Get the latest gossip
Sakartveloa! How a Georgian summer hit managed to rally a divided country
Mgzavrebi’s song, which translates as ‘This is Georgia’, has soundtracked street demonstrations and the Euros and will ring even louder in the run-up to elections that will decide whether the country leans to Russia or the EU
Photograph: Vano Shlamov/AFP/Getty ImagesThen came Georgia’s first ever European Championship: four delirious football matches that involved a nail-biter against Turkey, a thrilling victory over Portugal and an emphatic defeat at the hands of champions Spain. Blasted out in taxis, cafes and restaurants, it is still as omnipresent in the capital as the Georgia flags hanging from windows and graffitied on walls around Rustaveli Avenue, the street central to the protests of the past few months. The ruling Georgian Dream party, which came to power in 2012 on a promise to maintain the country’s EU-bound trajectory but has recently switched to more anti-western rhetoric, has signalled it might ban political opposition groups if it emerges triumphant.
Or read this on The Guardian