104,712 hectares of forest, which the government handed over to Davit Khidasheli, a businessman closely connected to the Russian government, for 49 years, is connected to the occupied Tskhinvali region by two highways - through the Mamisoni Pass and the Iri-Kvaisi (Oni-Tskhinvali) road. Mamisoni Pass was taken from us by Russia in 2009 and is controlled by the occupiers. Russian soldiers are stationed in the vicinity of Racha villages - Kvedi, Tsedisi, Skhanari, and Iri. Ghurshevi is wholly occupied. The forest transferred to Khidasheli, which includes 79 villages of Racha and two villages of Kvemo Svaneti, is surrounded by newly built Russian military bases. Another 700 hectares have been handed over to Putin's allies for gold mining in Racha.
Partners of sanctioned Russian oligarchs in Racha
According to numerous promises of the government and the decree adopted by the government, the Rachi National Park should be established in these areas. In 2020, the size intended for the protected area was first reduced by 12 thousand hectares - the Rion River and its tributaries were removed from the draft law for the construction of the Oni HPP cascade. JSC "Onis Kaskadi" is a company related to a Russian citizen, Mevlud Bliadze. Bliadze is the chairman of the board of directors of the largest Russian corporation "Pylon".
In July 2021, the government issued a license for manganese mining on 150 hectares in Racha, near the village of Shkmeri, in an open pit manner, to companies registered four days before the auction. Both companies have the same director, who has been convicted several times for money laundering, forgery, use, and land degradation during business activities. We see the cruellest practice of manganese mining in Chiatura and its villages, which are desolate due to the uncontrolled movements of "Georgian Manganese", a company close to "Georgian Dream".
"Mtis Ambebi" has obtained two draft laws on creating the Racha National Park from the state authorities. One from 2018, the other from 2020. According to both draft laws, the surrounding areas of the villages of Unsera, Gloli, Shovi, Ghebi, Goni, and Uravi have been left outside the Rachi National Park, but these places need protection the most. Utsera is famous for its mineral waters, and several springs have already been lost; Shovi is a climatic and balneological resort. Glola is known for the granite boulders brought down from the main ridge by the glacier. To maintain the recreational values of these villages, the surrounding ecosystems that create these values must be adequately protected within the national park's boundaries.
The reason why the ecosystems surrounding these villages were not turned into the Racha National Park by the existing bills is the licenses for mining gold, silver and other precious metals.
In the vicinity of Ghebi, on 1778 hectares, the license to mine gold and rare metals is owned by JSC "Caucasian Minerals" until March 14, 2042. The enterprise was founded on December 20, 2011. Members of the Supervisory Board are Zurab Tsikhistavi, Revaz Beridze and Nikoloz Enukidze. From 2012-2016, the general director of this company was Kakhaber Kuchava, who became a member of the parliament on the party list of "Georgian Dream" in 2016. From 2016-2021, Kuchava headed the Committee on Environmental Protection and Natural Resources and then was the chairman of the Parliament.
"Georgian Perspective" LLC owns four gold mining licenses in Uravi, Ghebi, Gloli, Shovi and Gadamshi. All four licenses were issued in 2016 for 20 years until 2036 and cover a total of 700 hectares.
The company was registered in 2015, and from its establishment until November 21 of last year, 94% of the shares were owned by Alexander Kharebava. In addition, Alexander Kharebava is the director of 16 other companies and a shareholder of 14 companies, including "Winery Khareba", luxury brand stores, hotels, and mineral water companies "Kobi" and "Sno".
In November 2021, Alexander Kharebava signed 94% of "Georgian Perspective" to Murman Tsotsoria with a purchase agreement for 200 GEL. Murman Tsotsoria is the director of the joint-stock company "Dizon Limited Georgia Representation", the founder of which is "Dizon Limited", registered in the British Virgin Islands in 2006. The company belongs to brothers Alexander and Tengiz Kharebava. In 2006, according to a document certified by a Moscow notary, the official representative of "Dizon Limited" in Georgia was Alexander Kharebava. The enterprise was also registered in the space he owned.
Tengiz Kharebava, brother of Alexander Kharebava, is a dual citizen of Georgia and Russia. Tengiz Kharebava is the founder of "Khimpharmcomplex" LLC, registered in 2004 in the Kaluga Region, Russia. The company's field of activity is the production of organic and inorganic chemicals, medicines, and retail trade in pharmacies.
Tengiz Kharebava founded the production company of active pharmaceutical substances "Bion" LLC, also registered in 2003 in Obninsk, Kaluga region. As of May 25, 2022, this company is also operational. Tengiz Kharebava owns 17.15% of the company; the largest share, 66.61%, belongs to Farmopolis LLC. Vladimir Polyakov is the director of both "Pharmopolis" and "Bion".
The owner of 99.9% share of "Pharmapolis" is LLC "Industrial Investments", founded by Mikhail Shelkov, who owns 99% of its stake.
Mikhail Shelkov (30.05.1968) - the main shareholder of the public joint-stock company VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation - owns 65.3% of the corporation's shares and is the board's deputy chairman of directors of the corporation. VSMPO-AVISMA is the largest titanium producer in the world.
Shelkov ranks 57th in Forbes' 2022 list of Russian billionaires. Shelkov worked at "Rosoboronexport", where, as he claimed, he got there thanks to Sergei Chemezov. Forbes writes that since they worked together in Germany, Chemezov has been Putin's friend, and he de facto managed Rosoboronexport. The state organization exports military and dual-purpose products, services and technologies. Currently, Sergey Chemezov is the general director of the state corporation "Rostech". "Rostech" was created due to the law signed by Putin in 2007.
Ukraine imposed sanctions on Mikhail Shelkov and Sergey Chemezov in June 2021, and after the start of the war in Ukraine, Chemezov was included in the list of those sanctioned by the UK. According to the British government, Sergei Chemezov and Vladimir Putin were KGB officers in Dresden, Germany, Chemezov is one of Putin's close associates and heads "Rostec", whose subsidiary company "Technopromexport" plans to build power plants in Crimea by decision of the Russian government, and his Another subsidiary, "Rosoboronexport", supported the integration of Crimean defence companies into Russia's defence industry, furthering the illegal annexation of Crimea.
Tengiz Kharebava owns the company "TENDENCE invest s.r.o." in the Czech Republic. According to local media, in 2011, Russian citizen Tengiz Kharebava and Georgian citizen Marika Ugrekhelidze (Tengiz Kharebava's wife) purchased the Hrubá Skála ("Sally Rock") fortress in Semili district for 70 million kroner. The Wallenstein family built the castle in the 14th century. Now a hotel operates there.
According to Czech Public Television, the Financial Analytical Service and Czech special services are investigating the links between the Russian owners of Czech historical monuments and the regime of President Vladimir Putin. Among them, they are checking the connections of the owner of the fortress with Russian oligarchs who make money in the Russian military industry. The television reports that Kharebava is a business partner of Russian billionaire Mikhail Shelkov.
Two weeks after Russia started a war in Ukraine, Georgian authorities transferred 104,712 hectares of forest in Racha and Kvemo Svaneti for 49 years to Davit Khidasheli, a partner of the sanctioned Russian oligarch Vladimir Yevtushenkov, a person who until 2014 was the vice president of the largest Russian corporation "SISTEMA". Then, he was the president, and the Russian conglomerate supported Russia's annexation of Crimea during his leadership. Davit Khidasheli is currently the Greek company "INTRACOM S.A.", a member of the "SISTEMA" group. In addition, he is the chairman of the board of directors of "TELECOM SOLUTIONS".
Khidasheli states that he wants to organize a hunting farm in the territory of Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti and to return and breed the noble deer and the Caucasian Bison in this region. According to the auction terms, the investor, within five years after receiving the license, should invest 5 million GEL - to organize tourist infrastructure for the development of amateur and sports hunting, educational, recreational, adventure and ecotourism.
This amount of "investment" is seven times less than the grant the international organization has been offering to Georgia for several years in Racha and Svaneti for establishing and developing protected areas and for the economic support of the population. "Georgian Dream" preferred the 5 million GEL "investment" of a person closely connected with Russia to the European aid of 12 million euros.
Arsenic deposits in Racha and Kvemo Svaneti are included in the area transferred to Khidasheli. Arsenic was mined in the Uravi and Tsana valleys during the Soviet Union and used to produce weapons.
The National Environment Agency ordered "HC Capra Caucasica" LLC, only after the license was issued, to submit a report to the agency for agreement before starting the activity on the impact of hunting on the "Emerald Network", thus violating the 6th article of the Habitats Directive. Georgia complied with the requirements established by the directive in 2014 when it signed the Association Agreement with the European Union.
In a special report published on April 22, "Mountain News" told you that the Georgian authorities gave the license to Khidasheli company "HC Capra Caucasica" LLC in violation of the law. The license area includes the territories included in the "Emerald network" of Georgia.
Before the publication of the report, except for a few state agencies, no one knew about the auction and its results - almost a third of the territory of Racha was handed over to a person closely connected with Russia for half a century. "Mtis Ambebi" had to wait a month and file a lawsuit to find the auction winner. The National Environment Agency and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture hid this information.
The Ministry also refused to let us know the contract signed with Khidasheli and the materials based on which decisions were made to hold the auction and issue the license. The rejection has already been appealed in court by "Green Alternative."
Khidasheli says he has been trying to set up a hunting farm in Racha for four years. It has been precisely that long that the government of Georgia has not even fulfilled its decrees regarding the creation of the Rachi National Park.
One of the draft laws was prepared in 2018. According to the government decree N119 of January 31, 2019, the document was to be submitted to the Parliament for consideration in the spring session of 2019. However, we were informed by the organizational department of the Parliament that the draft law on the creation and management of Racha National Park had not been submitted.
Due to the interests of different groups, the creation of a protected area in Racha has failed many times. In 2020, the Caucasus office of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) publicly called on the authorities that Racha needs a large national park, not a cascade of hydroelectric plants. Citizens of Georgia also collected more than 10,000 signatures on a petition demanding the creation of protected areas in Racha.
Racha, especially Oni Region, is one of the most depopulated regions in Georgia. In 40 out of 64 villages, there are practically no young people, no children under the age of 6 anymore. Four villages have been deserted, and 12 villages have less than ten people left.
On April 14, during his speech in the Parliament, Otar Shamugia, the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture stated that the government plans to create protected areas in Racha and Shida Kartli in 2022.
According to the Ministry's information, there are 94 protected areas of 5 different categories in Georgia. Their total area is about 800 thousand hectares, about 11.5% of the country's territory. However, even though the total area of protected areas has almost reached the goal set by the "Biodiversity Strategy and National Action Plan" (12%), there is still no protected area in the entire Western Caucasus: in Lower and Upper Svaneti, Egrisi Range, Racha, and Lechkhumi.
"In response to the negative responses of the general public and donor organizations, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture will try to create a protected area in a certain area of Racha so that it does not include rivers, areas of non-ferrous metals and manganese deposits, important sections of forests, where also a company connected to Russian oligarchs owns a hunting farm license. He may compromise a small, insignificant area under the condition of the license. According to the auction terms, when using a special license for hunting, the owner has no right to interfere with creating protected areas under the license. However, the conservation value of such a protected area is close to zero. Therefore, there is an urgent need to immediately launch a campaign that will give the right direction to creating a Racha National Park that will be able to protect the natural, social and cultural environment and not be a "protected area on paper". It is also essential that the existing and candidate sites of the emerald network are included in the national park to ensure the protection of the species and habitats protected by the Berne Convention", - believes Irakli Macharashvili, coordinator of the "Green Alternative" biodiversity program.
A few weeks ago, the initiative group presented a draft law on creating and managing Shkmeri, and Mravaldzali protected areas with a total area of 12,608 hectares. However, any committee has not yet reviewed the bill.
Gela Mtivlishvili, Eteri Pangani
