Powerful Georgian oligarch looms over political crisis
A simmering political crisis in Georgia came to a head this week, with the surprise resignation of the prime minister and the dramatic arrest of an opposition leader in a police raid.
For government critics, this turning point in unrest sparked by disputed elections last year had the hallmark signature of one enigmatic figure towering over the ex-Soviet country's political landscape.
Reclusive billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who formally resigned from politics this year, lives in a lavish glass-and-steel mansion overlooking the capital Tbilisi, where he keeps a priceless collection of contemporary paintings and a giant aquarium with sharks.
He insists he is no longer a political stakeholder in the country that has weathered revolutions and civil war since it broke from the Soviet Union three decades ago. But many believe otherwise.
"Ivanishvili's former bodyguard is interior minister. The defence minister and head of secret service are former managers in his bank," said Salome Samadashvili, a leader of the opposition United National Movement (UNM).
"He is in full control of the government and owns the country like other oligarchs own companies or islands," the seasoned former diplomat told AFP.
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210226-powerful-georgian-oligarch-looms-over-political-crisis
But do the sharks have lasers?
