Are Russians Really Not Welcomed in Georgia: Password Words, Magnetic Sand, Chicken Eggs

Georgia has 100 kilometers of the Black Sea coast. I decide to consider accommodation options in the main resort town of Batumi.

“Good apartments, near Piazza, Europe Square, a restaurant, a bar, a nightclub,” the owner of a two-room apartment, who introduces himself as Gocha, responds to my call. In July – 125 lari per day (about 4 thousand rubles).

I wish the area was quieter I notice.

– My brother rents a “odnushka”, there is a park nearby, the Nicholas Church, a view of the mountains, canaries sing on the balcony. He asks for 95 GEL per day (about 3 thousand rubles).

I ask about Russophobia in Georgia. I remember a recent story on one of the TV channels, where those who had gathered at the airport demanded that the Russians who arrived “go back”.

“Uh, don’t judge all the people by the Judas!” They sold out to Washington and Brussels. We say: the vulture first measures its throat, and then swallows the bone. And these will only see dollars, and let’s “swallow”. How many protesters were there? There are 50 people, and there are almost 4 million of us in Georgia.

Gocha decides to give me advice.

– Remember three words, gamarjoba is hello, madloba is thank you, sakartvelos gaumardjos is long live Georgia! These words are like a password, you can go everywhere with them and drop the price. And if you sing the verse “Suliko” – they can immediately give citizenship, – my interlocutor laughs.

I call on ads in Kobuleti. The town is located 27 kilometers from Batumi. A female voice answers, the hostess introduces herself: “Ketevani, you can Katya.”

– I rent the second floor of the house, there are 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a living room. In July it will cost 170 lari per day (about 5,500 rubles), explains Katevani. – Suitable for the whole company or for a large family. There is also a separate studio with a small kitchen and bathroom, it costs 80 GEL per day (about 2500 rubles). We do not offer breakfast. I have three children, I just don’t have time.

According to the hostess, you can have lunch in a nearby three-course canteen for 10 lari (320 rubles), in a cafe – for 15 lari (480 rubles), for dinner in a restaurant you will have to pay – 50-70 lari (1600-2250 rubles).

– Is it safe in Georgia, is there no anti-Russian hysteria?

— Guys from St. Petersburg have been living with us for more than a year. And feel at home. Everyone treats them very well. And professional provocateurs are everywhere. To whom they pay – he says what the owners need, and holds the right poster. They can say nasty things to Georgians, and to Turks and Azerbaijanis. They say about such people: “They steal threads from their own dress.”

Katevani says that everything is calm with them.

We live peacefully, in harmony. Now the wife and daughter are going to the Russian guy. Tickets for direct flights are very expensive, they go through Yerevan. So cheaper. A lot of people call, they are interested in housing prices. Everything is already booked for August, there is still something left for July. Now we are clearing the attic in my father’s house, we are going to paint it. We will rent it out for democratic money. Mostly tourists drive their cars. We think that there may be queues at the border in the summer.

I praise Katevani for good Russian. The hostess responds:

— We — born in the Soviet Union — speak Russian well. And many of the young Georgians do not know the Russian language at all, they were not taught it at school. But they can speak English fluently with you.

The hostess complains that everything has risen in price.

– In Turkey – inflation, and it immediately affected us, after them the prices for everything went up. Two years ago, we paid 2 lari (64 rubles) per kilogram of strawberries, cooked jam for the winter, closed compotes, and now we have to pay 6 lari (192 rubles). Sweet cherries generally cost 8 lari (256 rubles). For us it is expensive. There are many old people who have a pension of 180 lari (5,765 rubles). In July, when you are planning to come to Georgia, pear, medlar, melons, and watermelons will already go. There will already be our famous cherry plum, the one that goes to tkemali sauce.

Next, I decide to look at housing prices in small towns located on the coast.

Uncle Nadar invites to his village Ureki, which is located 50 kilometers from Batumi. He explains that next to the house there is a medical beach. The sand is black due to impurities of magnetic iron ore. It was brought from the mountains by two rivers.

– Came out of the sea – dug into the sand, warmed up, and then out of the magnetic field – back into the sea. You will leave all diseases here,” Nadar convinces.

For a double room in a guest house with breakfast, he asks for 65 GEL (2082 rubles) per day.

– In the morning – chicken eggs, matsoni, corn porridge – elarji, suluguni, “shoti” bread, I make it myself in the oven-tone. And khachapuri! How without it? You will eat and say that happiness is hidden in every piece.

I ask Batono Nadar if we will encounter Russophobia. He literally boils:

— We separate flies from meatballs — politics from human relations, power from the people. They still grumble at your relocators, for us – migrants. Housing prices have risen significantly due to the influx of Russians who fled the country a year ago. My student nephew cannot even rent a room in Tbilisi. Everything is expensive. There are no longer dormitories in universities, as it was in Soviet times. He lives with a friend in a private house in the suburbs. Tourists are our guests first and foremost.

And wallets…

– Only from one heard how he said about tourists: “The money has arrived.” He does not see people behind dollars. Yes, he is not a Georgian, there is a mixture of blood… For the Georgians who stepped on our threshold – that’s it, he is under our protection. I am now releasing a barrel of wine for a new harvest. Everyone who lives with me will go home with eggplants of wine. This is a gift. We treat them with my wife to everything that grows in our garden. We believe that those who got into our house are people from God.

Author’s tours are also offered in Georgia, promising to show temples, museums, ancient cities, fortresses, Sulfur baths, wineries, traditional Georgian feasts, national master classes, walks in rare places. But the prices for them “bite”. A 7-day tour will cost an average of 65 thousand rubles per person. The flight is paid separately.

One of the organizers, Manana, asked not to worry about safety. And do not pay attention to the Russophobic inscriptions, of which there are many on the walls of houses.

“We are now with guests in Batumi, everything is fine, everyone is happy,” says Manana. – There are all sorts of inscriptions. We don’t paint them. And in Russia, don’t they write all sorts of nonsense on the fences? You don’t have to believe everything! We are all calm. People are different, just like everywhere else. Only recently, a man from Israel overlaid me for nothing, writing to me that all Georgians are corrupt. What do I have to worry about because of this? And I don’t think so! Russian tourists with children come to us. Recently there was a mother with two children, and another Russian woman with a 10-year-old daughter. The girl arrived, did not smile at all. Her mother shared that she is very serious with them. Our guide constantly addressed her: “Mashiko, Mashiko…” By the evening the child began to smile, and then to laugh. Ordinary Georgians always treated her to something, sometimes nuts, sometimes sweets, sometimes cherries. And not for her mom to buy something. For Georgians, a child is an angel. Especially if it’s a girl. Masha was surprised, confused. I asked my mother: “Can I take this? And this? Our guide said: “Mashiko, take advantage of the moment, take everything that they give you.” She thawed her heart in Georgia. How many blessings I received from people – beyond words.

Manana says that there are two cults in Georgia – food and children. In general, the whole country of Sakartvelo is one big restaurant. You can’t come here and lose weight. There are accommodation options for different wallets. If you are short on money and want to travel, you can go to one of the tent camps on the coast. If you have all your own equipment, you will have to pay 10 lari (320 rubles) per day for an adult, 5 lari (160 rubles) for a child from 10 to 16 years old. Camper parking (motorhomes) – 25 lari (800 rubles) with connection to communications, 20 lari (640 rubles) – without.