1.
Entry into force of pension reform
On January 1, 2019, a funded pension system came into force in Georgia.
Each month, the amount that will be stored in the pension fund is deducted from the salary of each citizen, and upon reaching retirement age will be paid as a pension.
The government explains the need for pension reform with two arguments: first, the pensioner will receive a more decent pension and will have a secured old age; and secondly, the burden on the state budget will be eased.
The reform has many critics. The main argument of the opponents of the reform is that the saved money is not properly secured against risks.
Photo: JAMnews
2.
Domestic gas explosions
On January 16, 2019, at nine o’clock in the evening in a multi-story apartment building on the outskirts of Tbilisi in Didi Digomi, a gas explosion killed four people, including a four-year-old child.
Among the eight wounded were mostly minors. January 17 was declared a mourning day in Georgia.
On October 19, an explosion occurred on Guramishvili Avenue, also in a multistory building. One man died.
In October, another gas explosion occurred in central Tbilisi.
In 2016-2019, 101 people died as a result of explosions and poisoning caused by leaks of natural gas in Tbilisi.
Photo: Channel One, Radio Liberty
3.
Conflict in the Pankisi Gorge
On April 21, a clash occurred between the locals and the police in the Pankisi Gorge over the construction of a hydroelectric power station in the gorge.
Locals destroyed construction equipment as well. In response, police introduced special forces into the gorge, which used tear gas and rubber bullets against local residents.
Local residents threw stones at law enforcement officers, crashed and burned a police car.
55 people were injured - 17 local residents and 38 police officers.
The proposed Khadori 3 hydroelectric power station, which has a capacity of 5.4 MW, is to be built on the Alazani River in the municipality of Akhmeta. According to the project, the annual output of the power plant will be 27.5 million kWh.
The new hydroelectric station would be built near the village of Birkiani, and calls for the laying in of pipeline of 90 percent of the water of the Alazani River over 4.5 kilometers of the river.
Residents of Pankisi fear that the construction of a power plant will worsen the quality of drinking water, affect the environment and pastures which are very important for them - most of the population lives off livestock farming.
The story continued - on November 27, one person was killed and several were injured as a result of a bloody showdown in Pankisi.
The cause of the conflict between local residents was the issue of hydropower plants. In television interviews, locals said that thegovernment was trying to lure some residents to their side and convince people to agree to the construction, which led to clashes between local residents.
Photo: REUTERS / Ekaterina Anchevskaya
4.
The ‘night of Gavrilov’, dispersal of demonstrations and summer protests
June 20, 2019 was undoubtedly the most important day in the political calendar of Georgia for 2019.
Protests against the government began in Georgia on June 20 and continue in various forms until today.
On June 20, thousands of people came out to protest the presence of Russian MP Sergey Gavrilov in the Tbilisi parliament, who had come to the country to participate in the meeting of the International Assembly of Orthodoxy.
Citizens of Georgia were outraged by the fact that the meeting in the building of the parliament was opened by a Russian MP. Moreover, Gavrilov was sitting in the chair of the Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, and addressed those in attendance in Russian.
Thousands of people came to the building of parliament with a question for the authorities:
"How did an MP from an occupying country end up in the chair of the Parliament of Georgia? On the night of June 21, special forces was dispersed by tear gas and rubber bullets. More than 200 people were injured, two of them lost their eyes. The dispersal began after one of the opposition leaders urged protesters to enter the building of the parliament.
On June 24, Bidzina Ivanishvili, the informal ruler of the country and the chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, fulfilled one of the requirements of the protesters, promising that the parliamentary elections of 2020 would be held per a proportional system.
Five months later, the government essentially reneged on its promise, causing a new wave of protests.
Another main requirement of the protesters was the resignation of the Minister of Internal Affairs Giorgi Gakharia, which was not satisfied. Instead, Gakharia gets a promotion to prime minister.
Over the summer, an ongoing protest was held in front of parliament, organized by public movement ‘Shame!’, the symbol of which was an eye covered up by a hand, in reference to protesters who lost sight due to rubber bullets.
Photo: Reuters / Irakli Gedenidze
5.
European Court of Human Rights verdict in Rustavi 2 case, two new opposition TV channels
On July 18, 2019, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled on the case of the opposition television company Rustavi 2.
The European Court found no violations in the lawsuit concerning the ownership of the television company, which meant an automatic transfer to pro-government business Kibar Khalvashi.
The lawsuit had been pending for four years.
The new owner fired the channel’s CEO Nika Gvaramia, its leading journalists and producers. On the same day, the team of the main news release and other employees left the channel in protest.
Thanks to the decision of the Strasbourg court, two new media outlets appeared in Georgia.
Within a month and a half after this process, the Mtavari television channel, founded by Nika Gvaramia, began broadcasting.
In October, Formula TV began broadcasting, a joint project of the Formula Creative studio and former Defense Minister of the Saakashvili era, David Kezerashvili.
The team of journalists who left Rustavi 2 transferred to these two television companies.
As a result, in 2019, two new opposition channels appeared in Georgia.
6.
Aggravation of the situation in the conflict zone – the Chorchano Tsneli crisis
At the end of August, Georgian authorities deployed a police post in the Khashuri municipality near the village of Chorchan and the village of Tsnelisi, controlled by the Ossetian side.
The establishment of the post was followed by a sharp reaction from the de facto authorities of South Ossetia.
Tskhinvali demanded the post be removed, to which the Georgian side did not acquiesce.
After that, the Ossetian side closed the checkpoint on the so-called border, which was used by residents of the Akhalgori district of South Ossetia and who were thus deprived of the ability to travel to the territory controlled by Tbilisi.
This was a serious blow to the population of Akhalgori, the vast majority of which are ethnic Georgians.
Akhalgori residents are not allowed to leave the region for medical purposes. The population lives in practical isolation: it cannot receive treatment even for emergency surgery. Pensioners cannot leave to receive their pension. Students and schoolchildren who were on vacation in August remained locked in Akhalgori. People cannot go to the funerals of their loved ones.
7.
Church scandal: patriarch accused of pedophilia
In 2019, the most influential and closed institution in Georgia – the Orthodox Church – became the epicenter of the most turbulent and scandalous events.
Earlier, criticism of the church, the patriarchy and individual clergy was taboo in Georgia – in 2019, this situation changed dramatically, as clergymen themselves came out with sensational criticism.
Influential clergyman Bishop Petre, accused the head of the church, Patriarch Ilia II of ‘the sin of pederastry.’
After this statement, several other clergymen openly started talking about pedophilia, lawlessness and corruption in the Georgian church.
Another clergyman, a member of the Synod, Archbishop Yakobi, said senior government officials, including current Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, were trying to overthrow Patriarch Ilia II, and that a concrete plan of instructions had been provided by Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Experts believe that the processes taking place in the church are connected with the struggle for the patriarchal throne.
The 86-year-old Patriarch Elijah II rarely appears in public places due to his state of health. Not only the fate of the church, but also, to some extent, the vector of the country's domestic and foreign policy depends on who takes the patriarch’s place after Ilia’s death.
Photo: REUTERS / David Mdzinarishvili
8.
Electoral reform in parliament, second wave of protests
On November 14, a number of MPs of the ruling Georgian Dream party rejected a bill which would have the country switch to a fully proportional system.
As it stands now, half of the 150 MPs are elected on a proportional basis, and half on the basis of a majoritarian system in single-member districts.
This was the main requirement of the protesters during the first wave of protests in the summer of 2019. Then, the leader of the Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, personally promised demonstrators that the majoritarian system that gives the ruling party a significant advantage in the elections would be amended
But five months later he broke his promise - MPs loyal to Ivanishvili voted against The reform.
Civil activists accused Ivanishvili of lying and trying to steal the upcoming elections and took to the streets on November 14.
They were joined by the entire Georgian opposition, united around the demand for proportional elections.
In front of the parliament building, protests continued, tents were erected. On November 18, police special forces again dispersed the demonstrators using water cannon.
However, since then, unrest in Tbilisi and other cities of Georgia has not stopped.
The main requirement of the protesters remains a change in the electoral system. But the authorities are not going to compromise.
A number of MPs, including Tamar Chugoshvili, the first vice-speaker of the parliament, left the parliamentary majority as a sign of protest against the failure of the reform. During the year, about two dozen MPs left the majority.
Parliamentary elections in Georgia are due to take place in October 2020.
Photo: David Pipia, JAMnews
9.
And Then We Danced – attempt to disrupt the screening of LGBT movie
The three-day screening of the first Georgian film on the topic of LGBT relations in the cinemas of Tbilisi and Batumi provoked loud protests.
Far-right nationalists, as well as church representatives and their supporters, tried to block the entrance to cinemas, which were guarded by a police cordon for three days. Citizens who came to the movie screenings were thoroughly searched.
Right-wing nationalists believe that love between men is unacceptable to Georgian society.
The film was shot by a Swedish director of Georgian origin Levan Akin. It recounts the love story of two traditional Georgian dancers.
During the rally at the Amirani Cinema in Tbilisi, ultranationalists struck a girl with a blunt object, who then needed medical attention.
Ultimately, however, the screening of the film was not disrupted.
Despite the threats, the first LGBT pride in Georgia was also held in front of the Ministry of the Interior on June 9. The march lasted about an hour and several dozen people took part in it.
It was called the “March of Dignity.”
The organizers of the march did not disclose information about the time and place of the march for security reasons, so many who wanted to, including journalists, could not attend it.
Photo: David Pipia/ JAMnews
10.
The arrest and release of the doctor Vazha Gaprindashvili
Doctor Vazha Gaprindashvili, president of the Georgian Orthopedic Association, was arrested and detained in the conflict zone near Akhalgori on November 9.
The de facto authorities of South Ossetia claimed that he violated the so-called state border. On November 15, he was sentenced to two months of pre-trial detention.
After the arrest, Gaprindashvili pleaded not guilty and, while in prison in Tskhinvali, said that he did not violate the state border as South Ossetia is the territory of Georgia.
In Tskhinvali, they called Gaprindashvili’s step a provocation.
Starting November 19, the doctor was in the Tskhinvali detention center. On December 20, a Tskhinvali court sentenced him to one year and nine months in prison.
The international community, along with the Georgian authorities, actively joined in efforts for the release of the doctor.
Protests in support of Gaprindashvili demanding his unconditional release were held in Tbilisi, and activists claimed the Georgian authorities were not doing enough to this end.
11.
Teenager suicide
At the end of 2019, the country was shocked by the tragic story of 15-year-old Luka Siradze.
The teenager jumped from the ninth floor of a residential building on December 11. The day before the incident, he was detained and was interrogated by the police for several hours. Lawyers and family members of the teenager say that he was subjected to psychological pressure – that he was intimidated and threatened – and that this drove him to suicide.
The tenth grader ended up at the police station because of graffiti on a school in Tbilisi; he had snuck into a school at night and left inscriptions in the hallways and classrooms.
“F*ck your mother, f*ck this life,” he wrote on one of the walls.
After the suicide of the teenager, investigator Marianna Choloiani was arrested.
It later became known she had been previously involved in cases involving the maltreatment of detainees, but, nevertheless, all this time she has worked in the police.
After the death of Luka Siradze, civil activists held a rally in front of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, demanding radical changes to the system.