Matthew Collin in Georgia
The Gun Always Shines on TV
The US webmag Gawker recently published a video survey of Army recruitment videos from around the world. The most entertaining was this ad for the Ukrainian Army, which basically promises young men that they will score with the girls if...
The Tehran-Tbilisi Connection
Iran isn’t exactly known for its free media. Exactly the opposite, in fact: Freedom House rates it as one of the ten worst places for freedom of speech in the world. So it’s somewhat bizarre that Mikheil Saakashvili’s government here...
Georgia Mourns 'Hero' Kaczynski
Lech Kaczynski may have been a controversial figure in his native Poland, but here in Georgia, he was seen as a great and principled leader, and many people are genuinely upset by his death in a plane crash on April...
Georgia-Russia War: The Movie Trailer
As shown on TV here, this is the trailer for veteran Hollywood action movie director Renny Harlin's take on the Georgia-Russia war, starring Andy Garcia as Mikheil Saakashvili (with a rather peculiar accent). The feature film, which is due out...
A Georgian Oppositionist's Russian Gambit
Is a politician who signs a friendship pact with the people who recently invaded your country a traitor? That’s what the government here in Georgia has been saying after a former prime minister turned opposition party leader started hanging out...
'Guano Diplomacy' in the Caucasus
In the disputed Black Sea region of Abkhazia to report on presidential elections for Al Jazeera last weekend, we narrowly missed bumping into an unlikely diplomatic delegation from the world’s smallest island nation – the obscure Pacific state of Nauru....
Georgia Sells Itself
Strange scenes outside the Georgian parliament: the entire façade of the building seems to have been transformed into a giant advertising hoarding to promote various urban reconstruction projects and new luxury hotels. It’s part of a new billboard campaign (slogan:...
'Pirates' and 'Protectors' on the Black Sea
Fuel-smugglers, embargo-busters, accusations of piracy and threats of armed retribution: the temperature off the Black Sea coast of Georgia seems to be heating up towards boiling point. When I was in the disputed Black Sea region of Abkhazia a couple...
Matthew Collin in Georgia:
Matthew Collin reports for Al Jazeera from Georgia, and is the author of several books including 'The Time of the...