That’s a great point.

Over the past 25 years, the world has bent to the vision of one man. In the course of a generation, he not only short-circuited the transition to democracy in his own country, and in neighboring countries, but set in motion a chain of events that has shattered the transatlantic order that prevailed after World War II. In the global turn against democracy, he has played, at times, the role of figurehead, impish provocateur, and field marshal. We are living in the Age of Vladimir Putin.

What this ridiculous “great man theory” style analysis tells me is that even in decline, they refuse to take responsibility for anything. They tried to have total control over Russia and couldn’t, tried to encroach on it and overextended in the effort, and now they’re acting like it was a grand game of chess they were outplayed on instead of the material conditions on the ground. Infantile reductionist framing of complicated factors involving many countries.

My US-brained self getting confused and thinking it was the other Georgia until I saw them holding up signs with a foreign language on them.

Some interesting lines from the article:

Chiatura has long been a mining and industrial hub, including during the Soviet period. Former miners recall that in the USSR, underground operations deemed too dangerous were shut down. In contrast, Georgian Manganese has pursued aggressive extraction methods, including mining underneath entire villages, which has led to the collapse of numerous homes. Additionally, its open-pit mining operations have caused soil degradation, illegal deforestation, and the destruction of local road infrastructure.

I wonder who is behind this:

Since 2007, Georgian Manganese has held an exclusive 40-year license to exploit the region’s ore reserves. The company, linked to Israeli-Ukrainian oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, has faced long-standing allegations of environmental violations and inadequate workplace protections. In 2017, government oversight was imposed due to mismanagement, yet the company’s close ties to the political establishment enabled the devastation caused by the enterprise to continue.

Oh.

Probably some of both. Gangster state style stuff, where it’s not all explicitly laid out and done as procedure, but it’s still trending toward certain kinds of goals (such as the personal enrichment of those involved, and the attempted maintenance and expansion of the empire).