Svaneti

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Nenskra river, Svaneti. Image: Shota Kincha/OC Media

Environment

Georgia’s ‘zombie’ hydropower projects

by Shota Kincha

•18 min read

As Georgia’s government promises to resume the construction of controversial hydropower plants (HPPs) in western Georgia, local people remain determined to fight against changes they believe could leave their land and livelihoods at risk. ‘I would have never imagined the topic of its construction would pop up again’, says Magda Guledani. In March 2018, Guledani was in her third trimester of pregnancy when she lay on the ground in front of construction equipment in the northwestern Georgian t

Alt Info

Svaneti residents attempt to oust pro-Russian extremist group from their town

by Shota Kincha

•3 min read

The backlash against the pro-Russian extremist group Alt Info has escalated following Russia’s war against Ukraine, taking both legal and grassroots forms. On Tuesday, a group of residents in Mestia, the largest town in the historical north-western Georgian region of Svaneti, protested against the newly opened offices of the Conservative Movement in their town. Alt Info, the far-right group behind the Conservative Movement party, have faced condemnation and calls for their leaders to be pro

A book in Svan, a Mingrelian–Georgian dictionary, and a collection of Laz texts. Photo: Dominik K Cagara/OC Media.

Analysis

Analysis | Lost in the census: Mingrelian and Svan languages face extinction in Georgia

by David Sichinava

•4 min read

Georgia is home to 11 languages on the brink of extinction — including Mingrelian and Svan. Despite survey data suggesting there are hundreds of thousands of native speakers of these languages, fears of nationalism are holding back efforts to save them. On 21 February, Georgia celebrates International Mother Tongue Day, a day established by UNESCO to promote ‘linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism’. Georgia is home to at least 11 languages on the brink of extinction, according

Environment

Angry protesters block officials from HPP meeting in Georgia’s Svaneti

by OC Media

•3 min read

Residents of Lentekhi, the municipal centre of Georgia’s historical Lower Svaneti region, have thwarted a government-organised meeting planned to discuss the environmental impact assessment report of a hydropower plant project in the region. Protesters blocked the entrance to Lentekhi’s sports hall and refused to let the prime minister’s advisor on regional issues, Sozar Subari, and other officials into the building. Protesters accused Subari of disregarding local objections to the Kheled

Environment

Svans ‘swear on icons’ to oppose gold mine

by OC Media

•3 min read

Over 200 people gathered in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Sunday for a meeting in opposition to a gold mine in the village of Ieli, in the historical mountain region of Svaneti. People from Svaneti, over 200 kilometres from Tbilisi, were joined at the meeting in Tbilisi’s Muza Cultural Centre by environmental activists. Protesters told the Georgian Public Broadcaster that mining activities in Upper Svaneti, which according to them used a cyanide solution in extraction, put the region a

Environment

Riot police deployed to Svaneti in ‘illegal logging’ crackdown

by OC Media

•3 min read

Authorities dispatched special police forces including riot police to Georgia’s historic region of Svaneti on Thursday after a group of local people protested a visit by the financial police to the villages of Khaishi and Chuberi. According to TV Imedi, residents refused to let the police search their properties and threw rocks and sticks at them. The authorities said no one was detained or hurt. Khaishi and Chuberi are sites of frequent protests against the nearby construction of the Nensk

chuberi

River Nenskra flood cuts off 10 villages in Svaneti

by OC Media

•3 min read

Several villages were flooded in Chuberi, in Georgia’s historic Svaneti region on Thursday after the river Nenskra swelled, reportedly due to a landslide. Videos posted online showed muddy waters destroying bridges and flooding houses. Several bridges were washed away, cutting off ten villages. Despite speculation from local people, the company constructing the Nenskra Dam on the river has denied their work was connected to the flooding. The Emergency Services said on Thursday that nobod