Government transparency has long been a rallying cry for Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s administration, but when it comes to public information about the state budget, that transparency can be hard to find.
After years of sidestepping criticism on the topic, Georgia’s governing United National Movement is preparing to tighten media ownership regulations. Tbilisi’s chief intent is to ban “offshore” ownership of Georgian media outlets.
When news first surfaced that Georgia would introduce a new civil defense program for schools, attention focused on the prospect of teachers with no military background scrambling to learn how to load and fire assault rifles. But two months into the program, educators and lawmakers describe a course that appears closer to Boy Scouts training than to the ROTC.
Officials in Georgia harbor ambitions of turning the South Caucasus country into a global cultural center, but those plans took a big hit when a deal to bring the New York Philharmonic to Tbilisi imploded recently. Now, Georgian officials are scrambling to repair the damage done to the country’s image.
A young girl chooses winter clothes during a charity event in Tbilisi to give children in need warm coats and clothes. The charity event, organized by Clothing Others Against The Snow (COATS), planned to provide clothing to more than 120 children.
Poverty is widespread in Georgia: according to a 2009 survey by the Caucasus Research Resource Center, only 3 percent of the population said they can afford to buy "expensive durables," such as refrigerators.
Molly Corso is a freelance photojournalist based in Tbilisi.
Rather than generate enthusiasm and buzz, the adoption of a new constitution in Georgia seems to have exposed a vast reserve of popular political apathy.
President Mikheil Saakashvili’s administration is trying to implement a bold plan to turn Georgia’s highest mountain peaks into a world-class recreational playground. The project is proceeding even though a study to evaluate its environmental sustainability has yet to be completed.
A proposed new constitution for Georgia, expected to be approved by parliament this month, is feeding speculation about the political motives of President Mikheil Saakashvili’s administration. Saakashvili and his allies insist the new constitution would enhance Georgia’s system of checks and balances. But critics contend that the president is trying to rig the political system in his favor.
