As protests continue against the Georgian government for freezing negotiations that would allow the country to enter the European Union, all eyes are on the figure of Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is said to be behind the Kremlin’s approach. He is known by his adversaries as a “boa constrictor” to suffocate, they say, anyone who gets in his way. Likewise, it is the richest man in the country and founder of the Georgian Dream partywinner of the last elections, marked by possible Russian interference.
He spent a good part of the 90s in Russiawhere he amassed part of his immense fortune by creating banking, metallurgical, real estate and telecommunications companies, profiting from the collapse of the Soviet Union. Once resettled in his country of origin, he founded the political party in 2011 and, subsequently, was prime minister for a short period between 2012 and 2013. Upon his departure, he ensured that “I will leave politics, but I will not leave the country.”
Since then became a shadow leader and his party, which implemented a policy very similar to that of Putin, won victory after victory. In fact, many people see this rapprochement with Russia as a way to repay past favors. However, he never denied his affinity for the Baltic country, in an interview he even stated that “We cannot change Russia. It would be better to change ourselves.”
