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Day: December 24, 2025
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Georgian Dream blamed for high food prices
Political analyst and former Georgian Dream MP Dimitri Tsikishvili has responded to a video address by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on high prices, saying inflated shop prices are the result of collusion between cartels and the ruling party, rather than a simple outcome of economic processes.
Kobakhidze said that, in some cases, food prices in Georgian supermarkets significantly exceed those in European countries. He blamed mark-ups by retail chains and possible breaches of antitrust legislation, calling on law enforcement agencies to examine the issue.
Tsikishvili said that no matter how much Georgian Dream speaks about social justice, it remains an elite organisation obsessed with “Ferraris” and “Lamborghinis”.
Dimitri Tsikishvili: “Prices for basic food products are indeed critically high and in many cases even exceed prices in developed European countries.
The problem is real and genuinely concerns a very significant part of the population!
The reasons for this may be the following:
- Economic growth, which in itself generates inflationary pressure;
- The scale of the shadow economy, which makes prices, incomes and the economy as a whole largely uncontrollable;
- The fact that Georgia is a small market, meaning wholesale prices for imported goods are higher than in other European countries;
- High VAT, among other factors.
But the main reason is the one mentioned in the government’s own address: monopolies, oligopolies and cartel arrangements that have taken shape in recent years.
There is virtually no real competition in the country, either in terms of imports or sales, particularly at the level of supermarket chains.
This applies not only to food products, but also to household chemicals, medicines, petroleum products and much else — in short, to everything that determines living standards.
What is the government trying to do now? Is it genuinely concerned about rising prices? I am convinced it is not.
The companies that currently control key import channels and retail outlets have for years been closely linked to Georgian Dream, and in many cases artificially inflated prices are the result of joint action by cartels and Georgian Dream, rather than a mere by-product of economic processes.
What happens next?
As we have already seen in the fuel and pharmaceutical markets, the government will once again strike temporary deals with the main market players.
We will see meetings with business representatives and a sudden “awakening” of the antimonopoly agency.
There may be a few symbolic fines — selective and unsystematic.
This will undoubtedly deliver the first and quickest result: prices for certain items will indeed fall temporarily.
However, given that these measures will remain unsystematic and still manipulative, prices will after some time return to previous levels, “discounted” goods will disappear from shelves, or, worse, be replaced by low-quality, cheap products — as happened with low-cost Turkish medicines.
What can be done in practice:
- Ensure the functioning of a genuinely independent antimonopoly authority;
- Enforce antitrust legislation effectively;
- Develop democratic institutions for market regulation and the promotion of competition;
- Strengthen civic oversight;
- Guarantee an independent judiciary that protects competition and consumers unfairly pressured by the state or large companies;
- Safeguard the independence of the National Bank and curb the dominant role of two major banks in the banking sector;
- Carry out a fundamental tax reform and move towards a European model (lower VAT, higher profit tax, stronger social insurance and a gradual reduction of social assistance);
- Reduce the size of the shadow economy and shift to a development-oriented economic model.
Economic integration with Europe implies strengthening political institutions that protect consumer rights and counter cartels and the existence of mafia-style business structures in the country.
It is worth recalling that the creation of an independent antimonopoly authority was a mandatory requirement under the EU–Georgia Association Agreement. However, Georgian Dream turned it into a fiction, just as it dismantled the Anti-Corruption Bureau.
Under Georgian Dream’s anti-democratic and anti-European policies, these systemic reforms will not and cannot be implemented.
No matter how much Georgian Dream speaks about social justice, it remains an elite organisation obsessed with “Ferraris” and “Lamborghinis”.
Karabakh Armenian charged with terrorism
An Azerbaijani court has charged Karen Avanesyan, an ethnic Armenian who remained in Nagorno-Karabakh after the mass exodus of Armenians in 2023, with terrorism. He faces up to 18 years in prison. Avanesyan, who is reported to have a mental disorder, has also been charged under seven other articles of the criminal code.
According to the prosecution, he was allegedly armed and attempted to approach the site of an event attended by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Avanesyan was detained on 14 September. The trial is ongoing at the Ganja Serious Crimes Court.
Lawyer Ara Kazaryan, who represents Avanesyan at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), has been submitting information on the case to the court.
“We are now closely following developments in Azerbaijan. However, the ECHR’ initial ruling requiring immediate access to Armenia, lawyers and relatives has not been implemented. When and why does Azerbaijan usually fail to comply with ECHR rulings? When it invents a narrative around a particular case,” Kazaryan told Radio Azatutyan (RFE/RL).
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Video shows man with backpack, no Kalashnikov or machine gun
Authorities in Baku say that 58-year-old Karen Avanesyan attempted to approach the site of an event attended by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. He was allegedly carrying a loaded Kalashnikov rifle and five grenades, but was stopped by police. Azerbaijani media have reported that Avanesyan “resisted, opened fire and threw grenades”.
On the previous day, a witness, Elmar Gurbanov, testified at the Ganja Serious Crimes Court, claiming he was hit by eight bullets during the alleged resistance. He also said the defendant had opened fire at police with a machine gun.
Armenian media say they are unable to independently verify the information provided by Azerbaijani outlets. However, the video presented as evidence shows no Kalashnikov rifle or machine gun. The footage shows only a man — identified as Avanesyan — walking with a backpack on the outskirts of a city.
Expert commentary
Ara Kazaryan recalls that in September the ECHR applied an interim measure. It ordered Azerbaijan to provide information on Karen Avanesyan’s health, the conditions of his detention, and to ensure contact with his relatives and lawyers.
“Azerbaijan said he was feeling well and had received medical assistance in prison. They even sent photographs of Karen reading a book, using the internet in prison and exercising on a fitness machine. These images clearly bear Azerbaijan’s hallmark — it is obvious they were staged,” Kazaryan said.
He also argued that the video presented to the court as evidence in fact shows the defendant walking in the opposite direction from the venue where the event attended by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was taking place.
Ara Kazaryan says he has submitted all available information to the European Court of Human Rights. He adds that it is important for the Strasbourg court to also receive documents confirming Karen Avanesyan’s mental health problems.
However, he said the health ministry has refused to provide them, citing medical confidentiality and demanding a power of attorney.
“Karen cannot authorise us, because he is not being given the opportunity to contact us. In a situation where it is impossible to obtain any power of attorney from Baku, the Armenian authorities should provide us with Karen’s data,” the lawyer said.
