Black Sea musings. State of the war and other observations

Interesting times indeed

This week I find myself back in my beloved Georgia. Not the US state, for the geographically challenged, but the country 20% occupied by Russia.

Georgians as a people are only less than Ukranians in pro-Ukraine sentiment. You have to be here to see it. You can’t walk 50 metres without that yellow and blue flag on buildings, hanging from balconies, as a bumper sticker on cars and so on. Sadly, the government is not the same way and this has infuriated the average Georgian- and there are regular rallies, demonstations and protests- some of the biggest in the world, for the people to let the government know what they think.

I have been away for more than a year, preparing to move my family here to Australia, but it is nice to be back where I lived for 6 years. That was after 7 years in Russia before being hounded out by the FSB. Georgia took me in and made everything easy for me, I even found my wife here. So the place is dear to my heart.

There are some challenges here with the influx of Russians, and some Ukrainians, that had rents triple. There are Georgians who believe no Russians should be here, whether as tourists or fleeing the war and chances of conscription. A rather solid argument is that if the Russian population gets ingrained here, whether pro or anti- Putin, Putin might decide to ‘rescue’ them in the future.

My thoughts are more economic. I saw how the arrival of 2 million ex-Soviet Jews to Israel transformed the country from an agarian society in deep recession to a technological power house. Israel’s gain and Russia’s loss. If the best and brightest of Russia are in Georgia, Armenia, Cyprus, Turkiye, Kazakhstan and Dubai(some of the main destinations), then those places get the benefit of an influx of IT workers, and Russia misses out. Plus the pool of potential soldiers and officers diminishes.

But Georgian feelings have to be taken into account, I might be a permanent resident but I am not a citizen. I need to listen to what Georgians are saying.

Where I draw the line, though, is when it comes to the Russian language. Many young people are proud of the fact they don’t know Russian, hate anything Russian and so on. On…