According to the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia Shalva Papuashvili, President Salome Zourabichvili's statement that hearing the Russian language is a problem constitutes xenophobia, and it’s a lie that Russian citizens are uncontrollably crossing the border into Georgia.
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‘‘Russia has two of our regions occupied. This occupation must be ended, but most importantly, it must end without more bloodshed, and not as the National Movement envisions, by turning Georgia into a battlefield.
As for the Russian citizens in Georgia - the recent statement by Salome Zourabichvili, that hearing the Russian language is a problem for the Georgian people, is absolute xenophobia, which everyone should distance from. After all, we in Georgia have more than 10,000 citizens for whom Russian is a native language. Talking about people in terms of nationality and ethnicity is xenophobia, which is despicable. I am not surprised by Ms. Salome Zourabichvili’s statement, having violated the constitution and all...’’ - said Papuashvili.
In October, the President of Georgia spoke in a story prepared by the CBS television company about Georgia, which centers on the Russian occupation.
‘‘It is very disturbing to keep hearing people speak the language of your enemy in your own country all the time, who believe and behave like they are at home. This limit should be maintained so that we can avoid future incidents that would allow Russia to apply its favorite doctrine - the protection of Russian-speaking citizens.’’
When asked why Georgia does not refuse the entry of Russian citizens into the country, Salome Zourabichvili answered that this question should be directed to the authorities: ‘‘Unfortunately, I do not have executive power,’’ she said.
In January through June 2023, 578 thousand visitors came from Russia, which is twice the figure of January-June 2022. Some of the Russian visitors are actually immigrants and settled in Georgia long term. According to Geostat, in 2022, 62,300 citizens of Russia remained to live in Georgia. According to the research by Transparency International - Georgia, 6,539 Russian companies were registered in Georgia in 6 months of 2023, and 21,326 companies have been registered in Ukraine since the start of the war. From March 2022, 3 times more Russian companies were registered in Georgia than in 1995-2021. 96% of the companies registered in 2022-2023 are individual enterprises, which indicates that a part of Russian citizens moved to Georgia for long-term residence and doing business.
