Treatment of Georgians in Russia
Global Voices has a digest of posts and comments about the treatment of ethnic Georgians in Russia following the recent spy scandal in Tbilisi and the blockade of Georgia — and indirectly Armenia — by Russia.
Blogger Sukhumi has been following the coverage of the persecution of Georgians in Russia (previous Global Voices posts are here and here). He writes (RUS):
On the TV channel “Imedi” I saw a demonstration in St. Petersburg against the persecution of Georgians. To my delight, I caught sight of my friend Valiko. I am very grateful that, unafraid of the consequences, she took to the streets and made her stand as a citizen. It’s in times like this that you learn who is a real person, and who is just an empty shell.
But most of the news is bad. It seems even sport is becoming politicised. The ‘Kremlin Cup’ tennis tournament, Sukhumi writes, has just been won by ethnic Georgian Anna Chakvetadze - in the face of a crowd shouting taunts like “Georgians go to Georgia!”. And another Georgian sports star has fled Russia:
Yesterday Elena Gedevanishvili returned to Tbilisi. She is a Georgian figure-skater, trained in Moscow, who has won sixth place at the Winter Olympics. Her parents were deported from Russia on the first plane; Elena herself went [first] to Vienna, where she won some big competition…
Of course, racism in Russia is not just confined to Georgians. As the Global Voices digest points out it concerns everyone from the South Caucasus and Central Asia, including Armenians. The Global Voices post is here.
Comment by Onnik — October 18, 2006 @ 6:40 pm