🛩 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.