Issue no: 1133
• MARCH 15 - 18, 2019 • PUBLISHED TWICE WEEKLY
PRICE: GEL 2.50
In this week’s issue... Georgia Concludes Talks with Gazprom over Gas Transit to Armenia NEWS PAGE 3
Of Bread, Circus & German Professors: A Look at How Disinformation Works in Georgia POLITICS PAGE 4
Ukraine Now Experiences What Georgia Saw Years Ago POLITICS PAGE 7
TBC’s Vakhtang Butskhrikidze Wins at FIRST Awards
FOCUS
ON NEIGHBORLY RELATIONS The Georgian President meets her counterpart in Armenia to discuss future relations
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Georgian Man Found Dead in Abkhaz Interrogation Room, De-Facto Authorities Blame Suicide sentatives of the de-facto Abkhaz government via the communication hotline operated by the EU Monitoring Mission. The de-facto Abkhaz authorities say that the young man was detained on March 10 for “illegally crossing the border,” and was left alone in an interrogation room to write a confession. He was later found to have hung himself to death in the room, say reports from the de-facto Abkhaz security service. Local Georgians claim Kvaratskhelia was beaten to death after a verbal dispute with so-called border guards, who then staged his suicide. The State Security Service immediately began an investigation to identify the circumstances of Kvaratskhelia’s death “through every instrument at its disposal,” according to an official statement. Continued on page 2
BUSINESS PAGE 7
La Dolce Vita SOCIETY PAGE 8
A Look Back on an Exceptional Tbilisi Ballet Gala CULTURE PAGE 9
Image source: JAM News
BY SAMANTHA GUTHRIE
T
he Abkhaz authorities say Irakli Kvaratskhelia took his own life. Georgian media is reporting on local suspicions that foul play was involved. On Tuesday, March 12, the State Security Service of Georgia reported that a 29-year-old Georgian, Irakli Kvaratskhelia, had died in the Gali district of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region. The information came to the State Security Service from repre-
Street Name Commemorates German Heritage in Georgia
CULTURE PAGE 11