The 2023 cohort of the KAS Academy for Political Education convened at Fabrika, organized by KAS office in Tbilisi. As part of an open application process, students from Ilia State University, Tbilisi State University, and Kutaisi State University were chosen to participate in the three-part program.

Each day of the academy focused on a specifc subject relating to poltical education: Freedom, Welfare, Societal Order and Equality. Throughout the program the participants not only participated in discussions with political and civil society actors, but also developed four unique project proposals, of which one was selected in the end to be supported by KAS.

Russia Abolishes Visa Regime and Lifts Ban on Airline Flights with Georgia

The decree #335 signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, states that from May 15, 2023 citizens of Georgia will be able to enter and leave Russia without a visa for up to 90 days on the basis of valid identity documents, including for educational purposes, the document says.

In addition, the ban on Russian airline flights to Georgia will be also lifted from May 15, 2023. The direct air links between Russia and Georgia were cut off in July 2019, a decision taken unilaterally by Moscow following anti-Russian protests in Tbilisi.

After the publication of the decrees, the Foreign Ministry of Russia said it was cancelling the recommendation for Russians to refrain from travelling to Georgia.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili criticized the decision, writing: “Another Russian provocation! Resuming direct flights and lifting [the] visa ban with Georgia is unacceptable as long as Russia continues its aggression on Ukraine and occupies our territory.” The opposition also criticized the move as a provocation by Russia, while the foreign minister Darchiashvili lauded the move.

BBC Investigation links former defence minister to a Global Scam Network

The BBC  published an investigation detailing the results of a year-long journalistic investigation into a global fraudulent trading network that defrauded unwitting customers. The investigation produced a number of names that eventually led to a single figure – David Kezerashvili, the former defense minister of Georgia. The journalistic investigation spanned one year and identified a shadowy network of individuals behind it.

Known to the police as the Milton Group, it comprised 152 brands, including Solo Capitals, defrauding customers of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Investigators mapped the links between companies in the Milton group using publicly available company documents. Investigators also found that four Georgian nationals were listed as directors or senior figures in a group of linked offshore companies or subsidiaries that predated the aforementioned Milton group.

Bundestag delegation visits Georgia

The Bundestag’s Committee on European Union Affairs delegation visited Georgia on May 2-5. The delegation was led by Christian Petry from the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and comprised of Ralph Brinkhaus, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and several other German politicians.

During their visit, the delegation members met with several government representatives and also held meetings with representatives from the parliament, civil society, media, and culture.

The focus of the meetings was on reforms for EU membership, closer cooperation with the EU, regional security challenges, geo-political issues, and the Germany-Georgian relations.

Armenia ranks 49th (up from 51st last year) in the 2023 World Press Freedom Index released by the international NGO Reporters Without Borders today.

Georgia is listed as 77th in the ranking, Azerbaijan 151st and Azerbaijan is ranked 164st. Armenia’s southern neighbor Iran is 177th on the list.

According to the report, despite a pluralistic environment, the media landscape in Armenia remain polarized and the country is facing an unprecedented level of disinformation and hate speech, especially concerning the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The 21st edition of the World Press Freedom Index, compiled annually by Reporters Without Borders, sheds light on major and often radical changes linked to political, social and technological upheavals.

Armenia ready for Russian-led border mission, says Pashinyan

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has announced that Armenia is ready to accept border observers from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russian-led security bloc, which Armenia is a part of.

“Not only is Russia ready, but Armenia is also ready,” Pashinyan told reporters. “We have outlined the scope of our concerns, and, in fact, our objective is to make the potential mission effective. This is important both for Armenia, and the CSTO, and the region. And we continue to work in that direction.” CSTO leaders proposed deploying monitors to the Armenia-Azerbaijan border at a summit in Yerevan last November, but Pashinyan rejected the offer, citing the alliance’s failure to address Azerbaijan’s major assault on three dozen Armenian municipalities two months prior.

Armenia’s permanent population is 2,928,914, according to new census

The preliminary results of the census were released this month. The current population, according to the census, is 2,638,917. This number “includes the sum of the number of the population permanently (usually) residing in Armenia and present at the time of enumeration and temporarily present at the time of enumeration. The number of temporary presents includes persons who are in Armenia for no more than one year at the time of the census and persons who do not live permanently in Armenia.”
Armenian authorities conducted census twice before, in 2001 and 2011. In 2001, the permanent population and current population stood at 3,213,011 and 3,002,598 respectively. In 2011, the permanent population was 3,018,854, while the current population was 2,871,771.

Azerbaijan sets up checkpoints on the Lachin corridor

Bilateral talks between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Washington were held over the course of “a few days”, according to a senior official in the United States privy to details of the negotiations schedule. “Both parties have acknowledged that this is the first time that they will be able to meet over the course of a few days,” the official said. “ The first bilateral meeting between the Foreign Ministers Ararat Mirzoyan, of Armenia, and Jeyhun Bayramov, of Azerbaijan, took place and followed their separate meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken as well as their trilateral meeting in Washington. Prior to the meetings Blinken said in phone calls with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan – Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and President Ilham Aliyev – that the United States remained committed to supporting the peace efforts of the two countries. The official at the State Department said that the Washington talks between Mirzoyan and Bayramov were focused on trying conclude an agreement on “normalization of relations.” 

Azerbaijani political parties dissolved amid restrictive law

Azerbaijani political parties have been dissolving themselves one after another since a restrictive law went into effect early this year.

All 15 parties that disbanded over the course of March and April were supportive of President Ilham Aliyev's government and effectively existed to create a simulacrum of pluralism in the authoritarian petrostate. Some indicated that their decision was related to the newly adopted law on political parties but had nothing bad to say about it. 

The chairman of the Party of the Enlightened, Gulamhuseyn Alibayli, told Berlin-based news outlet Meydan TV that the party convened and decided to disband, "taking into account current geopolitical and political-legal realities," without elaborating any further. 

Others produced longer statements: The Azerbaijan Liberal Democrat Party, which was founded in 1999, effectively acknowledged that it no longer had a reason to exist, particularly since Azerbaijan's victory in the Second Karabakh War of 2020.