Georgian-Russian relations: the role of discourses and narratives

On December 17th, at 15:00 (Tbilisi time), the Heinrich Boell Foundation Tbilisi Office – South Caucasus Region would like to invite you to an online presentation of a publication and discussion on Georgian-Russian relations. The focus of the event will be on the role of discourses and narratives in the Georgian debate about Russia and Russian discussion on Georgia.

We will discuss following questions:

• What are the main narratives about Russia in Georgia under the United National Movement (2003-2012) and Georgian Dream (since 2012)? When does the Russian factor resurface in Georgia’s political discourse, and why do Georgian political actors use and abuse pro-Russian labelling against their opponents?

• How consistent are the discourses about Georgia in Russia? What aim do they have, and what political effects do they produce? What it means to be “pro-Russian” or “anti-Russian” in Georgia, given the variety of discourses coming from Russia and differently instrumentalized in the Georgian context?
• What were the key narratives regarding Russian-Georgian relations as produced by the Russian state media in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic?

Speakers:

• Otar Kobakhidze, Civil.ge;
• Andrey Makarychev, University of Tartu;
• Alexandra Yatsyk, Free Russia Foundation

Moderator: Dr. Stefan Meister, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)

Opening remarks: Dr. Sonja Schiffers, Director, Heinrich Boell Foundation Tbilisi Office – South Caucasus Region

To join the event, please register: https://us02web.zoom.us/.../reg.../WN_MrKL_Em_QGqAxPWOSCG_cA

The language of the event: English. We will provide simultaneous translation in Georgian language.