Georgia: Tensions Rise as Russian Tourists Face Hostility in Batumi

2023-08-01 10:46:40

Georgia

When the tourists disembark, they are met with pure hatred

For Russian cruise guests, the stop in the Georgian city of Batumi was meant to be relaxing – instead, objects were being thrown and wild insults were being thrown. There is a long and uneven relationship behind it.

Updated1. Aug 2023, 12:46 p.m

This is not how you imagine arriving at the holiday resort: Georgians are protesting against Russian guests.

20Min/sbu

Summertime is vacation time – also for many Russian citizens.

In Georgia, the guests got to feel the anger of the local population towards the Kremlin.

In the future, the Russian cruise operator no longer wants to call at the city of Batumi.

This is certainly not how they imagined their holidays to be: when the Astoria Grande docked at the port of Batumi at the end of July, many Georgians were waiting on the shore. Instead of a warm welcome, they have clear opinions and posters with slogans ready for the passengers.

Because the Astoria Grande, which was in the service of the well-known Aida Cruises until 2021, has since been owned by a front company Russian investors be. They operate Black Sea cruises from Sochi to Turkey by ship, mainly transporting Russian tourists. On his tour, guests also get to see the Georgian coast – including a stop at the port of the city of Batumi.

Ships should avoid Georgia in the future

At the end of July 2023, however, at least two tourist groups were given a rude welcome, as countless videos on social media show. People wave Ukrainian flags, give the Russians the middle finger and throw objects at buses that transport tourists from the port to sights, while police shield the travelers. While the cruise operator announced during the protests that the ship would depart earlier than planned, it is now clear that ships like the Astoria Grande will no longer call at the port of Batumi.

This rejection of the Russian state and its citizens is no coincidence: just a few days after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was enough Georgia submitted an application to join the EUlarge parts of the population see Russia in the Ukraine war as a clear aggressor – according to Survey from 2022 even 90 percent of the population in Russia see the greatest threat to Georgia.

Finally, in 2008, the country experienced first-hand what it means to have the Russian bear as a neighbor: After Georgia declared its independence in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union, pro-Russian separatists took control of two regions that made up one-fifth of Georgia’s territory.

The eternal threat to Russia

On August 1, 2008, separatists shelled Georgian villages in violation of a previously agreed ceasefire. The situation then escalated, and Kremlin troops who had entered the country illegally managed to take most of the disputed area within days. While a new ceasefire put an end to hostilities, Russia the separatist areas as independent states and has since threatened to defend it as their own territory.

The parallels with Ukraine are hard to overlook – Georgians’ anger at the Russian state and those they see lingering since the start of the Ukraine invasion thus has its roots in the early Soviet era. Because first explained himself Georgia as independent after the October Revolution – but was occupied by the Red Army three years later and incorporated into the Soviet Union.

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