Georgia: Rally marks anniversary of protest over Russia MP visit

A rally was held in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of a crackdown against demonstrators who had been protesting against the visit of a pro-Kremlin Russian lawmaker.

It was the first big rally in Tbilisi since the imposition of restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Protesters wore face masks and put stickers on the street to maintain social distancing.

The protest a year ago was against a visit by Russian lawmaker Sergey Gavrilov, which ended in clashes in which some 240 people were injured.

Gavrilov's support for independence for the Georgian breakaway region of Abkhazia and his commitment to Russian President Vladimir Putin had stoked animosity in Georgia.

Relations between Russia and Georgia have been strained since the two former Soviet republics fought a brief war in 2008, and Russia threw its weight behind separatists in two regions of Georgia.