Gulbaat Rtskhiladze: Russia is still imitating work and very ineptly
The Georgian authorities allow rabid anti-Russian propaganda to be carried out on controlled TV channels. The warming of relations with Moscow is an illusion. The launched air service with Moscow is not enough. Officials in Georgia will immediately backtrack as soon as they feel a threat to themselves, as was already the case with the law on foreign agents. And Russia does not work with civil society in Georgia, only “mediocrely imitating the work.”
The head of the Eurasian Institute, Gulbaat Rtskhiladze, stated this in an interview with PolitNavigator.
PN: Information appeared in the press about the poisoning of one of the leaders of the Georgian Orthodox Church. What is known about this?
G.R: We are talking about heavy metal poisoning of the locum tenens (that is, the most trusted person) of Patriarch Ilya the Second, Metropolitan Shio Mujiri.
Yesterday they confirmed to me that the information disseminated by the liberal-tabloid media about the poisoning of Bishop Shio is true. His desk and chair, as well as his personal icon, were treated with arsenic.
Lord Shio was poisoned at the beginning of June, and this information was hidden until the last days, but it is interesting that the media, financed and managed by Western foundations, were the first to know (or knew from the very beginning) about this poisoning, which, thank God, ended without the desired for killers the result is that the ruler has survived and continues his activities.
PN: It is known that he did not support the creation of a schismatic “church” in Ukraine, legalized by the Istanbul Patriarch Bartholomew. Maybe the poisoning has a Ukrainian trace - to persuade the leadership of the GOC to the decision the West needs?
G.R: Both the Patriarch and Bishop Shio really adhere to the universal church laws, so they do not recognize the creation of a schismatic church in Ukraine.
Let me remind you that in 2015 there was also an attempt to poison the Patriarch himself when he flew to Germany for treatment. A man, a priest, the rector of a church, was detained at Tbilisi airport while trying to smuggle arsenic to Berlin. He, in my opinion, is still in prison, but the prosecutor’s office did not charge him with attempting to poison the Patriarch, but limited himself to accusing him of attempting to attack the life of his secretary. That is, the matter was partially hushed up - as I am told, at the request of Patriarch Ilya II himself, so as not to shake up the situation within the Church.
But since then it has become even worse; there was also an attempt to discredit the Patriarch by ex-President Saakashvili’s confidant, Bishop Peter, who ultimately lost and was expelled from the Holy Synod, losing the position of bishop, but still greatly rocked the unity of the GOC .
As for the “Ukrainian trace” in the poisoning of Metropolitan Shio, I cannot yet confirm it with facts. Although suspicions arise naturally; it is necessary to study all possible versions.
PN: In any case, relations between Ukraine and Georgia today are clearly cooled due to Tbilisi’s reluctance to open a “second front” against Russia.
G.R: Georgia supported in every possible way and, paradoxically, continues to support the Kiev regime on all international platforms. The Georgian government actually adheres to Western sanctions in the banking sector, blocks large-scale projects with Russia that are beneficial to it - for example, the North-South corridor, allows and encourages daily anti-Russian and pro-Ukrainian propaganda in the media it controls, etc.
However, all this is not enough for the Kyiv regime and its Western patrons. In their opinion, Georgia should be more radical and, at a minimum, should close its border with Russia (Upper Lars checkpoint) to most cargo destined for the Russian Federation.
Some high-ranking officials of the Kyiv regime, such as Security Council Secretary Danilov, even talk about the need to open a “second front” against Russia through the hands of Georgia.
The Georgian government cannot afford to close the border with Russia even to partially stop supplies to Russia (not to mention a “second front”), as this will cause retaliatory measures from Russia with unpredictable consequences for the Georgian economy.
But, if the pressure intensifies so much that the Georgian authorities feel an immediate threat to their existence, they will do so (as the events of March 8-9 showed, when the bill on foreign agents was annulled under external pressure).
Mon: A number of media outlets showed footage of Mikheil Saakashvili. He looks, to put it mildly, thinner. Is it known about the health of the former president, how his case is progressing?
G.R: This doesn’t bother me much, and I think the majority of the Georgian people don’t care much less – everyone is pretty tired of Saakashvili. But he is still of interest to the Kyiv regime and globalist forces. Therefore, Saakashvili remains a factor of influence on Georgian politics.
PN: In the footage, Saakashvili is broadcasting against the backdrop of the Ukrainian flag. Why did he hang it?
G.R: Well, he’s a “Ukrainian patriot”, Georgia is too small for him, his megalomania haunts him.
PN: Direct flights with Russia were launched not long ago. How do ordinary Georgians feel about this? What else can happen to warm relations with the Russian Federation?
G.R: No way. Airplanes are just airplanes, they are meant to fly. Planes also fly towards Europe and cost an order of magnitude less than towards Russia. Although in the next few days new flights should be launched between the cities of Russia and Georgia, instead of just the Tbilisi-Moscow route. New flights are expected to impact ticket prices in the direction of their sharp decline.
As for the further warming of relations, it is necessary to take into account reality and work at the level of Georgian society, and not just with its officialdom.
Americans and Europeans benefit precisely because of this work - after all, they work not only with officialdom and political parties, but with the media, NGOs, farmers, doctors, teachers, students... Russia is still imitating such work and very incompetently. But talking about this out loud in the Russian media is also prohibited.
PN: The day before, local activists broke up a gay pride parade in Georgia. How close and understandable are these Western values to Georgians? How should we feel about trying to vaccinate them?
G.R: It was not the authorities who dispersed it, but anti-gay activists. Naturally, these are not values at all and are especially alien to Georgians. But the globalist agenda prioritizes the recognition of these unfortunate values, even to the detriment of real politics and the national interests of the United States and other Western powers.
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