Riot police clash with protesters in Georgia over visit of Russian official

Riot police clash with protesters in Georgia and fire tear gas at crowds outside Tbilisi parliament as anger erupts over visit of Russian official

  • Thousands of protesters tried to storm Georgia’s parliament in Tblisi this evening during demonstrations
  • Riot police fired tear gas and water cannons at the protesters as they attempted to break up the group 
  • Protests have erupted over the impending visit of a Russian diplomatic official to Georgia on state business
  • Georgia’s incumbent government has been criticised for attempting to strengthen links with Moscow 

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Crowds angry over the visit of a Russian lawmaker tried to storm Georgia’s parliament building on Thursday evening, pushing against lines of riot police, throwing bottles, and grabbing riot shields from some officers and tearing off their helmets.

The scenes in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, flared up suddenly after public anger over the visit and speech of a member of the Russian lower house of parliament triggered big street protests. Riot police repeatedly used tear gas, prompting most of the protesters to disperse.

Two wounded protesters told a reporter they were hit by rubber bullets. They were taken to hospital in an ambulance shortly afterwards.

Russian influence in Georgia remains a politically sensitive subject. The small country, a U.S. ally, fought and lost a short war against Moscow in 2008. 

A man with a severe head wound is helped away from the protests as blood streams down his face. The protests broke out in response to a Russian official’s visit to Tblisi

A demonstrator kneels in front of a wall of riot officers as the protests grew ever more violent on Thursday evening in the Georgian capital

A demonstrator kneels in front of a wall of riot officers as the protests grew ever more violent on Thursday evening in the Georgian capital

Riot police form a shield wall as a water cannon fires over their heads to break up a crowd of protesters near a church in Tblisi

Riot police form a shield wall as a water cannon fires over their heads to break up a crowd of protesters near a church in Tblisi

The two countries have not had diplomatic ties since, and Russia went on to recognise the independence of two breakaway regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, where Russian troops are now garrisoned. 

Georgia, which is crisscrossed by energy pipelines, hopes to one day join the European Union and NATO. That ambition has angered Moscow, the country’s former Soviet overlord.

Thursday’s protests were sparked by a visit by Sergei Gavrilov, who was leading a Russian delegation taking part in the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO), a body set up by the Greek parliament in 1993 to foster relationships between Christian Orthodox lawmakers.

Gavrilov, president of the IAO’s General Assembly, addressed delegates in his native Russian from the Georgian parliamentary speaker’s seat. That angered some politicians and Georgians who want Russia kept at arm’s length.

The IAO session had to be cut short as a result.

The opposition accuses the ruling Georgian Dream party of being insufficiently firm in confronting Moscow. Many of the protesters gathered outside parliament chanted slogans insulting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A man carries a woman in his arms away from the line of riot cops. Two wounded protesters told a reporter they were hit by rubber bullets

A man carries a woman in his arms away from the line of riot cops. Two wounded protesters told a reporter they were hit by rubber bullets

A demonstrator tosses a tear gas grenade back towards riot police after it was thrown in to disperse the angry crowd on Thursday night

A demonstrator tosses a tear gas grenade back towards riot police after it was thrown in to disperse the angry crowd on Thursday night

Three opposition demonstrators sit in front of a police line at Georgian Parliament. Russian influence in Georgia remains a politically sensitive subject

Three opposition demonstrators sit in front of a police line at Georgian Parliament. Russian influence in Georgia remains a politically sensitive subject

Gavrilov told Russian news agencies water had been thrown at him and unspecified people had tried to remove his identity documents. He was reported to have already left Georgia.

‘Georgian Dream has brought the Russian occupiers in and let them sit in the speaker’s chair,’ Elene Khoshtaria, an opposition member of parliament, said. ‘That was a slap in the face to recent Georgian history.’

Opposition MPs demanded that the parliamentary speaker, interior minister and state security service chief all resign over the incident.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said in a statement that Moscow was outraged by the actions of what he called radical Georgian political forces whom he accused of propagating anti-Russian sentiment.

He said Russia would keep trying to normalise relations with Georgia.

Police block the entrance to the Georgian parliament on Thursday as the building was at threat of being breached by protesters

Police block the entrance to the Georgian parliament on Thursday as the building was at threat of being breached by protesters

Opposition demonstrators run away as police fire a volley of tear gas. Protests were sparked by a visit by Sergei Gavrilov, who is leading a Russian delegation

Opposition demonstrators run away as police fire a volley of tear gas. Protests were sparked by a visit by Sergei Gavrilov, who is leading a Russian delegation

Thousands of people had earlier gathered outside the parliament building brandishing both Georgian and European flags as a sign of defiance over Russian influence

Thousands of people had earlier gathered outside the parliament building brandishing both Georgian and European flags as a sign of defiance over Russian influence

Georgia's opposition party accuses the ruling Georgian Dream party of being insufficiently firm in confronting Moscow. Pictured: A man holding his arms aloft in front of a line of riot cops

Georgia’s opposition party accuses the ruling Georgian Dream party of being insufficiently firm in confronting Moscow. Pictured: A man holding his arms aloft in front of a line of riot cops

Demonstrators cover themselves during a clashes with police. Demonstrators had earlier tried to storm the parliament building and were demanding the government's resignation

Demonstrators cover themselves during a clashes with police. Demonstrators had earlier tried to storm the parliament building and were demanding the government’s resignation

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