Adjara

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Adjara

Georgian government strips independence from Adjara public broadcaster

by Shota Kincha

•2 min read

The Georgian parliament has passed legal amendments removing the last vestiges of independence from Adjara’s public broadcaster, subsuming it to the national public broadcaster. On Friday, MPs from the ruling party adopted amendments to Georgia’s Law on Broadcasting eliminating the Adjara public broadcaster’s advisory board. Adjara TV, based in the autonomous republic of Adjara in Western Georgia, was once hailed as a bastion of unbiased journalism in the country. The changes effectively

Chechen businessman Aslanbek Akhmetkhanov. Screengrab via Grozny TV.

Adjara

Adjara officials ‘met Kadyrov-linked businessman’ in Batumi

by Luiza Mchedlishvili

•2 min read

The head of the west Georgian region of Adjara and the Mayor of Batumi have reportedly met with a Chechen businessperson with close ties to Ramzan Kadyrov. TV Formula reported that the chair of the government of Adjara, Tornike Rizhvadze and Batumi Mayor Archil Chikovani hosted Aslanbek Akhetkhanov at a private party at the Radisson Hotel in Batumi on 29 May. Sources told Formula that the lounge at which the party took place was closed off all night and that hotel personnel working in the lo

A polling station in Batumi on 2 April 2022. Photo: Shota Kincha/OC Media.

2021 Georgian Local Elections

Georgian Dream edges closer to taking back the Batumi legislature

by Shota Kincha

•6 min read

Georgian Dream have won a byelection for the Batumi City Council. While the council is now formally hung, a ‘neutral’ candidate is suspected to be a ruling party ally. Georgian Dream’s candidate Ramaz Jincharadze won a convincing victory in Saturday’s vote for a majoritarian council seat in Batumi, Georgia’s second-largest city and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara. The result will upset plans by opposition groups the United National Movement (UNM) and Lelo to deny the ruling

Brawl across from the Conservative Movement office in Kobuleti. Screengrab from channel 25.

Adjara

Far-right activists attack protesters in Adjara

by Shota Kincha

•4 min read

Police have reportedly arrested up to 10 supporters of ultra-right wing and pro-Russia group Alt Info after they attacked a crowd protesting their newly-opened office in the Georgian town of Kobuleti. Local activists came to the new branch of the Conservative Movement party, Alt Info’s recently created political wing, on Tuesday evening after holding a march in support of Ukraine, in the port city’s downtown area. Rally co-organiser Nika Romanadze, who was among those injured in the attack

Adjara

Adjara head ‘lied on CV’, Ukrainian university says

by Tata Shoshiashvili

•2 min read

Kyiv University has denounced the head of the Government of the Autonomous Government of Adjara in Georgia, claiming that he dropped out of his doctoral programme despite his CV saying otherwise. The move followed Tornike Rizhvadze, who is also a member of the Political Council of the ruling Georgian Dream party, refusing to lay the blame on Russia for the country’s invasion of Ukraine. On Monday, Rizhvadze was asked by TV Pirveli who he thought had started the war in Ukraine, to which the h

Adjara

Ruling party boycotts Batumi City Council

by Shota Kincha

•2 min read

Georgian Dream councilors have boycotted Batumi City Council, preventing the council from appointing a head as well as voting to annul the annual city budget approved by the outgoing council last month. On Thursday, councilors from Georgian Dream did not show up to an extraordinary council meeting, denying the council the quorum needed to vote for its chairperson for the second time. Batumi, the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, is among just 20 cities and municipalities where Ge

UNM member Giorgi Kirtadze holding a press-conference in Batumi. Photo via Batumelebi.

2021 Georgian Local Elections

Opposition claim fatal pressure on Batumi councillor

by Shota Kincha

•3 min read

The opposition appears to have lost their majority on the Batumi City Council after the death of a councillor, allegedly following pressure from the government. Nugzar Putkaradze died last Thursday in what his sister, who also sits on the city council, has said was a diabetic attack. The opposition United National Movement (UNM) have claimed that his blood sugar levels skyrocketed leading to his death after repeated attempts by people connected to the ruling party to make him defect. Putkara