✊🇬🇪 Center of Tbilisi today: rally in support of the convicted head of the main opposition channel "Mtavari Archi" Gvaramia.
Journalists and opposition supporters marched from the First Republic Square to the Parliament, where flares were lit and a small rally was held. The roadway of Rustaveli Avenue is blocked.
🙈 A remarkable fact. Simultaneously with the rally, a small action of anti-vaxxers is taking place... under the cross, which was erected near the Parliament building by opponents of LGBT movements on July 5, 2021.
❤️ Truly, Georgia is an amazing country!

🇷🇺🛫🇬🇪 Russia will work on resuming direct flights with Georgia.
This was stated by the head of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Grigory Karasin in a conversation with TASS.
“Hopefully, we will work in this direction,” he said on the sidelines of the 13th International Economic Summit Russia-Islamic World: KazanSummit 2022.
ℹ️ Direct flights were closed in July 2019 at the initiative of Russia due to anti-Putin rallies in Georgia. In January, the Russian Foreign Ministry recalled that among the conditions for lifting the ban on air traffic with Georgia are “an end to the Russophobic campaign”, a “more balanced policy” towards Russia and the “disappearance of threats to the security” of Russians.
❗️The Georgian opposition demands a preventive adoption of a resolution to close the skies for Russian aircraft.

♟Chess in Georgian schools will become a compulsory subject starting from grade 1.
The Ministry of Education of Georgia announced the introduction of such lessons, according to their idea, will contribute to the development of analytical and logical thinking in children.
ℹ️ Here are some interesting facts about Georgian schools:
✔️ up to 5th grade there are no grades
✔️ from the 5th grade, a ten-point grading system is introduced
✔️ lesson duration: 1st grade - 35 minutes, 2nd grade - 40 minutes, from 3rd grade - 45 minutes

🇬🇪⚡️🇷🇺 Georgia is not considering resuming direct flights with Russia.
So, after the news from the Russian Federation, according to Special Representative Zurab Abashidze, the Georgian government at this stage believes that the issue of resuming air traffic with Russia should not be considered. As the official said: "The issue of resuming flights will not be discussed with Karasin; Moreover, after the start of the war in Ukraine, this issue was no longer on the agenda of the Georgian side."

📊🌍 Great analytical material from Galt&Taggart analysts about visiting Georgia by foreigners.
What is the most important thing to highlight:
📍In April, 214644 visitors visited the country, which is 52% of the indicator of the pre-pandemic 2019.
📍The list of countries from where people come to Georgia was headed by Turkey (16%), followed by Russia (15%) and Armenia (15%).
📍Of the non-neighboring countries, Uzbekistan (+95%), Saudi Arabia (+62%), Israel (+14%) showed the largest growth in the first four months compared to 2019 (+123%).
📍In the first four months of the year, tourism revenues amounted to $582 million, which is 68% of 2019. The highest incomes are from Russia 17%, Belarus 11%, EU countries 11%.
📍According to the company's estimates, after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, 80-120 thousand citizens of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus came to the country for a long time.
📍The effect of the influx of migrants was most noticeable in the real estate market, rental prices in Tbilisi increased by 71% compared to 2021, and daily rent decreased by 10%, as visitors switch to long-term options.
ℹ️ According to the baseline scenario, the recovery of tourism will amount to 75% of the indicators of 2019, although taking into account the migration effect, it may reach 85%.

🇸🇦🛫🇬🇪 Saudi Arabian budget airline Flyadeal launches regular flights to Georgia.
From June 28, the carrier will operate 15 flights a week at once. Flights from Riyadh and Jeddah will be operated to Tbilisi and Batumi.
“Congratulations to our tourism and aviation sector on this important news. I am sure that this will make a big contribution to the dynamics of the rapid recovery of tourism,” said the former head of the tourism agency and current adviser to the Minister of Economy, Mariam Kvrivishvili.
ℹ️ The countries of the Persian Gulf: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, due to a decrease in the flow from Russia and Ukraine, are considered by Georgia as a priority for the 2022 season. Let me remind you that last year, even during a pandemic, in the summer from this region operated 50 flights per week. A noticeable increase in the number of foreigners coming from there is expected in the near future.

🛩 Exactly 33 years ago, on May 20, 1989, one of the most famous escapes from the late USSR took place.
A military pilot, Captain Alexander Zuev, hijacked a MiG-29 fighter aircraft from an air base in Georgian Tskhakaya (now Senaki) and flew to Turkish Trabzon, where he requested political asylum from the United States. The reason for the escape was his disappointment in the Soviet system, and the last straw that pushed him to action was the forceful dispersal of a demonstration in Tbilisi on April 9, 1989, which resulted in human casualties.
📌 He died in a plane crash in 2001, crashing on a Soviet Yak-52 training aircraft near Seattle.

❗️🏦 Due to problems on the part of banks, it is impossible to pay for services in the Houses of Justice of Georgia today.
Technical work continues. Recovery time is not yet known.

🇬🇧🏦🇬🇪 In April 2022, the volume of money transfers from Russia to Georgia rose to a record level.
Over the past month, the country received 308 million US dollars, of which about a third was sent from Russia. Compared to March, the amount of transfers increased by 5 times. Analysts attribute this increase in transactions to the mass migration of Russians to Georgia.
📊 General statistics for the first four months of 2022 on money transfers from Russia to Georgia:
📍January $22.3 million
📍February $21.9 million
📍March $27 million
📍April $132.9 million

🏦 3,400 Russians and 2,400 Belarusians registered in Georgia as individual entrepreneurs after the start of the war in Ukraine.
According to the statistics of the Ministry of Justice, from February 24 to May 1, 2022, 3,386 citizens of the Russian Federation and 2,363 citizens of the Republic of Belarus were registered as individual entrepreneurs in Georgia. In what industries these individual entrepreneurs work is unknown. This statistics was published by the Ministry of Justice in response to a question from MP Giorgi Vashadze .

👩🏼‍🏫🇬🇪🧑‍🏫 The last bell rang in Georgian schools today.
About 25,000 people graduated this year. All of them today traditionally wear white shirts, on which classmates leave commemorative innoscriptions. The tradition is not exclusively Georgian, but it was here that for some reason it took root and is still massively observed.
🤪 The creator of the popular brand, a native of Georgia, Demna Gvasalia, has been actively and extremely successfully monetizing the traditions and cultural codes of his homeland for a long time. Replicas of school prom shirts were included in the Vetements spring/summer 2019 collection. And they disappeared from stores very quickly.

🎧 About music festivals in Georgia.
🚫 Echowaves 2022. According to the organizers: "Despite the dedicated efforts of our team, it turned out to be impossible to resolve various logistical and organizational issues. Our guests who refused to get a refund for the 2021 season ticket will be automatically credited from today. Thank you for your support. We hope to return to you soon with good news."
🎸 In July, the EZO festival returns, to buy a ticket, you need to go through verification in order to buy it in advance, and not at the entrance. Website here: https://mzesumzira.com/
🎼 Tsinandali Classical Music Festival will be held in September. The event is taking place in the estate of Prince Chavchavadze. The husband of his daughter Nina, poet and diplomat Alexander Griboedov, presented his fiancee with a piano - it was the first instrument in Georgia. Website: https://tsinandalifestival.ge/what-is-on/

🚘⛔️ The center of Tbilisi will be blocked for four days due to the celebration of Independence Day (it is celebrated on May 26).
From 00:00 on May 23, traffic will be prohibited on Freedom Square and Rustaveli Avenue, up to First Republic Square. Also, traffic will be limited on all streets adjacent to Rustaveli Avenue.
From May 25, the First Republic Square will also be closed.
❗️Restrictions will be lifted on May 27th.

🇦🇿🇬🇪 Azerbaijanis in Georgia will be allowed to change Russified surnames.
The legislative initiative “On the right to change the surname in accordance with historical and cultural traditions” has been submitted to the parliament for consideration.
As part of the "Return my last name" campaign, activists have collected more than 27,000 signatures.
Thanks to the changes, Azerbaijanis will be able to abandon the Russian language suffixes in their surnames: “ov”, “ova”, “ev”, “eva”.
ℹ️ According to the results of the population census, about 233 thousand ethnic Azerbaijanis live in Georgia, which is 6.27% of the population.

🇬🇪✈️ Preparations for the celebration of Independence Day on May 26 have begun in Tbilisi.
Friends, please do not be afraid if you see military aircraft in the sky over the capital, this is a rehearsal of their flight on the day of the holiday.
Also, in connection with the preparation, a part of the city has already been blocked, and on the 26th there will be two big concerts and the center of Tbilisi will become pedestrian.