The pro-government parliamentary vice speaker of Georgia, Tamar Chugoshvili, offered up a response to my argument earlier this week that Georgia’s government is weak on Russia. I continue to hold that opinion.
When I reached out to opposition politician Giga Bokeria to put Chugoshvili’s points to him, he responded with a good observation. Namely, that if the government is indeed not made up of Vladimir Putin sympathizers, then “why did they invite a pro-Putin Communist [Russian parliamentarian] to Georgia, and allow him to sit in the chair of the parliament-speaker.” On that note, while Chugoshvili points out the government’s retention of power, she ignores the mass protests that the visit sparked.
Bokeria adds other examples of the government’s turn towards Putin-style cronyism. He points out tax hikes and an expansion of the bureaucracy, its banning foreign landowners, and its politically motivated investigation of the Anaklia seaport project. That project, which President Trump supports, is opposed by Putin for fear that it would bolster American influence in Georgia. It would make Georgia wealthier, but Chugoshvili and company would rather suck up to their Kremlin boss.
But the rot doesn’t end there. Writing late last year, Georgian Voice of America reporter Ani Chkhikvadze documented how the Georgian Dream party has jeopardized human rights, fostered xenophobia, and kowtowed to Putin in ways large and small.
These things should concern the United States, and Chartwell Strategy, which takes Georgian government money to push its narrative in Washington. But perhaps it won’t concern Chartwell that much — the company earned $455,000 for representing the Georgian government between March and August of this year.
In short, this is me doubling down on my original post. The Georgian people are America’s friends and they deserve a presidential visit, in spite of the present government in Tbilisi.
