Georgian PM vows to ‘nip Russophobia in the bud’ whilst maintaining a pragmatic, yet principled stance towards Moscow

“Our objective is to nip Russophobia in the bud,” declared Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze during a televised debate on Rustavi 2.

In the head of government’s assessment, xenophobia in general, and Russophobia in particular, represents the darkest phenomenon imaginable.

“You shouldn’t destroy the concept of “Russophobia”; we must nip Russophobia itself in the bud in Georgia. Russophobia, like any manifestation of xenophobia, is not organic to Georgians. Historically, we are renowned for our hospitality and tolerant attitude towards foreigners and strangers alike. This is not in our nature. If natural aggression were ever going to peak, it should have been in 2008, when just a month or a year prior, more than 400 of our people were killed, an occupation was carried out, and 30,000 citizens were displaced. Surely, that was when natural aggression should have been at its highest? Yet back then, no one protested against Russian tourists, because that was the government’s policy. Elene Khoshtaria and Zura Japaridze, the primary Russophobes today, used to come out and proudly talk about how flourishing our tourism with Russia was, and how thriving our business relations were. Today, they are fabricated Russophobes, individuals who have been artificially converted into Russophobes. This is why we say that certain things can be orchestrated artificially. Just as Kartvelophobia [anti-Georgian sentiment] was artificially fostered among Abkhazians, there is similarly a force in our country, a foreign force, that is artificially manufacturing xenophobia, specifically in the form of Russophobia. This serves two objectives: creating political problems by provoking escalation, and generating economic turmoil.

Thank God, through our efforts, including the fact that we called Russophobia by its true name, the foreign agent network dislikes the term itself. It is not Russophobia they object to, but the concept of “Russophobia”, because the very term acts as an instrument against Russophobia. That is why they want to eradicate the concept of “Russophobia”, rather than eliminating Russophobia itself within our country. We aim to nip Russophobia in the bud. Xenophobia generally, and Russophobia specifically, is the darkest phenomenon one could imagine. When you try to convince people that a specific nation or people as a whole can be bad, you must assume the society is ignorant. Some of these foreign patrons believe they can find a sufficient number of people in Georgian society, even five per cent, three per cent, however many they hope for, who are ignorant enough to fall for this campaign.

There are indeed individuals, countable on one’s fingers, a small core of foreign agents who follow this campaign; however, the Georgian people, given that tolerance is entirely natural to them, and xenophobia in any form is completely alien, will not fall for it. Nevertheless, if we are not vigilant, risks certainly remain. Therefore, we must once again confront not just the terms “xenophobia” and “Russophobia”, but Russophobia at its very root. Although the chance of stoking Russophobia in Georgia is very slim due to the nature of our people, we must nonetheless remain cautious and resist at the root any attempt to inflame xenophobia in Georgia, specifically in the form of Russophobia. As for our policy, we will continue to pursue a pragmatic yet principled policy regarding Russia. This is our pledge to the Georgian people,” stated the Prime Minister.