17:57, 27 July 2025

Russian flag burned in Tbilisi during protest against arrival of Russian fencers

Russian flag burned in Georgia. Still frame from Pirveli TV company video from 27.07.25, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwB1cRuEWBk&t=325s

Protests against the participation of Russian athletes in the World Fencing Championships have been taking place in Tbilisi since the night, 17 of whom, according to the protesters, are military personnel. The protesters burned the Russian flag and set off firecrackers near the hotel and the sports palace, and also unfurled posters against the arrival of Russians.

As "Caucasian Knot" wrote, several marches took place in Tbilisi on June 15, the 200th day of pro-European protests. Participants in the torchlight procession, whose faces were hidden by masks, burned the Russian flag in front of the Georgian parliament. Georgian youth should not irritate Russia with such actions as burning the flag in the context of an unstable geopolitical situation, some users indicated. Their opponents considered the action correct.

Earlier, users of Russian social networks called for the removal of tracks by Georgian singer Erekle Getsadze, who desecrated the Russian flag, from all Russian platforms. The head of the Russian Investigative Committee demanded that a criminal case be opened.

"17 Russian servicemen in Antsukhelidze's country" - under this slogan, a protest against the participation of Russian athletes in the World Fencing Championships was held at the new Sports Palace.

Georgiy Antsukhelidze is one of the most famous participants in the "Five-Day War", who was considered missing for almost five months from August 9, 2008. It was not until December 12, 2008, that his body was identified by DNA. In January 2009, two videos circulated on the Internet that clearly showed a Georgian soldier being beaten and tortured. The Antsukhelidze family identified him as Georgiy.

“The main reason is that the World Fencing Championship is taking place in Georgia, in which 25 Russian athletes are participating, 17 of whom are military personnel. <...> Today, the Georgian police are standing between us and the Russian military, and the latter are protecting them, not us. We were thrown out of the courtyard of the palace with Antsukhelidze’s posters,” Interpressnews quotes one of the protesters as saying.

The protesters unfurled banners with the following slogans: “Russians cannot win in Antsukhelidze’s country!”, “Antsukhelidze is immortal!”.

The townspeople marched from the New Sports Palace to the hotel where Russian fencers are staying, Tbilisi Life reported

A group of protesters burned the Russian flag near the hotel where Russian fencers who arrived for the World Championship are staying, TV company "Pirveli" reported today

The protesters are holding Georgian and Ukrainian flags and posters with anti-Russian slogans. Police are on duty at the scene, the publication says.

The team headquarters reported that unknown persons set off firecrackers near the hotel where Russian fencers are staying, TASS reported today.

Also last night, a poster with an insulting address to Russian athletes was unfurled near the hotel. "Nobody is happy to see you here! Today there were fireworks, tomorrow there will be "Grads"! - in particular, it is written on the poster, the Formula TV company reports.

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Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/413363