2006 Georgian–Russian espionage controversy
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The 2006 Georgian–Russian espionage controversy began when the
Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
of Georgia arrested four
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n officers on charges of
espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...
, on September 27, 2006. The Western and
Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
media sources report that relations between the two post-Soviet nations have significantly deteriorated after Georgia and
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
agreed to hold talks on closer relations.''Putin fury at Georgia 'terrorism
The
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
, October 1, 2006.


Background

Russian-Georgian relations have largely been reported as tense after the November 2003 Rose Revolution in Georgia brought the pro-Western reformist leader
Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil Saakashvili ( ka, მიხეილ სააკაშვილი ; uk, Міхеіл Саакашвілі ; born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist.
to power. ''Putin renews Georgia withdrawal''
The Australian – Breaking News, October 2, 2006.
The 2006 gas pipeline explosions and the Russian ban of Georgian wines and mineral waters were interpreted by many as the means of the
Government of Russia The Government of Russia exercises executive power in the Russian Federation. The members of the government are the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers, and the federal ministers. It has its legal basis in the Constitution of the Russia ...
's pressure on the Georgian leadership for the country's close ties with NATO and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The recent disruption of the '' Status quo ante'' in the Kodori Valley in
Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...
led to a further downturn in the already tensed Russian-Georgian relations. In July 2006, the Georgian police and security forces took control of the Kodori Valley, hitherto controlled by the local Georgian militias led by the defiant commander
Emzar Kvitsiani Emzar Kvitsiani ( ka, ემზარ კვიციანი, ; born April 25, 1961) is a former Georgian military commander and politician. He took part in the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993), forming a paramilitary group '' Monadire'' in the uppe ...
. Georgian officials claimed that the Russian security services were behind the
2006 Kodori crisis The 2006 Kodori crisis erupted in late July 2006 in Abkhazia's Kodori Gorge, when a local militia leader declared his opposition to the Government of Georgia, which sent police forces to disarm the rebels. The upper part of the Kodori Gorge was a ...
,''Moscow Unleashes a Mountain Chieftain against Georgia''
, Eurasia Daily Monitor, July 25, 2006.
while Russian and Abkhaz authorities accused Georgia of violation of the previous ceasefire agreements by deploying an armed force in the Valley. ''Separatists: Georgia violated most important agreements''
, The Georgian Times, October 10, 2006.
In September 2006, the area was officially renamed ''
Upper Abkhazia Upper Abkhazia ( ka, ზემო აფხაზეთი, Romanization of Georgian, romanized: ''Zemo Apxazeti''; ab, Аҧсны хыхьтәи, Apsny xyxjtwj) is a term introduced in 2006, to denote the northeastern part of the disputed terri ...
'' by the Georgian government and declared to be the "temporary administrative center" of Abkhazia until the
conflict Conflict may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Conflict'' (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Stuart Paton * ''Conflict'' (1936 film), an American boxing film starring John Wayne * ''Conflict'' (1937 film) ...
is resolved.''Tbilisi Turns Kodori into 'Temporary Administrative Center' of Abkhazia''
Civil Georgia, September 27, 2006.
Continuous anti-Russian statements by the Georgian government, such as the September 2006 speech by President Saakashvili in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, were interpreted by some Russian media sources as depicting Russia as the "barbarous tribe of Huns".


Timeline

* On September 27 four Russian officers (allegedly working for Russian
military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...
, GRU) and at least ten Georgian citizens were detained on
espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...
charges in
Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...
and other cities of Georgia. * On September 28 Russia recalled
Vyacheslav Kovalenko Vyacheslav Yevgenevich Kovalenko (russian: Вячеслав Евгеньевич Коваленко) (born 27 March 1946) is a career diplomat and a former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Armenia. He ser ...
, its ambassador, and began a partial evacuation of its staff from the country. * On September 29, Georgia charged the officers with spying and ordered them to be held for two months pending investigations. The Russian military headquarters in Tbilisi, Georgia, was encircled by Georgian police who were searching for an additional suspect allegedly involved in the February 2005 car bomb blast in the town of
Gori, Georgia Gori ( ka, გორი ) is a city in eastern Georgia, which serves as the regional capital of Shida Kartli and is located at the confluence of two rivers, the Mtkvari and the Liakhvi. Gori is the fifth most populous city in Georgia. Its name ...
, which killed three Georgian police officers and destroyed a local police office. * On September 29, Russia proposed a draft of a strict resolution condemning "provocations of Georgia" to the
United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
. The
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
blocked the vote, however, on the account that the US delegation was "not satisfied with the document as it is," as the
US Ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. ...
to the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
John Bolton put it.''U.S. objects to proposed Russian statement on Georgia's arrest of Russian officers for spying''
International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France for international English-speaking readers. It had the aim of becoming "the world's first global newspaper" and could fairly be said ...
, September 29, 2006.
* On September 29, 2006, President Putin met
Sergey Bagapsh Sergei Uasyl-ipa Bagapsh, ka, სერგეი ბაგაფში, russian: Сергей Васильевич Багапш, translit=Sergey Vasilyevich Bagapsh (4 March 1949 – 29 May 2011) was an Abkhaz politician who served as th ...
and Eduard Kokoity, the secessionist leaders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, respectively, who were invited as foreign guests, at the roundtable discussions on "Economic Development of Southern Russia" hosted in
Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...
, leading to protests from Georgia.Список участников круглого стола по вопросам экономического развития юга России
, the
President of Russia The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...
official website, September 29, 2006.
''Kokoity, Bagapsh Among Participants of Roundtable Discussion with Putin''
Civil Georgia, September 30, 2006.
''Abkhaz Reports: Bagapsh Meets Putin''
Civil Georgia, October 2, 2006.
* On October 2, the arrested Russian officers were handed over by the Georgian side to the Chairman of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), after being paraded in front of the international media in Tbilisi.''Russia Imposes Sanctions on Georgia''
audio stream of report by BBC reporter Matthew Collin at
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...
''Russia spurns Georgia despite 'spies' release''
(
The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
): ''"...where they were paraded outside in handcuffs before the media. "''
OSCE Chairman-in-Office Karel De Gucht had arrived in Tbilisi for the negotiations with the Georgian government.''Russian Spy Suspects Released''
Civil Georgia, October 2, 2006.
The officers returned to Moscow on the same day. * On October 3, Russia suspended air, rail, road, sea and postal links to Georgia, and stopped issuing entry visas to all Georgian citizens. The OSCE, UN, and the US called on Russia to match Georgia and take steps to decrease tension by reestablishing transport links with Georgia. However, Russia has rejected U.S. and EU calls to lift economic sanctions on Georgia. * On October 3, Moscow police raided Georgian businesses in the capital of Russia, shut down a Georgian-owned casino and occupied a Georgian guest house. Although the Russian Interior Ministry described these moves as "routine, planned work… to combat ethnic organized crime groups," according to the
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...
agency, law enforcement officials had received oral instructions to step up action against Georgians.''Putin to Georgia: don't provoke Russia (Part 1)''
, Reuters, October 4, 2006.
* On October 4, the
State Duma The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...
of the Russian Federation passed a resolution "on the anti-Russian and anti-democratic policies of the Georgian leadership," hinting at tougher retaliatory, though unspecified, moves in the future. These moves have largely been assessed by Georgia, Russian
human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
organization the Moscow Helsinki Group, and several media sources as "Moscow's anti-Georgian campaign".''Anti-Georgia Campaign Heats Up Across Russia''
, The Moscow News, October 4, 2006.
*On October 4, schools run by the Russian army in Georgia said they would no longer be admitting Georgian pupils. This was denied later by Russian officials. *On October 5, in response to the sanctions, Georgia threatened to block Russia’s bid to join the
World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...
(WTO). *On October 6, Russia deported by plane at least 130 Georgians accused of "immigration offences", following the Russian crackdown on allegedly criminal businesses owned by Georgians and the tightening of visa criteria for Georgians. Vice-president of the Federal Migration Service of Russia, Mikhail Tyurkin, noted that illegal immigrants "head home, to their mothers and children" and termed the mission "humanitarian".''Illegal immigrants will spend up to eight years in prison''
Vzglyad, October 5, 2006
Additionally, Moscow police has allegedly asked schools to form "lists of children with Georgian-sounding surnames" to allow for background checks on their parents, opening the road for further deportations. These allegations were denied by Valery Gribakin, the Moscow Police spokesman. *On October 6, the State Duma, the lower house of the Parliament of Russia, ratified a treaty with Georgia on the timeframe and modalities of withdrawing Russian bases from Georgia, as well as an agreement with Georgia on military transit, which gives Russia access to its base in
Gyumri Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...
,
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
, via Georgia. Both agreements were signed by Georgia and Russia on March 31, 2006. On April 16, 2009 the case was brought before the European Court of Human Rights. The hearing was for the admissibility of the State vs. State case, a rare occurrence in this court with a ruling still pending.


Reactions

On September 29, Sergey Ivanov, Russia's Defense Minister and Vice Premier, denounced Georgia as a "bandit" state, and accused the
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
members of arming Georgia in support to "military solution" to the country's secessionist conflicts.''Ivanov Accuses NATO of Arming Georgians''
The Moscow Times, October 2, 2006.
Vladimir Zhirinovsky, urged the government to exert economic and political pressure on Georgia, and consider military intervention.''Putin accuses Georgia of terrorism, hostage-taking''
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...
India, October 1, 2006.
On September 30, the BBC reported
Foreign Minister of Georgia , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , type=Ministry , seal= Seal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia.png , seal_width = , seal_caption = Logo of the Georgian MFA , image = Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia.png , image_size= ...
Gela Bezhuashvili Gela Bezhuashvili ( ka, გელა ბეჟუაშვილი) (born March 1, 1967) is a Georgian politician and served as the head of the Georgian Intelligence Service from February 1, 2008 to December 27, 2013. He formerly served as Minist ...
as saying that Georgia "expected Russia to honour the pullout agreement" and as accusing the Russian government of "trying to scare" Georgians.
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Mikheil Saakashvili described the Russian government's reaction to the arrests as "hysteria."''Russia recalls ambassador to Georgia, plans evacuation''
EurasiaNet, October 2, 2006.
President Putin said, on October 1, Georgia's arrest of four Russian army officers for spying was "an act of state terrorism with hostage-taking", a statement that was downplayed by Saakashvili as "an overreaction caused by nervousness that they have created by themselves."''Putin overreacts to spy row - Georgian president''
, Reuters UK, October 2, 2006.

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
, October 2, 2006.
Meanwhile, various international organizations are trying to defuse the diplomatic conflict between the two sides. On September 30, the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
foreign policy chief Javier Solana spoke by telephone with Mikheil Saakashvili, urging him to find a rapid solution and offering assistance. The
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
(OSCE), to which both Georgia and Russia belong, appealed, on October 1, for both sides to open a dialogue and seek a peaceful solution to the dispute. The OSCE Chairman-in-Office Karel De Gucht said he was ready to travel to the region if needed and assist the conflicting sides to reduce the tensions. On October 16, the Russian newspaper ''Versiya'' published an interview with the Georgian Defense Minister,
Irakli Okruashvili Irakli Okruashvili ( ka, ირაკლი ოქრუაშვილი) (born 6 November 1973) is a Georgian politician who had served on various important posts in the Government of Georgia under President Mikheil Saakashvili, including be ...
where the minister stated that Russia "would lose if the quarrel between the two countries escalates into a shooting war". On the same day
Yury Baluyevsky Army General Yury Nikolayevich Baluyevsky (russian: link=no, Юрий Николаевич Балуевский; born 9 January 1947 at Truskavets in the Ukrainian SSR) is the former First Deputy Minister of Defense and Chief of the General Staff ...
, the Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, responded that Russia does not plan a war with Georgia and warned about the "consequences of the provocation by the brash politician". The next day the Georgian Ministry of Defense denied that Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili was interviewed by the Russian newspaper and called the information "another provocation coinciding with the visit of NATO officials to Moscow."''MoD Denies Okruashvili’s Russian Paper Interview''
Civil Georgia, October 17, 2006.
Russian newspaper asserted that the interview it published was genuine and the audio recording of the conversation between the reporter Ruslan Gorevoy and Okruashvili is available. On September 17,
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
's
parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
passed a declaration in support of "strengthening democracy in Georgia" and condemning "the endeavours by the Russian Federation to suppress Georgia's intentions by using economic sanctions and threats of
sing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
force."


Deportations

The deportation of Georgian immigrants from Russia amid the ongoing diplomatic crisis also aroused much controversy. According to Russian authorities, more than half of the Georgians in the country are working illegally. Following the Russian crackdown on Georgian-owned alleged criminal businesses and the tightening of visa criteria for Georgians, on October 6, 2006, about 136 Georgians accused of "immigration offences" were flown back to Georgia on board a Russian cargo plane. Several deportees, however, showed valid passports and Russian entry visas, as reported by Reuters. In Georgia, the process of deportation and crackdown on allegedly illegal Georgian businesses in Moscow was described as “
ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, and religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making a region ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal, extermination, deportation or population transfer ...
.” Vice-president of the Federal Migration Service of Russia, Mikhail Tyurkin, said that immigrants "head home, to their mothers and children" and termed the mission "humanitarian." The Russian authorities are also claimed to have begun targeting ethnic Georgian celebrities living in Moscow, including the famed Georgian-Russian fiction novelist Grigory Chkhartishvili better known by his penname
Boris Akunin Boris Akunin (russian: Борис Акунин) is the pen name of Grigori Chkhartishvili (russian: Григорий Шалвович Чхартишвили, Grigory Shalvovich Chkhartishvili; ka, გრიგორი ჩხარტიშვ ...
. Akunin commented on the Russian
radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
'' Echo of Moscow'' that his publisher had been questioned by tax authorities over the writer's finances. "I didn't think I would live to see ethnic cleansing in Russia," he said. On October 6, the influential Russian human rights organization,
Memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...
condemned both sides of the dispute, accusing the government of Russia of "racial discrimination," and Georgia of "irresponsible policies."
Mikhail Kasyanov Mikhail Mikhailovich Kasyanov ( rus, link=no, Михаи́л Миха́йлович Касья́нов, , mʲɪxɐˈil mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ kɐˈsʲjanəf; born 8 December 1957) is a Russian politician who served as Prime Minister of Russia fr ...
, leader of Russia's Peoples Democratic Union and former
Prime Minister of Russia The chairman of the government of the Russian Federation, also informally known as the prime minister, is the nominal head of government of Russia. Although the post dates back to 1905, its current form was established on 12 December 1993 fo ...
, made a following statement: On October 6, the Moscow-based ''Echo of Moscow'' radio station called for expressing a protest against the authorities’ policy towards ethnic Georgian immigrants through pinning a badge saying "I am Georgian": On October 7, a minor unsanctioned rally organized by opposition youth activists in support of the Georgians was dispersed and more than a dozen of its participants detained by Moscow police.


Background information

* Around Georgians reside in Russia as foreign workers.''The gas knockout''
, Strana.Ru, October 5, 2006
* According to the 2002 All-Russia Population Census, Georgians have Russian citizenship. * According to the director of Russian Migration Service, annual remittances (monetary transfers) of Georgian foreign workers from Russia to Georgia constitute 20% of Georgia's GDP — over 1 billion dollars a year. * Russia is one of the most important Georgian trade partners, responsible for around 15% of total Georgian foreign trade. * The Georgian share of Russian foreign trade makes up 0.5%. * Russia's role in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, siding with the Abkhaz separatists, has been a cause for resentment in Georgia. The conflict resulted in the
ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, and religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making a region ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal, extermination, deportation or population transfer ...
of Georgians from the province of
Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...
, with the death of an estimated to Georgians and the displacement of over Georgian refugees, who had to be redistributed throughout Georgia, which has a population of only 4 million people. Weakened by the war, Georgia was forced to join the
Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...
and remain under the political influence of Russia. * Russia still maintains two Russian military bases in Georgia (the 62nd Base in
Akhalkalaki Akhalkalaki ( ka, ახალქალაქი, tr; hy, Ախալքալաք / Նոր-Քաղաք, translit=Axalk’alak’ / Nor-K’aġak’) is a town in Georgia's southern region of Samtskhe–Javakheti and the administrative centre of the Ak ...
and the 12th in
Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the second largest city of Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's southwest. It is situated in a subtropical zone at the foot of th ...
), remnants of the Soviet era, but the bases are in the process of being withdrawn. The process is scheduled to finish in 2007 for the Akhalkalaki base and in 2008 for the Batumi base. The headquarters of the Russian military forces in the Caucasus is located in Tbilisi. Due to the espionage conflict, the headquarters was closed down ahead of schedule: 287 Russian servicemen have left Georgia around December 31, 2006.''Russia to withdraw Tbilisi garrison early - minister''
RIA Novosti RIA Novosti (russian: РИА Новости), sometimes referred to as RIAN () or RIA (russian: РИА, label=none) is a Russian state-owned domestic news agency. On 9 December 2013 by a decree of Vladimir Putin it was liquidated and its asse ...
, October 10, 2006


References


External links


Context of Georgian-Russian spy riftRussia-Georgia spying row (RIA Novosti)Q&A: Russian-Georgian ties (BBC)In pictures: Russia-Georgia row (BBC)Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs press release
27 September 2006.
Lithuanian, Polish and Ukrainian support for GeorgiaRussia , The hardest word
''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
'', 16 October 2006
Interview
with
Kakha Bendukidze Kakha Bendukidze ( ka, კახა ბენდუქიძე; 20 April 1956 – 13 November 2014) was a Georgian statesman, businessman and philanthropist, founder of the Knowledge Foundation and head of the supervisory board of Agricultural ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:2006 Georgian-Russian Espionage Controversy Georgian-Russian espionage controversy Espionage controversy Espionage controversy Espionage controversy Georgia (country)–Russia relations Georgian-Russian espionage controversy Georgian-Russian Espionage Controversy, 2006 Political controversies in Russia