POLITICS PAGE 6

POLITICS PAGE 7

Neuter and Spay Day with Mayhew International in Tbilisi

Obama Calls Donald Trump’s Admiration of Putin ‘Unprecedented’

Issue no: 889

NEWS PAGE 2

SOCIETY PAGE 10

SOCIETY PAGE 10

CULTURE PAGE 13

CULTURE PAGE 15

In this week’s issue...

Boris Akunin Meets Georgian Readers

Separatist Commander, Alleged War Criminal Killed in Ukraine’s Donbass

Product Management Workshop for Performing Arts Professionals in Adjara

Tabliashvili’s Fairytale beyond Illusions

• OCTOBER 21 - 24, 2016 • PUBLISHED TWICE WEEKLY PRICE: GEL 2.50

Tbilisi Marathon to Take Place in City Center

FOCUSON EU RELATIONS & GEORGIAN VALUESAmbassador Janos Herman discusses EU-Georgia relations, values and bilateral cooperation PAGE 8

The UK daily newspaper The Tel-egraph has named Georgia a top travel destination in an article titled: ‘17 amazing places UK air-lines should wake up and launch

fl ights to.’The article names 17 top destinations within

9,000 miles of London that need to be con-nected to Britain and can be reached from Britain with just a single fl ight, and recommends British airline companies to launch direct fl ights there.

The article recommends readers visit Geor-gia “one of the oldest countries in the world,” and cites one of the tourists:

"These days, its fi ne Art Nouveau buildings and pretty, traditional balconied houses are what some would call shabby chic. Yet new hotels and shopping malls are springing up and gentrifi cation is under way in its more historic districts. Tbilisi feels like a city fi nally coming into itself. In other words, get here fast before everyone else does!"

Georgian-born British singer Katie Melua is also quoted in the article.

"It's steeped in history – the Old Town, with its twisting alleys, is particularly fascinating," she says. "It's a city that's very much off the beaten track. Not many tourists have been there, which makes it all the more worth visiting."

The Telegraph Names Georgia Top Travel Destination for UK Airlines

GEORGIA TODAY OCTOBER 21 - 24, 20162 NEWS

BY THEA MORRISON

Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kviri-kashvili initiated the creation of a special working group that will be engaged in the process of making amendments to the Constitution fol-

lowing the elections.The initiative was announced by the PM at today’s

cabinet sitting, whereby he stated that the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) wants a constitutional major-ity in order to fulfi ll its promises given to the pop-ulation.

“GD is winning with an absolute majority, which fi rst of all is a huge responsibility for us before the country and before voters,” he said, going on to underline that the constitution needs amendments, but that the process should be carried out through broad public involvement and without any haste.

Kvirikashvili also commented on the statements of the opposition, which said that if the GD gets a constitutional majority, there is a danger that the country may turn away from democratic principles.

According to the PM, such statements are specu-lations ahead of the second round of elections.

“These are totally unhealthy and artifi cial specu-lations. A constitutional majority is a big respon-sibility for the government, which aims at imple-menting ambitious plans for the country’s development,” he stated.

According to Kvirikashvili, civil society will be actively involved in the process of carrying out changes to the Constitution, in order to transform it into a democratic and European one.

Georgia’s President, Giorgi Margvelashvili, sup-

Georgia’s PM Initiates Changes to Constitution by Creating Special Working Group

ports the initiative of the PM, saying he is ready to participate in the creation of a working group.

According to the Head of the President’s Admin-istration, Giorgi Abashishvili, the President welcomes the initiative and is ready to establish a special work-ing group which will involve the participation of the President, PM and the Parliament Speaker.

“The PM’s initiative will end speculations about the constitutional majority and will be of high legitimacy,” said Abashishvili.

The opposition party United National Movement (UNM) stated the constitutional majority repre-sents a threat for Georgia and urged voters not to support the ruling team.

“I call on everyone who does not want the estab-lishment of a one-party regime in this country to go out to the polling stations in the second round and vote for the UNM candidates and, by doing so, defend Georgian democracy,” the leader of the UNM, Davit Bakradze, said.

Moreover, a group of civil society members released a statement yesterday calling on pro-Western political parties which were unable to pass the 5 percent threshold in the fi rst round, to sup-port opposition candidates in the second run-offs.

“A constitutional majority could damage the democratic process. It allows the ruling party to change the Constitution and violate the balance of powers between the branches of government,” the statement reads.

As a result of Georgia’s October 8 parliamentary elections, the ruling team already has 67 guaran-teed seats in Georgia’s 150-seat parliament. If the GD manages to win in at least 46 out of 50 major-itarian districts during the October 30 second round elections, it will gain a constitutional majority in the new parliament.

Prime Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Kvirikashvili

BY NINO GUGUNISHVILI

The Georgian capital Tbilisi will host its fi fth annual marathon on October 23 as hundreds of runners gather on the city’s main thoroughfare Rustaveli Avenue to take part in the event.

Organized by German building company Heidelbergcement, the race will include a 21-kilometer half marathon, a 500-meter Kids’ Run for children ages 6-11 and a 100-meter sprint for 12-15-year-olds.

Held under the aegis of the Tbilisi Municipality, Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs and the German Embassy in Geor-gia, the event hopes to promote a healthy lifestyle and raise funds for at-risk chil-dren, said Michael Hampel, the General Director of Heidelbergcement in the Cau-casus.

All proceeds for the event will be donated the Children’s Hospice in Georgia.

The Tbilisi Marathon managed to raise

Tbilisi Marathon to Take Place in City Center

24,000 GEL (USD 10,200) last year, which was matched and doubled to 48,000 GEL (USD 20,400) by Heidelbergcement.

The funds were spent on the rehabilitation of a special care center for people with disabilities in Rustavi, an industrial city south of Tbilisi.

Registration for the Tbilisi Marathon will remain open until October 22.

GEORGIA TODAY OCTOBER 21 - 24, 2016 3NEWS

BY NINO GUGUNISHVILI

The New Conventions and Exhibition Bureau ‘Meet-georgia.ge’, introduced by the Georgian National Tour-i sm Adminis t ra t ion

(GNTA) at Courtyard Mariott Hotel Tbilisi this week, aims at fostering the devlopment of business tourism in Geor-gia, seeking to become a hub for inter-national meetings, exhibitions, confer-ences, tours and various other events. It

Tourism Administration Presents Bureau for Conventions and Exhibitions

will also focus on promoting the business tourism potential of the country abroad.

Ketevan Bochorishvili, Deputy Minis-ter of Economy and Sustainable Devel-opment noted that diversifi cation of the markets is needed in order to transform Georgia into a four-season touristic des-tination country.

‘Meetgeorgia.ge’ is said to have been created following world best practise in the tourism sphere and according to reports and studies undertaken by USAID in the years of 2012-2014 about business tourism development opportunities in Georgia.

Presentation at Marriott, Giorgi Chogovadze, Head of Tourism Administration

BY THEA MORRISON

In the recent Foreign and Security Policy 2016 report of the European Council, the European Union (EU) expressed readiness to work with the new, democratically elected

parliament of Georgia and called on all MPs of the new parliament to work together for Georgia’s interests.

The document was published on Octo-ber 17 and focuses on continuing the quest for solutions to the acute crises in the EU's neighborhood, whilst protect-ing and defending human rights, and on building and strengthening peace and stability globally.

The EU welcomed the October 8 par-liamentary elections in Georgia, which, according to the report, were held in a generally peaceful and orderly way.

“Besides some incidents of violence near and in polling stations, the pre-liminary assessment of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission found the elections to be competitive, well-admin-istered and respectful of fundamental freedoms,” the document reads.

Also, the EU looks forward to working with the democratically elected new parliament and government once the electoral process is completed, as the second round of elections is to be held in 50 single-mandate constituencies on October 30.

“We call for all representatives elected to the new parliament to work together in the interests of Georgia,” the report says.

Foreign and Security Policy 2016 of the European Council reads that the EU is ready to cooperate with Georgia’s new parliament. Source: CNN

EU Is Ready to Work with New parliament of Georgia

Moreover, the EU expressed its readi-ness to support Georgia's efforts to over-come the consequences of confl ict in Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkha-zia and South Ossetia, including through the activities of the EU Monitoring Mis-sion (EUMM) and the EU Special Rep-resentative (EUSR) for the South Cau-casus and the crisis in Georgia.

“The EU will remain fi rmly committed to its policy of supporting Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally-recognized borders,” the report reads.

According to the document, a demo-cratic, stable and prosperous Eastern Neighborhood (EaP) will remain a pri-ority for the EU.

EaP is an initiative of the European

Union governing its relationship with the post-Soviet states of Armenia, Azer-baijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine, intended to provide an avenue for discussions of trade, economic strat-egy, travel agreements, and other issues between the EU and member states.

The document reads that in its rela-tions with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, the EU will continue to focus on the implementation of the respective Asso-ciation Agreements (AAs), which will help to steer reform processes in these countries. The AA entered into force on July 1, 2016 for Georgia.

Photo: Foreign and Security Policy 2016 of the European Council reads that the EU is ready to cooperate with Georgia’s new parliament.

GEORGIA TODAY OCTOBER 21 - 24, 20164 POLITICS

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Socrates & Volski“RECORDED” BY NUGZAR B. RUHADZE

They met the other day on Rustaveli Avenue in Geor-gia’s capital city of Tbilisi by chance, right after the parliamentary election

bells tolled in a new era in the land of Colchis and Iberians. But the country had not yet had a chance to fully con-template the developments in the nation’s political future. As such, the accidental encounter between the philosopher and the politician was rather opportune, and carried a clairvoyant charge –descriptive enough to let the temporar-ily on-hold nation go into pertinent deliberations.

Socrates: Goodness gracious, what a

propitious crossing of roads! Would my friend be willing to enter into a brief dialogue with me, making the incipient denotative alteration of Georgian poli-tique a dominant theme?

Volski: The meditations of geniuses on my favorite subjects, especially that you have just mentioned, have always been my greatest of infatuations.

Socrates: Because my focus on subject matter is always specifi c, let me pose the

fi rst question: Have you fi nally found the way into the realm of justice that must be done?

Volski: It is my advantage to be just and disadvantage to be unjust – this is what I have learnt from the great Socrates, having turned the thought into my reign-ing political credo because I have always had it in my bones that the most blessed life is that of the just man and the most miserable life is that of the unjust man.

Socrates: You have well dealt with my intention to probe into your intelligence. Allow me graciously to emerge with another question of consequence with-out procrastination: you claim and intend to mould yourself into one of the nation’s guardians, do you not? Then, do you remember that guardians should be edu-cated in the following four virtues – wis-dom, courage, justice and temperance?

Volski: We are not young as a nation but we are still budding in politics, this being the reason for the want of extra wisdom- but we have enough courage to do justice with temperance.

Socrates: Then, why do you not engage each person in the occupation that suits him best, thus making him and others happy?

Volski: Again, I am resorting to your wisdom when saying that the power of the state that still persists should not be too much to let the people be engaged rationally, which I think will be well remembered should I fi nd myself at the helm someday.

Socrates: Your balanced reasoning leads me to recall the judgment of a philosopher-king who must as a rule be intelligent, reliable and willing to lead a simple life.

Volski: Do I lack simplicity of life as a good family man? Or should I be bor-rowing intelligence from a learned scholar? You mentioned reliability? That’s my recognized forte!

Socrates: It has always been my con-viction that a certain amount of unfeigned modesty would never hurt a politician in use. From what do you think tyranny is generated?

Volski: I know the pernicious sequence quite well. It starts with timocracy which

grows into oligarchy that wants to have the face of democracy but the whole tandem ends up as regular tyranny. Our annals are full of evident paradigms of the sort, but I am a good learner from the mistakes of others- therefore you need not be concerned about me in this regard.

Socrates: Good enough! And fair enough, too, but I wonder if you have ever pondered the subject of a society which decays and passes through each government in succession, eventually resulting in a bunch of rotten and cor-rupt individuals with a voracious appe-tite for power and wealth.

Volski: How many times should I emphasize that I am your adherent? And a very talented and diligent student too, for that matter! Isn’t it Socrates the Great who loudly stated that we the politicians at times let our passions rule our actions or way of thinking, although they should be controlled? Incidentally, we cannot control all, and we are not even willing to control everything, hence some cor-rupt animals have their way every now and then.

Socrates: But you must fi ght the evil as fi ercely as you can.

Volski: Not I, but the state! And you forget that this should be done on just grounds.

Socrates: Perhaps! On the other hand, at times power is concentrated in the hands of a strong leader and the people allow themselves to be commanded by such a superior as hates to be subject of criticism.

Volski: As my friend Socrates would put it, we all need to learn how to better our image and behavior by allowing ourselves to be subject to criticism with-out being hurt and by subduing our pride and ignorance.

Socrates: Attaboy! Who taught you this much in my absence?

Volski: You are never absent, my lord. You are conspicuously seated on my bookshelf. Perennially!

Socrates – Famous Greek Philoso-pher, Volski – Well-known Georgian Politician

GEORGIA TODAY OCTOBER 21 - 24, 2016 5POLITICS

OP-ED BY ZAZA JGARKAVA

The second round of Geor-gia’s 2016 parliamentary elections has yet to be held, but the media is already talking about the next elec-

tions- the presidential ones. The main focus right now of the fourth

government of Georgia is the President and the events taking place in his Admin-istration. The press has been openly discussing the fact that President Marg-velashvili is inviting the leader of the defeated Free Democrats party, Irakli Alasania, to the Security Council to occupy a post which has been vacant for quite some time. They also report on the cooperation between the President and other “faces” of the oppositional wing. Political analysts believe that the President has become more active because of the upcoming presidential elections.

Rumors about the formation of a new political center around the President are nothing new. The local media was spread-ing information about secret negotia-tions, allegedly about the formation of a new political alliance, held between President Margvelashvili, one of the leaders of the United National Move-ment (UNM), Giga Bokeria, and Irakli Alasania, even as far back as during Garibashvili’s premiership.

A TV announcement made by the leader of the Labor Party, Shalva Nate-lashvili, added to the newspaper articles, in which he revealed the details of the

Politically Active? The Ambitions of the Georgian President

“Last Supper” held in the borough of Dusheti saying that, “A great deal and great conspiracy is being worked on. Every weekend the leaders of the UNM, Bokeria and Machavariani, meet in Dush-eti at Margvelashvili’s house and negoti-ate the creation of a new political center.”

Both media and the leader of the Labor Party were deceived then, since the con-frontation between the Prime Minister and the President continued in such direction that President Margvelashvili did not deviate towards any political power. Naturally, the “new political center” went unformed.

Although today the relationship between the President and the new pre-mier is signifi cantly better- President Margvelashvili feels no threat of being kicked out of the Presidential Palace nor is he banned from taking part in any international offi cial meetings, this does not mean that the “Margvelashvili prob-lem” has been solved for Georgian Dream. The announcement about future consti-tutional changes has once again proved the confrontation between him and the ruling party is ongoing. The GD plans its revenge by making changes in the Constitution, seeking to deprive people of their right to elect a president and to grant that to Parliament, where it itself holds the majority. It is easy to foresee the political future of President Marg-velashvili if these changes are really made.

According to the new legislation he will not be able to raise his candidacy for a second term and he will not be elected by the parliamentary majority – this will mean a political knockout.

Probably because he was unable to sum-mon the support of society on time, but now, after the elections, all the condi-tions are ripe and he can make his polit-ical move,” Gamzardia said.

Political analyst Vakhtang Dzabiradze also holds no doubts about the political potential of President Margvelashvili. He believes that it would be right for the pro-Western powers to consolidate around him. “When the President took a number of decisions opposing Geor-gian Dream, and here I do not mean entering the Presidential Palace, I asked a question– does the President have the ambition to get involved in politics more actively? And to be honest, he is a young man, why shouldn’t he want to take part more dynamically in the management of the State and to unite politicians around him for this purpose? However, the main issue here is whether he will take the steps in this direction or not... If Margvelashvili intends to enter poli-tics more actively, he needs a political organization and not just a few leaders around him, therefore, by inviting only Alasania, he is making a mistake,” Dza-biradze said.

The President prefers to keep silent about the alleged formation of a new political center at this stage. Alasania himself has denied receiving an offer from Margvelashvili. However, this does not mean that Margvelashvili has given up on a political future.

As such, we should not strike off the possibility that one day soon, the Presi-dent may unexpectedly call a briefi ng in which he will publicly announce: “I am forming a new political party.”

Does the President have any political resources to repel this attack? As Archil Gamzardia, an analyst close to Georgian Dream, says – he does: “The attempt to form a new political power around Pres-ident Margvelashvili has been voiced a

number of times. He has driven the political process before the elections quite well and he does have certain resources he could use to form a new political center. Why didn’t he take this step before the parliamentary elections?

GEORGIA TODAY OCTOBER 21 - 24, 20166 POLITICS

BY NATIA LIPERTELIANI

On Tuesday, in a press con-ference with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, President of the USA, Barack Obama, called Don-

ald Trump’s profound admiration of Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘unprec-edented.’

"Mr. Trump's continued fl attery of Mr. Putin and the degree to which he appears to model many of his policies and approaches to politics on Mr. Putin is unprecedented in American politics," Obama said.

Obama went on to express his concerns over the Republican Party’s changed policy towards Russia.

"Mr. Trump rarely surprises me these days," Obama stated. "I am much more surprised and troubled by the fact that you have Republican offi cials — who historically have been adamantly anti-Russian and in fact have attacked me for even engaging them diplomatically — now supporting, and in some cases echoing, his positions. It's quite a rever-sal."

Obama also stressed Russia’s undemo-cratic and aggressive acts in Ukraine and

Obama Calls Donald Trump’s Admiration of Putin ‘Unprecedented’

Georgia. He said that when he became president, Russia had already invaded the territory of Georgia and created fro-zen confl icts there. Russia’s new Presi-dent had taken a more constructive track and showed more respect, despite hav-ing different values, and tried to fi nd ways for mutual cooperation.

“We initiated a new START treaty; we assisted Russia with respect to its ascen-sion to the WTO. We worked on some common international challenges together, and when the previous presi-dent was replaced with Mr. Putin, I met with him and we discussed, again, ways in which we could constructively work together,” Obama said.

During the press-conference Obama outlined the political importance of Russia, but also stressed the importance of maintaining international rules and democratic values.

“Russia is a large, important country with a military that is second only to ours and has to be a part of the solution on the world stage rather than part of the problem," Obama said. “But their behavior has undermined international norms and international rules in ways that we have to call them out on. And anybody who occupies this offi ce should feel the same way because these are val-ues that we fought for and we protected.”

BY THEA MORRISON

Georgia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mikheil Janelidze took part in the European Conservatives and Reform-ists Group Conference on

October 19 in Krakow, Poland.Janelidze was invited as a special guest

to the conference dedicated to the devel-opment of security in Poland and Euro-pean Union (EU) new member states.

While delivering his speech, Janelidze underlined the importance of security issues in the Euro-Atlantic area and the decision of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to strengthen the self-defense capabilities of the Alliance partner states.

“It is clear from the existing challenges that we need a common strategy and joint efforts to ensure peace and security in the Euro-Atlantic area," Georgia’s FM stated.

Janelidze also mentioned the decision of NATO, made at the Warsaw Summit this summer, to increase practical coop-eration with Georgia and to help it increase its self-defense capabilities.

“I am sure that the most effective way to strengthen security in Europe is to extend the security umbrella in the Black Sea region,” Janelidze stated.

Moreover, the Minister underlined Georgia’s important role in the region in the promotion of safety, as well as in the direction of democratic and economic development.

“Implemented reforms, liberal eco-

Janelidze met with the Polish Delegation in Krakow

Georgia’s FM Participates in European Conservatives and Reformists Group Conference

nomic policies and democratic parlia-mentary elections have proved that Georgia is an important and reliable partner for the West in the region,” he said.

The participants of the conference noted that Russia is carrying out “aggres-sive policies” in the region, which was expressed in its military invasion and annexation of Georgian territories dur-ing the 2008 August War, and the annex-ation of Crimea.

The conference was also attended by the Minister of Defense of Poland, Antoni Macierewicz, members of the European Parliament and local experts.

Janelidze was invited to the conference by the Vice-President of the European Parliament and the leader of the Euro-pean Conservatives and Reformists Group, Ryszard Czarnecki.

After the conference the Georgian FM

held a meeting with Minister Maciere-wicz during which the sides discussed bilateral defense cooperation between Poland and Georgia.

Macierewicz reiterated his support towards Georgia’s sovereignty and ter-ritorial integrity.

Janelidze also met with the Head of the Polish delegation, Ryszard Antoni Legutko, who positively assessed Geor-gia’s October 8 parliamentary elections and noted that Georgia has an important place in the top fi ve of economically free countries.

The President of the European Con-servatives and Reformists Group, Syed Kamall, also expressed his fi rm support to Georgia. The sides discussed Geor-gia’s cooperation with Great Britain, with Kamall noting that Great Britain is an important strategic partner and ally of Georgia in many directions.

GEORGIA TODAY OCTOBER 21 - 24, 2016 7POLITICS

Arseny Pavlov was killed in a bomb blast earlier this week while returning home with a bodyguard. Source: Sergey Loiko

Separatist Commander, Alleged War Criminal Killed in Ukraine’s DonbassBY NICHOLAS WALLER

More than two years after the war in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region began, one the confl ict’s most notorious pro-Russian com-manders was killed in a bomb blast

earlier this week while returning home with a bodyguard.

Arseny Pavlov, a Russian citizen who gained fame under the anomalous nom de guerre “Motorola”, was killed with one of his bodyguards by an impro-vised explosive device (IED) while in the lift of his apartment block in the Russian-controlled separa-tist city Donetsk last Sunday.

Born in Russia’s subarctic Komi Republic, the ginger-bearded and gap-toothed Pavlov joined the Moscow-backed rebels in the Donbass in March 2014 shortly after being convicted of car theft in the southern Russian city Rostov-na-Donu.

He later went on to lead the separatist Sparta Battalion, made up mostly of Russian citizens with criminal backgrounds and ties to ultranationalist organizations in the Russian Federation.

Ukrainian-based human rights groups and the OSCE accused Pavlov and his Sparta Battalion of war crimes – including the summary execution and torture of Ukrainian soldiers – committed during and after the battles of Ilovaysk, the Donetsk Air-port and Debaltseve in late 2014 and early 2015.

In an April 2015 taped interview with the Kyiv Post’s senior reporter Oleg Sukhov, Pavlov admit-ted to personally executing 15 Ukrainian prisoners of war. His admission prompted London-based NGO Amnesty International to call for an “inde-pendent investigation into the actions of other pro-Russian units operating in the Donbass”.

Details of the 33-year-old Pavlov’s biography remain sketchy, though it is known that he served as a teenage conscript in the Russian Armed Forces in the 1999-2001 Second Chechen War.

According to Pavlov, he got his nickname "Motorola" after working with equipment manufactured by the US-based telecom company while serving as a wireman in the Russian army in the North Cau-casus.

Pavlov was known to enjoy the personal backing and close friendship of two of Russia’s most noto-rious ultranationalists, politician and Russian MP Vladimir Zhirinovsky and former FSB Colonel Igor Girkin – the latter of which Pavlov served under in the early stages of the Donbass War.

Zhirinovsky allegedly bought Pavlov’s apartment and a car in Donetsk.

Girkin, who is believed to have ordered the shoot down of Malaysian Flight 17 and the execution of pro-Ukrainian civilians in the Donbass, attended Pavlov’s wedding to a local Donetsk-born girl in the summer of 2014.

Donetsk rebel leader Alexander Zakharchenko condemned the attack on Pavlov and vowed revenge against the Ukrainian government.

"As I understand it, (Ukrainian President) Petro Poroshenko has violated the Minsk ceasefi re and declared war on us…I want to be clear about this. We will avenge this act of terrorism," Zakharch-enko was quoted as saying in a television broadcast.

Fellow pro-Russian separatist commander and a

close friend of Pavlov, the half-Georgian Mikhail Tolstykh, who goes by the Georgian nickname “Givi,” has vowed to “kill a million civilians and destroy every Ukrainian city” to avenge Pavlov’s death.

Tolstykh is listed on the EU and US sanctions list after being caught on tape torturing Ukrainian soldiers captured at the Battle of the Donetsk Air-port in February 2015.

It remains unclear who is responsible for Pavlov’s death.

A video appeared online, purportedly from a Ukrainian nationalist group calling itself the “Mis-anthropic Brigade”.

The group claimed it had killed Pavlov and its members say they have infi ltrated the highest ech-elons of the Russian separatist command structure and threaten to target both Zakharchenko and Tol-stykh, as well as rebel political leader Igor Plotnit-sky.

Ukraine’s SBU intelligence services, however, believes Pavlov may have been eliminated by the separatist commander of an Abkhaz Battalion.

The SBU claims Akhra Avidzba, the commander of the pro-Russian 15th Abkhaz Volunteer Brigade, ordered Pavlov’s death after the latter attempted to arrest several individuals under Avidzba’s com-mand.

Pavlov’s death is the latest in a series of unex-plained killings involving key commanders in the pro-Russian separatist forces.

More than half a dozen principal separatist com-manders have been assassinated by unknown assail-ants since September 2015.

The war in the Donbass region has claimed more than 10,000 lives and left nearly one million people as refugees since hostilities began in April 2014.

Despite having won key battlefi eld victories, Rus-sia and its separatist allies in the region have been unable to score a decisive tactical victory against Ukraine’s military and have lost 80 percent of the

territory it originally controlled at the onset of the war.

Supporting Ukraine’s once beleaguered military are scores of volunteers from around the former Soviet Union, including dozens of Georgians, Chechens, Moldovans and Azeris – all of whom fought against Russia and its allies in the 1990s.

GEORGIA TODAY OCTOBER 21 - 24, 20168 POLITICS

BY RENE SCHULTHOFF

The Head of the European Union Delegation to Geor-gia, Ambassador Janos Her-man, explains in an inter-view how common values

and shared interests are driving forward the partnership between Georgia and the EU.

WHAT ARE THE SHARED VALUES THAT UNDERPIN THE EU’S RELATIONS WITH GEORGIA?The values that we promote in Georgia are the same values that we promote in the European Union. There is no differ-ence between the two. They are democ-racy, the rule of law, human rights, a market economy. In fact one can say that these are the values on which the Euro-pean Union itself is built.

Actually, I wouldn’t say we are promot-ing these values in Georgia: it is more precise to say that Georgia wants to come closer to the European Union and it is the conviction of the Georgian people that this should be done based on com-mon values. Common values are very important from a political point of view, but also from a practical perspective, because when we build up our coopera-tion, the association with Georgia, the integration into the internal market, this is a process that is much more solid if it is underpinned by a clear understanding of the two sides, Georgia and the Euro-pean Union, sharing fundamental values.

DO YOU SEE ANY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE VALUES IN EUROPE AND GEORGIA?No, I don’t think so. I think there is a very clear determination in Georgia to put these values at the heart of our coop-eration. Even within the European Union, there are differences among member states concerning different approaches to some values, which are shared by all of us. What is particular in Georgia is that they strengthen the presence of these values inside Georgia as part of a general approximation between us, and yes, if they are facing obstacles or dif-fi culties in some areas, they are not so different from the obstacles and diffi cul-ties we might also have here and there inside the European Union. But of course Georgia has started later, so in that sense they are coming from further away, and are facing some problems, which in our own processes inside the EU have already been solved.

So the difference is not so much about the substance of the values, but about the content of a value-based coopera-tion. It is more linked to the fact that Georgia is introducing the institutional framework and the legal basis for a con-sequent implementation of these values somewhat later than our member states.

WHY DO YOU THINK THAT THIS PARTNERSHIP WITH GEORGIA IS IMPORTANT FOR EUROPE?It’s important to both sides. All good cooperation should be based on a clear understanding of the interests of both sides, so I don’t think it would be right for us to build up cooperation with part-ner countries which cannot be linked to clear European Union interests.

The main interests of the European Union are very clearly expressed in our basic documents, the European Neigh-borhood Policy, the Eastern Partnership: we are interested in democracy, prosper-ity, rule of law, and security in the coun-tries which are our neighbours, whether to the east or to the south. Is Georgia interested in this?

Yes, of course, and I think that this is

A Transformation in Georgia, Led by the Georgians

the basis of our cooperation. Essentially what happens is that Geor-

gia tells us, ‘I would like to come closer to you’, and we say, ‘yes, you can do it, and we will help you’, and this is based both on our values and our interests.

Is the European Union interested in a prosperous and democratic Georgia that is stable and which can be a partner of increasing importance in many aspects, not only in our bilateral cooperation but also having an impact in the region, radi-ating progress and stability in the region, with Georgia functioning as an important link between Asia and Europe, where

trade between us, there are new Georgian exports coming to the European Union market. There has already been a sig-nifi cant impact in the area of agriculture and rural development, there are hundreds and even thousands of cooperatives formed with European Union support, there are new Georgian products emerging in agri-culture. We hope very much that we can contribute also with direct support to the private sector, promoting small and medium-sized enterprises, providing good condition loans to them. And there is also the visa liberalisation that will deliver a signifi cant impact for the Georgian pop-ulation.

By promoting better conditions, jobs, trade, economic development, small and medium-sized enterprises, more mobil-ity between us, people-to-people con-tacts, study opportunities for young people in the EU, and easier conditions for travel, like the visa liberalization, we are gradually moving into the second phase of our cooperation, where it is not just a transformation, it is also already the fi rst benefi ts of creating a new Geor-gia that will better serve its citizens.

This interview was produced by the EU Neigh-bors East projectRene Schulthoff, is a German journalist, Pub-lic Information Expert, Humanitarian Affairs Offi cer and Strategic Communications Man-ager

there are energy connections, pipelines, transport, roads, new ports, and other economic opportunities also for our com-panies? Yes, we are interested in that, so we are working together on that. This is a cooperation that is based on common, shared interests, on shared values, but also on a clear understanding that there are important interests on both sides.

WHAT IS THE REAL IMPACT OF EU SUPPORT TO GEORGIA?The impact is visible. But if you look at the transformation of the country, it is not the impact of the European Union, it is

the impact of the Georgians, and the deci-sion of the Georgians to move closer to the European Union. Under this sign, there is a very ambitious transformation in Georgia – the legal system, the governance system, the judiciary, the public adminis-tration have already gone through a very important transformation, this is visible.

I hope we are now entering into the second phase of our association. As we now implement the agreement in all its components, we feel the time has come to make the Georgians themselves, the wider population feel the impact, and the fi rst signs are there, we have increasing

Janos Herman, Head of the European Union Delegation to Georgia

GEORGIA TODAY OCTOBER 21 - 24, 201610 SOCIETY

BY NINO GUGUNISHVILI

Following The Mayhew International’s visit to Tbilisi and a Neuter and Spay Day held last Sunday at the Tbilisi Agrar-ian University Veterinarian Clinic, offer-ing free neutering for street and shelter

dogs, GEORGIA TODAY spoke with Caroline Yates, CEO of Mayhew Animal Home about The Mayhew International activities in Georgia. We discussed the possibilities of solving the issue of street dogs that to a large extent remains unsolved not only in Tbilisi, the capital, but throughout the country.

The Mayhew Animal Home is one of the few animal welfare organizations that provides veteri-nary trainings in Georgia, having regularly sent its vet teams to Tbilisi over the last few years. The organization managed to successfuly collaborate with city authorities, local NGOs and the Agrarian University of Georgia- the only establishment so far offering veterinary training and shelter man-agement training in the country.

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO COME TO GEORGIA? The Mayhew Animal Home operates a study pro-gram for vets from overseas who want to do some-thing about the issues in their own country. One of the fi rst vets we had in 2009 was Marika Chkhikv-ishvili, who came for an intensive study course in spaying and neutering. She was one of our best stu-dents. When she became the Head Vet at the Agrar-ian University Veterinarian Clinic not only were we happy, but we thought maybe we could help. We fi rst came to Tbilisi in 2013, just to see what was going on, since we knew from Marika that things were quite bad, with lots of dogs on the streets and no organized structure in place to deal with them.

When we came, we did some training here at the

Neuter and Spay Day with Mayhew International in Tbilisi

university and then we went to see the municipal shelter and, basically, it’s grown from there. We’ve come back every year since then and our visits comprise of vet training, support of some of the local charities, helping in the Trap, Neuter, Vac-cinate, Release program, and also, more recently, we’ve started working with the Agrarian University to try and suggest improvements to the Veterinary Science degree- what we’ve found out is that in veterinary schools there is very little understand-ing about cats and dogs, with a considerable holes in the curriculum. Georgia is not alone in this- it’s the same throughout Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union countries. It’s rather concerning when you have inexperienced people conducting surgi-cal procedures!

ARE THERE ANY VISIBLE CHANGES SINCE YOUR LAST VISIT?Oh, absolutely! There’s still a lot to do, but there is visible change. In fact, we would say that Tbilisi City authorities have been very open to our sug-gestions. That’s why we come back - because they’re showing willingness to change.

WHAT DO YOU THINK THE MOST DIFFICULT THING IS TO CHANGE, A POLICY OR AN ATTITUDE? There have been new legislations and policies brought in… How that is enforced is always a prob-lem not only in Georgia but in every country you go to. The most diffi cult thing is to change the atti-tude of people and the understanding of why there are dogs on the streets, where they come from and how we can deal with it in a sustainable, humane way. There must be a long-term approach. Taking an animal from the street to the shelter is not enough. The main thing that people fail to realize is that dogs roaming the streets come from owned dogs that are not sterilized or castrated, often freely let out onto the streets. Dogs get pregnant and

people don’t want puppies, so the street dog pop-ulation grows.

IN YOUR OPINION, IS TBILISI A DOG-FRIENDLY CITY?There are lots of Georgians who love their pets and you do have lots of dog owners. The problem lies in understanding the issues that a large quan-tity of street dogs may bring, so you need to explain it clearly to the general public and share the solu-tion. The major challenge is to get local communi-ties onboard.

DO YOU PLAN TO TRAIN GEORGIAN STUDENTS AT MAYHEW INTERNATIONAL, UK?We want to start accepting more students and we’ve even made our building bigger. We will hopefully

have some Georgian students at the end of next year, but when we come here we can reach many more. They may not do practical work immediately, but they can participate in events like these, in lectures, and the same goes for vets and vet assis-tants at the Tbilisi municipal shelter as well.

HOW WOULD YOU SUMMARIZE THE RECENT NEUTER AND SPAY DAY? Because of our relations with the Agrarian Uni-versity Veterinarian Clinic, we’ve trained quite a few vets here who will then show their practice to the students. It’s always good that they see high standard surgery, a humane way of dealing with and handling the animals. If you can change the simple things, it can have a big impact on the way people carry a dog, inject them, and care about them before and after the surgery.

Agrarian Vet Clinic Students during an operation. Source: Irakli Dolidze/GT

BY NATIA LIPARTELIANI

On October 18, one of Russia’s most widely read contemporary authors, Grigory Chkhartishvili, who is of Georgian origin and works under the pseudonym Boris Akunin, visited

Georgia.The Georgian National Book Center, together

with Ilia State University, hosted his meeting with readers.

Chkartishvili discussed his work, his visit to Geor-gia and the Russian-Georgian political and cultural relationship.

The author, also an essayist and literary transla-tor, is one of the best-selling suspense writers in Russia, famous for his detective stories set in the same country in the 19th century.

He was born in Georgia, but, aged two, moved with his family moved to Moscow where he has lived ever since.

“Boris Akunin” is not just one of Russia’s most popular novelists: he has recently emerged as a powerful voice in his country’s opposition move-ment and has been an avid critic of President Putin’s Domestic and Foreign Policy.

Growing up in Russia with a Georgian surname had its pros and cons for the writer. At school he would often fi nd himself the victim of bullying and years later he became the victim of ‘the main bully of Russia’ (so he refers to Russia’s current president Vladimir Putin) who told citizens that Akunin was the enemy of the Russian people due to his ethnic origin.

In the spring of 2014, the writer, who owns an 18th-century chateau in Brittany, France, announced that he plans not to return to Russia until the [political] climate and atmosphere change.

“I do not see the point of carrying out political

Boris Akunin Meets Georgian Readers

activities in Russia; nothing will change. The mobil-ity of people is too low and not enough people actually want change.”

As such, he says, it is better to distribute ideas and mobilize people through his writings.

Georgian readers asked why he has never men-tioned Georgia in his writings. To that, he answered that he needs to explore places that are used for his novel settings in detail, as those locations need to give him particular emotional vibes and sensory reactions. Right now he is working on a new novel and plans to visit several locations throughout his country of birth.

At the close of the meeting, the writer was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by Ilia State Univer-sity.

Source: Women UK

BY NATIA LIPARTELIANI

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has published its 2016 report on the State of the World Population. In Georgia the continued widespread harmful practice of gender-based sex

selection was identifi ed.According to the report, if a family has only one

child, most Georgian respondents say they would prefer the child to be a boy rather than a girl.

In concrete numbers: 46 percent of Georgian citizens would prefer a boy, 45 percent say the sex does not matter and only 9 percent would prefer to have a girl.

The report claims that in some parts of the world, a 10-year-old girl already begins making choices that will infl uence her education.

“But in other parts of the world, a 10-year-old girl’s horizons are limited. As she reaches puberty, a formidable combination of relatives, fi gures in her community, social and cultural norms, institu-

UNFPA: Most Georgian Families Still Prefer Sons to Daughters

tions and discriminatory laws block her path for-ward. By age 10, she may be forced to marry. She may be pulled out of school to begin a lifetime of childbearing and servitude to her husband. At 10, she may become property, a commodity that can be bought and sold,” says the report.

The new United Nations 2030 Agenda aims to ensure sustainable, equitable, inclusive develop-ment that leaves no one behind. The 15-year plan promises to help transform the futures of millions of 10-year-old girls who have traditionally been left behind.

Georgia has a reputation for being a patriarchal society. As the UNFPA report suggests, stereotypes concerning gender roles still run deep in Georgian society. Custom has established Georgian men as wage-earners, the heads of households and the upholders of familial honor.

Children are taught from an early age to asso-ciate certain things like toys, colors, and songs with gender. Domestic activities like cleaning, cooking, taking out the trash and taking care of babies are all seen to be fi rmly in the realm of women’s work.

GEORGIA TODAY OCTOBER 21 - 24, 2016 11SOCIETY

OP-ED BY TIM OGDEN

My wife is a doctor, and a few times a week she has to work the night shift at her hospital. One would have

thought that after six years in this coun-try, I might have understood exactly what that entails, but my original suppositions were proved strikingly wrong.

An old girlfriend of mine works as a doctor in the UK and she too has to work the night shift. She arrives at work in the evening, works through the night, and then goes home in the morning. I imag-ine this is more or less the same drill in Europe and North America, but the practice does not extend to Georgia.

My wife goes to work in the morning at nine o'clock, and then works her reg-ular working day; she is then expected to work all through the night, and then all through the next day. If she is lucky, she will have grabbed an hour of sleep, but she is not always so fortunate. The night shift in Georgia is simply working the night between your two working days.

As I have written elsewhere on these pages, I have the highest regard for Geor-gian medics, and would rather fi nd myself under the care of a Georgian doctor than anybody employed by Britain's NHS. However, I would hesitate to trust the judgement of any physician who has not slept in 36 hours regardless of their coun-try of origin or practice, especially if they work in a fi eld such as cardiology.

I originally supposed that these appall-ing shifts were forced on her due to a lack of qualifi ed doctors, but again I was

The Nightly Grind: Ogden on Georgian Medics

proved completely wrong.Many doctors in Georgia are female,

but according to my wife (and others who work at other hospitals) their hus-bands forbid them from working the night shift.

I hesitate to discuss the issue of Geor-gian men and their values once again, but it seems to me bitterly ironic that

men who openly boast about their rep-utation as the greatest lovers of the Soviet Union would secretly have such low confi dence in their abilities that they cannot even trust their wives to work at night. As loathe as they are to let their women go out with friends at night, this kind of base male jealousy is not exclu-sive to Georgia – though admittedly

nowhere near as widespread in other countries – but the idea that men actively forbid their wives from working at night surprised me.

This also leads on to the question of Georgian management. The fact that a woman's husband forbids her from working at night should not be an excuse for a female doctor (or anything else)

from doing her job. Contracts have to be honored; if someone cannot honor the terms of their contract, they should lose their job. This is, after all, how the civilized world – which Georgia so des-perately wants to become a part of – functions.

I understand the issue with it, of course. If bosses begin fi ring people for having diffi cult and secretly insecure husbands, they might soon have no employees left. I personally believe, however, that the threat – or perhaps one or two examples – ought to be enough to kick things into gear. I hope so, anyway.

As things stand, fi rst and foremost the situation is not fair on doctors who are prepared to work (and whose husbands are prepared to let them work) these crippling night shifts, but this also cre-ates a danger to patients who may fi nd themselves being treated by people who have not slept in almost two days.

The West has been holding Georgia's hand in almost every professional sphere since 2003 (and whether Georgia deserves to be treated like Europe's drooling cousin is a debate for another time), but by and large the medical sector has not had the attention of other sectors such as the military, and it's my belief (and I could well be wrong) that it doesn't need it. At the risk of repeating myself, Geor-gian doctors are amongst the best I've encountered (and I've found myself damaged in some way in every country between Canada and Japan), but the best doctor in the world will not necessarily make the best manager or leader. Per-haps Europe should send more of its medical experts to Tbilisi to put the screws on Georgian medicine, so a hand-ful of doctors don't have to do the work of fi fty.

GEORGIA TODAY OCTOBER 21 - 24, 201612 SOCIETY

10 Galaktion StreetTel: (995 32) 2 45 08 08

E-mail: info@peoplescafe.ge

ROUTING FLIGHT NUMBER WEEK DAYS DEPARTURE ARRIVAL

TBILISI - ISTANBUL ATATURK AIRPORTTK 379

EVERYDAY02:35 04:05

TK 387 06:35 08:05TK 383 22:55 00:30+1

ISTANBUL ATATURK AIRPORT - TBILISITK 386

EVERYDAY01:40 04:55

TK 382 18:10 21:30TK 378 21:15 00:30+1

TBILISI - ISTANBUL SABIHA GOKCEN AIRPORTTK 381 1/2/4/5/6/7 04:25 05:50TK 381 3 05:05 06:30

ISTANBUL SABIHA GOKCEN AIRPORT - TBILISI TK 380 EVERYDAY 19:40 22:55

BATUMI - ISTANBULTK 391 1/2/4/6/7 10:35 11:40TK 393 1/3/4/5/7 20:15 21:20

ISTANBUL - BATUMITK 390 1/2/4/6/7 06:25 09:20TK 392 1/3/4/5/7 16:20 19:20

TIFLIS 7.5x6cm ING.indd 1 13/06/16 15:16

BY TONY HANMER

It's been nearly six years since I emailed Georgia Today enquir-ing about writing regularly for them, and since being accepted soon after that I've not missed a

weekly issue. Usually my articles are about what's happening in our village or elsewhere in Svaneti, but sometimes I write about other places I happen to be in, such as Zimbabwe, Canada or the UK.

Having lived in seven countries and been to a total of 41, with three conti-nents under my belt by the time I was four, it has been a wild ride, never dull. "Luck" put me in Moscow in August 1991 when the coup d'etat was happen-ing against Mikheil Gorbachev, my only visit to the USSR. I had no Russian lan-guage ability at the time but knew it was history unfolding. Expecting to get the last few shots from my last roll of fi lm, I ended up having to go to a poorly stocked shop in the city center to buy more on August 19.

On the 20th, my friends and I fl ew out; my cargo pants' pockets were bulg-ing with nine rolls, and I had no idea

What Can I Say?what I'd do if these were confi scated... but they weren't. My precious frames stayed with me. Photo-journalism isn't my preferred style, but it had to be then.

St Petersburg a year later, and much of northern and western Russia by train for the next seven years, were exhila-rating for me, but probably more like terrifying for the average Russian. Hyperinfl ation ate away at ruble sav-ings, until a house price was enough for a loaf of bread. Shops had to learn com-petition and customer fi ckleness as they began stocking a bewildering variety of goods, unknown previously. Available, but affordable too?

Cutting across a top corner of Kazakh-stan in 1993, going from Moscow to Novosibirsk, I expected my train stop to reveal camels and spice mounds, a Central Asian dream. No, just another former Soviet city of concrete! And preparing to move to Baku, Azerbaijan in 1999, I concentrated on the Shi'ite idea, instead of the right one. No head-to-foot black with just the eyes showing women here! This wasn't Iran, it was, again, post-Soviet.

But Baku for six months, fascinating as it was, was just a way-station on my route to Svaneti, the reason I had left

my beloved Russia for the Caucasus. The Svans were calling me home to a place I'd never been but would settle down in, married and landed at last. I own property nowhere else but in Geor-gia, and a house only in these mountains.

Now, as Georgia considers the reality of its after-election period, with the American event looming in a few weeks, it feels like the world may be rushing into change faster than we can imagine. That's what satellite TV and the inter-net bring us, even tucked away up here in our splendid isolation as autumn's glowing colors and the occasional early snow almost make me weep for beauty every time I poke my head out the door. We're in a small village with a single concrete road running through it, no shops, DIY infrastructure, but we can still learn about world news seemingly as it happens, anywhere, instantly.

I check my word count as I'm writing this, but that's just for convenience. I never lack for something to say, even if it's not exactly "what happened this week". Sometimes it's a bit meta, or recursive, or about itself, but that may not be irrelevant, sometimes. One of these years this will all, or mostly, end up in a book, my love song to Svaneti and the odd other place. But especially Svaneti.

Tony Hanmer has lived in Georgia since 1999, in Svaneti since 2007, and been a weekly writer for GT since early 2011. He runs the “Svaneti Renaissance” Facebook group, now with over 1350 members, at www.facebook.com/groups/SvanetiRe-naissance/He and his wife also run their own guest house in Etseri:www.facebook.com/hanmer.house.svaneti

Read. Learn. Enjoy. Pick up a copy of Georgia Today Education

at any BIBLUS shop or phone 229 59 19

Price: 2 Gel

GEORGIA TODAY OCTOBER 21 - 24, 2016 13CULTURE

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Address: Airport settlement, Samgori district, TbilisiTel: +995 599 529 529

info@cei.ge

BY MAKA LOMADZE

Giorgi Tabliashvili is a hum-ble painter in his 30s who has a gift from nature and ,seemingly, cannot stop working. As the German

phrase goes, work sets you free. He says he is open to inner freedom, which in turn produces genuine art pieces. GEOR-GIA TODAY went to meet him at his solo exhibition at newly opened Grandpa Shaqro Bookshop.

Having worked in different group exhi-bitions, and also with several solo exhi-bitions abroad to his credit, Giorgi says that, “Art is a way to free yourself from the captivity of an illusory world and is rather the process of creative searching for truth, hidden in the details of objects and events, apart from those attractive deceptions. This is my way to catharsis, if you will – an attempt to reach self-forgiveness and to forgive others, as well as an attempt to feel harmony and the beginning of the universe.”

The exhibition features the painter’s old and new works including the largest wall of the bookshop itself, featuring angels hanging books on a washing-line and phrases written above them: “Heaven starts on Earth,” “Live to tell, “Escape your cage- be individual,” “Dare to feel good.”

The series of angels, girls with birds, and horses demonstrate that the painter has retained a childish purity and clean-ness… His pictures are rich in color, particularly his peculiar crimson and dark azure and are quite phantasmago-ric. Even though he has combatted illu-sions, I dare say the painter still sees the beauty even in this sometimes quite grey world of ours.

Tabliashvili’s Fairytale beyond IllusionsTabliashvili sees the function of an art-

ist in making human beings and the uni-verse better. “A good storyteller should have a good listener, too. For me, as an artist, the pain that stays on the canvas is a remedy. For every painter, the puz-zle to solve is the maximal concurrence of form and content. However, one does not exclude the other. For me, an expres-sionistic approach is more topical. Impressionism is the thirst for life, for instance, Cezanne painted with depth, volume, love of life…”

GEORGIA TODAY asked the artist which comes fi rst for him in painting figures, particularly female figures– appearance or inner beauty? “First and foremost, a woman is the mother of new

life. In her, all the signs of universal beauty are accumulated. God created Woman after Man, so she is much more perfect a creature than a man is, though the latter has his own advantages com-pared to the former. Appearance, I think, is the only supplement to make a wom-an’s essence perfect in order to culminate her depth and charm.”

One can see Giorgi Tabliashvili’s works on: http://bu.com.ge/geo/news/story/158-14-oqtombers-shaqro-babuas-tsignis-magha-ziashi-giorgi-tabliashvilis-gamofena-gaikhsneba

WHERE: GrandPa Shaqro Bookshop, 17b Chavchavadze Ave., VakeWHEN: Closes October 21

However, his maturity is evident, too, well read in his abovementioned mes-sages.

“I try to make my audience fi nd their own selves,” Tabliashvili told GEORGIA TODAY. “I also try to fi nd and reveal myself. My aim is to make people feel spiritual connections. A painter should be very educated; from pure geometry

to psychology. The laws of art are based on the laws of nature and he universe. All of them belong to nature – color, proportion, geometry… Here, purely intuitive things are also involved– the so-called 6th sense. I try to fi t my paint-ings to my disposition as much as I can and to see the inner essence of this or that object; to tell the story.”

GEORGIA TODAY OCTOBER 21 - 24, 201614 CULTURE

WHAT’S ON IN TBILISICast: Nicolas Cage, Tom Sizemore, Thomas JaneGenre: Action, WarLanguage: RussianStart time: 11:45, 19:30, 19:45Ticket: 8-14 GEL

MUSEUM

GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM

SIMON JANASHIA MUSEUMAddress: 4 Rustaveli Ave.Telephone: 2 99 80 22, 2 93 48 21www.museum.ge

PERMANENT EXHIBITION: GEORGIAN ARCHAEOLOGY FROM 8TH MILLENNIUM B.C. TO 4TH CENTURY A.D

EXHIBITION OF GEORGIAN WEAPONRY

NUMISMATIC TREASURYThe exhibition showcases a long history of money circulation on the territory of modern Georgia from the 6th century BC. to 1834.

June 11 – March 11 (2017)EXHIBITION "MEDIEVAL TREASURY"

June 16 – December 16THE EXHIBITION “NEW DISCOVERIES - GEORGIAN ARCHAEOLOGY”

September 27 – September 22 (2017)EXHIBITION "STONE AGE GEORGIA"

MUSEUM OF SOVIET OCCUPATION

Address: 3 Sh. Rustaveli Ave.

PERMANENT EXHIBITION

IOSEB GRISHASHVILI TBILISI HISTORY MUSEUM

KARVASLAAddress: 8 Sioni St.Telephone: 2 98 22 81

October 15-27EXHIBITION "HERE THERE. MATTERS OF LOCATION, CONTEMPORARY GEORGIAN ART"

October 19-28EXHIBITION "NEW BABYLONIANS"

GALLERY

THE NATIONAL GALLERYAddress: 11 Rustaveli Ave.www.museum.ge

PERMANENT EXHIBITIONNiko Pirosmanashvili, David Kakabadze, Lado Gudiashvili and sculptor Iakob Nikoladze.

June 24, 2016 – June 24, 2017NIKO PIROSMANASHVILI’S WORKS “YARD CLEANER” AND “EAGLE SEIZING A HARE”

September 28 - September 28 (2017)PIROSMANI’S ROE AT A STREAM

October 5-26THE CONTEMPORARY CERAMIC ARTISTS' EXHIBITION "CLAY WALL PIECE"

October 7-23THE EXHIBITION “TO SEE A WORLD IN A GRAIN OF SAND” BY IRAKLI BUGIANI

NECTAR GALLERYAddress: 88 Bochorishvili Str.

October 11 – November 5

THEATER

GEORGIAN INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

OF ARTS GIFT IN TBILISIOctober 15 – November 25

October 21A LONG BREAKData FirtskhalavaDirected by Vano KhutsishviliStart time: 20:00Address: 2 Rustaveli Ave.,Griboedov Theater

October 22, 23KING LEARWilliam ShakespeareDirected by Zura GetsadzeStart time: 20:00Address: Tumanishvili Film Actors Theater, 164 Agmashenebeli Ave.

October 25FELICITASLibby Scala Mono PlayA one-woman show written & performed by Libby SkalaMandolin music by Steven MayDirected by Janice L. GoldbergNew York, United StatesStart time: 17:00Address: Tumanishvili Film Actors Theater, 164 Agmashenebeli Ave.

October 27AS MANY DEMONS AS YOU LIKE Based on Jerzy Pilch’s story “Wieledemonów” Directed by Jašek GlombBatumi Drama TheaterStart time: 20:00Address: Tumanishvili Film Actors Theater, 164 Agmashenebeli Ave.

GEORGIAN STATE PANTOMIME THEATRE

Address: 37 Rustaveli Ave.Telephone: 2 99 63 14

October 21TERENTI GRANELIDirected by Amiran ShalikashviliStart time: 19:00Ticket: 10 GEL

October 22ST. GEORGEDirected by Amiran ShalikashviliStart time: 19:00Ticket: 10 GEL

GRIBOEDOVI THEATREAddress: 2 Rustaveli Ave.Telephone: 2 93 43 36

October 22ENGLISH DETECTIVEAgatha ChristieDirected by Vakhtang Nikolava Start time: 18:00Ticket: 5 GEL

October 23TALE OF KING SALTANDirected by Avtandil VarsimashviliStart time: 12:00Ticket: 5 GEL

GABRIADZE THEATREAddress: 13 Shavtelis St. Telephone: 2 98 65 93

October 21AUTUMN OF MY SPRINGRezo GabriadzeDirected by Rezo GabriadzeEnglish SubtitlesStart time: 20:00Ticket: 10, 15, 20 GEL

October 22, 23, 27MARSHAL DE FANTIE’S DIAMONDRezo GabriadzeDirected by Rezo GabriadzeEnglish SubtitlesStart time: 20:00Ticket: 10, 15, 20 GEL

MOVEMENT THEATERAddress: 182, Aghmashenebeli Ave., Mushthaid parkTelephone: 599 555 260

October 21RECITATIVE IN THE CITYDirected by Kakha BakuradzeStart time: 21:00Free Entry

October 22, 23* PremiereTHE TEMPESTStart time: 20:00Ticket: 15 GEL

CINEMA

AMIRANI CINEMAAddress: 36 Kostava St.Telephone: 2 99 99 55www.kinoafi sha.ge

Every Wednesday ticket price: 5 LariOctober 25CORIOLANUSDirected by Tim Van SomerenCast: Tom Hiddleston, Mark Gatiss, Hadley FraserLanguage: EnglishStart time: 20:00Ticket: 17 GEL

October 21-27INFERNODirected by Ron HowardCast: Tom Hanks, Felicity Jones, Ben FosterGenre: Mystery, ThrillerLanguage: RussianStart time: 22:00Ticket: 13-14 GEL

JUSTE LA FIN DU MONDEDirected by Xavier DolanCast: Nathalie Baye, Vincent Cassel, Marion CotillardGenre: DramaLanguage: RussianStart time: 19:30, 22:30Ticket: 13-14 GEL

KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGSDirected by Travis KnightCast: Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson,Matthew McConaugheyGenre: Animation, Adventure, FamilyLanguage: RussianStart time: 19:30, 22:30Ticket: 13-14 GEL

RUSTAVELI CINEMAAddress: 5 Rustaveli Ave.Telephone: 2 55 50 00www.kinoafi sha.ge

Every Wednesday ticket: 5 GELOctober 21-27

MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDRENDirected by Tim BurtonCast: Eva Green, Asa Butterfi eld, Samuel L. JacksonGenre: Adventure, Drama, FantasyLanguage: RussianStart time: 14:15, 17:00, 22:30Ticket: 9-14 GEL

INFERNO(Info Above)Start time: 14:30, 22:15 Ticket: 9-14 GEL

KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS(Info Above)Start time: 12:30, 15:00, 19:30, 22:00Ticket: 8-14 GEL

MASTERMINDSDirected by Jared HessCast: Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Jason SudeikisGenre: Action, Comedy, CrimeLanguage: RussianStart time: 12:00, 17:15Ticket: 8-12 GEL

JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACKDirected by Edward ZwickCast: Tom Cruise, Cobie Smulders, Danika YaroshGenre: Action, Adventure, CrimeLanguage: RussianStart time: 12:45, 15:00Ticket: 8-10 GEL

USS INDIANAPOLIS: MEN OF COURAGEDirected by Mario Van Peebles

SHINDISI SCREENS KETUTA ALEXI-MESKHISHVILI IN COLLABORATION WITH LEVAN CHOGOSHVILI

MUSIC

TBILISI ZAKARIA PALIASHVILI OPERA AND

BALLET THEATREAddress: 25 Rustaveli Ave.Telephone: 2 99 04 56

October 26VAKHTANG MACHAVARIANI AND GEORGIAN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRAParticipants:Vakhtang Machavariani, Megi ChikhradzeStart time: 19:30Ticket: 10-40 GEL

TBILISI CONCERT HALLAddress: 1 Melikishvili St.Telephone: 2 99 00 99

October 21DOCTORS FOR DOCTORS AND FRIENEDS FOR DOCTORSConcertStart time: 18:00Ticket: 10-20 GEL

HIPPODROME PARKAddress: Old Hippodrome

October 22GESAFFELSTEIN, AKA MIKE LEVYGesaffelstein, AKA Mike Levy, is a Paris-based DJ-producer who reconnects hard techno to its industrial roots. Start time: 22:00Ticket: 50 GEL

SPORTS PALACEAddress: Kostava Str.

October 22OKEAN ELZYWorld Tour“Bez mej” Start time: 19:00Ticket: 40 GEL

TBILISI EVENT HALL

Address: 1 Melikishvili St.Telephone: 2 99 00 99

October 22BLUES SUMMIT KOKA & T.BLUES MOBStart time: 19:00Ticket: 15-20 GEL

FABRIKAAddress: Ninoshvili Str.

October 22FABRICATION OF MUSICKorina Ruba, Levan TskhadadzeStart time: 22:00Ticket: 30 GEL

MOVEMENT THEATERAddress: 182, Aghmashenebeli Ave., Mushthaid parkTelephone: 599 555 260

October 25, 27JAM SESSIONLeaders:Reso Kiknadze (sax),Nika Gabadze (guitar),Misha Japaridze (bass),Irakli Choladze / Gio Kapanadze (drums)Start time: 21:00

October 26TANGO EVENINGMilonga La Kumparsita Start time: 21:00Ticket: 5 GEL

GEORGIA TODAY OCTOBER 21 - 24, 2016 15CULTURE

GEORGIA TODAY

PUBLISHER & GM George Sharashidze

COMMERCIAL DEPARTMENT Commercial Director: Iva MerabishviliMarketing Manager: Mako Burduli

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT: Editor-In-Chief: Katie Ruth Davies

Journalists: Tony Hanmer, Zaza Jgarkava, Maka Bibilashvili, Karen Tovmasyan, Dimitri Dolaberidze, Maka Lomadze, Tim Ogden, Joseph Larsen, Vazha Tavberidze, Nugzar B. Ruhadze,Nino Gugunishvili,Thea Morrison,Natia Liparteliani

Photographer: Giorgi Pridonishvili

Layout: Misha Mchedlishvili

Webmaster: Sergey Gevenov

Circulation Managers: David Kerdikashvili, David Djandjgava

ADDRESS 1 Melikishvili Str. Tbilisi, 0179, Georgia

Tel.: +995 32 229 59 19E: info@georgiatoday.ge F: GeorgiaToday

ADVERTISING & SUBSCRIPTION+995 595 279997 E-mail: marketing@georgiatoday.ge

Reproducing material, photos and advertisements without prior editorial permission is strictly forbidden. The author is responsible for all material. Rights of authors are preserved. The newspaper is registered in Mtatsminda district court.

Reg. # 06/4-309

We are proud to present the fourth successful edition of the new magazine for tour-is ts - Where .ge,

designed to guide you around city and country and introduce you to little-known facts and well-known sites.

This autumn issue you can get to know the world of Churchkhela, made using pressed grape juice, then fi nd out more about the top grape-growing region it comes from, Kakheti. Editor Katie Davies takes you to the best museums and churches in that same region while Tim Ogden reveals his top museums in the capital, Tbilisi, and blogger Tatiana Rem-neva explains why the Ethnographic Open-Air Museum should be on your “must-see” list while here.

Our Svaneti-based writer Tony Hanmer has a double treat for you this issue- describing the ins and outs of not just one of the top Georgian souvenirs- the Svan hat -but also the culinary secrets of the far-off mountainous region in which he resides.

Turn to page 84 for our recommended coffee and tea spots and to page 102 to discover the best places to shop for a unique Georgian carpet.

Our special guests (one for each sec-tion) entertain and inform with their top Go, Stay, Eat, Drink and Buy choices, this month including the General Managers of top hotels Hilton Batumi and Ambas-sadori Tbilisi, MAQRO Construction Chief of Project Development, Oguz Kaan Karaer, OK! Fashion Editor Gvantsa Salakaia and Maia Tsereteli, Executive Director of KMS Georgia.

Our comprehensive listings give you quick reference guides to the vast options available throughout the country- from guest houses to 5 star hotels, galleries to

WHERE to Go, Stay, Eat, Drink and Buy in October

house museums, and from Georgian to Asian cuisine. Keeping to tradition, Where.ge continues to cater for all tastes and budgets.

Interested? Head on down to the sou-venir shops in the Old Town- on Lesel-

idze Street and in the Abanotubani and Sharden areas for your copy of WHERE. Otherwise, grab your free copy of WHERE at one of the hotels or café-bars in cen-tral Tbilisi. Feel free to contact WHERE management via E-mail: any@where.ge

BY KATIE RUTH DAVIES

As part of the Performing Arts Support Program in Adjara, and as part of fi ve years of cooperation between the British Coun-

cil and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport of Adjara Autonomous Repub-lic in Georgia to strengthen the capacity of the Georgian theater sector by intro-ducing UK expertise, on 15-17 October a Production Management Workshop was held.

The British Council invited David Evans, British expert and Head of Pro-duction at the National Theater, Wales.

During the three-day training, special attention was given to the production process, from initial idea to fi rst perfor-mance and beyond.

Participants were familiarized with the British experience of production man-agement- its terms, basic requirements, pre-production, rehearsals, production and post-production processes.

David Evans is a Director/Trustee of the Association of British Theater Tech-nicians and a founding member of SiPA,

Product Management Workshop for Performing Arts Professionals in Adjara

an organization that promotes sustain-able practice across the industry.

Evans has worked in 31 countries includ-ing Jamaica, Japan, Russia, Australia and Brazil and has worked with many com-panies visiting the UK, including the Romanian, Moldovan and Ukrainian National Operas, the Dance Theater of Taiwan and the Alvin Ailey American

Dance Theater.Participants in the recent workshop

were impressed with the detailed dis-cussions on planning and budgeting.

“I got some great tips and theoretical knowledge which I plan to implement in my work,” said one attendee. “It was very useful to hear the British Experi-ence.”