"It is possible that Zurabishvili may flee Georgia."

President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili has refused to step down from her presidential post. Moreover, she has issued an ultimatum to the government, demanding the announcement of new parliamentary elections within five days.

"On December 29, following the inauguration of the new president, Zurabishvili will lose her authority. Her security detail will be withdrawn, and she will become an ordinary citizen.

Legally, she does not have the authority to call elections. If Zurabishvili takes such an action, criminal proceedings will be initiated against her. In that case, she will either be arrested or forced to leave the country.

This is why Zurabishvili insists that the ruling party, "Georgian Dream," set the election date instead of her. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has reportedly given her a choice: to remain free or go to prison.

There is no possibility of armed conflict or military action in Georgia. The authorities have all the necessary levers of power, and protests in the country are reportedly dwindling. While the president is attempting to position herself as a leader, it is evident that she does not hold that role in reality. This sentiment is widely felt. Therefore, it is likely that she will leave the country and declare herself a "president in exile," similar to the model of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in Belarus.

In the years to come, Zurabishvili may claim that she "fought for democracy," but that the "pro-Russian" government and the "Georgian Dream" party suppressed her, forcing her to leave," commented Archil Sikharulidze, a political analyst and founder of the SIKHA Foundation research institute, to Lomovka.

Ведь сама идея интеграции в НАТО и ЕС была изначально попыткой сбалансировать рассматриваемую Тбилиси как агрессивную политику Москвы за счет вовлечения новых политических игроков в регион. НАТО воспринимался как военный блок, а ЕС – финансовый и образовательный ресурсы. Их трансформация в предметы религиозной направленности произошла уже постфактум на фоне кризиса политического класса, мысли, неспособности этого же класса и местных философов-мыслителей предложить определенные реальные социально-политические, экономические реформы.

The original idea of NATO and EU integration was a strategy to counterbalance Moscow’s perceived aggression by involving new political players in the region. NATO was seen as a military bloc, and the EU as a source of financial and educational resources. Their transformation into ideological symbols occurred later against the backdrop of a political class crisis and the failure of Georgian thinkers and philosophers to propose tangible socio-political and economic reforms.

РУ: https://www.ng.ru/dipkurer/2024-12-22/11_9161_georgia.html

ENG: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/georgia-does-want-return-bright-future-archil-sikharulidze-tdj0f

Впервые за независимую историю Грузии, президент государства не объединяет народ, а разделяет его, обвиняя всех несогласных в пророссийских настроениях. В стан «недоброжелателей» европейского пути страны, «неправильные грузины», попали не только все избиратели ГМ, но те, кто считает необходимым вести переговоры с властью без радикальных требований.

For the first time in Georgia’s independent history, the president is not uniting the nation but dividing it, accusing all dissenters of being pro-Russian. Among the "enemies" of the European path and the "wrong Georgians" are not only all GD voters but also those who believe in negotiating with the authorities without radical demands.

РУ: https://dialogorg.ru/analytics/articles/salome_zurabishvili_protiv_novogo_goda_v_gruzii/
ُENG: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/salome-zourabichvili-against-new-year-georgia-archil-sikharulidze-ook8f

У Саломе Зурабишвили нет никаких рычагов влияния. Ее призывы к военным и полиции перестать следовать приказам правительства провалились. Большая часть населения не видит в ней лидера. Не имеют успеха и ее попытки заставить Евросоюз и Америку объявить Грузию «персоной нон грата».

Salome Zurabishvili has no levers of influence. Her calls to the military and police to stop following government orders have failed. Most of the population does not see her as a leader. Her attempts to push the EU and the US to declare Georgia a 'persona non grata' have also failed.

РУ: https://www.mk.ru/politics/2024/12/23/net-nikakikh-rychagov-vliyaniya-ekspert-ocenil-poslednee-preduprezhdenie-zurabishvili.html

ENG: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/levers-influence-expert-evaluates-zurabishvilis-final-sikharulidze-dkumf

Статья доступна и на русском языке.

The reinterpretation of the Soviet past in the countries of the former USSR is closely linked to the politics of memory and the victimization of history. Western scholarship actively develops the idea of victimhood, which, on the one hand, delves into historical traumas, and on the other, provides an alternative perspective on historical events. By equating Soviet power, ideology, and legacy with those of Nazi Germany, Western thinkers often cast post-Soviet states as victims. However, despite the prolonged process of victimizing the Soviet past, the Georgian historical school remains dualistic and is not yet ready to wholly perceive its Soviet legacy as something entirely alien, imposed, or negative. Georgian scholars acknowledge historical traumas but also recognize the phenomenal achievements of Georgian Soviet thought. This duality sharply contrasts with the politics of memory in Poland, the Baltic states, and Ukraine.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/387470295_Sikharulidze_A_Georgian_Dualism_as_a_Model_of_Memory_Politics

Грузинская Мечта победила в политической борьбе дома, Саломе Зурабишвили больше не президент, политической оппозиции нет и единственная надежда на то, что определенная часть мейнстримовой номенклатуры в Европы "накажет" Грузию. Эта статья актуальна как никогда.

РУ: https://www.ng.ru/vision/2024-10-13/5_9113_georgia.html

Georgian Dream won the political battle at home. Salome Zourabichvili is no more, political opposition is non-existent and the only hope still is that some part of the European mainstream nomenclature will "punish" the state. This piece is actual as never before.

ENG: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-dream-wins-again-georgia-archil-sikharulidze-ppvqf/

Я люблю грузинскую оппозицию и их сподвижников - они продолжают делать деньги с Россией, торговать с Россией; они не признают выборы, но получают деньги по их итогам и все равно называют их сфабрикованными.

I love Georgian opposition and its supporters—we continue making money with Russia, trading with Russia; we don't recognize elections, but we will get money and continue calling these elections rigged.

РУ: https://caliber.az/post/gruzinskaya-oppoziciya-parlament-ne-priznayom-no-ot-gosfinansirovaniya-ne-otkazyvaemsya

ENG: https://caliber.az/en/post/georgian-opposition-rejects-parliament-but-accepts-state-funding

Поздравляю всех с наступающим Новым Годом. Вспомнил советский анекдот про Адаму и Еву. Встретимся уже в 2025 году!

Прошедший год был полон научных достижений. Пора расширять границы мышления и в этом году моя научная деятельность доберется до Арабского мира. Январь начнется с конференции в Дохе, Катар.

The past year was full of scientific achievements. It's time to push the boundaries of thought, and this year my research activities will reach the Arab world. January will begin with a conference in Doha, Qatar.

გასული წელი აღსავსე იყო სამეცნიერო მიღწევებით. აზროვნების გაფართოების დროა და ამ წელს ჩემი სამეცნიერო საქმიანობა არაბულ სამყარომდე მივა. იანვარი დაიწყება კონფერენციით დოჰაში, ყატარი.

Моя довольно-таки длинная обзорная статья о Саломе Зурабишвили. С чего начинала и куда ушла.

https://sputnik-georgia.ru/20241231/do-vstrechi-madmuazel-zurabishvili--proshloe-nastoyaschee-i-buduschee-291609459.html

My decisive piece on Salome Zourabichvili's path from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia to unpredictability.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/see-you-later-madam-zourabichvili-past-present-future-sikharulidze-yzr2f/

Пока люди отдыхают, вернемся к старым работам. Гражданское противостояние отменяется в Грузии, протесты стали обычной "бытовухой".

РУ: https://caliber.az/post/protesty-v-gruzii-ne-privedut-k-grazhdanskoj-vojne

While people are resting, let's return to old works. Civil confrontation is canceled in Georgia; protests have become an ordinary "domestic routine."

ENG: https://caliber.az/en/post/protests-in-georgia-will-not-lead-to-civil-war

Сегодня речь идет не о Европейском будущем в Грузии, а о том, повторим ли бы судьбу Румынии, где выборы просто отменили, поскольку так захотел Брюссель. К счастью, у большей части населения страны еще осталось чувство собственного достоинства.

РУ: https://caliber.az/post/zurabishvili-illyuziya-vliyaniya-i-politika-dlya-kamer

Today it is not about the European future of Georgia. It is about whether we are going to become another Romania where elections can be simply cancelled because Brussels demanded so. Thanks God, majority of Georgians still have national dignity.

ENG: https://caliber.az/en/post/georgia-s-pro-european-protests-to-fade

დღეს საუბარი არა ევროპულ მომავალზეა, არამედ იმაზე, გავიზიარებთ თუ არა რუმინეთის ბედს, სადაც არჩევნები გააუქმეს, რადგან ბრიუსელს ასე მოუნდა. საბედნიეროდ, მოსახლეობის უმრავლესობას ჩვენთან ჯერ კიდევ გააჩნია ეროვნული ღირსება.

Попытка некоторых Европейских стран «подчинить» себе Грузию очевидна. Причина банальна, национальные интересы. Не нужна им критически настроенная страна и общество.

Attempts by some European countries to “subdue” Georgia is obvious. The reason is very simple, national interests. They simply don’t need the state and the society that can raise questions and challenge narratives.

Attempts by some European countries to “subdue” Georgia is obvious. The reason is very simple, national interests. They simply don’t need the state and the society that can raise questions and challenge narratives:

Georgian political scientist Archil Sikharulidze says that the recent meeting of EU foreign ministers was very revealing.

"We saw that there are countries lobbying for the interests of the opposition. But there are also those who, as they say, support the choice of the Georgian people. The latter group includes not only Hungary and Slovakia but also major states like Spain and Italy. They do not want to impose sanctions on 'Georgian Dream' just because someone dislikes this party. As for the protests, their scale has already significantly decreased, and they will gradually fade away completely. I am confident that a change of power in the country will not occur through street protests," he notes.

https://iz.ru/1808759/igor-karmazin/tramp-pridet-poradok-navedet-cto-proishodit-s-gruzinskim-maidanom

Каждый год небольшая часть грузинского общества празднует Рождество 25 декабря, в то время как остальная страна официально отмечает его 7 января. Они называют это "с Европой" и обвиняют других в пророссийских настроениях. Эта статья подробно объясняет столкновение этих нарративов.

РУ: https://sputnik-georgia.ru/20250107/gruziya-rozhdestvo-s-evropoy-ili-s-rossiey-291657455.html

Every year, a small part of Georgian society celebrates Christmas on December 25, while the rest of the country officially on January 7. They call it "with the Europe" and blame others for being pro-Russian. This piece explains the clash of the narratives in detail.

ENG: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/georgia-christmas-europe-russia-archil-sikharulidze-d5bef/