Caucasus

After thousands of computers used to mine cryptocurrency overwhelmed the power grid in Georgia’s mountainous region of Svaneti at the height of winter, 200 residents gathered in the medieval church of St. George in Mestia, Svaneti's main centre, to take an oath on the ancient icon of the saint that they would never mine cryptocurrencies.
After thousands of computers used to mine cryptocurrency overwhelmed the power grid in Georgia’s mountainous region of Svaneti at the height of winter, 200 residents gathered in the medieval church of St. George in Mestia, Svaneti's main centre, to take an oath on the ancient icon of the saint that they would never mine cryptocurrencies. © IWPR

Crypto Mining Overtakes Georgian Power Grid

Svaneti residents turned to ancient rituals to fight electricity shortages caused by virtual currencies.

24 Mar 22
Kartli was built in Soviet times as a sanatorium for patients with heart conditions. As hundreds of thousands of Georgians fled Abkhazia at the end of the conflict in late 1993, authorities allocated about 200 families housing there in what was supposed to be a temporary measure. Thirty years on, 130 are still there.
Kartli was built in Soviet times as a sanatorium for patients with heart conditions. As hundreds of thousands of Georgians fled Abkhazia at the end of the conflict in late 1993, authorities allocated about 200 families housing there in what was supposed to be a temporary measure. Thirty years on, 130 are still there. © David Mdzinarishvili

Georgian Displaced Still Long for a Home

The death of an IDP has reopened the debate on the dire conditions people originally from Abkhazia have been enduring for decades.

16 Mar 22
Support local journalists
DONATE