Lots of good May 26 events in #Georgia & diaspora. Here's one in #Berlin by Gza. www.linkedin.com/posts/gza-eu...

How authoritarian has Georgia become at this point? The @nytimes.com tracker on authoritarianism provides 12 dimensions, many of which are more universally applicable, from democratic control, courts, rule of law. Take a look. We're now collecting input to assess how these map onto Georgia.

Little Ingorovka Tiger #Tbilisi #Georgia #cats

students of #IliaStateUniversity stood up for right thing, organized in elections (traditionally captured by state) & ran cool campaign. Lots of grim things - but this inspiring story using space available to good people. Well done!!! #Georgia #education ganatleba.substack.com/p/the-iliaun...

This kind of leveling & authentic connecting w people would work well in various other countries & contexts also.

end of Fidesz' reign today!!! We will party in Tbilisi, too. "O God, bless the nation of #Hungary With your grace and bounty!" #Georgia

Nice surprise!! There are Georgian Audio books on Spotify! #Tbilisi #Georgia

free research & science are under attack in Georgia -- but institution directly affiliated with Iranian regime is allowed to operate freely in Marneuli etc. A truly stark contrast. The people who point it out are threatened by Georgian authorities. open.substack.com/pub/ganatleb...

American historian @marcishore.bsky.social at #IliaUni talking about authoritarianism, known tropes, retro-hierarchies, scapegoating to avoid responsibility, Ionesco's rhinos roaming anew & how Vaclav #Havel's greengrocer is very relevant again.

Student arrested at Ilia University today, apparently for peaceful protest. Hello to @tum.de in Munich that continues to collaborate with & legitimize GD's key enterprises & would prefer its critics to shut up. #Georgia www.tum-scandal.com

When the moment will come, Kobakhidze cannot know, but he needs to worry about outliving his usefulness pretty much all the time, esp as the Orban model has been shown to be v vulnerable. Mdinaradze's name has been tested in their polling. #Georgia.

Cue the enthusiastic stray dogs!!!

The excellent @jamesbarr.bsky.social on the deeper past of #Iran & #Persia that shapes, in part, the present crisis, well worth listening to get a broader view. Podcasts at their best, thx @snellarthur.bsky.social pca.st/episode/ae4c...

"What did these USAID people do if they can't get a job now?" — an actual comment after the cuts. One answer: they helped halve abortion rates in Georgia, in a huge improvement for maternal health. Almost no one talked about it & and here's more on this & why. open.substack.com/pub/hansgutb...

International Dance Day was celebrated in Yerevan's Republic Square.

on standing up for values at a time of nihilistic totalitarianism in #Georgia -- remarks from an event in Berlin a month ago, here in English. open.substack.com/pub/hansgutb...

more on shadowy networks from the great Giorgi Lomsadze -- who is not only a friend but also my godfather (story to itself), so this is a truly nepotistic recommendation: tamadatales.substack.com/p/when-your-... #Georgia

the great Giorgi Lomsadze finally comes to Substack! You miss out if you do not follow!!! #Georgia tamadatales.substack.com/p/how-touris...

from a few days ago -- @reuters.com covers the restructuring of education system in #Georgia, very good overview by Lucy Papachristou, title says it all. www.reuters.com/world/europe...

Digging up Leonidze in Sololaki/ Mtatsminda. Traffic sometimes backed up hundreds of meters on Rustaveli. #Tbilisi #Georgia

Evocative writing, highly attentive & it makes some rather excellent points.

#Georgia's most eminent writers are protesting against the Ministry of Culture participating in the Paris Book Fair. #art #literature furchtbarejuristen.substack.com/p/georgian-w...

German professors at KIU, incl prominent figures at @tum.de @badw.de @uni-bamberg.de who are in the International Advisory Council, say that Prof Aliko Tsintsadze is not really present there. They are demonstrably not telling the truth. @efdavies.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/ganatleb...

in a seminar in mid-March 2026, Prof Stephen Jones argued the Georgian Dream believes it can secure its future by seizing the classroom. Drawing on Chomsky, Foucault, Soviet history, & Anne Applebaum, Jones argues that this attempt is doomed to fail. ganatleba.substack.com/p/stephen-jo...

This morning, Kobakhidze will be wondering whether BI decides that his ultra divisive Orban-style of governing has outlived its usefulness, now that it looks so damaged & entirely damageable. He won't be involved in the actual consultation & decision, that's not how it works.

Watching truly bad guys getting defeated, in #Tbilisi, with Hungarian friends, this is a truly great historic moment. #Orban conceded!!! #Hungary The closest ally of GD now gone. Shows that lies, corruption, division do not last forever. #Georgia

this is an extraordinary interview by @gavinnewsom.bsky.social with Ken Burns, with so many great moments. Also the task of a patriot to keep “fellow citizens awake to their grievances" (Samuel Adams). Very relevant to present reality also: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jus...

Withering indictment, in the end, of (named) German law profs who continued collaborating with GD when everyone sensible saw that this helped legitimize the destruction of the rule of law. In German but Translate will get you the substance. Stark read. #Georgia www.welt.de/politik/ausl...

other than me, a really excellent line-up for the #Georgia event in Oxford from May 26. events.ox.ac.uk/oxford_event...

A stark read, and as so often history, here the teaching of it, helps to explain where we're at. #history #Georgia #Russia open.substack.com/pub/ganatleb...

Evening views over #Tbilisi.

why what happens at KIU and @tum.de while about #Georgia, is about a deeper question of scholarly integrity. #NoKings applies at universities also. It is odd that people in Munich do not seem to understand this. #education. open.substack.com/pub/ganatleb...

"The Iranian leadership knows they are outgunned, but they think they can outlast the US." Very nuanced podcast on the present fix, w @alivaez.bsky.social to understand inside perspectives that are rarely outlined as well. #Iran pca.st/episode/20a2...

Probably the member of staff of the Georgian Post that most enjoys hanging out at the office!!! Via the good people from www.dog.org.ge.

GD claims that the restructuring of #education is needed "to save money" -- this turns out to be simply & demonstrably untrue. More evidence that it is really nihilistic totalitarianism that it's driving what goes on. Adrian Novak breaks it down for Ganatleba. ganatleba.substack.com/p/the-cost-s...

why is Eagle Hills so risky as a project? Its lack of transparency creates lots of backchannels for shady deals, also on residency & golden passports. This Substack follows story, also looking at EH in other countries. Really worth subscribing to. open.substack.com/pub/unaccoun...

hundreds of scholars from around world expressed their solidarity with Ilia State University #Georgia. I have often been critical of a residual few who collaborate w perpetrators, but real story is how many colleagues are *entirely* clear in their values. More than open.substack.com/pub/ganatleb...

And this...

Let's see. I don't see quite enough yet that speaks to the people they haven't reached in the past, but that they made this step is definitely much much better than going around in circles.

Interesting to read this from Georgia, though of course contexts vastly different (and now Imedi anyway on the ropes, making it different again).

Iran feels both close and far from Georgia -- would be a very long trip on the road, but AZE border anyway closed for years, long day from Yerevan. In other ways, shortest distance from border to border would be 170-ish km, across Armenia, along the Turkish side. Shorter than most ppl assume.

Why is Eagle Hills such a terrible project for Georgia and Georgians? This article puts some of the key pieces on this together, based on how little the project delivered elsewhere. #Georgia

the "Labor Market Study" presented as a justification for drastic restructuring & unconstitutional assault on higher education is a charade and does not meet minimum standards of evidence -- we take a closer look for Ganatleba #education #Georgia open.substack.com/pub/ganatleb...

And did so on Estonian Independence Day -- of course also expressing my support for Ambassador Marge Mardisalu-Kaher, though I guess I won't be invited in for a chat.

while superficially attractive to many, this will likely informalize more employment; make Georgia less attractive to many international students; create opportunities for corruption. Fully in line with destructive assault of GD all around. oc-media.org/georgia-shar...

This dog has it totally worked out! #Tbilisi #AirportDog #3am

Well worth a read. A slightly more whacky version of Putin’s Russkiy Mir worldview. And evocative what’s happening in the US under Trump.

I do not think I am promising too much if I say that this story will blow your mind -- how esoteric numerology with bizarro claims about Aryan, Chaldeans and Mesopotamia gives you a surprisingly accurate insight of how to understand #Georgia today. open.substack.com/pub/ganatleb...

You are not legitimate if you threaten to prosecute those that challenge your legitimacy. #Georgia

Georgia: Freedom Square led by Levan Tsutskiridze is transforming into a political party. Last weekend they held a large conference attended by around 800. Amidst the disintegrating and decapitated opposition, Tsutskiridze convinced everyone only protests is not enough. oc-media.org/amidst-state...