‘He is our God’: In Georgia, shadowy oligarch’s power looms large

Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia's richest man, sparks controversy with Georgian Dream party and divisive legislation, praised by supporters

In his garden in Chorvila, a tiny village overlooking the Caucasus mountains, Mamia Machavariani filled an empty soda bottle with homemade brandy, heaping praise on billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili.

“No one has done as much for Georgia as he has,” Mr. Machavariani said, as cattle wandered the quiet streets outside his home in western Georgia.

Mr. Ivanishvili is a reclusive figure, but his ruling Georgian Dream party has sparked some of the Caucasus country’s largest demonstrations in years, introducing divisive “foreign influence” legislation targeting NGOs and the media.

Signs of his face and name are nowhere to be found in his hometown, but his party’s flag proudly flew over the village’s hotel, and residents gushed about his donations to the local hospital and schools when his name was mentioned.

‘High hopes’

“I don’t know him personally, but I have high hopes for him,” said Mr. Machavariani, praising the oligarch’s construction of a multimillion-dollar tree park near the coastal city of Batumi.

One of Mr. Ivanishvili’s most famous projects, nicknamed the “glassle”, is a sprawling steel-and-glass villa towering above Tbilisi’s old town that has drawn criticism from locals. But Mr. Machavariani had nothing but praise for Mr. Ivanishvili, Georgia’s richest man.