to power. Foundation, which made headlines in According to the analysis, Ukraine’s tion claims the first elements of a grow- Foreign Policy refers to some statis- Similarly to Georgia, when before the Ukraine: “64 percent of respondents public attitudes toward NATO have ing political consensus on NATO ac- tical information citing some drastic Rose Revolution of 2003 there was not said they would vote for NATO acces- long been shaped by emotional divi- cession seem to be in place in the coun- changes in Ukraine’s public opinion in even a mere chance of becoming a sion in a hypothetical referendum (Only sions between Westernizers and “pro- try that is waging war with Russia for recent months — particularly since the member of EU or NATO, the landscape 28 percent would oppose.) This result Russians,” leaving little space for in- here astern regions. failure of the Minsk-2 ceasefire agree- has changed unrecognizably. Despite marks a landslide and rapid shift in formed debate:“Ukraine’s third presi- “This time, the officials’ words are ment, which was intended to stop the Russia’s continuous opposition to the Ukrainians’ perception of the European dent, Viktor Yushchenko, used to pon- finally backed up with action: Ukrai- conflict in the east. It says that in March, troika’s (Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova) security architecture adding in tificate about joining NATO without nian political commentators point out immediately after the agreement was membership to any of the above-men- 2009, only 21 percent of Ukrainians’ delivering on the reforms needed to that the country now spends a much signed, just 43 percent of Ukrainians tioned organizations, the three coun- said they supported NATO accession, achieve that goal” – it says adding this larger share of its GDP (about 5 per- said they would support NATO acces- tries have kept their course consistent. while almost 60 percent were against.” resulted in growing apathy towards cent) on defense than the NATO-wide sion, while 32 percent expressed oppo- Indeed, Russia has exhausted itself to Inthe pre-Euromaidan period two- NATO membership and, in the inter- 2 percent standard, which few existing sition. At that time, the newly signed drag these three states into its Eurasian thirds of Ukrainians’ couldn’t national realm, in a resounding rejec- members meet. And just this summer, ceasefire gave many hope that diplo- Union, to minimal avail so far.

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6 AUGUST 21 - 27 POLITICS Salome Samadashvili: Pro-Russian Victory in 2016 Elections Would End Georgian Statehood

By Zviad Adzinbaia influences in Europe. An illustration of this is Brussels, where Gazprom [Rus- Georgia, after its laborious path from sian state gas company] as a single en- failed state to successful reforms, is cur- tity has contracted a number of differ- rently at a historical crossroads to pre- ent consulting and lobbyist companies serve independence and join the Euro- including some former senior EU rep- pean family; or reject its Western aspi- resentatives and politicians - they have rations and become Russia’s subordinate permeated entire EU structures. Rela- nation in the Caucasus. tively, they not only receive operative Russia, to pursue its goals in Geor- information from leading EU bodies, but gia, widely utilizes its hybrid warfare are also able to seed their information strategies, which aim to destroy within the EU system through their net- Georgia’s state institutions and the works. country’s image at domestic and inter- Finally yet importantly, the Russian national levels. Moreover, it is in side has effectively used the trolling sys- Russia’s declared interest to keep Geor- tem for attacking any negative state- gia unstable and undeveloped. ments from any analyst, scholar or NGO For detailed analysis, Georgia Today representative. In fact, a colleague of talked with Salome Samadashvili, mine from the Brussels-based Martens former Head of Georgia’s Mission to the Center was threatened for making some EU, Visiting Fellow at the Wilfried Mar- speeches against Russia. tens Center for European Studies and Q: How significant is cyber war in Executive Director at the Center for this hybrid warfare? Strategic Communication and Democ- A: Russia, differing from other peri- racy. ods, appears to be well prepared with Q: Russians utilize diverse meth- regard to cyber warfare, which we ods of informational war in Georgia. [meaning Georgia] experienced in 2008, What is the correlation between and the Russo-Georgia war. Russia, Russia’s hybrid and informational throughout the past years has advanced tion rules out any Russian perspectives needs to have a clear strategy of action and is instead a subordinated part of war? itself in this regard, while the West un- in the country, Russians have activated to counter the attacks coming from Rus- Russia. Georgia’s northern neighbor will A: Informational war is an essential derestimates this component. their Fifth Column and some soft power sia. For instance, it’s necessary for all celebrate its victory in Georgia when this part of Russia’s hybrid warfare in Geor- Surprisingly, not only Georgians but elements here. As the majority of Geor- of them to launch awareness campaigns country not only rejects EU&NATO in- gia – these two terms are inseparable. also Baltic States, with their continuous gian citizens are not sufficiently in- with respectable members of their soci- tegration, but also joins the Eurasian Hybrid warfare appears to be a general claims around Russia’s activities in the formed about the EU and NATO inte- eties to prove that for the majority of Union. In addition, I assume that if the military concept and informational war area, are frequently ignored by represen- gration, Russian forces can easily mis- citizens, Europe is a value-based, civi- ongoing international sanctions do not inform them. lized and well-being-oriented family exhaust Russia economically and mili- In this regard, I believe even the pre- which cannot be altered by Russia. tarily, Russia will utilize most of its re- Russia spends colossal amounts of money on its vious government should have done Thirdly, the governments of Georgia, sources in Georgia at least to influence PR and propaganda campaigns and directly more to educate its citizens about the Moldova and Ukraine must essentially a newly elected parliament to initiate country’s course, Western integration act jointly to raise awareness of their rejection of the Association Agreement ‘buys’ influences in Europe. An illustration of this perspectives and benefits. In these problems on international platforms. At and start negotiations about the Eurasian troubled waters, Russia finds our citi- this moment, Georgia has almost disap- Union. is Brussels Gazprom… zens vulnerable to simple manipulation. peared from the international stage and Unfortunately, the current government Likewise, Russia has stimulated cul- this is the ‘achievement’ of the govern- is not only incompetent and unsuccess- is a tactic of this doctrine. If one analy- tatives of some Western countries who tural, religious or economic factors ment of the Georgian Dream. ful, but also discredits Georgia’s West- ses Russian approaches to this topic, claim Baltic countries are “traumatized against Georgia’s statehood, and if we Q: Finally, do you think the Rus- ern integration. Moreover, this causes a they [Russians] don’t even hide that in- by their past” for their proactive poli- don’t counter these attacks with some sian Federation will activate most of growing apathy in Georgian society about formational warfare is much more prof- tics regarding Russia and the threat com- strong mechanisms, I assume even at the itable for them compared to a conven- ing from the empire-minded country. 2016 elections we will face some seri- tional one. Additionally, hybrid warfare Russia-Europe economic relations ous problems. As I know, Georgia To- I believe that the West misleads itself when they involves different non-state actors and play a nontrivial role in complicating the day is widely read by foreign diplomats groups, directed to create a fog of real- decision making process for the EU in Georgia and it is important to draw assume Georgia’s Western course is taken for ity. against Russia. In particular, Germany the right conclusions from the process Q: What do you think are Russia’s and France, the leading EU countries, and send clear messages to their gov- granted, as the country needs wider international major means and capabilities in this have close economic ties with Russia, ernments. I believe that the West mis- support and actual instruments to keep itself safe informational warfare to achieve which unfortunately affects the EU poli- leads itself when they assume Georgia’s [their] goals against Georgia and her tics regarding Russia. Fortunately, the Western course is taken for granted, as from Russian aggression. friends such as Ukraine and Moldo- US is not dependent on Russia’s eco- the country needs wider international va? nomic or oil spheres, which enables this support and actual instruments to keep A: Russia not only wages this sort country to be more pragmatic and stron- itself safe from Russian aggression. its resources in Georgia for 2016 to the country’s path to the EU and NATO. of activity against these [above-men- ger when dealing with the Russian Fed- Finally, public opinion changes over help pro-Russian forces win the elec- For this reason, the sole solution for me tioned] countries, but it fights the West eration. time, particularly in Georgia when tions, or at least hinder the democratic appears to be creation of pro-Western in a broader sense. In particular, what Q: What about Russia’s Fifth Col- Russia’s informational propaganda is at process? forces as an alliance with a broad spec- we need to take into account is that Rus- umn and Soft Power implementation its height. However, the essential thing A: Unlike many others, I believe that trum of public support and strong, prag- sian informational and hybrid warfare against Georgia? is for the West to assist us to offer Geor- Russians will only be satisfied when matic vision. Otherwise, 2016 will be the including her informal actors in the pro- A: Unlike previous times, Russia has gian society something valuable to de- Georgia is not an independent country end of Georgia’s statehood. cess is a highly integrated system with mastered the very Western information stroy the hypothetical wall built by Rus- a very clear chain of command. As for the means, firstly, they are quite solid broadcasters and TV channels, such as As the majority of Georgian citizens are not Russia Today (RT), which is formally sufficiently informed about the EU and NATO being renamed, though it should be taken into account that some Western integration, Russian forces can easily citizens watch this media source with- out knowing its ethos. RT not only dis- misinform them. torts information, but also frequently fabricates it and extensively utilizes technologies, leading to their effective sian forces as if the West were a “mon- some Western ultra-right or ultra-leftist utilization. They [Russians] realized that ster” or “depraved”. politicians and analysts to increase its only tanks and boots are not what they Q: What should Georgia, Ukraine legitimacy in the West. Furthermore, the need to pursue their goals. As for the and Moldova do to increase their in- internet plays one of the core roles for situation in Georgia, it is clearly mir- ternational support and reduce Rus- Russia, e.g. online journals, newspapers, rored by Ukrainian developments. sian influence on their own lands? blogs, which makes it quite complicated Through these actions, the West grew A: The core issues these three coun- for the reader to distinguish the deriva- afraid of Russia’s aberrant nature to in- tries need to solve are penetration of tion of these social media sources. In my crease the risk of loss. All these have Russian money and mass media, which study “Muzzling the Bear”, I have in- their multiplier effect on Georgia, where directly work against these countries’ cluded the fact that one of the Kremlin- one can believe that some sort of cur- sovereignty. In this regard, the very first financed online outlets was even rent breakthroughs for Georgia’s swift priority is for these countries to take awarded in the West for innovations as Western integration are less expected. some defense measures in terms of lim- they did not know of the official involve- Moreover, Russia has understood iting and discouraging those Russian ment. that the only way to reverse Georgia’s media sources which profoundly act to In addition, Russia spends colossal Western course is through elections,at revive religious discord and hate speech, amounts of money on its PR and propa- the hands of the Georgian people. As- intolerance and anti-state disinformation ganda campaigns and directly ‘buys’ suming that Georgia’s Western integra- in these societies. Secondly, the troika

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New Coliseum Shaped Luxurious Major Potential in Georgia-China Free Trade, Study Finds By Joseph Larsen China’s to Georgia by 1.7 percent. Hotel Opens in Batumi Georgia’s top exports to China currently are Georgia is uniquely positioned to be a bridge copper ore, copper scrap and wine, all of which A new five star luxury hotel has opened in Geor- between East and West. With it’s relationship with could see higher volumes from a more open trade gia’s costal city Batumi. Europe firmly established, the country’s political regime. Wine and non-alcoholic beverage produc- The new five-star Coliseum Marina Hotel in the and business leaders are now turning their atten- ers would benefit most, according to the study, with shape and design of an elliptical amphitheater like tion toward China, currently its 4th-largest trading annual wine exports to China projected to increase the ones of ancient Rome has opened today in the partner and 3rd-largest source of foreign direct in- by 28.5 percent and non-alcoholic beverages by seaside city of Batumi in Georgia’s western Adjara vestment. In June 2015 Georgia became a found- 36.7 percent. region. ing member of the Chinese-led Asian Infrastruc- On the Chinese side, most exports to Georgia This is the third hotel to open among 20 planned ture Investment Bank, and last month Prime Min- are higher value-added goods like electronics, steel projects implemented this year in Batumi. ister Irakli Garibashvili referred to China when and shoes. China’s gains would be more modest The construction of the hotel began in March commenting that “Georgia is not only looking (Georgia already has very low tariffs on Chinese 2013 and Mari Group invested $14 million to build West” with regards to foreign policy. goods), but the study projects that under a free trade the 10-storey hotel with 101 rooms, all with a view Both Georgia and China would benefit from clos- agreement more Chinese goods would be purchased of the Black Sea coastline. The facility has a total er economic ties, says a recent study by the Tbilisi- by Georgian consumers. area of 14,427 m sq. based consultancy Policy and Management Consult- The benefits of a free trade deal would not be Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili ing Group (PMCG). Titled the “Joint Feasibility limited to trade in goods, however. According to opened the Coliseum Marina Hotel with represen- growing and the numbers of tourists are increasing Study on China-Georgia Possible Free Trade Agree- the Joint Feasability Study, an agreement would also tatives of the local government. He highlighted that in Batumi and in the region itself. Tourism is grow- ment” and produced in collaboration with the Uni- facilitate trade in services and FDI, the latter being the new Coliseum shaped luxury hotel will attract ing in Georgia and it is necessary for the state to versity of International Business and Economics, the of particular importance to Georgia. Chinese firms more tourists to Batumi. support and encourage business,” Garibashvili said. Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development currently invest in major projects in Georgia’s in- “This year 20 projects of new hotels are ongo- Currently, the hotel has 100 employees. Once of Georgia and the Ministry of Economy of China, frastructure sector, including the Poti Free Indus- ing in Batumi, in total an amount of $700 million the hotel is fully operational about 170 people will the study projects that a free trade deal would boost trial Zone. More FDI is seen as crucial to the coun- has been invested. This indicates that demand is work there. Georgia’s annual exports to China by 9 percent and try’s continued economic development. 10 AUGUST 21 - 27 BUSINESS GPI Holding Protects from Natural Disasters HotelHotelHotelHotel SympatiaSympatiaSympatiaSympatia

4, V. Daraselia Str. Tbilisi, Georgia

Tel: (995 32) 2 99 55 88, 2 37 05 90 Tel./Fax: (995 32) 2 37 62 63 June 13 flood damage in Tbilisi. By Zviad Nikolaishvili/GT Hotel’s network www.sympatia.ge “Sympatia” E-mail: [email protected] By Eka Karsaulidze cars were insured. And until now, According to ACT, a leading Georgia to provide this kind of authorities still are discussing the research and strategic consulting service. This insurance package Georgian drivers now have fate of the uninsured cars,”noted company in Caucasus region, already has its first customers. an opportunity to insure their Paata Lomidze, Director of GPI one of the main reasons why The company noted that the cars from natural disasters. The Holding. people do not purchase insurance package would be valid until the initiative belongs to GPI Hold- Unfortunately, Georgia is lo- is a lack of information about in- end of the year. Lomidze claims ing insurance company and is cated in a geographical area in surance offers (47%) and the that at this stage, it is important Car Rent being carried out in the frame- which the probability of natural high price (23%). This was one to give full information to peo- work of a social responsibility disasters is high. Based on inter- of the reasons for creating a new ple about this service and if it program, free of charge. The in- national practice, heads of states insurance package, which now will be demanded, GPI Holding Tel: 599 16 16 70 surance package is available always call to include those di- protects drivers from natural di- may continue it next year. from August 3, 2015. sasters that are most likely to sasters free of charge. “Currently there are 960,000 According to representatives occur in the country in compul- Lomidze said that free insur- registered cars in Georgia, and from 35 euro per day of GPI Holding, the new insur- sory insurance. ance from natural disasters will only 51, 782 are insured. When ance includes flood, storm, land- According to the statistics of help to avoid major expenses and we were creating our new pack- slide, heavy snowfall, earth- the Ministry of Environment and it recalls the benefits and privi- age, we have taken into account Tours to all direc- quake and downpour. The idea Natural Resources Protection of leges of insurance itself. “We all the risks. And we want to say of creating this service appeared Georgia, there were about 34 want insurance to become a hab- that we are willing to serve all tions of Georgia after the tragic floods in Tbilisi cases of storms in the country it, so for this point, first of all, it these cars in the framework of (with driver and on June 13 when the city suffered with a loss of 14.8 million USD should be available,” he said. this program. Of course, I doubt serious losses. during the last five years. Floods “You just have to come to that the owners of 960,000 cars Guide) for 4 per- Recent studies have shown occurred 89 times and brought GPI Holding’s office and ask for will come to us, but if so, we are son from 40 euro. that the June losses amounted to damage amounting to 224 mil- this insurance. You do not have ready for this,”said Lomidze. Nissan pathfinder – 200 million Lari, while insur- lion USD. Landslides are the to pay anything. Nevertheless, if 2004, 4X4, AT ance companies of Georgia re- most frequent cases of natural you want additional insurance imbursed only 4,239,722 Lari. disasters in Georgia, having oc- services, then you have to buy a “It is not because we do not want curred 1729 times in the last five separate package,” he added. to pay more, just that it turned years to a loss of 298.5 million GPI Holding is the first and out only 20-30% of the affected USD. only insurance companies in Georgian Kids Given Priceless Experience by

Mercedes-Benz Viano – 2004 Toyota RAV 4 – 2000, Mastercard at 2015 UEFA Super Cup 4X4, AT escort the football stars onto the field hand in hand for the opening ceremony. MasterCard pays special at- tention to projects with future generations and thanks to their initiative, many children around the globe have already gotten the priceless experience of escorting football stars onto the field. However, this was first time that kids from Geor- gia got the chance to act as players’ escorts. MasterCard SEE Markets Region Manager, Hakan Acar said: “We are happy to an- nounce that our national pro- Based on the results of na- motion campaign “First 11 lucky action automatically became a mo “First 11 lucky Georgians tional promo campaign an- Georgians at UEFA Super Cup lottery ticket giving the card- at UEFA Super Cup 2015” nounced by MasterCard in 2015” announced by MasterCard holder a unique opportunity to conducted for the first time in Georgia at the end of May, 11 on May 30, 2015. Being a proud win a ticket to the August 11th Georgia was successful and children from Georgia won a sponsor of the UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup game and a attracted such a high interest priceless experience to attend MasterCard runs such cam- chance for his/her child to stand among the population. Now the 2015 UEFA SUPER CUP, paigns in many countries of the with the world famous football we are delighted to see emo- held in Tbilisi on August 11, world but this was the first time players on the field. The 11 lucky tions of Georgian winners here with their parents. Moreover, that MasterCard cardholders in winners were revealed on July on football field and share their the child-winners accompanied Georgia could join in. 27 by lottery. The winners’ pack- priceless moments.” the football stars from two The promotion was held from age from MasterCard included 2 Spanish teams - Barcelona and May 30 until July 15, 2015 at all tickets to the 2015 UEFA Super Sevilla - hand in hand onto the sales points where MasterCard Cup match in Georgia (1 for the field. cardholders in Georgia could cardholder and one for his/her The 11 children were cho- make payments through POS ter- child) together with a priceless sen based on the national pro- minals or internet. Every trans- experience for the children to BUSINESS AUGUST 21 - 27 11 Georgia Stepping Forward Digital Conference Launched in Georgia in the World of Business By Eka Karsaulidze acquire new skills and gain knowledge. Georgia has rightly proved itself The audience actively communicated ready to host another successful in- Tbilisi hosted the first international with the speakers. vestment forum with September 18th digital conference Future Georgia on Opportunity to talk face-to-face with 2015 already marked on the calendars August 15-16 during which twenty an interesting speaker was another ad- of many international investors. On speakers from Georgia and neighboring vantage of Future Georgia. “Beside in- that day Cushman & Wakefield | Veri- countries shared their experiences and spiration and practical information from tas Brown, together with the Georgian achievements, talked about business de- most of the Future Georgia’s speakers, National Investment Agency and the velopment and the necessity ofnew tech- it was very important, personally, for nologies to bring products to a new lev- me to get some insights from Alpha government of Autonomous Republic Agency, and the event has definitely secure investment environment, a vast el. The Future Georgia Conference be- Bank’s Research and Development Chief of Adjara, are planning to organize the showed reported success. Georgia dem- untapped potential in different sectors came an excellent platform to exchange Dmitry Andronov during the break,” said “Investment Forum, Batumi 2015” at onstrated itself to be an opportunistic of the economy, excellent geographic knowledge and create new projects, ac- Shalva Bukia, Co-founder of In2circle the Hilton Hotel Batumi in the Black market for investment and gained fur- location and free trade agreements with cording to the Conference organizers. Incorporated and audience member at the Sea Region. The aim of this forum is to ther international recognition as a com- strategically important countries,” said “Recently in Georgia a large number of Conference. provide an intensive dialogue between petitive country to invest in. Giorgi Pertaia, Director of the Geor- creative agencies were opened, startups Andrey Manirko, one of the Co-orga- international investors and Georgian “On behalf of Cushman & Wakefield gian National Investment Agency. “But, launched, and people started to develop nizers of Future Georgia, noted that be- counterparts, with the view of efficient | Veritas Brown, we fully support the still to this day, one of the main chal- these areas. That is why it is important to sides many positive feedbacks, there were future cooperation. initiatives to bring additional investments lenges for Georgia is awareness at in- hold such conferences with the participa- questions why so many Russians took Local and foreign investors, region- to Georgia and look forward to a suc- ternational levels. This is why large- tion of foreign experts,”said Gigi Janelidze, part in the Conference. “Both Georgia al and central government representa- cessful business forum on September scale business events inside and out- tives, and business organizations will 18th,” said Steve Brown, Managing Part- side the country are very important for come together to discuss various top- ner at Cushman & Wakefield | Veritas attracting more companies to Georgia. ics, including investment projects, pro- Brown. “Meanwhile, attracting foreign With the help of the Batumi 2015 in- posals, investment climate character- direct investment (FDI) is one of the vestment forum we aim to focus atten- istics and expansion of the commercial main priorities for Georgia. Thus, a flex- tion on the advantages and business op- real estate and hotel development sec- ible investment environment, tax and leg- portunities in our country,” Pertaia tor, something that has proved to be in islative benefits, simplified company said. demand for many years in Georgia. registration procedures, liberalized man- According to Pertaia, the Forum will “In recent years, Batumi has be- ufacturing regulations and a positive bring together up to 250 business deci- come not only a major tourism center approach to foreign investors is a big sion makers and investors from the re- of the Black Sea region, but it’s also step forward for attracting FDI to Geor- gion. “They will have direct access to the most attractive investment desti- gia,” Brown continued. the representatives of government, nation. This has resulted in a growing It is obvious that this specific and consulting companies and organizations interest towards the whole Adjara re- other similar investment forums, will providing access to finance and we are gion from both foreign and local inves- lead to Georgia’s further economic suc- sure that this will be a productive plat- tors. The forum will provide potential cess, and undoubtedly this shall assist form for engaging investors from the investors with an opportunity to get global investors to enter the Georgian wider region into some large and medi- familiarized with Georgia’s attractive market, increasing demand for various um-sized commercial projects in Geor- Future Georgia Conference 2015 (from the Conference facebook page). investment environment, as the foreign real estate properties, form new en- gia,” Pertaia added. Co-organizer of Future Georgia. and Russia have emerging markets. Not direct investment (FDI) inflow is the terprises and hospitality related áer- One thing is clear: Georgia has dem- Digital media, branding, PR, market- so long ago, the Russian market was at main priority for both central and re- vices, and also the implementation of onstrated repeated readiness to serve ing and IT were the main topics at the the same stage of development as Geor- gional governments. The aim of the fo- large-scale infrastructure projects; this as a positive investment environment. Future Georgia Conference. Specialists gia is now, but the country was able to rum is to inform interested groups shall lead Georgia towards progressive Therefore, September 18th 2015 is a from Russia and Ukraine shared their develop and achieve high results, espe- about the investment potential of the development and vast economic suc- significant date in the Georgian invest- experience and knowledge about digital cially in terms of media and startups. Adjara region, its leading economic sec- cess. ment climate, so Ready, Steady, Go communication strategy, trends in me- That’s why we thought that the Russian tors, and ongoing projects,” said Dav- “Georgia has a fair, transparent and Georgia! id Baladze the Minister of Finance and dia, virality, startup strategy and more. example could be interesting and relative Economy of the Autonomous Repub- Ilya Krasilschik, publisher in Medu- to Georgia,” explaqined Manirko. lic of Adjara. za Project, described how to create qual- Georgian speakers also played a huge A similar forum was organized in ity and leading media from zero in a short role in Future Georgia Conference. Their London in May 2015 by Cushman & time, as well as how to build new kinds participation gave to the audience the Wakefield | Veritas Brown, together of relationships with partners and ad- chance to compare, catch the differenc- with the Georgian National Investment vertisers. “Website banners are not rele- es and find out local success stories. vant any more. Today we need to find Among Georgian speakers were Levan Takes More than 5 Facts to Explain Russia’s Economic Decline new ways to advertise. For example, Lepsveridze and Giorgi Avaliani from Meduza, together with partners, creates Leavingstone Advertising Agency, who The Times Magazine released an anal- With the subtitle of “at the Mercy of and deep-water reserves.”It seems that games. Recently, together with Airbnb, recently gained a Bronze Lion in PR at ysis explaining the 5 main reasons of Oil Markets”, the analysis reviews Rus- Russia’s endeavors to turn for help to we offered our readers the chance to play the Cannes Lions International Festival Russia’s economic decline based on some sia’s dependence on oil prices citing the Chinadoes not lead the country to alter a game and correlate an apartment and of Creativity, and Sopio Elizbarashvili high-caliber research by leading experts price of oil has now fallen below $45 a the western market because of China’s the city,” said Krasilschik. from Myvideo.ge, leading video platform and organizations such as International barrel - welcome to the new normal. lack ofthe technology Russia needs to Speakers were not limited in time, on in Georgia, who each told how they had Monetary Fund or Pew Research Cen- “OPEC continues to pump oil at histor- draw those resources from the ground. average they had about 20 minutes – achieved their goals and are going to en- ter. ic rates as it tries to price out competi- According to the IMF the sanctions enough time to discuss the most impor- ter new markets. “For the first time since 2009 - low tors, and Iran expects to bring over a could eventually cost Russia 9 percent tant things. Nevertheless, there were ex- Aside from the abundance of mar- point of the global economic slowdown million new barrels a day to world mar- of its GDP. ceptions, like Andrey Buzina, Founder keting and new technologies topics, Fu- - Russia is in recession” - cites the pub- kets after the lifting of international sanc- At the same time, Russia, which vi- of Smetana Viral Marketing Agency tureGeorgia also highlighted topics like licationadding its economy will contract tions. These are deeply troubling devel- tally needs rapid technological and eco- whose speech about the effectiveness of contemporary art. TommyPetrov, Co- 3 percent this year, though Moscow’s opments for Moscow, which relies on nomic growth to endure those western viral videos lasted more than an hour. “I Founder of DaDa Agency, reported that $360 billion in cash reserves will cush- oil and gas sales for nearly 50 percent of sanctions and be a competitive force in had no idea that the viral video can be so modern art, theatre, cinema and adver- ion the immediate blow.” It summarizes its government revenues”. the world markets, it has rather opted effective, interesting and not as irritating tising exist thanks to the era of Dada- that although Russia’s Vladimir Putin’s According to the article, Moscow’s for something radically different. as ordinary advertising is. It was so excit- ism. “The distinctive feature of Dada- continuedattempt to assert Russian growing so reliant on energy sales leads Moreover, as the Time assumesRus- ing that I did not even notice how time ism was context changing- when you take power on the international stage, it has it to the condition whenfor each dollar sians aren’t nearly as productive as for passed,” said Yana Israelyan, Freelance something well known and add some- become clear that he is now ruling a “sub- the price of oil drops, Russia loses about each hour worked, the average Russian journalist and audience-member at the thing new, like Marcel Duchamp did merging market.” $2 billion in potential sales.“For Russia worker contributes $25.90 to Russia’s Future Georgia Conference. when he painted a mustache on Mona Among the other hard problems, lack to balance its budget, oil will need to GDP, while the average for U.S. is $67.40. Future Georgia provided not just lec- Lisa,”said Petrov. of diversification, high dependence on its surge back to $100 a barrel.” There are other deadly elements, such ture sessions, but also roundtables with Indeed, it seems that the main idea of oil resources and no incentive to change Considering Russia’s over-reliance on as endemic corruption, massive brain drain the participation of representatives of Future Georgia Conference is all about Da- are some very aspects, which can simply crude oil (up 40 percent of Russia’s state from the country, lack of freedom and no Meduza Project, Coub, Look At Media daism – you just need to take foreign expert underline Russia’s fragility in this tech- budget) - the country is left vulnerable potential to change – all of these make- and Yandex. Participants talked about knowledge and add something of your own nology-based world of 21st century. to the current international sanctions. one hard to predict the Russia’s positive how to create and promote startups, and fit it to the Georgian context. “For years, the Kremlin has support- “Given the age of many existing fields, development in the near future.“It’s no ed and protected large state-owned com- Russia will increasingly depend on cut- surprise then that well-educated Russians panies at the expense of small and medi- ting-edge technology from Western firms are leaving their country in droves. Be- FOR RENT um-sized enterprises (SMEs). But those to pump oil from difficult-to-reach shale tween 2012 and 2013, more than 300,000 smaller firms are the foundation of any people left Russia in search of greener Apartment in Vake (behind the Vake Swimming Pool) in an strong and well-diversified economy. economic pastures, and experts believe ecologically clean environment with beautiful views. SMEs spur innovation and respond ef- that number has only risen since Mos- The 120 sq. m. duplex apartment on the 10th floor, newly reno- fectively to changing times, technologies, cow’s annexation of Crimea last year”. vated, with a new kitchen, fireplace, balconies. and consumer tastes. In the EU, SMEs The article ends with the assump- contribute an average of 40 percent to tion that “Putin knows what his people their respective countries’ GDP; in Rus- want to hear however,It’s just not clear sia, SMEs contribute just 15 percent. if he knows how to fix his flailing econ- Price: 1100 USD Those are daunting figures for anyone omy.” In summation, there might be five Tel: 577521020 Tekla (English) looking to start a business in Russia” – facts but more to explain Russia’s eco- 597000109 Dato (Georgian) the Times emphasizes. nomic decline. 12 AUGUST 21 - 27 BUSINESS Five Tips For Marketers By Facebook’s Former Client Partner exclusively. 2. SOCIAL MEDIA IS NOT FREE: It’s now a Pay-to-Play social world. Brands should invest in smart social advertising (paid amplification). Take the time to dig deep on audience segmenta- tion and targeting on social platforms that are right for your brands. Focus on storytelling and use the power of technology to add value in your commu- nications. 3. CONTENT MARKETING IS HARD BUT WORTH IT: Marketers will continue to be chal- lenged to produce meaningful / informative / en- tertaining content for more channels (social, websites, organic search, newsletters, press, paid search and more). Brands should be smart about how content can be leveraged and repurposed, and look to their social audiences (fans) as inspired sources of content that can be curated into authen- tic and highly sharable brand relevant content. 4. ONLINE VIDEO ISN’T JUST ABOUT YOUTUBE ANYMORE: From short video on Twitter’s Vine channel and Instagram, to even short- er GIFs on Tumblr, and full length shows on face- Scott Hicks, Former Client Partner at Facebook. book, digital video is here to stay and is growing Scott Hicks, Former Client Partner at Facebook way beyond its traditional home on YouTube. and one of the region’s biggest experts in Facebook Brands need to understand how to leverage video marketing is delivering a half day workshop at the across their full marketing mix and look for more Marketing Kingdom Georgia 3, Georgia’s leading creative (and less expensive) ways to produce vid- marketing event, taking place from 28-29 Septem- eo content. ber at the ExpoGeorgia in Tblisi. 5. SOCIAL SHOPPING: From Twitter Prod- We recently sat down with him and asked him uct Cards to the facebook “Buy” button, social com- about his views and tips on today’s rapidly chang- merce is quickly gaining traction giving brands yet ing marketing world. His fascinating anwers are a new way to drive sales. Brands need to under- below! stand how to blend storytelling with commerce, and 1. MOBILE AS A PRIORITY: With mobile- leverage / facilitate friends recommendations in a only users on facebook growing by 34%, and large- way that adds value Vs being intrusive. screen phones now accounting for more than one- If you want to meet Scott and 10 other market- quarter of all sales, brands need to think about how ing gurus from Coca-Cola, Unilever, P&G, Visa their social presence can cater to mobile users. International and BBC get your ticket today for the Brand campaigns now need to start with mobile- Marketing Kingdom Georgia 3 by visiting the first then scale up to desktop / laptop.Plan for ev- event’s official website: eryone to experience everything, from marketing http://www.thepworld.com/pevents/event/99/ emails through websites to social post, on mobile marketing-kingdom-georgia-3 SOCIETY AUGUST 21 - 27 13

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Marks International Youth Day in Georgia Every year, on 12th of August, youth fields- including the representatives of pation enable young people to develop Day dates back to 1999, when the is placed in the center of public atten- different NGOs and initiative groups the skills, knowledge and support United Nations General Assembly de- tion. The International Youth Day is active in youth-related issues such as needed to make informed decisions clared 12 August International Youth an annual celebration of the role of healthcare, social protection, education, about their bodies, lives, families, com- Day.“I am calling on young people to young women and men as essential employment, development and civic munities, countries and the world. speak out – and I am urging leaders to partners and key agents for change. It engagement. At the end of the intellec- UNFPA has been supporting the govern- listen,” – for International Youth Day, is an opportunity to raise awareness of tual game, members of the winner teams ment in development of the National Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon ap- the challenges and hardships facing the were awarded gifts and certificates by Youth Policy and the Action Plan in plauded young people’s activities and world’s youth, and celebrate the ac- the UNFPA Georgia Country Office. Georgia, which aims at establishing an fresh ideas in finding solutions to glo- tions they take around the world to “The event was great. We were happy enabling environment for the compre- bal challenges. improve their well-being and that of to have the opportunity to demonstrate hensive development of youth to fully The event in Tbilisi was organized their communities. This year, the main our knowledge and get awarded for it. realize their potential. with the support of the UNFPA Geor- theme of the day was “Youth Civic We found the questions interesting and “Young people are driving change of youth, their education and health, and gia Country Office by the Youth Ini- Engagement,” to commemorate the challenging and the prizes were also towards a better future in the world. enhanced civic engagement, as well as tiative Group established within the importance of youth civic activism for very attractive. I hope there are more Unfortunately, there still exist barriers without creating equal opportunities for Advocacy Campaign “Youth Voice”, sustainable development. such events in the future, so that we can precluding their full development and all adolescents and young people for which is a regional initiative taking As the part of the worldwide cel- participate and engage more,” said participation. Even today, adolescent development of their full potential. This place in the countries of Eastern Eu- ebration, UNFPA Georgia Country Giorgi Mikeladze 24, member of the girls are often burdened by child mar- can be only achieved by multi-sectoral rope and Central Asia region, aiming Office organized an amateur version winning team. riage, sexual violence and unplanned approach in partnership with young to ensure a broad consultation and co- of the intellectual game “What? UNFPA is the leading UN Agency pregnancies, preventing their develop- people”, - Lela Bakradze, Assistant Rep- ordination with the young people in Where? When?”. They invited more that advances the rights and opportuni- ment and full participation. It is impos- resentative at UNFPA Georgia Country the region and their full participation than 50 young participants to compete ties of young people. UNFPA’s efforts sible to achieve country’s sustainable Office. in the ongoing discussion around the in answering questions from various to promote youth leadership and partici- development without investing in power The history of the International Youth post-2015 development framework. 1878 of Chateau Mukhrani is More than a Restaurant... By Mako Jaoshvili for Rest-orator to its renowned beauty and former ap- Mukhranian wine, meals and hospital- of our ancestors. What a responsibility magazine pearance in recent years. Also, gradu- ity proved the rich taste and generosity to keep everything that is real and royal ally the Mukhrani products have been of Mukhranbatoni. Look how “taste- at the same time. The name too has been More than Wine! This is how I fa- reintroduced and now represent a blend fully” the 133-years-old feast is de- chosen elegantly: Royal Marani, the walls miliarized myself with Chateau of traditional and modern technologies. scribed: ‘Silk baghdads, clay jugs, horns, of which have witnessed numerous in- Mukhrani a few years ago. Afterwards, Those who have at least once visited jars, Kakhetian bread and lavash (Geor- teresting stories since 1878.Not to talk Ivane Mukhranbatoni and a spread of the charm of the first impression attracts natural products in the grounds of this land will agree that the wine here is gian bread)... abundant and various pi- too long, and as they say it is better to me even more and fills me with warm Chateau Mukhrani. Photo: truly more than just wine, with its glori- laf, different types of mushroom with taste once than read a hundred times, so memories of the place. Although there chateaumukhrani.com. ous and harmonious aroma and exquis- eggs, pears... roast asparagus, fish of head out of Tbilisi towards Mtskheta and are many magnificent places in Geor- the fenced area, you feel the power of iteness. The legend says that all impor- several species and cooked varyingly. in as little as 25 minutes enter 19th cen- gia, Chateau Mukhrani is still different. the Mukhranbatoni magnet and pass into tant issues of the country’s fate were Food made of Matsoni, whipped sour tury Mukhrani. Feel the harmonious What makes it distinguished, you ask? a different time zone. discussed here, that each feast was a milk and so on and so on.” blend of historic roots with the contem- It’s incomparable with its unique climate Chateau Mukhrani, implemented in celebration of arts. The photo archives The wine cellar is one of the most porary in the cozy interior of the restau- and amazing forest-park. The name 1876, is the first Georgian chateau, pre- show that the society that gathered here prominent places of the four main wealths rant. The royal wine and the service of Mukhrani valley comes from the Geor- serving a unique concept that was ac- had distinguished intellect and educa- of Chateau Mukhrani. Receiving guests international standards creates a remark- gian word for oak, and the whole terri- quired during the visit to France of Ivane tion.. There was a time when big Ilia and according to the old Georgian traditions able blend, which makes Chateau tory is as strong as the roots of an oak. Mukhranbatoni, representative of the Akaki, Platon Ioseliani and many re- is a real honor indeed. This is a restored Mukhrani a place that will excite and The historical glory and gravity have Bagrationi dynasty. The Ivane nowned public figures visited the place. Georgian historical monument, a resur- equally fascinate both Georgian and for- clearly remained. Right after entering Mukhranbatoni Castle has been returned Historical sources suggest that the rected epoch; it is caring for the names eign guests alike.

CULTURE AUGUST 21 - 27 15 TBC Bank-Financed Film Wins at Locarno Film Festival The short movie ‘Father,’ by Geor- as financing the competition an- Kotetishvili, ‘First Day’ by Tamar gian director Data Pirtskhalava and co- nounced by the Georgian National Cin- Shavgulidze, ‘Funeral Man’ by financed by TBC Bank, was named the ema Center with an additional 100 000 Tornike Bziava, ‘Exit’ by Vakho Best Short Movie at the 2015 Locarno Lari. This contribution increased the Jajanidze, and ‘Preparation’ by Giorgi Film Festival. fund of film production and made it Tsilosani. The premieres of the mov- The work, the winning project of possible to finance more films than ies were held in Amirani movie theatre the 2014 Georgian National Cinema planned. on July 1st. Center competition, participated in This was the first precedent of a Locarno Film Festival has been held the Pardi di Domani section of the in- private business getting involved in in Locarno, Switzerland since 1964 ternational film festival program which film production together with a state and is known as the festival of discov- is devoted to future talent. subsidy with the goal of supporting eries, with the successful careers of TBC Bank financially participated the development of cinematography in In addition to the Locarno Film Bank co-financed production of the many film directors or actors starting in the production of the movie as well the country. Festival’s winning movie, Father, TBC following movies: ‘Ogasavara’ by Tato there. Italian Missionary’s C17th Pen-and-Ink Sketches Now in Tbilisi

By Tamar Svanidze with a group of missionaries and spent The albums revealed not only the twenty-two years in Georgia. During his faces of Georgian kings which were pre- Pen-and-ink narrates the history of journey he kept a detailed sketchbook of viously unknown, but also the costumes the world. No less so in Georgia. And his travel experiences in Catholic missions of the time as well as much information now twenty-two years of 17th century in Georgia’s western region of Samegrelo, in various fields like art, history, geogra- Georgia, as viewed by an Italian Mis- then an independent kingdom. phy, ethnography and local life. sionary, are now available for the public He left seven volumes of travel notes When Georgia became part of the to enjoy in Tbilisi. and pen-and-ink sketches and other il- Soviet Union, the authorities prevented Georgian Art Palace (Museum of lustrations, mainly of the people and scientists of the time from going to West- Theatre, Music, Cinema and Choreog- landscapes of Georgia. ern Europe to study the albums. Conse- raphy), Director, George Kalandia, this The seven albums, which include thou- quently, they based their research on the week announced that the National Li- sands of illuminated papers and handwrit- photos but not the original albums and brary of Ireland has given the Palace cop- ten reports, had been forgotten until the the studies at the time did not hold accu- ies of the pen-and-ink sketches painted priest Gioacchino di Marzo found them rate information about the albums. by Italian missionary Teramo Christo- in 1878 in the Libreria Comunale of Several Georgian and Italian scholars pher de Castelli in the 17th century, dur- Palermo, referred to formerly as the House studied the albums from 1970 to 1990 ing his travels around Georgia. of Theatins, and saved them. and published a section of the albums, “This unique collection of Castelli’s The Georgian public learnt about the however, the studies were not without work encompasses paintings that have albums only at the beginning of the 20th inaccuracies. not yet been published. My aunt Medea century when Georgian catholic Mikhail These precious art works of the Ital- Kalandia funded the creation of copies Tamarati found the albums in Palermo, ian missionary Teramo Cristoforo de of the album,” Kalandia said. photographed half of them and sent them Castelli are currently on display in Tbilisi Teramo Cristoforo de Castelli was an to Georgia in 1910, where they were at the Georgian State Museum of The- Italian missionary from Genoa’s noble Pen-and-ink sketches painted by Italian missionary Teramo Christopher de Castelli in the placed in keeping at the National Center atre, Cinema, Music and Choreography. family. He arrived in the Caucasus in 1632 17th century, during his travels around Georgia. of Manuscripts. Don’t miss your chance to see them! WHAT'S ON IN TBILISI CINEMA August 14-21 MUSEUM June 27 – October 31 THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF AMIRANI CINEMA “GEORGIANS IN WORLD WAR THE WWI. Nino Jorjadze is the first Georgian Address: 36 Kostava St. THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. MUSEUM OF SOVIET II” IS AN EXHIBITION woman photographer to create a (Info Above) OCCUPATION DEDICATED TO THE 70TH Telephone: 299 99 55 variety of photo series about WWI www.kinoafisha.ge Language: Russian Address: 1 Rustaveli ave. ANNIVERSARY OF THE VICTORY Telephone: 2 99 80 22 OVER FASCISM. that reflects the diverse and Start time: 12:25, 15:00, 17:35, thematically rich history. August 14-21 20:10, 22:40 THE EXHIBITION IS DEDICATED IOSEB GRISHASHVILI TBILISI Ticket price: 7.50 – 12.50 Lari For the first time at the exposition THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. TO THE HISTORY OF THE ANTI- HISTORY MUSEUM - KARVASLA will be presented Nino Jorjadze’s OCCUPATIONAL, NATIONAL-LIB- Address: 8 Sioni St. Directed by Guy Ritchie THE VATICAN TAPES photos, letters, diaries, documents ERATION MOVEMENT OF GEOR- Telephone: 2 98 22 81 and personal items from the Caucasus Cast: Henry Cavill, Armie Directed by Mark Neveldine Hammer, Alicia Vikander GIA AND TO THE VICTIMS OF THE Front in 1914-1918. Additionally, Cast: Olivia Taylor Dudley, Michael SOVIET POLITICAL REPRESSION Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy SERGO PARAJANOVI – “21ST photos from the family archives will Peña, Dougray Scott THROUGHOUT THIS PERIOD. be shown which have been restored Language: English CENTURY DREAM” Genre: Horror, Thriller Here, visitors can encounter the by the Georgian National Museum’s Start time: 19:50 Language: Russian state’s personal files of “subversive” photo-paper conservation laboratory. Language: Russian SHALVA AMIRANASHVILI Start time: 12:00, 20:10, 22:20 Georgian public figures, orders to MUSEUM OF ART Start time: 12:25, 15:00, 17:35, GALLERY NECTAR Ticket price: 7.50 – 12.50 Lari shoot or exile, and other artifacts Address: 1 Lado Gudiashvili St. 20:10, 22:40 Address: 16 Agmashenebeli Ave. representing Soviet-era cultural and Ticket price: 7.50 – 12.50 Lari Telephone: 2 99 99 09 Telephone: 295 00 21 PIXELS 3 D political repression in Georgia. The www.museum.ge IRRATIONAL MAN Directed by Chris Columbus exhibition hall is equipped with July 21 - August 22 Directed by Woody Allen Cast: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, monitors, where visitors can watch THE EXHIBITION “MADE IN CATRIN BOLT Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Michelle Monaghan documentaries of various historical KALLININGRAD” GIORGI OKROPIRIDZE Parker Posey Genre: Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi events. The exhibition also includes Artists participating in the project: PRINZGAU/PODGORSCHEK The four artists who are all living in Genre: Drama, Mystery Language: Russian one of the train carriages in which the Oleg Bliablias, Yury Vassilev, Aleksej Vienna are working completely Language: Russian Start time: 14:05 participants of the national uprising Èhebikin, Alexandr Podoprigov, Elena Tsvetaeva, Evgeni Umansk, “San different, both formally and Start time: 17:45, 20:00, 22:20 Ticket price: 8.50 – 9.50 Lari of 1924 were executed. It is also dedicated to the history of the anti- Donato” Group, “Gentle Woman” conceptually. They never exhibited in Ticket price: 9.50 – 12.50 Lari this combination, the exhibition and occupational, national-liberation Group, “Common Wince” Group, ANT-MAN art-works are both experimental. movement of Georgia and to the Danil Akimov, Dmitry Selin, Evgeny MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE Directed by Peyton Reed victims of the Soviet political Palamarchuk, Topp & Dubio NATION Cast: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, BAIA GALLERY repression throughout this period. (Nederlands) Address: 10 Chardin Str Directed by Christopher McQuarrie Corey Stoll Cast: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, GALLERY Telephone: 2 75 45 10 Genre: Action, Sci-Fi Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, SIMON JANASHIA MUSEUM Language: Russian Alec Baldwin OF GEORGIA THE NATIONAL GALLERY GEORGIAN ART XX-XXI Start time: 17:20 CENTURY Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller Address: 3 Rustaveli Ave. Address: 11 Rustaveli Ave. Language: Russian Ticket price: 9.50 – 10.50 Lari Telephone: 2 99 80 22 www.museum.ge MUSIC Start time: 12:00, 14:55 PAPER TOWNS ARCHAEOLOGICAL TREASURE PIROSMANI’S 150TH Ticket price: 7.50 – 9.50 Lari LISI WAREHOUSE The National Gallery is hosting Directed by Jake Schreier Address: Lisi lake SOUTHPAW Cast: Nat Wolff, Cara Delevingne, Examples of work by early Georgian pictures of David Kakabadze (1889- goldsmiths were discovered during Directed by Antoine Fuqua Austin Abrams 1952) and Lado Gudiashvili (1896- August 28 archeological excavations, and are Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance 1980) together with sculptures of MINIBUS AND SHOWPRO currently reserved in the archeological McAdams, Oona Laurence Language: Russian Iakob Nikoladze (1876-1951) and PRESENTS treasury. The exhibition presents Genre: Action, Drama, Sport Start time: 14:50 photographs from the National three periods development in the Archives of Georgia and Iakob MINUS SHOWCASE: Language: Russian Ticket price: 8.50 – 9.50 Lari history of Georgian goldwork, from Start time: 22:30 Nikoladze House-Museum depicting the 3rd century BCE to the 4th RICHIE HAWTIN Ticket price: 11.50 – 12.50 Lari the sculptor’s life and creative work. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE century CE: MATADOR Live NATION KURGAN CULTURE (3-2 BCE), June 17 – August 23 WHYT NOYZ RUSTAVELI CINEMA (Info Above) “GOLDEN FLEECE COLKHETI” THE EXHIBITION “THE Address: 5 Rustaveli Ave. Language: Russian (8- 3 BCE), KINGDOM OF Support by CAUCASUS FRONT THROUGH GREENBEAM & LEON Telephone: 255 50 00 Start time: 16:30, 19:50, 22:40 KARTLI-IBERIA (3RD CENTURY NINO JORJADZE’S CAMERA Start time: 00:00 www.kinoafisha.ge Ticket price: 8.50 – 12.50 Lari BCE-4TH CENTURY CE). LENS” THAT IS DEDICATED TO Ticket price: 50 Lari

CULTURE AUGUST 21 - 27 17

By Tony Hanmer convenience of the thing has persuaded me. I’m still getting the reading experi- This trip to Canada, nearly over, ence, after all, which is really the point. marks the first such trip here, or any- Now, I’m selling most of my library to where outside my Svaneti mountains, PPaaggee toto PixPixelsels Prospero’s in Tbilisi. during which I won’t have visited the The ones I’ll likely never sell are the largest bookshop I could find and spent for every day of being away from home, most expensive or irreplaceable ones, some hours there just... browsing. lug them all with me somehow. Not be- old volumes not yet digitized or those In Canada, it’s usually a Chapters cause I expected to read a book a day, unlikely to be digitized soon, and a few branch in Edmonton, supermarket-sized but simply to have a good subset of the first editions. Chiefly, these types belong and with its own Starbucks built in. A choices my home library afforded me. to my library’s extensive Caucasus sec- bibliophile’s paradise, where no one tells A heavy habit at the best of times. tion, which I like to think might be one you you’ve been there too long, and you For a few years now, I’ve switched of the best personal collections on the can wander from section to section, to an e-book reader. I started out with subject in the country. These books were checking out what’s new since you were the smallest one I could find, the cheap- expensive or difficult to buy, and I hope last in. Take a book, or a stack of them, est and least feature-filled in order to that they can provide much useful in- find a sofa, and absorb for a while. Read have wasted the least money if I was formation to other people as well. in the coffee shop, drink among the wasting my time. So, black and white Plus, a good friend who is a local bookshelves. and grays only, no sound or video capa- library’s boss recently provided me with Once, short of time and ideas for bilities, not even needing to have wi-fi. something I haven’t owned for more than Christmas, I gave everyone on my fam- Just a half-decent storage capability; say, 25 years: a library card, valid for the next ily list the same thing: a $10 gift certifi- minimum half a gigabyte, to give 20 years (by the end of which, likely, we cate to Chapters. (We have price limits enough choice of material, and prefer- will be in another state altogether, one in on Christmas presents in my family, to ably sized to fit a big pocket while in its which these terms and ideas have help us focus on the meaning of this case. A Kobo Mini or a small Sony changed beyond recognition). This card holiday). Only one family member model, now discontinued, have been my means so much more than it used to. With couldn’t imagine finding anything use- choices so far, both serving well. They it, I can now access physical books across ful among the tens of thousands of books don’t flicker a whit, have long battery Canada. In addition, worldwide via the on offer, and so gave their card to an- lives and are sharp and contrasty enough internet, I have a portal to the electronic other. This made me angry, but it’s a free not to strain my eyes at all. Even a built- side of the modern library: magazines, world. Everyone else found something in light isn’t a necessity. e-books, newspapers, multimedia, video, just right for themselves. Was it an easy switch? Much sim- audio and training materials. Wow. I’m When I lived in south-west England My traveling companions of old... pler than I thought it could be for a book good to go. from 1990 through mid-1991, I had li- bookshop, preferably both, the latter ide- No, but I’m mostly reading screens fanatic like myself, who amassed 700 Like I said, the reading hasn’t brary cards to my village branch, as well ally offering old as well as new works. now, instead of pages. “real” books in St Petersburg, Russia, stopped for me. Only its form has as that of the town three miles away and The last thing I do before turning out Don’t get me wrong—I love the very and then 800 in Tbilisi, Georgia. I’ve changed; the enjoyment and usefulness the bigger town about twelve miles fur- my night light is... read a few pages. True smell, the feel and look of printed books. never looked back, really. The sheer continue. ther. For me, one of the things which story, ask my wife. Always have, always will. has defined “a place I can live in” has So what’s changed on this trip? Have But whenever I travelled, it used to been to have either a library or a I stopped reading? be my habit to attempt to take a book Tony Hanmer runs the “Svaneti Renaissance” Facebook group, now with over 1000 members, at www.facebook.com/groups/SvanetiRenaissance/ . He and his wife also run their own guest house in Etseri: www.facebook.com/hanmer.house.svaneti

SPORTS AUGUST 21 - 27 19 GeorGeorgiangian CaCaptainptain JJaababa KKankaankavva’a’ss NeNeww ChaChapterpter aatt HistoricHistoric FFrrencenchh ClubClub RReimseims

By Alastair Watt 2-0 up within ten minutes against Real Madrid only for the Spaniards, spear- It was with a heavy heart that Jaba headed by Argentinian legend Alfredo Kankava, captain of Georgia, left Ukrai- di Stefano, to emerge as 4-3 victors. nian club Dnipro after eight years to join A re-match followed in 1959 with French Ligue 1 side Reims on a three- Real winning 2-0 in Stuttgart, and di year contract last week. Stefano again the tormentor. Kankava had helped Dnipro to the Reims were also home to World Cup final of last season’s UEFA Europa phenomenon Just Fontaine, the French League, where they lost 3-2 in a thrill- striker whose haul of 13 goals at the ing Warsaw final to Sevilla, but despite 1958 World Cup in Sweden remains a on-field success the club face severe record to this day. problems off it. Reports in Ukrainian Decades of dwindling unimpres- media claimed that Dnipro’s players had sively between French football’s first not been paid for several months with and second tiers followed, with Reims some key players already leaving the eventually encountering financial diffi- side this summer for pastures new. culties in the early 1990s that would Yevhen Konoplyanka moved to force its reformation, starting from the Sevilla for whom he scored on his com- amateur leagues. petitive debut last week in Tbilisi in the Years of struggle finally concluded incredible Super Cup loss to Barcelona, in 2012 when Reims gained promotion meanwhile Croatian striker Nikola back to France’s top league, Ligue 1, Kalinic departed for Italian side Fioren- after a 33-year exile. tina last week as Dnipro’s storied Europa Returning the club to its glory days League final side began to dismantle. would be nothing short of a miracle in Kankava’s bullish and tenacious the current football climate where Paris style made him popular with the Dnipro Saint-Germain and their Arab backers fans, particularly toward the end of his can lure the like of Uruguay’s Edinson time in Ukraine. However, at 29 years Cavani and Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahi- of age and the aforementioned salary movic to the French capital. troubles at the Ukrainian side, the lure Marseille, Lyon and Lille are also ros for his services, combined with being In 2014, Dynamo Kyiv’s Oleh which head coach Kakha Tskhadadze and security of a three-year contract in equipped with expensive players as given the number 4 shirt, all suggest that Husyev collided with a player, swallow- was wrongly informed that Kankava one of Europe’s strongest leagues was Reims’ modest aim is to survive in the Kankava will be a mainstay in the Reims ing his tongue in the process. Airways was suspended for the match. The Geor- too attractive to resist. division, something they managed last side but he may need to be patient before blocked, the Kyiv man’s life was in dan- gian administrators had been undone by While Stade de Reims may not be a season relatively comfortably, finishing making the initial breakthrough. ger but Kankava reacted bravely to ad- a change in UEFA’s rules whereby a well-known name among younger fans 15th in a 20-team league where the bot- He certainly won’t be short of Geor- minister the necessary help. His actions player was to be banned after collecting in Europe today, the French club was tom three sides are relegated. gian sporting colleagues in France with earned him plaudits across the continent three yellow cards, not two. once a European force. Nevertheless, Kankava arrives with a vast number of Georgia’s national and was even awarded the Ukrainian Georgia face Scotland on September From 1948 to 1962, Reims won an his new club excelling in the new sea- rugby team based there, while national order of merit. 4 in Tbilisi before travelling to Dublin impressive six French titles and two son, having won both of their opening teammate Tornike Okriashvili is just a Kankava will hope to make his to face Ireland three days later. French Cups. During that golden age for fixtures against relative glamor sides short trip over the border in Belgium at Reims debut this weekend at Nantes, but Though Georgia’s hopes of reaching the Champagne-Ardenne side, Reims Bordeaux and Marseille. Racing Genk. soon his attentions will switch to inter- Euro 2016 have long vanished, the Scots competed twice in the European Cup This begs the question, will Kankava As the French newspaper articles national football as he returns to the and Irish will have to carefully navigate final, one of those being the inaugural find a place in the starting eleven? confirm, Kankava is best known in Eu- Georgian squad following the suspen- their way past a Georgian side with noth- competition in 1956. The grand welcome he was given dur- rope not for his admired footballing tal- sion that never was. ing to lose, and a captain relishing a new In front of nearly 40,000 people at ing last weekend’s victory over Marseille ents, but rather an incident where he In June, Georgia played Poland in life at one of Europe’s forgotten historic the Parc des Princes in Paris, Reims were and the fact Reims parted 1.5 million eu- saved the life of an opponent. Warsaw in a Euro 2016 qualifier for clubs. Red Bull BC One Eastern Europe Final in Tbilisi

By Nina Ioseliani from Georgia, Armenia, Bulgaria and Azerbaijan. On September 5, Tbilisi will host the Each participant will have to show Red Bull BC One Eastern Europe Final her or his best moves and rhythm of 2015. Red Bull BC One is a global cel- dance. The winner will take part in Red ebration of Hip Hop, combining dance, Bull BC One World Finals in Rome on music, style and art. November 14. The event, which is being held in This competition will be led by Tbilisi circus, has been held in the city Red Bull BC One’s all-stars such as since 2011. Lilou, Pelezinho and Mounir. Tick- This year will see Top 16 B-Boys and ets will be available in Tbilisi circus B-Girls of the region participating- with ticket offices and at biletebi.ge. The twelve different countries represented fun and games kick off on Septem- during the Final, including breakers ber 5 at 9pm.

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.

See answers in the next issue www.sudoku.com Answers to previous puzzles EDITOR-IN-CHIEF - Katie Ruth Davies Address: 1 Melikishvili Str. Reproducing material, photos and COPY EDITOR - Alastair Watt Tbilisi, 0179, Georgia JOURNALISTS: Alastair Watt, Tony Hanmer, Tamar Svanidze, Joseph Alexander Smith, Zviad Adzinbaia, Joseph Larsen, advertisements without prior editorial GENERAL MANAGER - George Sharashidze Beqa Kirtava, Meri Taliashvili, Eka Karsaulidze, Baia Dzagnidze, Zaza Jgharkava, Teona Surmava, Ana Lomtadze, Maka Tel.: (995 32) 229 59 19, 294 55 24 permission is strictly forbidden. The Bibilashvili, Nino Melikishvili, Nina Ioseliani, Tatia Megeneishvili, Karen Tovmasyan, Nino Gegidze, Dimitri Dolaberidze, Advertising, Subscription: author is responsible for all material. Nino Japarashvili, Maka Lomadze, George Abashvili 597 970444; 597 955565 Rights of authors are preserved. The BUSINESS MANAGER - Iva Merabishvili PHOTOGRAPHER: Zviad Nikolaishvili TECHNICAL SUPPORT: Misha Mchedlishvili E-mail: [email protected] newspaper is registered in Mtatsminda CIRCULATION MANAGERS: David Kerdikashvili, David Djandjgava MARKETING MANAGER: Mako Burduli district court. Reg. # 06/4-309