Cruise ship with Putin's supporters on board arrives in Georgia: protests begin

On 31 July, the Astoria Grande cruise ship with Russian tourists arrived at the Georgian port of Batumi for the second time in a few days. Protests began near the pier.

Source: Ekho Kavkaza (Echo of the Caucasus); European Pravda

Details: Students, oppositionists and public activists gathered for a protest at the Batumi port in the morning.

Metal fences have been installed at the site, and security measures have been strengthened. The police detained up to 10 protest participants without specifying the reasons.

Stars of the RU.TV channel, who support the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin, are among the passengers of the cruise ship.

In particular, a participant of the Za Rossiyu (For Russia) marathon supporting the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, a supporter of the annexation of Crimea and the nomination of Putin to the presidency of the Russian Federation in 2018, as well as the former soloist of the Hi-Fi band Mitya Fomin, against whom Ukraine has imposed sanctions, are on board.

The Russian Testosteron musical band, which performed before servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces in the military hospital of the Ministry of Defence of Russia in Nizhny Novgorod and the Semyonovsky Regiment in Moscow, are also among the passengers.

Another artist at Astoria Grande is Belarusian Dmitry Koldun, who performed in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic in 2018 and supports the aggressive policy of the Russian Federation.

Background: 

• On 27 July, the Astoria Grande cruise ship carrying Russian tourists arrived in Batumi, Georgia, causing local residents to protest. They chanted "Russian ship, go f**k yourself" and "Abkhazia is Georgia", and brought photographs depicting Abkhazia and the events of the August war [in 1992 between Georgia and Russia in the region of Abkhazia - ed.].
• That same evening, the ship left Batumi, two days earlier than planned.
• Salome Zourabichvili, President of Georgia, said that she was proud of the people who protested in Batumi, and she called the arrival of the ship from Sochi a Russian provocation.

Read also: How Tbilisi Destroying Strategic Partnership with Kyiv by Resuming Flights with Russia

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