- On two occasions, locals hurled insults at Russian passengers aboard a cruise ship docked in Batumi (Georgia).
- The ship departed on schedule on July 27, but returned earlier on July 31.
- Georgia and Russia have long simmered tensions over territorial disputes and Georgia’s opposition to the Ukraine War.
The locals of Batumi, Georgia, protested against the Ukraine war when a cruise ship carrying Russian passengers docked there. Over disputed territories currently occupied and contested by Russia.
According to reports, the Astoria Grande cruise ship was met by a large crowd of protesters when it docked at Batumi in Georgia on July 27th and 31st. various media reports, Georgia Today, a local outlet.
The ship was forced to depart Batumi on the 27th of July earlier than originally planned after protests broke. Radio Free Europe (RFE). Meduza reported. It’s not immediately obvious when the ship was originally scheduled to leave.
Twitter users posted videos of chaos Monday, showing protestors in Georgia heckling a cruise ship that arrived for a second time in five day.
Helen Khoshtaria (a Twitter user identifying herself as a rights activist) posted on Monday a video that has been viewed over 39,000. “The Batumi protest is continuing for around 20th hours now. More people are joining.” It will stop only when the Russian cruise ships leaves, hopefully sooner than planned.”
Local media outlet Formula News shared a video on Monday of protestors. “Protesters denounce the arrival of Russian cruise ships carrying pop stars, journalists and other supporters of the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the Georgian port of Batumi.”
On Monday, Twitter user @KShoshiashvili posted pictures of protesters’ signs, including one that read: “We Choose Europe, Not Russia.”
Miray Cruises is the cruise operator in Turkey. told Russian media outlet RBCThe ship has no plans to stop in Batumi. The schedule for the ship’s dockings was not independently verified by Insider.
Salome Zourabichvili has responded to the protests of last Thursday. tweeted: “Proud of our people protesting peacefully the latest russian provocation — a Russian cruise liner visiting the Georgian port of Batumi while Putin blocks grain shipments and hinders free navigation in the Black Sea.”
She seemed to be referring Russia Abolishing the UN-brokered grain deal for the Black SeaThat expired on 17 July. The previous agreement allowed food to leave Ukrainian ports despite the Russian blockade.
You can also find out more about the A-Team here. International Republican Institute March Survey shows that Georgians remain sharply opposed to Russian foreign policy. Only 4% Georgians who were surveyed believed that Russians would be welcome in Georgia after the invasion by Ukraine. And 76% said that Russian aggression towards Georgia continues.
The Republic of Georgia The Soviet Union was expelled in 1991 and has been involved in a frozen conflict with pro-Russia forces over the disputed territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, culminating in Russian occupation of a significant part of Georgian territory in 2008, per the BBC.
Insider’s request for comment sent outside normal business hours was not responded to by Miray Cruises.
