On Wendesday, May 2, 2012, The Jamestown Foundation held a panel discussion on the South Caucasus entitled, “America, Europe and the South Caucasus: Building Up the Partnerships in a Changing World, however, later, while question-answer session, the focuse turned to Georgia too – “Radio liberty” reports.

Except relations with U.S. and external threats facing Georgia, the issues of current domestic political processes of Georgia were also discussed. In particular, the analyst Vladimir Socar talked about threat of Georgia related to Bidzina Ivanishvili.  

Socor believes that Ivanishvili is trying to “capture the state” and he clarified that under this concept he meant the general situation, where small companies or military unites manipulate the state laws and political course, mostly for their financial interests.  

“In Georgia we are dealing with the billionaire’s attempts to capture the state. This is a classic attempt of seizure of a state. Mr. Ivanishvili is called oligarch improperly. Oligarchy is a group phenomenon, when small groups are created with common interests and their leaders share a power with each-other and this process of sharing/distribution continues constantly. There is no oligarchy in Georgia. The case relates to the one individual, whose property, as “Forbes” estimated, is 6.5 Billion dollars. That amounts to half od annual gross domestic product of Georgia. Ivanishvili can pave the way to the power with money” – “Radio Liberty” quotes words of Vladimir Socor.     

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