Racha

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Members Saving Rioni Valley movement holding up a banner that reads 'Racha is not for sale' in against the sale of Racha forests to a private company. Shota Kincha/OC Media.

Environment

Georgian government revokes controversial Racha hunting license

by Tata Shoshiashvili

•1 min read

On Tuesday, Georgia’s National Environment Agency revoked a license granting a private company the right to establish a hunting farm in a 1,000 square kilometre area of forests in Racha. The land was auctioned off to HG Capra Caucasica, a limited liability company owned by Davit Khidasheli, in April 2022. Khidasheli is a Russia-based businessman with reported ties to Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party. Georgia’s Environment Agency announced tha

Environment

Eleven detained at Racha forest protest in Tbilisi

by Shota Kincha

•3 min read

A group of environmental activists opposing the commercialisation of public lands in Racha were detained on Saturday and face future trial after peacefully protesting outside Georgia’s Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture. Police detained 11 people on 18 November on charges of petty hooliganism and disobeying police, including a number of the protest’s leaders. The protest campaign, led by the grassroots Saving Rioni Valley movement, moved to Tbilisi earlier on Saturday aft

Varlam Goletiani outside Oni city hall. Screengrab from a Facebook live video.

Environment

Racha forest protests enter fourth week in Georgia

by Shota Kincha

•4 min read

A protest against the sale of public land in Racha, northern Georgia, to a private company has entered its fourth week, after protesters attempted to blockade a municipal building. The protesters, mostly residents of the northern Georgian region, have demanded that the government revoke a 49-year license granting a private company the right to establish a private hunting farm in Racha. The company is owned by Davit Khidasheli, a Russia-based businessperson with ties to billionaire ruling party

Rescue operations in Shovi. Image: Interior Ministry of Georgia

Climate Change

Podcast | Shovi: an avoidable tragedy?

by OC Media

•2 min read

On 3 August, a fatal mudslide hit Shovi, a resort in the northwest of Georgia. At least 21 people were confirmed to have been killed as a result of the mudslide. This week on the Caucasus Digest, OC Media journalist and co-director Mariam Nikuradze talks about the mudslide and its aftermath. Aleko Sardanashvili, an activist and winemaker from Racha, talks about the impact of the disaster on the region, while Lasha Sukhishvili, a professor at Ilia State University and the d

Rescue workers and soldiers continue search and resuce operations in Shovi. Photo: Interior Ministry of Georgia.

Environment

Georgia mourns victims of Shovi mudslide as questions raised if deaths were avoidable

by Shota Kincha

•2 min read

As search and rescue operations continue in the mudslide-stricken resort of Shovi in Georgia’s north, some have criticised the government’s handling of the disaster, accusing it of failure to forecast the mudslide and to alert civilians. As of Monday, at least 18 people, including several minors, were confirmed to have died when the mudslide caused the banks of the River Buba to burst on 3 August. Four of those killed have yet to be identified. Sixteen others remain missing. On Saturday, the

Environment

Death toll continues to rise in mudslide in Georgia’s Racha

by Shota Kincha

•2 min read

A mudslide in the north Georgian region of Racha has left at least 11 people dead and dozens more missing, as rescue efforts continue. The mudslide on Thursday caused the banks of the River Buba to burst, with a torrent of water sweeping away houses and cottages in the Shovi resort in Oni Municipality. Two bridges near Shovi were also washed away, complicating access to the disaster zone. The death toll rose to 11 on Friday, with the authorities stating that 25 others remained unaccounted fo

Armenia–Azerbaijan Conflict

Podcast | Covering conflict in Armenia and Azerbaijan and forests for sale in Racha

by OC Media

•1 min read

In this week’s episode of the Caucasus Digest, Anna Edgar talks to Dominik Cagara about international media’s unbalanced coverage of the 13-14 September war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Read More: * Explainer | What happened in Armenia and Azerbaijan on 13–14 September? Salome Kobalava joins OC Media to discuss the lease of up to 1,000 square kilometres of forests in Racha to a private company and the implications it might have for local residents. Read more: