We offer the full statement of the Georgian Information Agency, published on its pages.

Photo by GRUZINFORM 

In connection with deliberately spread rumors that the main "hero" of the video posted on YouTube on May 4, 2022, Nikolai Sventitsky, director of the Griboyedov Theater in Tbilisi, supported Ukraine on his own behalf and on behalf of the theater company, and condemned Russia and its president under duress, at the direction of billionaire and philanthropist Bidzina Ivanishvili, guided by the "noble goal of saving Russian theater with its long, glorious traditions." GRUZINFORM states the following:

Bidzina Ivanishvili's financial assistance to the A.S. Griboyedov Tbilisi State Russian Drama Theater is just one episode of his patronage among many others. Most of the theaters, museums, and other cultural centers operating in Georgia today have survived to this day only thanks to Ivanishvili's financial assistance. Despite the fact that the Russian theater in Georgia has lost its former audience for obvious reasons, Mr. Bidzina does not want the Russian theater, founded in 1845 by Count M.S. Vorontsov, to cease to exist today, as the period of the country's modern history since 2011 will forever be associated with the name of Ivanishvili. 

Did Ivanishvili know what was happening in the theater? He didn't and doesn't know. He never stoops to such details. A patron of the arts only bestows kindness, often to the unworthy and ungrateful, and moves on without looking back. This is why a good half of the cultural figures to whom Ivanishvili paid benefits for years, financed their medical treatment, creative evenings, concerts, performances, and the publication of their books, are now among his staunch enemies—the Russophobic political opposition, which brands him a "Russian oligarch." So, Ivanishvili's "black ingratitude" is hardly surprising, although in this case, the plot is quite insidious—the idea is that Ivanishvili ordered the Griboyedov Theater, which he oversaw, to make an anti-Russian statement in order to deflect yet another accusation of pro-Russian sentiment! 

Thanks to Ivanishvili, Russian-speaking Tbilisi residents have a magnificent Russian theater building, just as, thanks to Ivanishvili, the Armenians of Georgia will soon have a modern Armenian theater building, newly built and expanded on the old site. GRUZINFORM knows nothing about the financial support from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs or other Russian state organizations mentioned in the video. The Georgian government is unlikely to allow one of Georgia's state theaters to receive Russian sponsorship. And why would Moscow support a theater in Georgia, even a Russian one, if it is supported by philanthropist Ivanishvili and receives state funding?! Culture, like sports, is incompatible with politics, from which Ivanishvili has officially distanced himself, so showing Mr. Bidzina's photo in the aforementioned video is completely inappropriate. The rest is for the relevant Russian and Georgian state organizations to judge, for example, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Russkiy Mir Foundation, Rossotrudnichestvo, the Russian Federation Interests Section in Georgia, the Georgian Ministry of Culture, and the Cartu Foundation. Besides all this, the theater's director is a management position. Sventitsky is a civil servant, not an artist or director, who has never had, and has no connection whatsoever with creative work. Consequently, he has no right to make political statements on behalf of the theater or its company. 

GRUZINFORM merely provides information and now, taking this opportunity, reports that in Georgia, despite Russia being called an occupier, two monuments to Griboyedov still stand, as do monuments to Pushkin, Gorky, Mayakovsky, and other luminaries of Russian culture. Tbilisi streets still bear their names, and buildings still bear their memorial plaques, which are not painted blue and yellow, as is the fashionable custom. Griboyedov's grave on Mount Mtatsminda, in the pantheon alongside great Georgians, remains inviolable and revered. Yes, in Georgia, everyone has the right to their own point of view and freedom of speech; everyone has the right to choose their own party, faith, and sexual orientation. Many in Georgia today support Ukrainian nationalists. But if your personal position conflicts with your state and/or public responsibilities, which oblige you to remain neutral, then you should deign to resign, no matter how lucrative the position...

Editorial Board of GRUZINFORM