May 25, 2023

Georgians: "Stop The Wedding!"


Georgians: "Stop The Wedding!"
Police outside Kvareli Lake Resort in Georgia. NEWSGEORGIA / Новости-Грузия, Telegram.

On May 19, Yekaterina, daughter of Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, and her husband, businessman Aleksander Vinokurov, attended a relative's wedding at a resort in Georgia. After finding out on local TV that she was in the country, activists protested outside her hotel. A dozen people were arrested.

Shortly after the local TV station Mtavari TV revealed the Vinokurovs were in Georgia, there was confusion over whether Lavrov's relatives were still at the resort when protesters arrived. Representatives of the luxury Kvareli Lake Resort vehemently denied the couple was ever there. Yet Georgian opposition leader Nika Melia, confirmed that the Vinokurovs had been at Kvareli. Melia expressed outrage that the Russian Foreign Minister's daughter was in the country since "[Lavrov is] the author of the bloodshed that happened [during Russia's invasion of Georgia] in 2008." 

Mtavari TV later reported that, by the time they covered the story, the EU and US-sanctioned couple were no longer in the country and had secretly left for Saudi Arabia.

Irakli Kobakhidze, the chairman of Georgian Dream, the ruling party in the country's parliament, condemned the protests and called them "xenophobic." Meanwhile, the president, Salomé Zurabishvili, who won the presidency as an independent candidate, called the couple's departure and the later cancellation of the wedding "a victory for society."

 

 

You Might Also Like

Flagpole Ripper
  • April 13, 2023

Flagpole Ripper

A man was arrested for tearing down a Russian flag at a police department.
A Sanctioned Flight
  • April 10, 2023

A Sanctioned Flight

Journalists discovered a scheme in which a Russian entrepreneur bought planes in the EU, bypassing sanctions.
Dubai is the New Vologda
  • January 17, 2023

Dubai is the New Vologda

A United Russia legislator pretended to be in Vologda but was actually in Dubai. A picture with Ksenia Shoigu gave him away.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Fish
February 01, 2010

Fish

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
May 01, 2013

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

Driving Down Russia's Spine
June 01, 2016

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955