2006 Georgian-Russian espionage controversy
Encyclopedia
The 2006 Georgian–Russian espionage controversy began when the Government of Georgia
arrested four Russia
n officers on charges of espionage
, on September 27, 2006. The Western
and Georgian
media sources report that relations between the two post-Soviet nations have significantly deteriorated after Georgia and NATO agreed to hold talks on closer relations.
in Georgia brought the pro-Western reformist leader Mikheil Saakashvili
to power.
The 2006 gas pipeline explosions
and the Russian ban of Georgian wines and mineral waters
were interpreted by many as the means of the Government of Russia
's pressure on the Georgian leadership for the country's close ties with NATO and the United States
.
The recent disruption of the Status quo ante
in the Kodori Valley
in Abkhazia led to a further downturn in the already tensed Russian-Georgian relations.
In July 2006, the Georgian police and security forces took control of the Kodori Valley, hitherto controlled by the local Georgian militias led by the defiant commander Emzar Kvitsiani
. Georgian officials claimed that the Russian security services were behind the 2006 Kodori crisis
, while Russian and Abkhaz authorities accused Georgia of violation of the previous ceasefire agreements by deploying an armed force in the Valley. In September 2006, the area was officially renamed Upper Abkhazia
by the Georgian government and declared to be the "temporary administrative center" of Abkhazia until the conflict
is resolved.
Continuous anti-Russian statements by the Georgian government, such as the September 2006 speech by President Saakashvili in Poland
, were interpreted by some Russian media sources as depicting Russia as the "barbarous tribe of Huns".
On April 16, 2009 the case was brought before the European Court of Human Rights. The hearing was for the admissibility of the State vs. State case, a rare occurrence in this court with a ruling still pending.
On September 29, Sergey Ivanov, Russia's Defense Minister and Vice Premier, denounced Georgia as a "bandit" state, and accused the NATO members of arming Georgia in support to "military solution" to the country's secessionist conflicts. Vladimir Zhirinovsky
, urged the government to exert economic and political pressure on Georgia, and consider military intervention.
On September 30, the BBC reported Foreign Minister of Georgia Gela Bezhuashvili
as saying that Georgia "expected Russia to honour the pullout agreement" and as accusing the Russian government of "trying to scare" Georgians.
President
Mikheil Saakashvili described the Russian government's reaction to the arrests as "hysteria."
President Putin said, on October 1, Georgia's arrest of four Russian army officers for spying was "an act of state terrorism
with hostage-taking", a statement that was downplayed by Saakashvili as "an overreaction caused by nervousness that they have created by themselves."
Meanwhile, various international organizations are trying to defuse the diplomatic conflict between the two sides. On September 30, the European Union
foreign policy chief Javier Solana
spoke by telephone with Mikheil Saakashvili, urging him to find a rapid solution and offering assistance. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), to which both Georgia and Russia belong, appealed, on October 1, for both sides to open a dialogue and seek a peaceful solution to the dispute. The OSCE Chairman-in-Office Karel De Gucht
said he was ready to travel to the region if needed and assist the conflicting sides to reduce the tensions.
On October 16, the Russian newspaper Versiya published an interview with the Georgian Defense Minister, Irakli Okruashvili
where the minister stated that Russia "would lose if the quarrel between the two countries escalates into a shooting war". On the same day Yury Baluyevsky
, the Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, responded that Russia does not plan a war with Georgia and warned about the "consequences of the provocation by the brash politician". The next day the Georgian Ministry of Defense denied that Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili was interviewed by the Russian newspaper and called the information "another provocation coinciding with the visit of NATO officials to Moscow." Russian newspaper asserted that the interview it published was genuine and the audio recording of the conversation between the reporter Ruslan Gorevoy and Okruashvili is available.
On September 17, Estonia
's parliament
passed a declaration in support of "strengthening democracy in Georgia" and condemning "the endeavours by the Russian Federation to suppress Georgia's intentions by using economic sanctions and threats of [using] force."
of Georgian immigrants from Russia amid the ongoing diplomatic crisis also aroused much controversy. According to Russian authorities, more than half of the Georgians in the country are working illegally. Following the Russian crackdown on Georgian-owned alleged criminal businesses and the tightening of visa criteria for Georgians, on October 6, 2006, about 136 Georgians accused of "immigration offences" were flown back to Georgia on board a Russian cargo plane. Several deportees, however, showed valid passports and Russian entry visas, as reported by Reuters. In Georgia, the process of deportation and crackdown on allegedly illegal Georgian businesses in Moscow was described as “ethnic cleansing
.”
Vice-president of the Federal Migration Service of Russia, Mikhail Tyurkin, said that immigrants "head home, to their mothers and children" and termed the mission "humanitarian."
The Russian authorities are also claimed to have begun targeting ethnic Georgian celebrities living in Moscow, including the famed Georgian-Russian fiction novelist Grigory Chkhartishvili better known by his penname Boris Akunin
. Akunin commented on the Russian radio station
Echo of Moscow
that his publisher had been questioned by tax authorities over the writer's finances. "I didn't think I would live to see ethnic cleansing in Russia," he said. On October 6, the influential Russian human rights organization, Memorial
condemned both sides of the dispute, accusing the government of Russia of "racial discrimination," and Georgia of "irresponsible policies."
Mikhail Kasyanov
, leader of Russia's Peoples Democratic Union and former Prime Minister of Russia
, made a following statement:
On October 6, the Moscow-based Echo of Moscow radio station called for expressing a protest against the authorities’ policy towards ethnic Georgian immigrants through pinning a badge saying "I am Georgian":
On October 7, a minor unsanctioned rally organized by opposition youth activists in support of the Georgians was dispersed and more than a dozen of its participants detained by Moscow police.
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
arrested four Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n officers on charges of espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
, on September 27, 2006. The Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
and Georgian
Georgian Media
The Media in Georgia is relatively accessible and caters to a wide variety of audiences. A large percentage of households have a television, and most have at least one radio...
media sources report that relations between the two post-Soviet nations have significantly deteriorated after Georgia and NATO agreed to hold talks on closer relations.
Background
Russian-Georgian relations have largely been reported as tense after the November 2003 Rose RevolutionRose Revolution
The "Revolution of Roses" was a change of power in Georgia in November 2003, which took place after having widespread protests over the disputed parliamentary elections...
in Georgia brought the pro-Western reformist leader Mikheil Saakashvili
Mikheil Saakashvili
Mikheil Saakashvili is a Georgian politician, the third and current President of Georgia and leader of the United National Movement Party.Involved in the national politics since 1995, Saakashvili became president on 25 January 2004 after President Eduard Shevardnadze resigned in a November 2003...
to power.
The 2006 gas pipeline explosions
2006 North Ossetia sabotages
The 2006 North Ossetia pipeline explosions consisted of two explosions on the Mozdok–Tbilisi pipeline in North Ossetia on January 22, 2006.The explosions suspended gas supply to Georgia and Armenia, at a time when the weather conditions were particularly severe...
and the Russian ban of Georgian wines and mineral waters
2006 Russian ban of Moldovan and Georgian wines
The 2006 Russian import ban of Moldovan and Georgian wines began in late March 2006 and created a diplomatic conflict between the Republic of Moldova and Georgia on the one hand and Russia on the other...
were interpreted by many as the means of the Government of Russia
Government of Russia
The Government of the Russian Federation exercises executive power in the Russian Federation. The members of the government are the prime minister , the deputy prime ministers, and the federal ministers...
's pressure on the Georgian leadership for the country's close ties with NATO and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The recent disruption of the Status quo ante
Status quo
Statu quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin "statu quo" – literally "the state in which" – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are...
in the Kodori Valley
Kodori Valley
The Kodori Valley is a river valley in Abkhazia, Georgia's breakaway autonomous republic. The valley's upper part, populated by Svans, was the only corner of the post-1993 Abkhazia, directly controlled by the central Georgian government, which officially styles the area as Upper Abkhazia...
in Abkhazia led to a further downturn in the already tensed Russian-Georgian relations.
In July 2006, the Georgian police and security forces took control of the Kodori Valley, hitherto controlled by the local Georgian militias led by the defiant commander Emzar Kvitsiani
Emzar Kvitsiani
Emzar Kvitsiani was a Georgian presidential representative in the Kodori Gorge.- 2006 Kodori crisis :...
. Georgian officials claimed that the Russian security services were behind the 2006 Kodori crisis
2006 Kodori crisis
The 2006 Kodori crisis erupted in late July 2006 in Abkhazia's Kodori Gorge, when a local militia leader declared his opposition to the Government of Georgia, which sent police forces to disarm the rebels...
, while Russian and Abkhaz authorities accused Georgia of violation of the previous ceasefire agreements by deploying an armed force in the Valley. In September 2006, the area was officially renamed Upper Abkhazia
Upper Abkhazia
Upper Abkhazia is a term introduced in 2006, to denote the northeastern part of the disputed territory of Abkhazia, that had remained under Georgian control after the 1992 - 1993 War in Abkhazia. From September 2006 until August 2008 its main village, Chkhalta, hosted the Government of the...
by the Georgian government and declared to be the "temporary administrative center" of Abkhazia until the conflict
Georgian-Abkhaz conflict
The Georgian–Abkhazian conflict refers to the ethnic conflict between Georgians and Abkhazians in Abkhazia, which is presently a de facto independent partially recognized republic...
is resolved.
Continuous anti-Russian statements by the Georgian government, such as the September 2006 speech by President Saakashvili in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, were interpreted by some Russian media sources as depicting Russia as the "barbarous tribe of Huns".
Timeline
- On September 27 four Russian officers (allegedly working for Russian military intelligenceMilitary intelligenceMilitary intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
, GRUGRUGRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
) and at least ten Georgian citizens were detained on espionageEspionageEspionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
charges in TbilisiTbilisiTbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
and other cities of Georgia. - On September 28 Russia recalled Vyacheslav KovalenkoVyacheslav KovalenkoVyacheslav Yevgenevich Kovalenko is a career diplomat and is currently the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Armenia...
, its ambassador, and began a partial evacuation of its staff from the country. - On September 29, Georgia charged the officers with spying and ordered them to be held for two months pending investigations. The Russian military headquarters in Tbilisi, Georgia, was encircled by Georgian police who were searching for an additional suspect allegedly involved in the February 2005 car bomb blast in the town of Gori, GeorgiaGori, GeorgiaGori is a city in eastern Georgia, which serves as the regional capital of Shida Kartli and the centre of the homonymous administrative district. The name is from Georgian gora , that is, "heap", or "hill"...
, which killed three Georgian police officers and destroyed a local police office. - On September 29, Russia proposed a draft of a strict resolution condemning "provocations of Georgia" to the United Nations Security CouncilUnited Nations Security CouncilThe United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
. The United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blocked the vote, however, on the account that the US delegation was "not satisfied with the document as it is," as the US AmbassadorUnited States Ambassador to the United NationsThe United States Ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is more formally known as the "Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations, with the rank and status of Ambassador...
to the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
John BoltonJohn R. BoltonJohn Robert Bolton is an American lawyer and diplomat who has served in several Republican presidential administrations. He served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations from August 2005 until December 2006 on a recess appointment...
put it.U.S. objects to proposed Russian statement on Georgia's arrest of Russian officers for spying, International Herald TribuneInternational Herald TribuneThe International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
, September 29, 2006. - On September 29, 2006, President Putin met Sergey Bagapsh and Eduard KokoityEduard KokoityEduard Dzhabeyevich Kokoity is the de facto President of South Ossetia.-Early life:Eduard Kokoity was born on 31 October 1964 in Tskhinvali, in the Georgian SSR, a part of the Soviet Union at the time. Kokoity was a member, and champion, of the Soviet Union's national wrestling team...
, the secessionist leaders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, respectively, who were invited as foreign guests, at the roundtable discussions on "Economic Development of Southern Russia" hosted in SochiSochiSochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...
, leading to protests from Georgia. - On October 2, the arrested Russian officers were handed over by the Georgian side to the Chairman of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), after being paraded in front of the international media in Tbilisi. OSCE Chairman-in-Office Karel De GuchtKarel De GuchtKarel Lodewijk Georgette Emmerence De Gucht is a Belgian politician who has been the European Commissioner for Trade since 2010...
had arrived in Tbilisi for the negotiations with the Georgian government. The officers returned to Moscow on the same day. - On October 3, Russia suspended air, rail, road, sea and postal links to Georgia, and stopped issuing entry visas to all Georgian citizens. The OSCE, UN, and the US called on Russia to match Georgia and take steps to decrease tension by reestablishing transport links with Georgia. However, Russia has rejected U.S. and EU calls to lift economic sanctions on Georgia.
- On October 3, Moscow police raided Georgian businesses in the capital of Russia, shut down a Georgian-owned casino and occupied a Georgian guest house. Although the Russian Interior Ministry described these moves as "routine, planned work… to combat ethnic organized crime groups," according to the ReutersReutersReuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
agency, law enforcement officials had received oral instructions to step up action against Georgians. - On October 4, the State DumaState DumaThe State Duma , common abbreviation: Госду́ма ) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma headquarters is located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to...
of the Russian Federation passed a resolution "on the anti-Russian and anti-democratic policies of the Georgian leadership," hinting at tougher retaliatory, though unspecified, moves in the future. These moves have largely been assessed by Georgia, Russian human rightsHuman rightsHuman rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
organization the Moscow Helsinki GroupMoscow Helsinki GroupThe Moscow Helsinki Group is an influential human rights monitoring non-governmental organization, originally established in what was then the Soviet Union; it still operates in Russia....
, and several media sources as "Moscow's anti-Georgian campaign". - On October 4, schools run by the Russian army in Georgia said they would no longer be admitting Georgian pupils. This was denied later by Russian officials.
- On October 5, in response to the sanctions, Georgia threatened to block Russia’s bid to join the World Trade OrganizationWorld Trade OrganizationThe World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
(WTO).
- On October 6, Russia deported by plane at least 130 Georgians accused of "immigration offences", following the Russian crackdown on allegedly criminal businesses owned by Georgians and the tightening of visa criteria for Georgians. Vice-president of the Federal Migration Service of Russia, Mikhail Tyurkin, noted that illegal immigrants "head home, to their mothers and children" and termed the mission "humanitarian". Additionally, Moscow police has allegedly asked schools to form "lists of children with Georgian-sounding surnames" to allow for background checks on their parents, opening the road for further deportations. These allegations were denied by Valery Gribakin, the Moscow Police spokesman.
- On October 6, the State Duma, the lower house of the Parliament of Russia, ratified a treaty with Georgia on the timeframe and modalities of withdrawing Russian bases from Georgia, as well as an agreement with Georgia on military transit, which gives Russia access to its base in GyumriGyumriGyumri is the capital and largest city of the Shirak Province in northwest Armenia. It is located about 120 km from the capital Yerevan, and, with a population of 168,918 , is the second-largest city in Armenia.The name of the city has been changed many times in history...
, ArmeniaArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, via Georgia. Both agreements were signed by Georgia and Russia on March 31, 2006.
On April 16, 2009 the case was brought before the European Court of Human Rights. The hearing was for the admissibility of the State vs. State case, a rare occurrence in this court with a ruling still pending.
Reactions
On September 29, Sergey Ivanov, Russia's Defense Minister and Vice Premier, denounced Georgia as a "bandit" state, and accused the NATO members of arming Georgia in support to "military solution" to the country's secessionist conflicts. Vladimir Zhirinovsky
Vladimir Zhirinovsky
Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky is a Russian politician, colonel of the Russian Army, founder and the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia , Vice-Chairman of the State Duma, and a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe....
, urged the government to exert economic and political pressure on Georgia, and consider military intervention.
On September 30, the BBC reported Foreign Minister of Georgia Gela Bezhuashvili
Gela Bezhuashvili
Gela Bezhuashvili is a Georgian politician and the current head of the Georgian Intelligence Service since February 1, 2008...
as saying that Georgia "expected Russia to honour the pullout agreement" and as accusing the Russian government of "trying to scare" Georgians.
President
President of Georgia
The President of Georgia is the head of state, supreme commander-in-chief and holder of the highest office within the Government of Georgia. Executive power is split between the President and the Prime Minister, who is the head of government...
Mikheil Saakashvili described the Russian government's reaction to the arrests as "hysteria."
President Putin said, on October 1, Georgia's arrest of four Russian army officers for spying was "an act of state terrorism
State terrorism
State terrorism may refer to acts of terrorism conducted by a state against a foreign state or people. It can also refer to acts of violence by a state against its own people.-Definition:...
with hostage-taking", a statement that was downplayed by Saakashvili as "an overreaction caused by nervousness that they have created by themselves."
Meanwhile, various international organizations are trying to defuse the diplomatic conflict between the two sides. On September 30, the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
foreign policy chief Javier Solana
Javier Solana
Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga, KOGF is a Spanish physicist and Socialist politician. After serving in the Spanish government under Felipe González and Secretary General of NATO , he was appointed the European Union's High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Secretary...
spoke by telephone with Mikheil Saakashvili, urging him to find a rapid solution and offering assistance. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), to which both Georgia and Russia belong, appealed, on October 1, for both sides to open a dialogue and seek a peaceful solution to the dispute. The OSCE Chairman-in-Office Karel De Gucht
Karel De Gucht
Karel Lodewijk Georgette Emmerence De Gucht is a Belgian politician who has been the European Commissioner for Trade since 2010...
said he was ready to travel to the region if needed and assist the conflicting sides to reduce the tensions.
On October 16, the Russian newspaper Versiya published an interview with the Georgian Defense Minister, Irakli Okruashvili
Irakli Okruashvili
Irakli Okruashvili is a Georgian politician who had served on various important posts in the Government of Georgia under President Mikheil Saakashvili, including being the Minister of Defense from December 2004 until being dismissed in November 2006.In September 2007, Okruashvili staged a...
where the minister stated that Russia "would lose if the quarrel between the two countries escalates into a shooting war". On the same day Yury Baluyevsky
Yury Baluyevsky
General of the Army Yury Nikolayevich Baluyevsky is the former First Deputy Minister of Defense and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, positions he held from July 2004 to 2008....
, the Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, responded that Russia does not plan a war with Georgia and warned about the "consequences of the provocation by the brash politician". The next day the Georgian Ministry of Defense denied that Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili was interviewed by the Russian newspaper and called the information "another provocation coinciding with the visit of NATO officials to Moscow." Russian newspaper asserted that the interview it published was genuine and the audio recording of the conversation between the reporter Ruslan Gorevoy and Okruashvili is available.
On September 17, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
's parliament
Riigikogu
The Riigikogu is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. All important state-related questions pass through the Riigikogu...
passed a declaration in support of "strengthening democracy in Georgia" and condemning "the endeavours by the Russian Federation to suppress Georgia's intentions by using economic sanctions and threats of [using] force."
Deportations
The deportationDeportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
of Georgian immigrants from Russia amid the ongoing diplomatic crisis also aroused much controversy. According to Russian authorities, more than half of the Georgians in the country are working illegally. Following the Russian crackdown on Georgian-owned alleged criminal businesses and the tightening of visa criteria for Georgians, on October 6, 2006, about 136 Georgians accused of "immigration offences" were flown back to Georgia on board a Russian cargo plane. Several deportees, however, showed valid passports and Russian entry visas, as reported by Reuters. In Georgia, the process of deportation and crackdown on allegedly illegal Georgian businesses in Moscow was described as “ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic orreligious group from certain geographic areas....
.”
Vice-president of the Federal Migration Service of Russia, Mikhail Tyurkin, said that immigrants "head home, to their mothers and children" and termed the mission "humanitarian."
The Russian authorities are also claimed to have begun targeting ethnic Georgian celebrities living in Moscow, including the famed Georgian-Russian fiction novelist Grigory Chkhartishvili better known by his penname Boris Akunin
Boris Akunin
Boris Akunin is the pen name of Grigory Shalvovich Chkhartishvili , a Russian writer. He is an essayist, literary translator and writer of detective fiction.-Life and career:...
. Akunin commented on the Russian radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
Echo of Moscow
Echo of Moscow
Echo of Moscow is a Russian radio station based in Moscow, broadcasting in many Russian cities, in some of the former-Soviet republics , and via the Internet, which some observers describe as "the last bastion of free media in Russia"...
that his publisher had been questioned by tax authorities over the writer's finances. "I didn't think I would live to see ethnic cleansing in Russia," he said. On October 6, the influential Russian human rights organization, Memorial
Memorial (society)
Memorial is an international historical and civil rights society that operates in a number of post-Soviet states. It focuses on recording and publicising the Soviet Union's totalitarian past, but also monitors human rights in post-Soviet states....
condemned both sides of the dispute, accusing the government of Russia of "racial discrimination," and Georgia of "irresponsible policies."
Mikhail Kasyanov
Mikhail Kasyanov
Mikhail Mikhailovich Kasyanov - was the Prime Minister of Russia from May 2000 to February 2004.He is the leader of the People's Democratic Union and an ex-member of the opposition coalition "The Other Russia".-Political career:...
, leader of Russia's Peoples Democratic Union and former Prime Minister of Russia
Prime Minister of Russia
The Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation The use of the term "Prime Minister" is strictly informal and is not allowed for by the Russian Constitution and other laws....
, made a following statement:
On October 6, the Moscow-based Echo of Moscow radio station called for expressing a protest against the authorities’ policy towards ethnic Georgian immigrants through pinning a badge saying "I am Georgian":
On October 7, a minor unsanctioned rally organized by opposition youth activists in support of the Georgians was dispersed and more than a dozen of its participants detained by Moscow police.
Background information
- Around Georgians reside in Russia as foreign workers.
- According to the 2002 All-Russia Population Census, Georgians have Russian citizenship.
- According to the director of Russian Migration Service, annual remittances (monetary transfers) of Georgian foreign workers from Russia to Georgia constitute 20% of Georgia's GDP — over 1 billion dollars a year.
- Russia is one of the most important Georgian trade partners, responsible for around 15% of total Georgian foreign trade.
- The Georgian share of Russian foreign trade makes up 0.5%.
- Russia's role in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, siding with the Abkhaz separatists, has been a cause for resentment in Georgia. The conflict resulted in the ethnic cleansingEthnic cleansing of Georgians in AbkhaziaThe Ethnic Cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia, also known as the Massacres of Georgians in Abkhazia and Genocide of Georgians in Abkhazia — refers to ethnic cleansing, massacres and forced mass expulsion of thousands of ethnic Georgians living in Abkhazia during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict...
of Georgians from the province of AbkhaziaAbkhaziaAbkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
, with the death of an estimated to Georgians and the displacement of over Georgian refugees, who had to be redistributed throughout Georgia, which has a population of only 4 million people. Weakened by the war, Georgia was forced to join the Commonwealth of Independent StatesCommonwealth of Independent StatesThe Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
and remain under the political influence of Russia. - Russia's continuing military presence in Georgia is also seen with resentment by many Georgians. Russia still maintains two Russian military bases in Georgia (the 62nd Base in AkhalkalakiAkhalkalakiAkhalkalaki is a small city in Georgia's southern region of Samtskhe-Javakheti with a population of 60,975. Akhalkalaki lies on the edge of the Javakheti Volcanic Plateau. The city is located about 30 km from the border with Turkey. 90 percent of the city's population are ethnic Armenians...
and the 12th in BatumiBatumiBatumi is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. Sometimes considered Georgia's second capital, with a population of 121,806 , Batumi serves as an important port and a commercial center. It is situated in a subtropical zone, rich in...
), remnants of the Soviet era, but the bases are in the process of being withdrawn. The process is scheduled to finish in 2007 for the Akhalkalaki base and in 2008 for the Batumi base. The headquarters of the Russian military forces in the Caucasus is located in Tbilisi. Due to the espionage conflict, the headquarters was closed down ahead of schedule: 287 Russian servicemen have left Georgia around December 31, 2006.
External links
- Context of Georgian-Russian spy rift
- Russia-Georgia spying row (RIA Novosti)
- Q&A: Russian-Georgian ties (BBC)
- In pictures: Russia-Georgia row (BBC)
- Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs press release, 27 September 2006.
- Lithuanian, Polish and Ukrainian support for Georgia
- Russia | The hardest word, The EconomistThe EconomistThe Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
, 16 October 2006 - Interview with Kakha BendukidzeKakha BendukidzeKakha Bendukidze is a Georgian politician and businessman.After the Rose Revolution, he served as Georgian Minister of Economy , Minister for Reform Coordination and Head of the Chancellery of Government of Georgia .- Studies :Bendukidze graduated from the...