Russian Tourists Ditch Georgia! Local Hostility Finally Too Much For Moscow’s Hipsters to Bear!

The popular restaurant in the center of Tbilisi, where you had to book a table a week ahead, is now empty. Not one Russian visitor.

Now Andrey Grigoryev is reporting from Tbilisi.

The popular restaurant in the center of Tbilisi, where you had to book a table a week ahead, is now empty. Not one Russian visitor.

Irina Mikaberidze, Sormoni chief manager: "60-70% of reservations are by Russian tourists".

 

The proportion of tourists coming to the Georgian capital was almost the same: 2/3 were Russians, 1/3 the rest. Now everything has changed, and these days there have been fewer orders of khinkali, kebab, and khachapuri.

Irina Mikaberidze, Sormoni chief manager: "We love Russians very much, their culture, their language, we're friends".

Hotels count losses. A hotel in Old Tbilisi with a splendid view of the Kura used to be overbooked, but there have been some unforeseen events.

Anri Akhvlediani, front office manager: "The Georgian tourist business has been suffering losses because yesterday tourists started to cancel reservations they'd made for the season".

The consequences for the Georgian tourist business are dire. Tourism is a crucial component of the Georgian economy, and the majority of tourists in this flow were Russians. According to official statistics, there were more than 1.5 million Russian tourists a year, and that number had steadily increased.

Tourists are no longer safe here. Our colleague, Stanislav Bernvald, from the Russia 24 channel, was attacked for interviewing in Russian.

It's the fourth day that Tbilisi has sunk into unrest. People want the government to resign, the parliament dissolved, and those detained following the first rally to be released from prison. But one in two slogans and banners are blatantly anti-Russian.

In the evening, the traffic on Rustaveli Avenue is blocked. The Georgian parliament is once again the center of street protests. It's the clash of long-standing political rivals: the party of former President Saakashvili, who successfully fuels the situation from Ukraine.

Mikhail Saakashvili, ex-president of Georgia: "People are tired of insults on national symbols and occupationist Russia!"

Versus the party of former Prime Minister, Bidzina Ivanishvili, whose protégé, Salome Zurabishvili, is now in power. Again, those who want to establish good relations with Russia are suffering.

Rusudan Djaparidze, tour guide: "You can't alienate two peoples from each other if they want to communicate".

The opposition promises daily protests in front of the Georgian parliament. Though, such protests as last Thursday night, when the rally was broken up, police used tear-gas and rubber bullets, hurting hundreds of people, are not to be expected. The struggle didn't spill over to the regions, there were only short, one-day rallies in Batumi and Kutaisi. They didn't provoke a serious backlash as in the Georgian capital, and emotions didn't run that high.

Andrey Grigoryev, Tatyana Koroleva, Azat Atagonov for Vesti — News of the Week from Tbilisi.