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Aug. 28 - Sep. 3, 2015

Georgia Today 24 p., Travel Today 4 p.Price: GEL 2.50 ISSUE No.781

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BUSINESS HEADLINES

Travel

Today

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A new headache for the government or a planned restorationof the Sokhumi-Tbilisi-Yerevan railway route?

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OP-ED: As the security situationappears to worsen in the region,some say it is time for NATO tomake some tangible and daringdecisions.

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By Zviad Adzinbaia

Last week, Zurab Abashidze, theGeorgian PM’s special envoy in rela-tions with Russia, claimed Georgia willcontinue its pragmatic relations withRussia.

As the ambassador says, it is a well-known fact that western partners sup-port dialogue between Georgia and Rus-sia and James Appathurai, NATO Sec-retary General’s special representative,confirmed this in an interview with theGeorgian Public Broadcaster (GPB).

“Our partners realize that a dialoguehas no alternative, no matter how diffi-cult it is. At the same time, they try tohelp us avoid new threats and difficul-ties. It means they care for our country,its security and regional stability,”Abashidze believes.

However, the ambassador calls itunfortunate that “some opponents of thegovernment have completely differentgoals, aimed at encouraging the govern-

ment to make fatal mistakes in terms ofrelations with Russia, such as the onesGeorgia made in 2008.”

According to Abashidze, there is a

does not even envision Georgia as a sov-ereign country in the region.

Moreover, recent events have madeit clear that even the US and the EU talk-ing with the Russian side concerning thewar in Ukraine have achieved no pal-pable results. Taking into account theGD claims, one may reason that theGeorgian government has found itsunique recipe with Russia to ‘Muzzle theBear’ finally and win the war against it.

However, the reality speaks differ-ently and louder. The Russian Federa-tion continues its creeping occupationin Georgia, keeping the conflicts of thecountry frozen. Moreover, it has acti-vated its powerful hybrid warfare strat-egy, which involves diverse non-stateactors and, importantly, Russian mediasources, disseminating misinformationamong Georgian citizens and discour-aging western aspirations.

But where can the Georgian govern-ment turn to normalize relations withRussia?

AUGUST 28 - SEPTEMBER 322222 NEWS

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Appathurai, when talking with theGPB, stated that despite not witnessingany progress at this stage with Russia,the dialogue may serve as a pre-condi-tion for avoiding negative processes inthe future. Abashidze commented thatthe Georgian government will continueits pragmatic policy towards Russia andnerves won’t be an issue.

ANALYSIS BY GEORGIATODAY’S ZVIAD ADZINBAIAIt has many times been declared by

the current government of Georgia thatnormalization with Russia has no alter-native. While this argument might havesome reasonable ground, at the sametime, the ruling forces of the GeorgianDream believe in Russia’s loyalty de-spite Georgia aspiring to democracy,forgetting Russia’s grand strategy, which

real reason why some do not share themessages of [our] western partnersonsustaining tough dialogue with Russia,adding: “They know dialogue is neces-

By Eka Karsaulidze

The military court in the southernRussian city of Rostov-on-Don hasjailed Ukrainian filmmaker OlegSentsov for 20 years for plotting terror-ist acts in Crimea. His co-defendant, theactivist and anti-fascist AlexanderKolchenko, was sentenced to 10years.The verdict concerning both de-fendants was announced on August 25.

Oleg Sentsov, best known for his2011 film ‘Gamer,’ was arrested in May2014 during a protest against Russia’sannexation of Crimea. According to in-

UkrUkrUkrUkrUkrainian Filmmakainian Filmmakainian Filmmakainian Filmmakainian Filmmaker Oleer Oleer Oleer Oleer Oleg Sentsog Sentsog Sentsog Sentsog Sentsov Sentenced to 20 yv Sentenced to 20 yv Sentenced to 20 yv Sentenced to 20 yv Sentenced to 20 yearearearearearsssssvestigators, Sentsov ordered his accom-plices to blow up the monument to Leninin Simferopol after Crimea was annexedto Russia, and planned a terrorist attackat the ‘Eternal Flame’ in the city on May9, 2014. Alexander Kolchenko is ac-cused of setting fire to the office of thecurrent ruling political party in RussiaUnited Russia in Simferopol, and sev-eral other terrorist attacks carried outunder the leadership of Sentsov.

Sentsov denies the charges againsthim. When Judge Sergei Mikhailyukasked whether they understood the ver-dicts, Sentsov and Kolchenko responded

by defiantly singing the Ukrainian na-tional anthem.

The Ukrainian government says he isbeing punished for being a Crimea-basedpro-Ukrainian activist. The Russian sidedenies that he is a political prisoner.

Pedro Almodovar, Mike Leigh,Agnieszka Holland, Stephen Daldry,Bela Tarr and Wim Wenders are amongfilmmakers and representatives of theEuropean Film Academy who are call-ing for the release of the jailed director.Russian directors are also repeatedlyappealing to Russian President VladimirPutin to release Sentsov.Oleg Sentsov and Alexander Kolchenko.

By Nino Japarashvili

Georgia is a frequent victim of natu-ral disasters, it seems. In the last weekalone both the western and eastern re-gions of the country were affected byheavy rain falls, floods, hail and lighten-ing.

In Western Georgia, around 300 callswere made to the Batumi emergency callcenter 112 on the night of August 26, asseveral streets flooded as a result ofheavy rain in Georgia’s Adjara Region.Severe rainfall flooded ground floors ofnumerous houses in the city; and a fur-ther 10 houses were damaged by waterin the nearby village of Feria.

The same day the electricity supplywas suspended for several hours afterlightning hit one of the power stationsin Poti, in Georgia’s Samegrelo Region.Heavy rain flooded central streets in thecity and floodwater damaged the groundfloors of a number of houses, destroy-ing household appliances.

Over in Eastern Georgia, heavy rainand hailstorms damaged farmland andhouses in some parts of the eastern re-gion of Kakheti on August 21. Kvareliand some of its nearby villages, includ-ing Sanavardo, were among the mostheavily affected areas. Hail damagedcrops, roofs and cars. 1,500-2,000 hect-ares of vineyard were damaged accord-ing to preliminary estimates.

Basements of houses in some of thevillages of Lagodekhi municipality wereflooded and a landslide in Akhametamunicipality damaged a road the sameday. Tourists stranded in Tusheti as a

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As a response to the continued hail,early this year 83 points where selectedby the Georgian authorities in whichofficials installed a revolutionary anti-hail system. These points covered theeight municipalities in Kakheti. How-ever, an anti-hail system is effectivewhen clouds are still forming, and, fac-ing a fully developed storm, they can-

not fully prevent the hail. This week wasanother example of their inefficiency.

The natural disasters in the Georgianregions come after the major flood onJune 13th which hit Georgia’s capitalTbilisi, killing 20 people and leavingup to 40 families without shelter, aswell as destroying several enclosuresat Tbilisi Zoo. Prior to that flood, onJune 7, Kakheti and Shida Kartli re-gions were also affected by severe rainand hail which brought serious damageto vast amounts of agricultural land, de-stroying a number of streets and houseroofs.

sessed the achieved progress of Georgiaon its path to integration in the alliance.The Georgian President, with the NATOdelegation, discussed some regional se-curity issues and Georgia’s occupied ter-ritories, including the ongoing so-calledborderization process by Russia.

The Secretary General paid tribute tothe soldiers fallen for Georgia’s freedomand laid a wreath at the Memorial ofHeroes.

For the main event during the visit,the NATO-Georgia Joint Training andAssessment Center was opened inKrtsanisi on August 27. The SecretaryGeneral also met with the soldiers of thearmed forces who had been trained forNATO’s Rapid Response Forces (RRF).

“NATO Secretary General JensStoltenberg’s visit is a clear demonstra-tion of NATO’s support for Georgia,”Tamar Beruchashvili told media.

The Minister emphasized that thevisit is the continuation of a high-levelpolitical dialogue, which has been in-tensive in recent years.

“The visit is very important and is aclear demonstration of the fact thatGeorgia is a significant part of thealliance’s agenda. It is very importantfor NATO to get familiar with the on-going processes in the region, includ-ing Georgia’s reforms,” Beruchashvilimaintained.

Analysis by Georgia Today’s ZviadAdzinbaia:

This is the first time Jens Stoltenberghas visited Georgia as NATO SecretaryGeneral. The visit and the opening ofthe Training Center are of high impor-tance and reflects support towards Geor-gia. At the same time, Georgia, whichhas successfully implemented an arrayof reforms throughout the past decade,is expecting more than words this timeas the security situation in the region hasworsened due to Russian aggression.

Looking back to the Bucharest Sum-mit of 2008, Georgia, after what RonAsmus called a ‘Diplomatic Shootout’,was promised its eventual membershipin the alliance, a decision which wasfollowed by full-scale Russian militaryaggression in Georgia to destroy theprogress achieved by the country.

In addition, current developments inUkraine have lucidly demonstrated thatif a security umbrella of the west doesnot cover Georgia, she will probably bea dessert cake for Russia. It is widelybelieved that NATO can even be en-larged without granting a MembershipAction Plan (MAP), which is considereda roadmap for the alliance. As Georgiahas implemented diverse packages, in-cluding the Annual National Programs(ANP), it is time for the alliance to makesome tangible and daring decisions.

Will Stoltenberg’s visit change thepicture and prepare Georgia for betternews at the forthcoming NATO WarsawSummit next year?

AUGUST 28 - SEPTEMBER 344444 POLITICS

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

E-mail: info@peoplescafe.ge

By Steven Jones

Georgian Defense Minister TinaKhidasheli, during her visit to the USlast week,claimed that the war in Au-gust 2008 occurred because NATO re-fused to enlarge.

She said the decision of NATO notto expand was perceived by Russia as agreen light to launch military activitiesin Georgia.

“Subsequently, in 2009 the [world]began to forget about all of this andstarted discussions with Russia anew, afresh partnership,” she underlined, add-ing Russia was once again considered apartner. “However, since the Ukrainiandevelopments took place, it is obviousthat no partnership with the Russian sideis possible,” she maintained.

It seems that the first female defenseminister in Georgia, who is sometimescriticized for her diplomatic approachto Russia, calls on NATO to take pal-

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“Georgia was promised eventualmembership at the NATO summit inBucharest in 2008, but did not receivewhat it hoped would be a clear first steptoward membership - a MembershipAction Plan (MAP) - at either ofNATO’s two most recent summits, in2012 in Chicago and 2014 in Wales,”the minister says, adding that this sends“a very wrong message” to Moscow.

In this position, it might be forgottenby the Minister that the GeorgianDream’s Russian appeasement politicsand the government’s obscure messagestowards the alliance and lack of proac-tive politics in this respect, may have hin-dered Georgia in its NATO ambitions.

The Georgian Minister spoke duringher visit to Washington where she metwith U.S. Secretary of Defense AshtonCarter, which was, she claimed, a visit

aimed at “strengthening the partner-ship”’ with the United States and“searching for answers, advice, and sup-port” for Georgia’s NATO path.

She has said previously that Tbilisiwould like to see the NATO Warsawsummit recognize that Georgia has al-ready put in place all of the mechanismsfor cooperation with the alliance that areenvisioned by a MAP, which offers as-sistance and support to countries wish-ing to join the alliance. She has alsocalled for the Warsaw summit to makea “political statement that Georgia haspassed one step and now is on the trackto membership.”

Is the Republican Party preparinggrounds to run an independent campaignin the forthcoming elections of 2016?Since the Free Democrats departurefrom the ruling coalition, the Republi-cans are believed to be the single pro-western team in the GD, even then withsome pro-Russian members.

Tina Khidasheli, Georgian Defense Minister during her visit to the US last week, seenhere with U.S. Secretary of Defense, Ashton Carter.

By Zviad Adzinbaia

NATO Secretary General JensStoltenberg arrived in the Georgian capitalfor a two-day official visit on August 26.

Foreign Minister of Georgia, Tamar

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Beruchashvili, and Head of NATO Li-aison Office, William Lahue, greeted thehigh-ranking official of the Alliance atTbilisi International Airport. It is knownthat Stoltenberg’s visit, besides meetingwith some high governmental officials

and policy makers, was mainly dedi-cated to opening the NATO TrainingCenter at the Krtsanisi Military Base.

Giorgi Margvelashvili, GeorgianPresident hosted Stoltenberg at the Presi-dential Palace. Reportedly, the two as-

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrived in the Georgian capital for a two-day official visit on August 26.

AUGUST 28 - SEPTEMBER 366666 POLITICS

By Zaza Jgharkava

Parallel to the devaluation of the na-tional currency, the government has anew headache. Russia started restoringthe railway near the occupation line inthe occupied Abkhazia. According tothe deputy defense minister of the Rus-sian Federation Dmitry Bulgakov, rail-way works are underway on 33 kilo-meters of track from Sokhumi up to theEnguri River. According toBulgakov’sinformation, 9 kilometers are alreadycompleted. After this statement ofBulgakov, the entire Georgian politicalelite is searching for answers to the fol-lowing questions: why is the Kremlinemptying an already empty pocket and,most importantly, why was the Geor-gian government hiding this informa-tion for almost a month?

The Kremlin’s interest in restoringthe railway infrastructure in the SouthCaucasus is not new. Back in 2013, atthe dawn of the Georgian Dream gov-ernment, the then Prime MinisterBidzina Ivanishvili told a Radio Libertyjournalist in Yerevan that it would bepossible to restore the railway: “It ispossible to restore the railway but of thehindering factors the main are big prob-lems between Russia and Georgia andthe problem of territorial integrity. Thisproblem will probably not be solvedvery quickly but the railway issue canbe solved sooner if there is will from allsides,” Ivanishvili said. President Putinresponded to this statement ofIvanishvili and expressed readiness tosupport the restoration of the Sokhumi-Tbilisi-Yerevan railway route. “We be-lieve that with other partners it is pos-sible to think and in case of commonagreement implement projects such as

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RRRRRailailailailailwwwwwaaaaay is Ry is Ry is Ry is Ry is Restorestorestorestorestoredededededtransit railway transportation to the di-rections of Sokhumi and Tbilisi and thento Yerevan and to Russia. Implementa-tion of such a project will create condi-tions for the development of coopera-tion among all interested parties in theregion,” he said. President Putin madethe decision after signing the coopera-tion document with the de-facto presi-dent of occupied Abkhazia RaulKhajimba. The issue of the railway onthe agenda of the Georgian Dream didnot end there. When the governmentpresented the list of sites for privatiza-tion, the Minister of Economy said withregret that the Georgian Railway was noton the list. “It would be good to put 25%of the Georgian Railway for privatiza-tion. It would largely increase the in-come from privatization. However, atthe same time we should treat the issuecarefully and approach possible ownersof the railway shares selectively,” GiorgiKvirikashvili said without specifying thenames of possible owners.

Concerns of analysts followed thesestatements about the railway on why thegovernment was hiding its restorationfor almost one month. Of the many ver-sions of possible reasons covered by themedia, the main opinion was that Rus-sia has either already convinced theGeorgian government to open theAbkhazian railway or hopes to convincethem in the near future. It is noteworthythat statements on the possible openingof the railway in Abkhazia on the Rus-sian side were made by the deputy For-eign Minister Gregory Karasin duringnegotiations for the purposes of discus-sion but the Georgian side was not ame-nable. A recent topic at the Karasin-Abashidze negotiations was activationof the Georgia-Russia agreement signed

ECONOMICS

Georgian currency depreciated by arecord 1.3%, falling to 2.40 against theUS Dollar this week.

On Monday, the National Bank ofGeorgia (NBG) set the biggest single-day drop rate since March 2015; and byTuesday, August 25, exchange kiosks inthe country were selling the US dollarfor about 2.44 GEL. The same day, com-mercial banks in Georgia sold the USdollar for about 2.44 – 2.48 GEL

“Naturally, ongoing geopoliticalproblems influence Georgia,” saidArchil Mestvirishvili, NBG Vice Presi-dent. “The main factor is negative ex-pectations concerning the GEL depre-ciation in autumn.”

“Economic shocks and expectationshave already influenced the nationalcurrency and the monetary incomes thatimpact the GEL have already been re-flected in imports dynamics. We do notexpect any additional fluctuations in theGEL exchange rate,” he added.

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Economic Minister Giorgi Kvirika-shvili said on Tuesday at a Governmentmeeting that Georgia’s macro-economicparameters showed external shocks thathave put pressure on the currency. Thisincluded the falling of Georgia’s exter-nal earnings from remittances and exportswhich have already been “completelyoffset,” along with declining imports.Minister Kvirikashvili further continuedthat this record single-day drop was aresult of “speculative transactions” and“stirring” among market participants.

Following the remarks of theEconomy Minister, Georgian PrimeMinister Irakli Garibashvili said: “Wecan conclude that we are facing obvi-ous speculation and stir; that’s an emo-tional-psychological factor.”

The PM went on to ask businessmenand the general population to disregardthe stir caused by media and experts, andto take into consideration only the in-formation the government provides.

By Karen Tovmasyan

Residents of Armenia are expectinganother currency crisis in the hours fol-lowing signs of position loss of the Ar-menian Dram (AMD) which yesterdaystood at 1$ to 479 AMD and today standsat $1 to 489 AMD.

The fall in the rate of the AMD cameas no great surprise for economic circlesin Armenia; just days ago Bloombergnamed the Armenian Dram one of the10 riskiest currencies in the world whichcan be expected to lose position as a re-sult of global developments.

Many citizens began to sell their lastdrams trying to buy US dollars yet manyexchange points have begun turningpeople away, claiming there are no dol-lars left to sell.

Armenia’s former prime-minister,MP Hrant Bagratian (1993-1996),strongly criticized the government forthe current condition of the AMD, stat-ing tha:t “Instead of gradually shiftingthe free market exchange rate, we havea fixed rate which is crashing in just 1-2years- all because the managers of ourCentral Bank are acting only with a‘butcher’s knife and axe,’ having noother tools available to them.”

The last collapse the Armenian Dramexperienced took place in December2014, when the Armenian currency lost15% of its value.

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Russia is restoring the railway track near the occupation line in Abkhazia. Photo from www.observer.com.ge

in 2011, which considered putting Swisscustoms officers on the Georgia-Russiaborder (at thePsou River). It is not ruledout that Russia will attempt to link therestoration of the railway in Abkhaziawith this agreement. Interestingly, in thepolemics in the press, the governmentreacted with enthusiasm, starting withthe Defense Minister and finishing withthe Probation Minister, everyone tried

to guess what Russia had in mind butno minister managed to give answers tothe main question – why was the gov-ernment hiding the railway restoration?

The most interesting aspect in thisrailway saga is that information hasspread already that Azerbaijan has al-ready transferred money to the Swisscompany Stadler Rail Group to buy 30passenger carriages of international stan-

dards. These carriages will move on theBaku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which ac-cording to vesti.az, should be launchedat the beginning of next year, i.e. in afew months, after the Russian railwaytroops finish railway works in the occu-pied Abkhazia in December. Therefore,it is easy to guess why the Kremlin istrying to restore the railway and whatalternative it is offering to Tbilisi.

Armenian man and boy beside an exchange rate board. Photo by: PhotoIur onwww.rferl.org.

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By David Ninikelashvili

Fixed income research is one of thekey directions of Galt & Taggart Research.We currently provide coverage of Geor-gian Oil and Gas Corporation and Geor-gian Railway, two state-owned entitieswith Eurobonds listed on the LondonStock Exchange in the amount of US$250mn and US$ 500mn, respectively. Inthis article, we provide an overview ofthe Georgian Oil and Gas Corporationand its key role in ensuring energy secu-rity of Georgia, as well as a brief outlineof the sector.

Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation(GOGC) is a state-owned company (un-der the Partnership Fund) committed toensuring the energy security of Georgia.GOGC holds the legal status of a Nation-al Oil Company (NOC) and representsthe state’s interests in upstream crude oiland natural gas projects in Georgia.GOGC was established to consolidateGeorgia’s energy assets under singlemanagement. The company has five coreactivities:

· Ensuring long-term and sustainabledevelopment of the wholesale natural gasmarket;

· Managing the preparation, storage,transportation and sale of the state shareof natural gas and oil;

· Commissioning, constructing, reha-bilitating and replacing oil and gas pipe-lines on the Georgian territory;

· Implementing the projects aimed attransporting oil and gas from the Caspianand other regions via trunk pipelines onthe Georgian territory;

· Participating in and implementingnational and international projects aimedat exploration, transportation and sup-ply of energy resources.

Georgia’s auspicious strategic locationmakes it a transport corridor for naturalgas and crude oil supplies to Europeanmarkets. The transport corridor throughGeorgia allows the EU to diversify itssupply, increasing energy security. Inaddition, Georgia is the only route for thetransportation of Russian natural gas toArmenia. Georgia’s favorable location hasprompted significant investments into itsoil and gas sector. To that end, GOGCrepresents the state in international ener-gy transit projects. Georgia’s main natu-ral gas pipelines are:

· Main Gas Pipeline System (MGPS)that stretches across the country and iscomprised of:

· North-South Gas Pipeline(NSGP), extending 235km andtransporting gas from Russia toArmenia;· East-West Gas Pipeline (EWGP);· Southern branch;· Kakheti branch;

AUGUST 28 - SEPTEMBER 388888 ECONOMY

The Galt & Taggart Research team comprises Georgian and Azerbaijani finance and economic experts who have broad experience of covering the macro and corporate sectors of the twocountries. Our current product offering includes Georgian and Azerbaijan macroeconomic research, Georgian sector research, and fixed income corporate research.

For free access to Galt & Taggart Research, please visit gtresearch.ge or contact us at gt@gt.ge.

GOGC - Ensuring Energy

Security of Georgia

· South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) thatstretches 692km (249km in Georgia) andtransports natural gas from Azerbaijan toTurkey through Georgia and from Tur-key further to the EU. The Southern GasCorridor project, aimed at improving thesecurity and diversity of EU energy sup-ply, will bring additional volumes of nat-ural gas from the Caspian region to Eu-rope. It is comprised of several separateenergy projects, including the expansionof the SCP pipeline, which should bringadditional volumes to GOGC as the pipe-line capacity is poised to triple by 2021.As of end-1Q15, the SCP expansionproject was 31.0% completed and aheadof schedule.

Georgia’s main oil pipelines are:· Western Route Export Pipeline

(WREP) that stretches 833km (375km inGeorgia) and transits crude oil from Azer-baijan to the Black Sea coast (Supsa) foronward shipping to global markets;

· Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline(BTCP) that stretches 1,768km long(249km in Georgia) and transits crude oilfrom Azerbaijan to Turkey on the Med-iterranean Sea.

GOGC has long-term contracts withthe operators of SCP and NSGP pipe-lines, through which the company receivesgas at a favorable price and as an in-kindpayment, respectively. GOGC also hasa new contract with SOCAR for addi-tional gas volumes at below-market pric-es. In 2014, GOGC imported 55.8% of

Georgian national gas consumption (theremaining 44.2% was imported by SO-CAR directly). The imported gas is thensold to the wholesaler, SOCAR Gas Ex-port Import, which resells the gas to dis-tribution companies. GOGC’s natural gasimport and its further wholesale distri-bution is mainly aimed at supplying thehousehold and power generation sectors,while the commercial sector is mostlysupplied by SOCAR directly. Apart fromthe sale of gas and pipeline rental activi-ties, GOGC also engages in upstreamactivities pursuant to its NOC status, inaddition to receiving fees for the oil trans-ported through the WREP pipeline.

Through 2011-14, GOGC’s revenuegrew by a remarkable 12.5% CAGR. Thegrowth has been driven by sale of gas andpipeline rental activities, accounting for75.4% and 14.2% of the top line in FY14,respectively. In general, GOGC postedpromising FY14 results, given the highregional uncertainty in 2014, especiallyin the oil and gas sector. In addition, a14.3% y/y surge in national natural gasconsumption last year suggests furtherupside potential for the company. More-over, Gardabani CCPP is poised to startoperations in late 2015 and boost profit-ability from the sale of electricity.

To facilitate Georgia’s energy securi-ty while diversifying the company’s rev-enue sources, GOGC initiated a majorcapital project in 2012, the GardabaniCombined Cycle Power Plant (CCPP).

To finance the US$ 230mn project,GOGC placed a US$ 250mn, 5-year Eu-robond on the London Stock Exchange.With a sizable 230MW installed capaci-ty, Gardabani CCPP is the first powerplant of its kind in the country. Garda-bani CCPP has the reserve capacity tosupply the country’s energy grid in 25 to30 minutes in case of a power failure.Construction of the plant began in early2013 and was completed ahead of sched-ule. The power plant is expected to com-mence operations in late 2015, providinga profitable revenue stream for GOGCand ensuring energy security for Georgia.The government of Georgia, in line withits privatization plan, is considering the

sale of Gardabani CCPP. A final decisionregarding the sale is expected by the endof November 2015.

Two new major capital projects arein the pipeline for GOGC. The first oneis building an underground gas storagereservoir in Samgori. It would be a stra-tegically important gas storage facilityfor Georgia, increasing energy securityby ensuring gas supply in critical situa-tions and by mitigating the seasonal im-balance between supply and demand.The storage capacity would be 230-250mmcm, about 10-15% of current annualconsumption. Notably, Georgia is cur-rently the only country in the region withno gas storage. A feasibility study shouldbe completed by early 2016. If a deci-sion is made to proceed with the project,the construction would commence in2016 with expected completion in 2019.The estimated project cost is aroundUS$ 250mn.

GOGC is also considering building anew combined cycle power plant, Gard-abani CCPP II, with similar technicalcharacteristics and in proximity to Gard-abani CCPP. Given the experience gainedin building Gardabani CCPP, which wascompleted ahead of schedule, GOGC islikely to benefit from significant savingson the construction of Gardabani CCPPII. The final decision will largely dependon whether Gardabani CCPP is sold.

GOGC’s mid-term outlook lookspromising on the back of a profitable gassupply business, stable income streamfrom oil and gas transportation activities,and an attractive opportunity to enterthe electricity generation segment. Mi-nor capex requirements for projects inprocess, an experienced managementteam, and limited FX rate exposure fur-ther support our optimistic outlook.Keeping in mind the company’s trackrecord, we expect GOGC to build on itssuccesses in its crucial role in the oil andgas sector at both national and regionallevels.

ing something like that. For a technology company in2015, there is always a shortage of engineers. If wefind them in Georgia, no one’s happier than me.”

According to Bengtsson, Georgia’s domesticmarket is made all the more attractive by a regula-tory regime which is robust, fair and commerciallyviable even by the standards of many EU membercounties: “If you look at France, for example, ithas a regulation which is completely not viablecommercially and not particularly fair. It’s purelyrigged to protect the local monopoly, so in that sense

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By Joseph Alexander Smith

Stockholm-based Betsson AB has acquired Geor-gia’s second-largest gaming company Europe-Bet ina deal worth up to $85 million. The purchase givesBetsson a 30% share of Georgia’s local gaming mar-ket and further strengthens the company’s ongoingexpansion into Eastern Europe.

Speaking to the press on his first visit to Georgiasince the deal was struck in June, CEO of Betsson Malta,Ulrik Bengtsson spoke of the “island of stability” of-fered by Georgia in a sometimes volatile region whichmade expansion into the country so attractive.

“This [acquisition] fits quite well with our portfo-lio of brands, and our acquisitions strategy, becauseit’s in a region which we know” says Bengtsson. “Wehave a big office in Kiev, where we operate softwaredevelopment and we have one of our business-to-busi-ness partners that runs a business in Turkey. [Anoth-er] reason why it made sense is that Georgia actuallyhas a very robust, predictable, fair and commerciallyviable license regime which we really liked.”

Since its formation by a group of private entre-preneurs in 2010, Europe-Bet has established itselfas a leading brand in Georgia’s gaming market, clip-ping at the heels of market-leader Adjarabet. Like

Betsson Acquires Europe-Bet in $85 million Dealmost gaming companies, Europe-Bet does most ofits business online, offering customers a range ofgaming experiences from online poker and back-gammon to live casino gaming.

In 2014, Europe-Bet’s revenues amounted to$52.4 million, with online operations accounting for$40.8 million, and the remainder coming from land-based business. The company’s EBIT margin was38.1% and the company has managed to achievesolid double-digit growth in the few last years.

Betsson’s acquisition of Europe-Bet brings a com-pany with 50 years’ experience in the gaming indus-try into the Georgian market. The company has beeninvesting heavily in software development, counting400 developers and software engineers within itsgroup. Bengtsson is optimistic that expansion intoGeorgia can signal a step forward in sharpening itscompetitive edge in online customer experience.

“There are opportunities for us to over time movesome of our central development to Georgia as well.However this requires a good talent pool of engineers”– Bengtsson explains – “if we think that the environ-ment is good enough for us to do that, both in terms ofthe regulation for our existing business, but also in termsof having good cooperation with universities and theeducation system to provide the talent we need for build-

Georgia is actually quite advanced.”The stability of Georgia’s regulatory regime is a key

factor in Betsson’s decision to expand into a new mar-ket. Europe-Bet was purchased from shareholders foran initial consideration of $50 million, with a further $35payable after one year should Georgia’s gambling regu-lation remain unchanged. Meeting with government rep-resentatives during his time in Tbilisi, however, Bengts-son is confident that the Georgian government is com-mitted to keeping the country open for business.

Given the success of Europe-Bet over the last fewyears, Betsson is also keen to keep majority of thecurrent management in place, “We intend to keepthe business here” says Bengtsson, “and we don’twant to move a lot of things outside of Georgia, wewant to keep the Georgian business and the 750 peo-ple that are employed here.”

Betsson’s other key priority will be the contin-ued growth of Europe-Bet and the continued im-provement of customer experience: “We’re a growthcompany” Bengtsson explains, “and we expect thisbrand to grow at least at the same pace as the rest ofBetsson, if not more. We’re going to do that by con-tinuing to improve the product and customer experi-ence and to launch more features for the sites to im-prove the customer journey.”

Georgian wine has become a popular luxury good forChinese consumers.

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Green Budapest:

Ready for You to Select

the Final Touches

By Meri Taliashvili

Residential Complex GreenBudapest construction issteaming ahead at top quality.The construction of the frameof the building has been com-pleted and the internal repairwork and façade coverings hasbegun.

Maqro, the company behindthe construction, is inviting itscustomers to help complete theproject on time in August byasking them to choose the col-or of their decorative materialsand furnishings (floors, walls,tiles and kitchen furniture).

The Company has been ableensure client satisfaction onceagain thanks to the effort andhard work of its employees. In

an unprecedentedly short peri-od of time, four months aheadof schedule to be exact, theywill be delivering completedrenovated apartments. Thismeans that in May 2016, in-stead of the planned September2016, clients will already beable to use all the services andenjoy the comfort they werepromised by the company,namely, renovated apartmentsin a 11, 700 sq. m Euro-stan-dard isolated residential com-plex consisting of four build-ings of 15, 17, 22 and 23 floors.

All apartments will be de-livered with a full bathroomset, kitchen furniture and built-in appliances.The complex issurrounded by 3,500 squaremeters of green, well-equip-

ped, protected and isolatedyard with a basketball court,treadmill, skateboard ramp andchildren’s playgrounds. Theresidential complex will furtherbe equipped with a child carecenter and fitness room. Be-sides this, residents will enjoytheir own parking spaces. Thehousing is provided with pro-tection and security systems,water tanks and electrical gen-erators.

Maqro’s management is of-fering its residents free servic-es throughout an entire yearthat include residential areaprotection, cleaning, green areacare-protection and use of thefitness center.

What’s more, even thoughconstruction will be completed

earlier than originally planned,the Company’s managementwill still allow those clientstaking advantage of the inter-nal credit system to cover theirloan according to the plannedchart in September 2016.

These and many other pleas-ant surprises are given to cus-tomers by international compa-ny Macro Construction, whosemain priority is to create highquality and maximum comfortfor residents of its complexes.The proof of the pudding cannow be seen in residential com-plex “Green Budapest”- unprec-edented in Georgia in terms ofconstruction pace, quality, safe-ty, and environment, as well asin its consideration of residenthealth.

By Baia Dzagnidze

Aiming to increase awareness amongthe young generation of environmental is-sues, in particular on sustainable wastemanagement topics, the Waste Manage-ment Technologies in the Regions(WMTR) Program has started its secondseason of eco-camps for Adjara and Ka-kheti school students. A total of 70 students,winners ofWaste to Craft competitions,participated in 10-day eco-camps held inCENN Bulachauri Green Center between-July 29 and August 27.

The WMTR Program, implemented bythe International City/Country Manage-ment Association (ICMA) and the Cauca-sus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)and financed by the USAgency for Inter-national Development (USAID), assistscentral and local governments, local busi-nesses, communities and municipalities indeveloping integrated waste managementsystems for its targeted regions - Kakhetiand Adjara.

In order to create interest, the programwas designed with a very attractive, diverseand interactive agenda full of information-al lectures, team building exercises, craft-ing and a hiking trip to various parts ofGeorgia. Before going on the hike, studentswere informed of safety measures duringcamping and traveling in the outdoors, andwere also taught how to put up a tent.

By Joseph Larsen

Georgia has been an economic bridgebetween East and West for thousands ofyears. The country was a key section inthe “Silk Road,” by which exotic goodsfrom China like silk and spices stoppedoff on their way to Europe. Now, Geor-gia’s political and business leaders areworking to revive that historic relation-ship.

China is currently Georgia’s fourth-largest trading partner and third-largestsource of foreign direct investment. Bi-lateral trade reached USD 823 million andChinese companies invested USD 195million in 2014. In June of this year Geor-gia became a founding member of theChinese-led Asian Infrastructure Invest-ment Bank. The EUR 500 billion fund willfunnel investment capital into developingeconomies, including Georgia. Last monthPrime Minister Irakli Garibashvili de-clared “Georgia is not just looking West”while touting the importance of strength-ening trade and investment ties with Chi-na. According to the Tbilisi-based consul-tancy Policy and Management Consult-ing Group (PMCG), a closer relationshipwould benefit both countries.

The “Joint Feasibility Study on Chi-na-Georgia Possible Free Trade Agree-ment” by the PMCG projects that aGeorgia-China free trade agreementwould boost Georgia’s annual exportsto China by 9 percent, and China’s by1.7 percent. The study was produced incollaboration with the University of In-ternational Business and Economics, theMinistry of Economy and SustainableDevelopment of Georgia and the Min-istry of Economy of China, and findsthat a free trade deal would increase bi-lateral trade in goods as well as fostertrade in services and foreign direct in-vestment.

Such an agreement would work byreducing or eliminating tariffs and oth-er barriers to trade between the twocountries. “Georgia’s foreign trade pol-icy is already one of the most liberal-ized in the world, so no important chang-es are expected in this regard,” Lasha

AUGUST 28 - SEPTEMBER 3 1313131313BUSINESS

ProCredit Bank continues to offerits customers exciting developmentsand innovative services. On Friday, 21August at 12:00pm, a press conferencewas held at the Freedom Square Branchof ProCredit Bank to present the new24/7 Zones to the press. General Di-rector Asmus Rotne and the membersof management discussed the 24/7Zone concept, the high-tech machinesavailable at these locations, and theiradvantages. Currently, the bank is ac-tively setting up 24/7 Zones with state-of-the-art equipment in order to provideits customers with the maximum con-venience and to make financial servic-es available around the clock. AsmusRotne, General Director of ProCreditBank:“Currently, the introduction of24-hour services is actively being car-ried out throughout the banking sector.However, ProCredit Bank offered thefirst self-service area to its customersa few years ago. Our clients expressedinterest in having access to bankingservices around the clock. This has en-couraged us to further improve our 24/7 Zones. We have been working on theconvenience and design of the 24/7Zones and it has ended up being a hugeproject which has completely changedthe look of our Service Centres. Themain section of each Branch has be-come a modern 24/7 Zone equippedwith innovative devices that meet theneeds of our business and private cli-ents.” To make banking services moreflexible and faster for both business andprivate clients, ProCredit is installingmultifunctional devices at the 24/7Zones, where its customers can perform80-90% of their transactions (such ascash deposits/cash withdrawals, pay-ments, transfers, etc.) at theirconvenience.For the first time in Geor-gia, clients of ProCredit Bank have theexclusive opportunity not only to with-draw money from ATMs, but also todeposit cash into their accounts, withthe new Cash-in ATMs. One of the

ProCredit Bank Introduces

Modern 24/7 Zones

main advantages of this new equip-ment is speed: clients do not need toplace notes in the ATM one by one, asthe Cash-in ATM can process up to 50notes at a time. In addition, the amountdeposited is credited immediately tothe account.Furthermore, ProCreditDrop-Boxes have been placed in 24/7Zones. This service is designed forbusiness clients and enables them todeposit large amounts of money intotheir accounts. The amount depositedusing the ProCredit Bank Drop-Box iscredited to the client’s account withinseconds, making this service unique.It is important for ProCredit Bank thatclients using 24/7 Zones can accessbanking services easily and indepen-dently. Therefore, another device - anInformation Terminal - has been placedin 24/7 Zones. Besides conductingbanking transactions, clients can que-ry the locations of all ProCredit BankBranches and ATMs, receive informa-tion about the bank’s fees, and use In-ternet Banking. Clients can also con-tact the Call Center using this device.In addition to being convenient andmulti-functional, the 24/7 Zones aredesigned to provide clients with max-imum comfort, so that they almost feel“at home”.

Study Finds Huge Benefits

in Georgia-China Free Trade

Chochua, an economist at PMCG andauthor of the study, told Georgia Today.Georgia’s 1.5 percent average Most Fa-vored Nation tariff (the tariff rate appliedto goods from WTO members it doesn’thave preferential trade agreements with)is significantly lower than China’s av-erage rate of 9.8 percent. Georgian pro-ducers are looking forward to accessinga 1.3 billion-person economy with am-ple room for tariff reduction. Accordingto Chochua, a free trade agreement “willcrucially decrease trade barriers forGeorgian products to China.”

Georgia’s biggest winners would beproducers of wine and non-alcoholicbeverages. The study projects annualexport increases of 28.5 percent and 36.7percent in each respective sector. Theseproducts have become popular withChina’s growing consumer class, but theexisting 21.33 percent tariff on winecurrently limits Georgia’s share of themarket. The study also predicts a 4 per-cent gain for copper scrap, which is cur-rently Georgia’s single-largest export toChina. Exports topped USD 25 millionin 2014.

Chinese producers also stand to ben-efit albeit on a smaller scale. Currentlythe main Chinese products imported inGeorgia are electronics, steel and shoes.These industries would see modestgains, and the study projects an increaseof USD 1.37 million in the import ofdoors and door frames. China’s agricul-ture sector is also expected to benefit,with frozen meats and dried vegetables

being of particular note.The Joint Feasibility Study emphasiz-

es that a free trade deal would cover muchmore than goods, however. It finds that anagreement would also facilitate trade inservices and FDI, the latter being of par-ticular importance to Georgia. An agree-ment could streamline regulations in ser-vices and project financing, making it eas-ier to do business across borders.

Twenty-five Chinese companies cur-rently operate in Georgia, and China-Georgia FDI rose by 117 percent from2013 to 2014 to account for more than15 percent of the USD 1.273 billion to-tal. Chinese company Hualing Group iscurrently developing a USD 40 millionfree industrial zone in Kutaisi, and state-run PowerChina is a leading bidder forthe Anaklia Deep Water Black Sea PortProject. The port will handle 40 milliontons of cargo per year, including largeamounts of Chinese goods bound forEuropean shores.

Negotiations have yet to begin on aGeorgia-China free trade agreement.However, the PMCG study makes clearthat a deal would benefit both countriesand serve as a catalyst for Georgia’s con-tinued economic growth. According toChochua, free trade with China is yetanother reason to be optimistic aboutGeorgia’s future: “Free access to one ofthe world’s largest and fastest growingeconomy [sic] together with the FTAwith EU … All these together create sta-ble potential long-run economic devel-opment for Georgia.”

ADB Extends $20 MILLION to

Protect Vulnurable Batumi Coastlinetumi coastline where erosion threatensbeachfront, roadways, bicycle lanesand buildings.

“The project will support tourismand benefit urban residents and the lo-cal economy,” said Bertrand Goalou,Urban Development Specialist inADB’s Central and West Asia Depart-ment.

“This investment, financed fromADB’s commercial resources, comple-ments ADB’s substantial support toGeorgia for water supply and sanita-tion, road and energy infrastructure,”says Kathie Julian, ADB’s Georgia-based Country Director.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicatedto reducing poverty in Asia and the Pa-cific through inclusive economicgrowth, environmentally sustainablegrowth and regional integration. Estab-lished in 1966, it is owned by 67 mem-bers – 48 from the region. ADB has sup-ported Georgia since 2007. As of 2014,ADB assistance to Georgia totaled morethan $1.6 billion, including approvedloans and technical assistance grants.

Batumi. Photo from: bestandfirst-ge.com

The Asian Development Bank(ADB) has approved a $20 million loanto stem coastal erosion around the pop-ular Black Sea tourist destination ofBatumi.

Batumi, the capital of the Autono-mous Republic of Adjara, with a pop-ulation of more than 150,000, is oneof the fastest developing cities alongthe Black Sea coast and plays a signif-icant role in the country’s economy andtourism sector. This coastal area at-tracts visitors from throughout Geor-gia and neighboring countries.

“This investment will help haltcoastal erosion at one of the country’smost popular summer seaside resortareas,” said Anand Chiplunkar, Direc-tor of the Urban Development andWater Division of ADB’s Central andWest Asia Department.

This loan, the fourth under a $300million Sustainable Urban TransportInvestment Program, a multitranche fi-nancing facility approved by ADB in2010, is earmarked for coastal protec-tion works along the 5 kilometer Ba-

WMTR Program Launches

Second Season of Eco-Camps

The camp included lectures on Geor-gia’s waste management strategy and leg-islation, landfill management, environ-mental education on mineral recourses,climate change, composting, civil societyand the importance of self-governance inschools. According to the evaluationforms, students indicated that composting,waste management, climate change, en-ergy efficiency and the Aarhus Conven-tion were the most memorable and inter-esting topics.

Additionally, students unanimously stat-ed that the team building exercises hadbeenvery exciting and life changing, while theknowledge and experience acquired willgive them the opportunity to share the in-formation withtheir peers. Giorgi Orko-dashvili from Kakheti stated that the entire10 days were quite significant, especiallythe games designed to educate youth.

During the first hiking trip to Khada

Valley, students looked for pieces of waste,collected themand later oncreated short sto-ries about their livesinto the wild. The mostinteresting and unique stories were votedfor and five authors were asked to write aplay, while the second group crafted pup-pets and the third staged a play.

“The most memorable thing for mewould be the smiley faces of those 24 stu-dents,” noted Lela Sharadze from Adjaraadding that the camp was very differentfrom those which she hadattendedbefore,especially in terms of gaining knowl-edge via a new method – games. “General-ly, I thought I was helping the environmentwith small steps, however after listening tothe experts I was embarrassed of my litter-ing habits, like throwing chewing gum onthe ground for instance. The camp moti-vated me enough to share my knowledgeand plan some activities in Batumi when Iget back,” she continued.

Waste Management Code in January2015 Georgia still does not have a uni-fied strategy and an actionplan.Consistent with the AA require-ments, both sides should promote long-term goals for “green” economic devel-opment. Article 302 of the EU require-ments states that Georgia should advanceair and water quality, develop waste man-agement, nature protection, industrial airpollution and chemicals management atan international level.

The EU’s 2005 Waste FrameworkDirective perceives waste as a resource,while its concept and principle is basedon waste management hierarchy (WMH),where waste prevention is prioritized.Following thisarereuse, recycling, recov-ery and disposal. With this principle, theEU intends to recycle 50% of municipalwaste and 70% of construction waste by2020. Moreover, the directive obligesmember states to promote high qualityrecycling and introduce separate collec-tion systems at leastfor paper, metal, plas-tic and glass.

In order to implement the principle ofWMH, European countries have differ-ent regulatory and incentivized policies.For example, the landfill is taxed by thepublic authority according to the weightor volume of the waste and the fee is paidby the service provider. Such actions con-sequently reduce the amount of waste onlandfills as the tax varies from 3 Eurosper ton (Bulgaria) to 107 Euros (Nether-lands). Part of the tax revenues are usedfor waste reduction and other environ-mental actions.

Moreover, the manufacturer who in-troduces the product to the market isobliged to pay for waste collection and

AUGUST 28 - SEPTEMBER 3 1515151515SOCIETY

By Baia Dzagnidze

Prepared by USAID’s Waste Manage-ment Technologies in the Regions Pro-gram

The intense growth of the populationacross the world is directly linked to theamount of waste we produce, whichnegatively impacts on the environmentand human health via emissions in theair, land and water. Consequently, a fewdecades ago waste management and itsreduction became a world priority.However,this trend in Georgia is beingembraced quite slowly, while Europe hasestablished the view that waste is a po-tential source of raw materials and en-ergy and recycling would bring signifi-cant social and economic benefits to thecountry.

According to the Ministry of Environ-ment Protection and Natural Resource’sNational Report on State of Environment,as of last year there are around 60 land-fills officially registered in Georgia cov-ering 203 hectares of the country’s terri-tory most of which do not comply withinternational standards, nor do they in-clude separation or waste-based energyproduction. Additionally, there are hun-dreds of unofficial dumpsites in ruralGeorgia where municipal waste servicesare inadequate or nonexistent creatinghealth and environmental problems forlocal inhabitants.

After signing the EU AssociationAgreement, Georgia is required to imple-ment a number of environmental activi-ties including the development of thewaste management sector. Despite thefact that the country has adopted a new

GeorGeorGeorGeorGeorgia Implements gia Implements gia Implements gia Implements gia Implements WWWWWaste Manaaste Manaaste Manaaste Manaaste Managggggementementementementement

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its recycling fee. According to EU esti-mation, this forces the manufacturer totake into consideration the product’s en-tire life cycle.

Besides, separate waste collection sys-tems are widely used by EU countrieswhich helps to make the highest qualitymaterials and maximize theirvalue. In ad-dition, containers are put inretail shopswhere the citizens get some kind of reim-bursement when bringingcertain types ofwaste. For example, the inhabitants of thecity of Forli (Italy) get public transporttickets or stationery items when deliver-ing waste to the containers. The EU direc-tive also includes the “polluter pays” prin-ciple – whereby the waste managementcosts are paid by the waste generator.

Despite the fact that EU memberstates are at varying stages in waste man-agement systems, the tendency to im-

prove its waste management is still no-ticeable. Today, Europeis aimed towardscreating a “circular economy” where re-using and recycling is a norm, while theword “waste” is outdated. This systemallows for economic changeso that it ben-efits the environment and improves thequality of life.

The situation in Georgia is quite com-plex, but with the help of various NGOs,donors and the state, the country is onthe right direction in terms of implement-ing a waste management system. TheWaste Management Technologies in theRegions (WMTR)Program implementedby International City/Country Manage-ment Association (ICMA) and theCaucasus Environmental NGO Network(CENN) andfinanced by the USAgencyfor International Development (USAID),assists central and local governments,

local businesses, communities and mu-nicipalities in developing integratedwaste management systems for Kakhetiand Adjara.

The new Code, which was createdbased on the examples of Germany, Aus-tria and Bulgaria,is structured around rel-evant issues and touches upon dangerousand harmless waste collection, transpor-tation, recovery and disposal issues, aswell as obligations on waste managementplanning, accounting, issuance of per-mits, registrations and control issues.

In line with the requirements of theCode, the government should develop anational waste management strategy,which should define the policies andgoals of waste management for the next15 years. Additionally, each municipal-ity should have its own 5-year plan formunicipal waste management, whilethose companies, who annually producemore than 200 tons of non-hazardouswaste or 1,000 tons of inert waste or anyamount of hazardous waste annually, areobliged to develop a waste managementplan which will be revised every 3 years.

According to the Code, Georgiashould have the same waste managementhierarchy as the EU and involve severalprinciples such as precautionary, “pol-luter pays”, “proximity principle” and“self-sufficiency principle.”The bill alsoobliges the waste producer and owner toprocess waste himself or to transfer it toa special agencies dealing withcollection,transportation and recycling. Addition-ally, the law bans waste burning outsideofa licensed incinerator.

It must be noted that the billdoes notintroduce new fees but brings in admin-istrative penalties.

AUGUST 28 - SEPTEMBER 3 1717171717CULTURE

By Joseph Larsen

The literary critic Franco Morettidefines prose by “the rule of order overmood, of the permanent over the mo-mentary, of quiet work over genius fedby sensation.” Poetry, by contrast, is aprimal method of expression thatdances around us with flowery flour-ishes and metaphors. Prose is direct andto the point – it derives from the latinroot prosa orati (“direct speech”). If thepurpose of poetry is to make us feel,the purpose of prose is to make us think.

What if a work of fiction could doboth? Fill our brains and feed our heartsat the same time? Vano and Niko is ex-actly such a work. A novel by Georgianauthor Erlom Akhvlediani, this collec-tion of short parables blurs the bound-ary between poetry and prose.

Akhvlediani is a follower of GeorgeOrwell’s rule: “if it is possible to cut aword out, always cut it out.” Vano andNiko features little character develop-ment, has no long descriptive paragraphsand is nearly free of adjectives.Akhvlediani has discovered that, in lit-erature as well as in life, actions speaklouder than words.

This book certainly isn’t light read-ing, however. Nothing is handed to thereader. Everything must be understood.Some readers will find this book diffi-cult. Translator Mikheil Kakabadze, an-ticipating that, asks readers to take aunique approach: “I would like to askthe reader, when he or she comes acrosssomething apparently incomprehensiblein these stories, instead of trying to digtoo deeply for meaning, to think in im-ages.”

Each chapter of this book is a par-able in its own right. Vano and Niko –

Book RBook RBook RBook RBook Reeeeevievievievieview:w:w:w:w: VVVVVano and Nikano and Nikano and Nikano and Nikano and Nikooooo

polar opposites and the story’s only re-curring characters – interact to reveal lifelessons or universal truisms. Vano isgentle, kind and deferential. Niko is se-vere, selfish and quick to anger. In onememorable parable, “Stupid Vano andClever Niko,” the contrast between thesecharacters is expressed in particularlybeautiful language. “Vano loved. Vanoloved and cried,” the story reads. “Vanocried and laughed. Vano laughed andwas still stupid.” And what of Niko?“Niko wasn’t stupid, since he did notlove.”

It took a special author to producethis unique work. Akhvlediani was bornin Georgia in 1933 and enjoyed a careeras one of Georgia’s most cherished au-thors and screenwriters. He wrote 18screenplays between 1962 and 1999.

Vano and Niko was written during the1950s and, due to its deep subject mat-ter, has occasionally featured in univer-sity philosophy curriculums.

Akhvlediani’s purpose in writing thisnovel is to teach us about ourselves.Vano and Niko represent the innerstruggle for self identification that per-sists within each of us. Their relation-ship is constantly shifting; Vano isn’talways good and Niko isn’t always bad,and sometimes those labels mean noth-ing at all. But the story is a tug-of-warbetween our gentle, romantic self andour baser self, and in the end,Akhvlediani makes his choice.

The two characters switch roles in thenovel’s final chapter, “Vano and Nikoand Niko and Vano.” Niko becomesVano, who was “a good person and al-ways did good things to others.” Thenow-transformed character is treatingpeople with kindness for the first timeand realizes that he has become who hewants to be, Vano. Vano becomes Niko,who was “an evil person and did evilthings to others.” He decides that evildoesn’t suit him and desires to go backto being Vano. Ultimately, both charac-ters are Vano, and the reader is left witha world in which people are good anddo good things to others.

This is Akhvlediani’s attempt at in-structing the reader, showing that whilea Jekyll and Hyde struggle goes on in-side each of us, we have control overwhich comes out the winner. The storyindeed has a message. But it’s more im-portant for that message to be felt thanto be understood.

(Note: Vano and Niko was first pub-lished in English in 2014 by DalkeyArchive and was translated by MikheilKakabadze)

Written during the 1950s, Vano and Nikois a masterpiece of literary fiction. By Meri Taliashvili

Within the project “Save Vardzia”strengthening and conservation of themost damaged areas of the complex hasstarted. The diagnostic work of the an-cient wall painting has come to its finalstage and upon its completion at the endof this year the government will havean analysis of the state of Vardzia’s old-est paintings as well as full documenta-tion to assist in research and accuratemethods of conservation.

In order to preserve the cave com-plex, works are going on simultaneouslyin several directions: surveying thewalls, rock reinforcement and conser-vation, studying the monument’s archae-ology, wall painting diagnosis, and tour-ism infrastructure amenity analysis.

During the continuing archeologicalstudies, two unprecedented large-size

Mikheil Giorgadze, Minister of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia, held ameeting with Vardzia rock art and research project donor foundation, Jacksonrepresentatives Pitt Brown and Amanda Taylor, and Vardzia wall art protect programhead, David Park.

SaSaSaSaSaving ving ving ving ving VVVVVararararardzia:dzia:dzia:dzia:dzia:

WWWWWorororororks On-Goingks On-Goingks On-Goingks On-Goingks On-Going

new tiers were discovered and 10 cav-erns within. In the ancient residential andagricultural facilities there are remainsof a bakery, storage areas and pitcherswhere a dozen centuries ago, wine andgrain were stored, glazed and unglazedceramic utensils - bowls, pots, and ironspearheads dated to the XIII-XIV cen-tury by archeologists.

The Vardzia painting study is beingcarried out with the collaboration of theTbilisi Academy of Arts and TheCourtauld Institute of Art, aiming toenhance and develop Georgian students’qualifications.

The project “Save Vardzia” launchedlast year on the initiative of GeorgianPrime Minister Irakli Garibashvili andwill last for four years. The Georgiangovernment allocated 570,000 GEL forthe first stage work from the Govern-ment Reserve Fund.

AUGUST 28 - SEPTEMBER 3 1919191919CULTURE

WHAT'S ON IN TBILISI

SHALVA AMIRANASHVILIMUSEUM OF ART

Address: 1 Lado Gudiashvili St.Telephone: 2 99 99 09www.museum.ge

THE EXHIBITION“MADE IN KALLININGRAD”Artists participating in the project:Oleg Bliablias, Yury Vassilev, AleksejÈhebikin, Alexandr Podoprigov, ElenaTsvetaeva, Evgeni Umansk, “SanDonato” Group, “Gentle Woman”Group, “Common Wince” Group,Danil Akimov, Dmitry Selin, EvgenyPalamarchuk, Topp & Dubio(Nederlands)

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

PIROSMANI’S 150TH

BAIA GALLERYAddress: 10 Chardin StrTelephone: 2 75 45 10

GEORGIAN ART XX-XXICENTURY

KAKHA BAKURADZE’SMOVEMENT THEATRE

Address: 128 Agmashenebeli Ave.,Mushtaidi GardenTel.: 599 43 63 60

THURSDAY JAZZ SESSIONMovement TheatreStart time: 21:00Price: 1 BeerVIP Tickets: 1 WhiskyBalcony: Free

BATUMI STATE MUSIC CENTREAddress: 1 Odisei Dimitriadi St.

VALERIAN SHIUKASHVILI ANDNUKRI KAPANADZE

AMIRANI CINEMAAddress: 36 Kostava St.Telephone: 299 99 55www.kinoafisha.ge

VACATIONDirected by John Francis Daley,Jonathan M. GoldsteinCast: Ed Helms, Christina Applegate,Skyler GisondoGenre: Adventure, ComedyLanguage: EnglishStart time: 19:50Language: RussianStart time: 12:30, 15:00, 17:30,20:10, 22:40Ticket price: 7.50 – 12.50 Lari

THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.Directed by Guy RitchieCast: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer,Alicia VikanderGenre: Action, Adventure, ComedyLanguage: RussianStart time: 17:15, 22:30Ticket price: 9.50 – 12.50 Lari

IRRATIONAL MANDirected by Woody AllenCast: Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone,Parker PoseyGenre: Drama, MysteryLanguage: RussianStart time: 12:00, 17:35, 20:00, 22:20Ticket price: 9.50 – 12.50 Lari

MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATIONDirected by Christopher McQuarrieCast: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner,Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson,Alec BaldwinGenre: Action, Adventure, ThrillerLanguage: RussianStart time: 14:20Ticket price: 8.50 – 9.50 Lari

SOUTHPAWDirected by Antoine FuquaCast: Jake Gyllenhaal, RachelMcAdams, Oona LaurenceGenre: Action, Drama, Sport

Language: RussianStart time: 12:10, 14:50Ticket price: 7.50 – 9.50 Lari

RUSTAVELI CINEMAAddress: 5 Rustaveli Ave.Telephone: 255 50 00www.kinoafisha.geAugust 14-21

VACATION(Info Above)Language: RussianStart time: 12:10, 14:45, 17:15,20:00, 22:30Ticket price: 7.50 – 12.50 Lari

THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.(Info Above)Language: RussianStart time: 12:25, 15:00, 17:35,20:10, 22:40Ticket price: 7.50 – 12.50 Lari

THE VATICAN TAPESDirected by Mark NeveldineCast: Olivia Taylor Dudley,Michael Pena, Dougray ScottGenre: Horror, ThrillerLanguage: RussianStart time: 22:10Ticket price: 11.50 – 12.50 Lari

PIXELS 3DDirected by Chris ColumbusCast: Adam Sandler, Kevin James,Michelle MonaghanGenre: Action, Comedy, Sci-FiLanguage: RussianStart time: 12:00, 19:40Ticket price: 7.50 – 12.50 Lari

ANT-MANDirected by Peyton ReedCast: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas,Corey StollGenre: Action, Sci-FiLanguage: RussianStart time: 17:00Ticket price: 9.50 – 10.50 Lari

PAPER TOWNSDirected by Jake Schreier

Cast: Nat Wolff, Cara Delevingne,Austin AbramsGenre: Drama, Mystery, RomanceLanguage: RussianStart time: 14:30Ticket price: 8.50 – 9.50 Lari

MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION(Info Above)Language: RussianStart time: 19:30, 22:20Ticket price: 11.50 – 12.50 Lari

MUSEUM OF SOVIETOCCUPATION

Address: 1 Rustaveli ave.Telephone: 2 99 80 22

THE EXHIBITION IS DEDICATEDTO THE HISTORY OF THE ANTI-OCCUPATIONAL, NATIONAL-LIB-ERATION MOVEMENT OF GEOR-GIA AND TO THE VICTIMS OF THESOVIET POLITICAL REPRESSIONTHROUGHOUT THIS PERIOD.

SIMON JANASHIA MUSEUMOF GEORGIA

Address: 3 Rustaveli Ave.Telephone: 2 99 80 22

ARCHAEOLOGICAL TREASURE

June 27 – October 31“GEORGIANS IN WORLD WARII” IS AN EXHIBITIONDEDICATED TO THE 70THANNIVERSARY OF THE VICTORYOVER FASCISM.

IOSEB GRISHASHVILI TBILISIHISTORY MUSEUM - KARVASLAAddress: 8 Sioni St.Telephone: 2 98 22 81

SERGO PARAJANOVI –“21ST CENTURY DREAM”

CINEMA Start time: 20:30Ticket price: 10, 15, 20 Lari

VITAMIN CUBESAddress: Turtle Lake

August 30VAKULA / ZURKIN / KVANCHI @VITAMIN CAFEStart time: 19:00Ticket price: 10 Lari

TBILISI OLD HIPPODROMEAddress: Saburtalo St.Tel.: 591929215

August 28MINIBUS AND SHOWPROPRESENTSMINUS SHOWCASE:RICHIE HAWTINMATADOR LiveWHYT NOYZSupport byGREENBEAM & LEONStart time: 00:00Ticket price: 50 Lari

ONE CAUCASUS FESTIVAL 2015Address: Tserakvi, Marneuli district,Kvemo-Kartli region.

August 27-29ONE CAUCASUS FESTIVALMain Stage:For the three festival days OneCaucasus Main Stage will host newinternational music projects including:WARSAW HORNS (Poland) +NATURAL BORN LOVERS(Georgia) + SHOTAADAMASHVILI (Georgia)MAMADOU DIOUF (Senegal/Poland) + THE MARNELI BAND(Georgia)PAKO SARR (Senegal) + NewCaucasus Project (Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia) + GORDELA(Georgia)THE BAMBIR (Armenia)Tents available for rent.Tel.: +995 595 234 503onecaucasusfestival@gmail.comFREE TRANSPORTATIONTel.: 593 03 09 99

MUSEUM

MUSIC

GALLERY

By Nino Melikishvili

Music lovers in Georgia will be once againpleased with the staggering international festival“Night Serenades” which opened on August 25 atthe Z.Paliashvili music school in Batumi. The festi-val is directed by internationally renowned Geor-gian violinist, Liana Isakadze, and is being held inGeorgia for the seventh time since re-opening.

On the first day, the festival’s base orchestra WorldChamber Ensemble “Virtuosi” performed overturesfrom various operas by W.A. Mozart. Conductor ofthe evening was Mr. Cesar Alvarez from Spain, whois considered as one of the strongest values of or-chestral conducting according to international critics.During the second part of the evening 69-year-oldLiana Isakadze performed a magnificent Violin Con-certo in E minor by F. Mendelssohn.

International Festival “Night

Serenades” Coming to Tbilisitreatment for children with cancer. John Losasso,General Manager of Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel saidhe is glad to host the charity event to support chil-dren with cancer and pleased that illustrious musi-cians from all over the world will hold a concert inthe hotel’s Ballroom.

“I am glad that the festival started with greatsuccess. As always, the festival is hosting manyworld famous musicians and this year we have suchgreat musicians as Cesar Alvarez, Muhai Tang,Maxime Tortelier and others. I want to thank ev-eryone who supported this idea and now the festi-val can be known as the “Batumi-Tbilisi Interna-tional Festival,” said Liana Isakadze. She alsothanked the general manager of Radisson Blu Iveriafor allowing their Ballroom to be used for the char-ity concert.

“I invite everyone who wants to take part inthis charity event and support children with can-cer,” she added.

Liana Isakadze promised that they will alwaysaim to make music lovers happy with classical musicmasterpieces as the festival will continue in thefollowing years and many more famous musiciansare sure to take part.

The festival was first set up in the 1980s. In1991 it was stopped due to social turmoil but wasrenewed in Batumi at the initiative of Liana Isakadzeand with the support of Batumi City Hall, in 2009.

Since 2015, the festival has expanded and nowthe Night Serenades Festival is known as the Tbilisi-Batumi International Festival.

Liana Isakadze has been awarded the titleof People’s Artist of the USSR (1988), Meritori-ous Artist of the Georgian SSR (1970), the StatePrize of Georgia (1975, 1983, 2002), and the Orderof Honor of Georgia (1998, 2002).

The sculpture of ‘Nino’ of the famous ‘Ali andNino’ monument, situated in Batumi, has been dam-aged while being relocated.

According to eye witnesses, a cable was severedduring the relocation and several wings of the sculp-ture were damaged.

Batumi Boulevard Administration DirectorGiorgi Zirakishvili said the damage is minor.

“I spoke with the head of the company, whotold me that it will be restored within a week andeverything will be all right,” he added.

The monument, created by Tamar Kvesitadze,was installed in Batumi in 2011. Internet sourcessaid Batumi Boulevard administration took the de-cision to move the monument to a different placeafter a recent storm damaged its foundation.

“According to an experts’ report, it was impos-sible to reinforce that part of the seashore and there-fore it was necessary to relocate the monument,”Zirakishvili said.

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Monument inMonument inMonument inMonument inMonument in

Batumi DamagedBatumi DamagedBatumi DamagedBatumi DamagedBatumi Damaged

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On August 26, music lovers in Batumi had thechance to enjoy chamber music as World ChamberEnsemble “Virtuosi” opened the concert perform-ing “Night Serenades” by W.A. Mozart, conductedby Lavard Skou Larsen from Austria. The concertcontinued with string trio, Jan-Erik Gustafsson(cello), Yuri Zhislin (viola) and Anna-Liisa Bezrodny(violin), performing “Goldberg Variations” by J.S.Bach. The concert finished with a Concerto for vio-lin, piano and string quartet arranged for string or-chestra by Larsen.

On 26 and 30 August, concerts are to be held inBatumi, before the event moves to the Tbilisi StateConservatoire Grand Hall on 2nd and 3rd September.

The Final Charity Concert will take place onSeptember 4th at the Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel inTbilisi. All funds from the concerts will go to theGeorgian Solidarity Fund to finance vital medical

AUGUST 28 - SEPTEMBER 3 2121212121CULTUREBy Tony Hanmer

I’m writing this from Tbilisi, a daybefore I return home to Etseri in UpperSvaneti. My wife is waiting for me there,and it’s a good time to recall a trip wetook together to her ancestral homeland.

The Skhirtladzes are from this prov-ince, and Lali is one of them, althoughshe was born and raised in Kakheti. Ourhoneymoon, in May 2009, gave us theopportunity to go to Racha, just east ofSvaneti. First stop, its capital: Oni.

Insert a joke. A guy gets into a taxiin Racha. “Is it far to Oni?” he asks.“No,” says the driver. An hour later: “Ithought you said it wasn’t far!” “Well,it’s far now...”

The Jewish synagogue, and the mu-seum, in Oni were treasures. The formerwas locked but we could see it from out-side and peer through the windows of whatused to be a much more thriving house ofworship than it is today. Evidence to sup-port the claim that the Jews were com-fortable in Georgia, as seems to have beenthe case since about 2500 BC.

Oni’s museum, in 2009, was still notin prime condition for housing and show-ing the items it contains. But at least it wasopen, and allowed photography. Some ofthe ancient art I found there was wonder-fully “primitive,” or in the style of folkart, while one wood carving reminded memore of an extraterrestrial being than any-thing else. Curiouser and curiouser.

We walked to Mravldzali next, theSkhirtladzes’ actual home village, atabout 2000 m above sea level claimingto be the second highest village in Geor-

RRRRRacacacacacha,ha,ha,ha,ha, R R R R Reallealleallealleallyyyyy

gia (after Ushguli). Here, Lali’s lightcroc shoes, which she’d had for a fewyears already, shone. It was 10 km up,nary a downhill, on a road mostly ofrock; overnight with her delighted rela-tives; and then the same distance com-ing down the next day. The crocs are stillgoing strong as I write this, as is theirwearer. The clan have an annual gather-ing here at about the time of Mariamoba,the Feast of the Virgin Mary, at the end

of August. One day we must attend this.We were also able to go further north,

closer to the Russian border, to see min-eral springs, forests, a picnic locationwhich we made use of for makingmtsvadi (shish kebabs), and more of thefantastic mountain scenery which is thewhole point of Racha. It isn’t nearly aswell known as a tourist destination asSvaneti is, but there is as much beautyhere as anywhere in diverse Georgia.

Tony Hanmer runs the “Svaneti Renaissance” Facebook group, now withover 1100 members, atwww.facebook.com/groups/SvanetiRenaissance/ .He and his wife also run their own guest house in Etseri:www.facebook.com/hanmer.house.svaneti

place near Ambrolauri. Rich, highlysought after, unmatched; unique to theplace due to the special combination ofthe vines’ variety itself, as well as thesoil and climate.

Vittorio Sella’s late 19th century pho-tographs of this region display a surpris-ing amount of Svan watchtowers amongthe villages of certain parts. Apparentlyland changed hands; few of these tow-ers now remain, sadly, victims of neglector perhaps deliberate attempts to coverover part of history and let it lie.

I know that I have only scratched thesurface of Racha; what could one expectof a few days’ trip?! We came away witha cowbell which I had found on theMravldzali road, nice melodious souve-nir, which finally our cow has startedwearing these six years later for when Ineed to find her on the faraway summermountain grazes. It’s made from an oldcar part, I think, so nothing ancient. Butit works well, and I always know it’s hers.

A more through exploration awaitsus. There are even hiking trails connect-ing Racha and Upper Svaneti, and manymore villages to discover or examine.Like the rest of Georgia, Racha willbountifully reward such study, display-ing its charms for all the senses to ap-preciate. Take your time; this is the spiritof a local people who are not known ashasty. You won’t regret it.

Everywhere you go, there’s somethingdifferent and glorious.

Another thing for which Racha is fa-mous is its small output of Khvanchkarared wine, from grapes found in one small

By Alastair Watt

The people of Tbilisi should be pre-paring themselves for an invasion…

Fear not though Tbiliselebo, theboots on the ground will largely be Tim-berland, and the only assaults will be onyour eardrums as this is not the RedArmy, but a far gentler, affable thoughseldom sober unit known as the TartanArmy.

For those of you still oblivious, theTartan Army refers to the supporters ofthe Scottish national football team whichplays a crucial Euro 2016 qualifier inTbilisi against Georgia on September 4.

It will be the first visit to Georgia forthe Scots since 2007 where a humbling2-0 defeat played a significant part indestroying Scotland’s hopes of reachingthe European Championships. Eightyears on and the scenario is similar.

Georgia have nothing but pride to playfor while Scotland, rejuvenated underformer Aberdeen and Leeds United leg-end Gordon Strachan, have realistic as-pirations of making France 2016.

Doing so would see the Scots qualifyfor a major tournament for the first timein almost two decades. And with the hugeimportance of the match for the Scots,combined with fond yet hazy, booze-fu-eled memories of the previous visit toGeorgia, the Tartan Army are mobilizingin their thousands, set to make landfallfrom the beginning of next week.

As a Scot myself, with a Georgianwife and Scottish-Georgian son (orGeorgian-Scottish, depending on whoyou ask), who has lived in Tbilisi since2010, I feel it my duty to offer the Tar-tan Army, of which I was once a loyalservant, a handful of tips for “The Citythat Loves You”….

Having experienced a few TartanArmy missions myself, I know how fu-

tile it would be to list museums, galler-ies and theaters (of which Tbilisi hasmany fine examples). Instead, I’ll cut tothe chase. The Tartan Army survives,almost entirely, on one thing – ‘bevy’.Or ‘alcohol’ to the layman.

The good news for the visiting Scotsis that Georgia is rich in this area, both interms of production and consumption.However, while the beer in Georgia isperfectly acceptable (and I recommend atrip to the Ossetian restaurant Alani nearthe sulfur baths for, in my view, the bestbeer in town) if you truly want to soakup the national way of life, opt for wine.

I’ll spare you details of wine’s cen-turies-old history in Georgia, as there arecountless articles written by far morequalified connoisseurs than I. However,if you have the good fortune to getfriendly with a group of Georgians, andwith their devotion to hospitality andyour kilt and replica top giving awayyour identity as a foreigner there is ev-ery chance you will, then you may en-counter a supra.

A supra is one of the most celebratedGeorgian traditions. It is essentially afeast accompanied by an endless sup-ply of Georgian fayre and a similarlybountiful helping of alcohol – more of-ten than not, Georgian wine. And not anykind of Georgian wine. It tends to bewhite wine, but not as most Westernerswill know it, largely because the coloris amber and the strength, if it is properKakheti (region of east Georgia re-nowned for winemaking) wine, is ofBuckfast proportions.

Once the table is almost entirely cov-ered in dishes and jugs of aforesaid vino,the toasting may commence. A tamada(toastmaster) will then lead the tablethrough a number of toasts, after whicheveryone drinks and, if you hear theword “bolomde” you drink to the end.

AUGUST 28 - SEPTEMBER 3 2323232323SPORTS

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.comAnswers to previous puzzles

SuprSuprSuprSuprSupra fa fa fa fa for the Scots - or the Scots - or the Scots - or the Scots - or the Scots - TTTTTararararartantantantantan

ArArArArArmmmmmy Guide to y Guide to y Guide to y Guide to y Guide to TbilisiTbilisiTbilisiTbilisiTbilisi

That’s right, you down a glass ofBuckfast-strength wine. What’s more,the toasts, much like the food and winesupply, are vast in quantity.

One of my first nights in Georgia in-volved such a supra, and led to dancingon tables at an erstwhile quiet restau-rant. No Georgian experience is com-plete without the supra (and the hang-over that inevitably follows).

The deplorable phrase “eating’scheating”, a moronic slogan thrownaround by gallus young Scottish (andEnglish) drinkers suggesting that amarathon drinking session is not suffi-ciently dangerous on its own and thatone should also abstain from nourish-ment of any kind, is thankfully asoundbite never heard in Georgia.

And the Scots are encouraged to eatwell here, as the food is hearty and deli-cious. Your staple diet for your time inGeorgia will be khachapuri (a pizza-shaped cheese bread), khinkali (dumplingsof pork, beef, lamb, mushroom, cheese orpotato), mtsvadi (better known internation-ally by the name ‘shashlik’, basically bar-becued pork) and badrajani nigvzit (egg-plants with walnut sauce). This quartet ofthe nation’s cuisine will keep your stom-ach lined for the ubiquitous refreshmentsof a Scotland trip abroad.

When travelling in the city, particu-larly after a supra, it may be wise to haila taxi. This normally takes approxi-mately 10 seconds almost anywhere inthe center of the city, which is saturatedby cabs. In-keeping with the rest of thecity’s drivers, the taxi custodians motoralong at pace with scant concern foranything else in their vicinity. Indeed, itmay be worth necking a bevy or two

beforehand.If you opt to walk, keep an eye out

for said drivers and never assume that acar will stop for you. In Scotland, flash-ing of the lights translates as “after yousir/madam”. Here, it means “get out thef#####g way!”

Curiously, there are zebra crossingsin Tbilisi but these are purely decora-tive. The safest thing to do is to pretendthey aren’t there.

But roads aside, Tbilisi is a very safecity – far more so than any of Scotland’smajor cities on a weekend night. The

kilts will be met with bewilderment bysome, laughter by others and infatuationby many.

I have been incredibly warmly wel-comed here, not least by my wife andher generous family. Although Scottishfans probably won’t end up tying theknot, I hope every one of them gets areal taste of this mysterious, hospitableland and its endearing people.

I confess also that this time I dearlyhope that, unlike 2007, the Scots havethree points to declare on their journeyhome…

GENERAL MANAGER - George Sharashidze

BUSINESS MANAGER - Iva Merabishvili

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF - Katie Ruth DaviesCOPY EDITOR - Alastair WattJOURNALISTS: Alastair Watt, Tony Hanmer, Tamar Svanidze, Joseph Alexander Smith, Zviad Adzinbaia, Joseph Larsen,Beqa Kirtava, Meri Taliashvili, Eka Karsaulidze, Baia Dzagnidze, Zaza Jgharkava, Teona Surmava, Ana Lomtadze, MakaBibilashvili, Nino Melikishvili, Nina Ioseliani, Tatia Megeneishvili, Karen Tovmasyan, Nino Gegidze, Dimitri Dolaberidze,Nino Japarashvili, Maka Lomadze, George AbashviliPHOTOGRAPHER: Zviad NikolaishviliTECHNICAL SUPPORT: Misha MchedlishviliCIRCULATION MANAGERS: David Kerdikashvili, David Djandjgava

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