CNN: ‘To spite Putin, come visit Georgia’

CNN has published an article in which American freelance journalist based in Tbilisi Will Cathcart addresses travellers, wine drinkers, hikers and beachgoers to visit Georgia as “the country of Georgia needs you”.

Dear anybody looking for an adventure or wanting to spite Russian President Vladimir Putin. The country of Georgia needs you. If you've ever considered visiting this small Black Sea nation nestled between Russia and Turkey, now is the time. For those of you who have already been, it is time to return”, reads the article.

Cathcart notes Putin’s ban on Russian airlines flying to Georgia starting July 8, after protests broke out in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi last week against the visit of a Russian politician and “NOT against the Russian people”. 

In reaction to these #TbilisiProtests, Putin is trying to punish, subdue, and bankrupt the Georgian people for speaking truth to power, for exercising their right to assemble and for ultimately sacking their speaker of Parliament, who resigned after protesters demanded it…If Putin has his way, the Georgian economy will lose up to $300 million, according to one estimate cited by Russia's state-run TASS news agency”, reads the article.

Cathcart notes that Russian media have tried to portray the protests as ‘Russophobic’, “[but they are] not . . . because of Putin's actions (and a previous Soviet strategy to divide and conquer the region) 20% of this country is occupied by Russian forces. The truth is complex, but it's not hard to understand: Georgians want their country back. And they want to share it with visitors because they are proud of this land”, read the article. 

Read the full story here.