Belarusian actor Zhdanovich denied entry to Georgia

The Georgian authorities did not explain to Aleksandr Zhdanovich the reasons for denying entry. At the Kutaisi airport, he was given a document with the wording "for other reasons."

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported, Georgian border guards did not allow Russian Svetlana Zinovkina into the country, who was planning to meet with her daughter, who had been arrested in Tbilisi. Arbitrary refusals of entry to Georgia for foreigners violate the principle of equality enshrined in the Constitution, the NGO "Social Justice Center" said.

Belarusian actor Alexander Zhdanovich was flying to Georgia from Poland, but on August 14, he was denied entry at the Kutaisi airport. He was not given the reasons for the denial of entry to Georgia. Instead, he was given a document in Georgian with the wording "for other reasons," the publication "Solidarity" reported, citing Oksana Okunevich, founder of the cultural space "Aksyarodak."

Today, Zhdanovich planned to perform in Batumi with the program "He Flew and Promised to Return." "First, there was a delay at passport control, I think they found something in the database. Then they conducted something like an interrogation: why, where, to whom, what are you doing? "We waited for about an hour, then were refused," Zhdanovich told the Nasha Niva publication.

It is possible that the Belarusian and Georgian authorities have a common database of "dangerous" people

"I don't know exactly why they didn't let me in. It is possible that the Belarusian and Georgian authorities have a common database of "dangerous" people," the Pozirk publication quotes Zhdanovich as saying.

In the fall of 2020, he was arrested in Minsk for nine days for participating in protests. In 2021, Zhdanovich was fired from the Maxim Gorky National Academic Drama Theater, where he had worked for almost 30 years, "due to loss of trust." In early 2022, the actor left Belarus and lived in Georgia for more than two years, after which he moved to Poland. After leaving for Poland, this was his first visit to Georgia, reports the Novosti-Georgia news agency.

The increasing number of cases of refusals to allow Russian citizens into Georgia are connected with the authorities' desire to prevent Russian activists from entering the country, Georgian analyst David Avalishvili told the Caucasian Knot earlier.

Thus, in the spring, Georgian border guards refused to allow the author of the TravelGeorgia project Alexey Mukhranov into the country without explaining the reasons. He had previously been refused entry in 2023. Archdeacon Andrey Kuraev and activist Maxim Ivantsov had previously faced refusals. In November 2023, border guards did not allow Russian stand-up comedian Garik Oganisyan into Georgia to perform. In early June, publicist Viktor Shenderovich* was not allowed into Georgia, where he had concerts planned. In August, Georgian authorities denied entry to actor Vitaly Gogunsky.