As a result of global and internal factors, the Russian Empire, in the form of the Soviet Union, collapsed, and Georgia regained its centuries-old independence.
When I moved to Georgia in February 2022, my aim was to raise awareness about the South Caucasus region in Germany and promote liberal democracy in a European context.
A struggle over memory
Author : Badri Okudjava
The latest issue of New Iveria features two articles on historical memory and archival policy in contemporary Georgia. The author of the first article is David Khvadagiani, a researcher at the Soviet Past Research Laboratory and a colleague of mine, and the second is by historian Timothy Blauvelt, a professor at Ilia State University.
Until now, there existed only the ‘Tsar Bell’ on display in the Kremlin, which never rang. And the ‘Tsar Cannon’ from the same Kremlin, which never fired.
ვინ მოკლა თავისუფლება
Author : Keti Kurdovanidze
ბოლო რამდენიმე თვეა საქართველოში პოლიტიკური პროცესი ერთგვარად შენელდა და ფრაგმენტული გახდა: თუ აქამდე ვწუხდით, რომ საქართველო ავტორიტარიზმისკენ მიდიოდა და ფორმალურ დემოკრატიასაც კი აუქმებდა...
For most Portuguese, for some time, Georgia may have been Fiji: a far-away exotic place, known to our country via spirited men’s national rugby matches.
Partadzi’s Choice
Author : Gia Japaridze
We need to go back in time and remember the history we already know. We need history in order to learn from it—it should not remain just a legend or a past that no longer concerns us.
The Onion and the Circus
Authors : Mate Gulua, Rati Tkemaladze
„კომისია, კომისია, კომისია!” - გაჰყვირის ტელევიზორი, რადიო, სოცმედია და თქვენი მეზობელი. უკვე თითქმის ორი თვეა, ქართული ოცნების მასკარადი, ასევე ცნობილი, როგორც „დროებითი საგამოძიებო კომისია” დომინირებს ქართული საზოგადოების ცაიტგაისტში.
Food for Thought
Author : Giorgi Paniashvili
Georgia’s history, in relation to Russia, is marked by cycles of subjugation and efforts to reclaim sovereignty—a narrative of survival rather than consistent development. A unified, strong, and independent Georgia has existed for only about a century and a half throughout its history.
In its thirteenth year in power, the Georgian Dream has successfully subjugated all major democratic institutions. In Freedom House’s Freedom in the World Index, Georgia’s score was 64 in 2017 and 58 in 2024.
The Likhni Effect
Author : Gigi Gigineishvili
In Abkhazia, five kilometres from Gudauta and just fifty metres above sea level, lies the village of Likhni (Abkhaz: Лыхны). At its centre stands the 10th-century cross-domed Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, where numerous fascinating Georgian inscriptions have been preserved.
No one truly remembers how they came into the world—how many grams of milk or spoonfuls of porridge they consumed each day. From early childhood, only a few vivid fragments remain, scattered across memory, preserved simply because they made a strong impression.
For me, the call to get out of the comfort zone and climb from there to the heights of dreams (with a cascade of selfies to accompany the process) is based on fundamentally flawed assumptions.
