The opposition used the topic of tourists and relocants from Russia against the "Georgian Dream".
Members of the opposition party "United National Movement" held a briefing at the checkpoint "Upper Lars", stating that the authorities of Georgia are pursuing a policy to increase the number of tourists and relocants from Russia. The "Georgian Dream" accused the opposition of inciting hatred, explaining the large flow of people through "Upper Lars" as the peak of the tourist season.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on August 19, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia denied reports of a mass entry of Russians through "Upper Lars", stating that just over 16,000 residents of different countries passed through the checkpoint in both directions in one day.
Georgian opposition members held a briefing at the checkpoint "Upper Lars"
Representatives of the opposition party "United National Movement" (UNM) held a briefing at the border checkpoint "Upper Lars" on August 25. The head of the temporary managing council of UNM Irakli Pavlenishvili accused the founder of the ruling "Georgian Dream", oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, and the current authorities of allegedly creating conditions for the mass entry of Russian citizens, the information agency GHN reported.
"The Lars checkpoint has been turned into the gates of Mordor by Ivanishvili and his regime," the agency quoted Pavlenishvili.
In his opinion, tourists and relocants from Russia are entering through "Upper Lars" "uncontrollably", obtaining Georgian citizenship through simplified procedures, acquiring real estate, property, and businesses. Pavlenishvili called what is happening "replacement of Georgians", linking it to the departure of Georgian citizens due to poverty and lack of prospects. The opposition member stated that such a situation threatens Georgian statehood.
"Upper Lars" is a "filter of national security," stated member of the political council of UNM Beso Shengelia. According to him, the authorities of Georgia are interested in further increasing the number of tourists and relocants from Russia. Shengelia's words, who also participated in the briefing, were quoted by the TV channel TV Pirveli on August 25 on its website.
Five days prior, on August 20, Pavlenishvili stated in Batumi that the increase in the number of tourists and relocants from Russia in the city has gained special momentum. He promised that after the UNM comes to power, real estate will be confiscated from Russian citizens who violated Georgian law "On Occupied Territories" and transferred to families of internally displaced persons, Interpressnews agency reported Pavlenishvili's words on August 20.
The ruling party "Georgian Dream" rejected the accusations of UNM. The chairman of the parliamentary committee on Eurointegration Levan Makashvili stated that the high flow across the border is related to the tourist season, and called the opposition rhetoric aimed at creating tension and inciting hatred based on ethnicity. From August 17 to 24, nearly 53,000 people entered Georgia through the checkpoint "Upper Lars", while 61,700 people exited, Makashvili's words were quoted by the Rustavi2 TV channel on August 26.
Conflicts with tourists periodically cause a resonance in Georgia
Recently, a number of conflicts have occurred in Georgia between local residents and tourists. For instance, in July, a conflict in one of the hotels in Telavi during a wedding caused a wide resonance: a resident of Georgia, Giorgi Chigladze, hit a tourist, whom Georgian media identified as a citizen of Russia and Turkey. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, citing witnesses, claimed that the tourists in the hotel insulted the wedding participants and splashed water on the sound equipment. The friend of the injured initially linked the conflict to the fact that the girls were speaking Russian. The court later released Chigladze on bail.
The versions of the conflict participants diverged. The tourists denied splashing water on the wedding participants and insulting them; however, a later published recording from the hotel camera confirmed that water was splashed on the wedding participants. At the same time, the recording itself did not establish who exactly did it.
Another conflict occurred on July 11 in Tbilisi during a march at the parliament in memory of Georgian fighters who died during the fighting in Ukraine. Georgian media identified the tourists as Russians. A video recording showed that the participants of the march shouted insults at them.
It should be noted that after the start of the special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine in 2022, Georgia became one of the destinations for relocants from Russia leaving the country, and after the announcement of partial mobilization in Russia, the flow sharply increased. In November 2022, the President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, stated that after the announcement of mobilization, more than 700,000 Russians crossed the Georgian border, about 100,000 of whom remained in the country, while the rest left.
"Caucasian Knot" also reported that disputes over entry conditions and attitudes towards Russian citizens arose in Georgia even after the first wave of relocation. In August 2022, the opposition party "Lelo" proposed to introduce a visa regime for Russian citizens, as well as to limit and control their acquisition of real estate, obtaining residence permits, and registering businesses. The "Georgian Dream" at that time called these demands an attempt to direct aggression towards a specific ethnic group.