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Public Board

Zurab Agladze

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  • Zurab Agladze is a founding member of the Georgian Strategic Analysis Center. He possesses 18 years of experience in international relations, defense, education and management. After graduating from the Georgian Military Academy in 1998, Zurab Agladze served as a lieutenant in the center of peace-keeping operations. Since 2003, Zurab has served as Commander of the 16th Infantry Battalion; Deputy Commander for the Second Infantry Brigade; the senior military representative of Georgian forces in Iraq, Bagdad; Commander of the 5th Infantry Brigade; and as the Commander of land forces. In 2009 he was charged with overseeing military education operations. From 2010-2013, he headed the department “Dexus” LLC and, in 2013, he became the Rector of the National Defense Academy, where he served until 2015. Zurab has been an invited lecturer at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA) since 2013. Zurab Agladze received his Bachelor’s degree from the United Military Academy (1994-1998). He subsequently completed courses in preparing and planning peace-keeping operations (Greece, 2002), as well as military courses including Light Infantry Officer’s basic course, Army Ranger School, and Airborne Paratroopers School (USA, Fort Benning, 2002-2003). From 2005-2006, he attended CGSC Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, USA. Zurab received a Master’s degree in Strategic and Security Studies from the United States Army War College (USAWC) and is currently completing his PhD at GIPA.

Teona Akubardia

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  • Ms. Teona Akubardia is an associated expert of GSAC since 2019. She is invited lecturer at the University of Georgia in International Relations. Before joining the GSAC, she was a deputy secretary of the National Security Council of Georgia since 2014 to 2018. She has worked for civil society organizations of Georgia in the Defense and Security field for more than 10 years. Ms. Akubardia is a founder of the Civil Council on Defence and Security and has worked on various projects related to the Defense field. She is an author of the several publications on Georgia’s security sector reform and Democratic control over the armed forces. In 2002 she graduated Ivane Javakshishvili Tbilisi State University and was granted with Master’s degree in International Relations and History of Diplomacy. In 2016 she gained her degree in Master of Arts in international Security and Strategy at King’s College London and attended the post graduate level a year course in Royall College of Defense Studies in London. Currently Ms. Akubardia is a PhD student at Tbilisi State University and the topic of doctoral research is in on Revisionist Russia and hybrid war in Georgia on the examples of conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia.

Lauri Almann

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Ambassador Gela Bezhuashvili (Chair)

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  • Gela Bezhuashvili has a vast history of working in the Government and industry sectors. Since 1990’s Mr. Bezhuashvili has held high-ranking positions in Georgia’s security field. Moreover, Mr. Bezhuashvili is experienced in NPO management and is actively  involved in the supervisory activities in the field of education.Currently  Mr.Bezhuashvili is serving as  a member of Board of Directors of Georgian Industrial Group and a member of the International Advisory Boards of top business schools of Brazil and Latin America: Dom Cabral Foundation (Brazil), and the University of San Diego (USA). He is a  founding member of the Adaptive Leadership Alumni Association of Harvard University. At various times, Mr. Bezhuazhvili has assumed the role of  a national expert in cooperation with the European structures: Committee of National Advisers on Public International Law (CAHDI), Council of Europe; Multidisciplinary Group against Corruption (GMC), Council of Europe; Ad hoc committee on Protection of National Minorities, (DH-MIN), Council of Europe and  Venice Commission (Constitutional Law), Council of Europe. Since 2000, along with his official duties, Mr. Bezhuashvili has been involved in scientific research on International Law issues. He is currently teaching a course in Governance (The Art of Governance) at Georgian Institute of Public Policy (GIPA). Mr.Bezhuashvili is a holder of the highest Diplomatic Rank of “Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary” and the highest Civil Service Rank of “State Chancellor”. Mr.Bezhuashvili has been awarded with the Ukraine’s national award and the highest award of the Republic of Estonia.

Anzor Bitsadze

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  • Anzor Bitsadze is a Georgian politician and lawyer. He completed his studies at St Clare’s college in Oxford. Afterwards, he graduated from Tbilisi State University Faculty of law In 2006. Following his graduation, Anzor pursued his further studies at the executive EMBA programme at the University of Bern, Switzerland. 

    From 2005 to 2006, he was a legal trainee at Holland & Knight in Washington D.C. From 2006 to 2008, he was a Director at Mayfair Gold in London, United Kingdom.

    From 2008 onwards, Anzor joined the United Georgia as the Secretary for Foreign Affairs. At various positions at his political party, Anzor has planned and executed presidential, two municipal and two parliamentary elections. Currently he is a member of the party’s central political council.

    Currently, on behalf of his party, he is collaborating with the political spectrum, NGOs, diplomatic corps, the media and the central electoral committee on bettering the Georgian democracy through development of the new electoral reform.

    Anzor is fluent in Georgian, Russian, English and French.

Shalva (Lasha) Dzebisashvili

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  • Shalva Dzebisashvili is one of the founders of the Georgian Strategic Analysis Center. He received an EU Commission doctoral fellowship (GEM) in September 2012, successfully defended his thesis and received the doctoral degree at the Institute for European Studies (IEE-ULB, Brussels) in January 2016. He is an associate professor at the University of Georgia (UG) and a member of various Georgian non-governmental organizations and think-tanks such as the Civil Council on Defense and Security (CCDS), Georgian Strategic Analysis Center (GSAC) and the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies (GFSIS). Since 2003 he has served in various senior defense policy and planning-related positions at the Georgian Ministry of Defence. From 2008-2009 he successfully completed a M.A. course in Strategic Security Studies at the National Defense University in Washington D.C., and consequently took over the position of Senior Civilian Representative of Georgian MOD (Defense Advisor) to the Georgian Mission to NATO. He is the author of several academic publications and press articles.

Julie Giorgadze

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  • Julie Giorgadze is a professional of political and electoral communication, with specific knowledge of using modern technologies and e-platforms in these fields. She holds the position of Integrity Advisor in GSAC. 
    A former diplomat and a passionate supporter of women’s empowering movement, Mrs. Giorgadze has worked for government, private sector and international community in Georgia and other parts of in the world. Julie’s fields
    of interest are political party communication, election cycle communication, campaigns and emotional intelligence on political stage. In addition to her practical experiences, Mrs. Giorgadze has been a member of academia for a number of Tbilisi based local and internationally accredited universities for over
    15 years.

Bogdan Klich

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  • Bogdan Adam Klich [‘bɔɡdan klʲix] (born on 8 May 1960 in Kraków) is a former Minister of National Defence of Poland. Bogdan Klich was interned in 1981 during the martial law set by the communist regime. Until 16 November 2007 he was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Lesser Poland Voivodeship & Swietokrzyskie Voivodeship with the Civic Platform, part of the European People’s Party and sits on the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs. Senator since November 2011. Lecturer at the Department of European Studies of the Jagiellonian University since 2002. Lecturer at the Cracow University of Economics since the academic year 2013/2014. Author of numerous publications concerning foreign policy and international security.

Khatuna Lagazidze

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  • Khatuna Lagazidze is a political analyst and expert in security issues. She teaches state management and electoral systems at the Tbilisi State University, Department of Sociology. She is also a host of an analytical show at the Radio station “Palitra”. She is an author of the first Georgian text-book on Theory of State Management. She used to wok at different media outlets as a political analyst, at the Press Office of the President of Georgia as the head of the analytical team, at the National Security Council of Georgia, as a leading state adviser to the Head of the State in matters of foreign and internal security. She used to deliver lectures at different higher education institutions of Georgia in state management, security systems and foreign policy. She earned three Master’s degrees, including Master of Law. Presently, she is writing a PhD thesis at the Tbilisi State University on “Information Wars and Cyber space”.

Ambassador Volodymyr Ogrysko

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  • Volodymyr Ogrysko is CEO, Centre for Russian Studies since 2014. Volodymyr Ogrysko has been a career diplomat since 1978 when he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an Attaché in the Press Department. Between 1992 and 1996, he was a Counsellor in the Embassies of Ukraine in the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Austria. In 1996-1999 he served as the Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration, Kyiv, Ukraine. Then between 1999 – 2004, he was Ukrainian Ambassador to the The Austrian Republic and Permanent Representative to the OSCE and other international organizations in Vienna.
    From February 2005 to December 2007 – First Deputy Minister, Acting Minister for Foreign
    Affairs of Ukraine. Ambassador Ogrysko served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs between 2007
    and 2009. He then became the First Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense
    Council of Ukraine (2009 – 2010).
    Had completed a Ph.D. in history. Mr. Ogryzko was awarded a number of medals and orders.
    He is the author of a number of researches and articles on international relations.

Nika Oboladze

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  • Nika Oboladze is a  Georgian politician and lawyer. In 2012 he graduated from Tbilisi State University, Faculty of Law. From 2013-2014 he worked in the Administration of the President of Georgia, as a Chief Specialist in the Public Relations Department. From 2014-2016 he was an Assistant Member of Parliament. From 2015-2019 he was one of the founders of the political union  “Girchi”, a speaker and board member. 2019  he worked as an analyst for Rustavi 2 TV. 2019-2020 TV Mtavari – Analyst, Producer. In 2021-2022 Secretary of Strategic Communications of the United National Movement.

George(Gigi) Tsereteli

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  • Gigi Tsereteli is one of the most prominent and experienced politicians and public figures, both in Georgia and abroad. His activity includes the state, the international, as well as the private sectors.
    Gigi Tsereteli was the President of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE ) Parliamentary Assembly in 2017-2020. He was the longest-serving leader in the history of this organization. Before that, Gigi served as Vice President of the same Assembly for five years. He led the Georgian delegation to the Assembly for years.

    Gigi Tsereteli was the leader of the faction of the
    largest “European People’s Party” (EPP), which is an unprecedented case not only for Georgia but for Eastern Europe.
    From 1995 to 2016, he held various leading positions in both local and central government: he was the Vice Mayor of Tbilisi, the Chairman of the Tbilisi city council faction; Chairman of the Committee on Regional Policy and Self Government; Chairman of the Health and Social Affairs Committee; For two terms Gigi Tsereteli served as Deputy Chairman of the Parliament and for some time the Acting Chairman of the Parliament.
    He also held the posts of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labor, Health, and Social Protection of Georgia.

    He, as a parliamentary leader of numerous convocations, makes a special contribution to the issue of constitutional, healthcare, social and other reforms legislative provision and implementation in the country.
    It should be noted that in 2011-2013 he was elected as the President of the “European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development “ (EPF), and before the Vice-President of this forum. This organization, headquartered in Brussels, coordinates the work of parliaments on population and development issues in the European region.
    Gigi Tsereteli is a doctor-neurologist and also a lawyer. He graduated from Tbilisi Medical University faculty of medicine and State University Faculty of Law. He was also awarded a Certificate in “International Health Economics and Finance” from Boston University in the US.
    George (Gigi) Tsereteli has been awarded the highest award – the Order of St. George for his
    outstanding contribution to the development of the state.

Leadership

Ambassador Valeri Chechelashvili

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  • Valeri Chechelashvili is the Director of the Geopolitical Studies at the Georgian Strategic Analysis Center.

    He has been a career diplomat since October 1989. He held various positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia from Second Secretary to Deputy Foreign Minister (1998 – 2000). He was Minister of Finance in 2005 and First Deputy Foreign Minister (2005 – 2007).

    He has served as an Ambassador to Ukraine (1994 – 1998), Ambassador to Russian Federation (2004 – 2005), Secretary-General of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (2000 – 2004), and Secretary-General of the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development – GUAM (2007 – 2016). Mr. Chechelashvili has graduated from the Kiev State University, Faculty of International Relations and International Law, Department of International Economic Relations (1983) and completed a Ph.D. in International Economy (1987).

    From 2016 he was a Senior Fellow at the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies and from 2019 he is visiting professor of Sokhumi State University.
    Ambassador Valeri Chechelashvili is the director of the Energy Security Center at the Georgian Strategic Analysis Center.

    He was awarded a number of medals and orders. He is the author of a number of articles on diplomacy, regional economic cooperation, and international relations.
    He is a member of the European Leadership Network.

David Jandieri

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  • David Jandieri is a lawyer, Doctor of Laws, Professor with many years of professional experience in public and private structures. In 2012-2013 he held the position of First Deputy Minister of Justice of Georgia. David Jandieri was curated in this position by legal entities of public law under the Ministry of Justice (National Agency of Public Registry, Service Development Agency, National Bureau of Enforcement, Notary Chamber of Georgia, National Archives of Georgia). Until 2012, David Jandieri was a successful lawyer. He was the applicant’s lawyer in the well-known case before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg – Enukidze and Girgvliani v. Georgia. Currently, David Jandieri is consulting with various business corporations, actively participating in public discussions of socially important issues as an expert through the mass media. In 2018, he resumed his advocacy work in cases of public importance at the European Court of Human Rights, including the so-called “Process of the Century”. The Cyanide Case. David Jandieri is a graduate of the University of Strasbourg and holds a Master’s degree in European Law and Education. He holds a PhD in International Law from Tbilisi State University.

Nodar Kharshiladze

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  • Nodar Kharshiladze is one of the founders of the Georgian Strategic Analysis Centre. He was named Senior Fellow at the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies in 2013. Mr. Kharshiladze has over 14 years of work experience in international relations, defense and NATO integration. He started his career as a civil servant in 2001 at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. In 2005, Mr. Kharshiladze was named Head of the Defense Policy and Planning Department. He served as the First Deputy Minister of Defense from 2009-2012. Mr. Kharshiladze was responsible for strategic planning, transformation and reform, international relations and NATO, management and HR, PPBS and NATO integration. In 2012 he worked as the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia on issues such as the portfolio for transformation, international relations, HR, Planning, NATO and EU integration. Mr. Kharshiladze holds a B.A. from Ankara Police Academy, Turkey (2000) and a Master’s Degree in Strategic Security Studies from the National Defense University, Washington DC, USA (2008). In 2004 Mr.Kharshiladze completed a one year training course in International Relations and National Security organized by GFSIS and RAND corporation. In 2004 he attended a one year training course in Public Policy Analysis coordinated by the Canadian International Development Agency. Furthermore, Mr.Kharshiladze participated in the Ministry of Defence of the Kingdom of Netherlands special program in “Defence Planning and NATO Integration” in 2005-2007.

Giorgi Papelishvili

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  • Giorgi Papelisvili is a founder and administrative manager at the Georgian Strategic Analysis Center. He possesses extensive experience in management and leadership. From 2011 to 2013, Giorgi served as the Chairman of the youth wing of the “Christian-Democratic Movement.” During this time, Giorgi became the chairman of the “Youth Center of Civic Activities”—a position he still holds today. Giorgi later led the Foundation for the Development of Georgia’s Administration from 2015 to 2016 and became an executive assistant of “State for the People”. Giorgi earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in processing materials artistically from the Georgian Technical University. He has been actively involved in public and political activities since 2007, and has 10 years of experience working in youth-activist circles. Giorgi has completed several courses in PR, marketing communications, and diplomacy at the Georgian-American University and the School of Diplomacy and Security at the Rondeli Foundation (Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies). As a graduate of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation’s “Leaders’ Academy”, the UN “Political Ideologies and Electoral Management” program, and a two-time winner of IRI (International Republican Institute) and USAID’s joint project addressing youth political debates, Giorgi has been actively involved in local and international educational projects.

Giorgi Rukhadze

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  • Giorgi Rukhadze is a founding member and Director of European Studies at the Georgian Strategic Analysis Centre. With over 15 years of extensive work experience in media, international relations and European politics, he is an active foreign and security policy speaker and the author of dozens of blogs and articles. After heading the World News branch at IMEDI TV (2004-2007), he continued as the Director of the international office at the Christian Democratic Movement of Georgia (2008-2013) where he was charged with coordinating the party’s foreign policy and international relations. Since 2012, he has been a board member and the elected Vice-President of the Brussels-based European Christian Political Movement (ECPM). Mr. Rukhadze has served as a visiting professor at Ilia State University since 2010. He has a degree in International Economic Relations (Tbilisi State Institute for Production Organization 1992-1997) and a postgraduate diploma in British Studies (North London University 2001-2002).

Sophie Shamanidi

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  • Sophie Shamanidi is the Director of the Minorities Center at the Georgian Strategic Analysis Center.

    Sophie Shamanidi was born in 1970 in Tbilisi. In 1992, she graduated from Tbilisi State University, defended her first dissertation (Ph.D) in 1996, and her second dissertation(Habilitation) in 1999. She was awarded the academic degree – Doctor of Philology. She is a professor at Tbilisi State University, Dean of the Department of Modern Greek Philology, Deputy Head of the Institute of Classical Philology, Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies. In 2014-2018 she was the advisor to the Fourth President of Georgia on minority issues. Sophie Shamanidi was awarded “Alexandros Onassis Foundation” scholarship and the scholarship of the President of Georgia two-times each. She has conducted lectures at various European universities. In 2003 and 2009 she was a visiting professor at the University of Cyprus. Shamanidi is an author of several monographs and 6 textbooks in Greek, the editor of the Greek-Georgian dictionary and the series “Modern Greek Library”.

Tornike Sharashenidze

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  • Tornike Sharashenidze is a full-time professor and the Head of the MA Program of International Affairs at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA). He holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration and a PhD in International Relations. Dr. Sharashenidze teaches courses on the History of Diplomacy and Intelligence studies. Before joining GIPA, Dr. Sharashenidze worked as an analyst at the National Security Council of Georgia, as the Foreign Affairs Assistant to the Prime Minister of Georgia, and as the Director of the Information Center on NATO. Tornike Sharashenidze was the Chairman of the Board of the International Society of Democracy and Fair Elections. He actively participates in Georgian-Russian expert dialogues and cooperates as an independent expert with famous European non-Governmental organizations such as Fride and the Center of North-Atlantic Affairs. He is a regular contributor to European Council on Foreign Relations Wider Europe, Caucasus Analytical Digest and Georgian Review. He is the author of the book “History of Diplomacy,” which is the first Georgian textbook in this field (2013). Dr. Sharashenidze has also translated and published “The Soldier and the State” by S.P. Huntington.

Giorgi Targamadze

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  • Dr. Giorgi Targamadze is one of the founders and Director of the Media Center at the Georgian Strategic Analysis Centre. Prior to launching GSAC,  he was named as a Senior Fellow and Director of the Media Center at the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies in 2013. He has over 15 years of experience in mass media, starting out as a presenter on a Youth TV Program and later becoming an author, presenter, and editor-in-chief of the News and Weekly Digests for Ibervizia TV. From 1993 to 1995, Mr. Targamadze served as the Director of the Adjara Television and Radio Departments, and later became the Director of TV Studio Batumi. Mr. Targamadze headed the Press Center of the Supreme Council of the Adjarian Autonomous Republic from 1997 to 1999. Beginning in 2003, Mr. Targamadze served as the Director of News and Talk Show Programs, as well as the author and presenter of the Weekly Program “Droeba” at Imedi TV—a position he held until 2008. Along with his journalistic career, Mr. Targamadze served as an MP from 1999-2003. He was the Minority Leader in the Georgian Parliament and a member of Georgia’s PACE delegation from 2008-2012. From 2008 to 2013, he was the Chairman of Christian Democratic Movement of Georgia. During this time, he also became a member of the State Constitutional Commission, and served as President of the Association of Christian Democrats of Eastern Europe. Since 2014, he has been a visiting professor at the School of International Relations in the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA) Mr. Targamadze holds a degree in Journalism from Tbilisi State University (1999). He received his PhD in Social Sciences from Tbilisi State University in 2011.

Team

Lasha Bregvadze

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Sophio Gelashvili

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    Sophio Gelashvili is a financial manager of Georgian Strategic Analysis Center. She received bachelor’s degree in Economics from Tbilisi State University. She finished the following courses in International Center for Qualified Education: International Course for Financial Reporting; Qualification course for the main accountant; Revenue codex course; In 2002-2008 years she worked as an accountant in various private companies. In 2008-2014 years, she was an accountant at political union “Christian-Democratic Movement”. In 2014-2017 years, she was the main accountant of a private company. Since 2017, she’s been working as a financial manager of Georgian Strategic Analysis Center.

Nuki Daraselia

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  • Nuki Daraselia is a Project Coordinator at the Georgian Strategic Analysis Center. Nunu holds a degree in International Relations from the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA). After graduating from GIPA in 2017, she joined GSAC and has played an instrumental role in coordinating GSAC trainings and conferences, while contributing to the production of GSAC’s analytics.

Gela Vasadze

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David Kapanadze

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  • David Kapanadze is a former diplomat who served in the Georgian representations and embassies in Geneva, Bern and Bucharest, between the periods of 2008-2014 and 2016-2020. In 2011 he was Chargé d’affaires at the newly opened Embassy of Georgia to the Swiss Confederation. In 2006-2007 he worked as a Chief of New Threats and Arms Control Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. Prior to that, as a state servant, David Kapanadze worked in various state agencies of Georgia, particularly: In 2004-2005, as a Chief Advisor of the Defense Development Department at the National Security Council of Georgia; In 1999-2004, he worked in the Eastern Europe and the CIS countries Division of the International Relations Department at the Ministry of Defense of Georgia – firstly as a regular employee, and later as a Head of Division. During this period, he was actively involved in the ongoing negotiations on the withdrawal of Russian military bases from the territory of Georgia. David Kapanadze participated in numerous defense and security courses and seminars in Georgia and abroad, including a four-month course in 2006 at the Geneva Center of Security Policy on New Issues in Security Policy Course and a five-month course in 2005 in the Baltic Defense College on Higher Command Training Course. In 1995-1999, David Kapanadze served as a platoon commander at the Oil and Petroleum Products Protection Division of the Property Protection Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia.

Nino Khomeriki

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    Nino Khomeriki is the Program Manager at the Georgian Strategic Analysis Center. She began her career at GSAC after graduating from GIPA (Georgian Institute of Public Affairs) in 2017. Since starting work at GSAC, Nino has managed the implementation of GSAC’s “National Security and Media Communications Program” and helped coordinate GSAC conferences and meetings.

Aliona Zaitseva

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  • Aliona Zaitseva is a Journalist, Blogger, Social Media Specialist and Activist.
    Ms. Zaitseva has a master’s degree in Aviation Engineering.
    Correspondent for the International Youth Human Rights Movement, former author at the Human Rights Abroad Russian-language micro media, former volunteer at Russia Behind Bars, GULAG Museum, a graduate of the Moscow Open School of Human Rights and the Public School of Human Rights Defender (now Sergey Sharov-Delone School).
    She is a Social Media Marketing specialist, and activist, and has experience in protest organizations. Since moving to Tbilisi 5 years ago, she is an author of the Tbilisi_life channel.

Keti Sitchinava

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  • Keti Sichinava is a project manager at Georgian Strategic Analysis Center. She received Ph.D in economics from St. Andrew’s Georgian university and Master’s degree from Georgian-American university, majoring in International Law. Since graduating from Webster Business Management University, Keti has been working in various NGOs.

Aleksandra Akhmadieva

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  • Akhmadieva Aleksandra is independent documentary filmmaker. Ms. Akhmadieva studied at the Smolny Institute, faculty of theater pedagogy in Saint – Petersburg. She made documentary film about native inhabitants of Olkhon island in Siberia, short films for Wushu – Club “Tradition”, for federal center of the brain and neurotechnologies in Moscow, for Albatros company. Since moving to Tbilisi she collaborated with the Israeli embassy in Georgia, and made video projects for them.

     

     

     

     

Affiliated Experts

Zviad Adzinbaia

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  • Zviad Adzinbaia is the Director of Eastern European Digital Institute on Civil Resistance program at GSAC.

    He also serves as Managing Partner at LEADx Change, and International Security and Digital Diplomacy Fellow at The Fletcher School, Tufts University. 

    Zviad is a an International Security and Digital Diplomacy Fellow at The Fletcher School, Tufts University. He specializes in countering disinformation and propaganda strategies. In addition, he has extensively focused on creating security and strengthening democracy through digital diplomacy and tech-enabled solutions. In 2018, he coined a term – Temocracy – to emphasize the constructive role of modern technologies in bettering democracy.

    Previously, Zviad has served as Assistant to a Member (MEP) at the European Parliament’s Security and Defense Subcommittee, where he covered security and political affairs in Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, as well as EU-U.S. relations. In 2017, as a Research Fellow at the NATO Defense College in Rome, Zviad developed policy recommendations for NATO’s enhanced operations in the Black Sea.

    Zviad Adzinbaia holds a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy degree from the Fletcher School with a focus on international security and Euro-Atlantic relations. He has earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (with Honors) from the Sokhumi State University in Tbilisi. Strongly believing in the power of art in security and diplomacy, Zviad is passionate to host a jazz event in his hometown, Gali (Abkhazia), when Georgia is reunited.

Gia Japaridze

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  • Gia Japaridze is a Lecturer in Political Science, International Relations and Georgian Politics at the School of Social Sciences of the University of Georgia, he also teaches at other private higher education institutions in Georgia. Gia Japaridze is a former diplomat. During his tenure at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, he has served as Head of the Georgian Diplomatic Mission to the Republic of Cyprus (2012-2013) and the Portuguese Republic (2010-2011). He graduated from Tbilisi State University with a degree in Classical Philology and the Athens State University School of Law, Social and Economic Sciences with a degree in Political Science and Public Administration (International and European Studies). Gia Japaridze publishes articles on Georgian politics, international politics, politics of the Balkan countries. His area of ​​expertise is the wider Balkan region, Greece, Cyprus, Greek-Turkish relations, Lusophone countries, US foreign policy. He is a senior researcher at the Georgian Reform Association.

Andrej Klymzcyk

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  • Dr. Andrej Klymzcyk is a Polish diplomat with more than 20 years of work experience in CIS countries, as well as an expert in human rights and democratic reform (electoral systems, freedom of speech, and mass media). Dr. Klymzcyk also has broad experience in the security and defence sector. He served as a former journalist and press attaché in Polish Embassy in Moscow (1996 – 2000), as a former Political Officer in the OSCE Mission to Moldova (2001 – 2008), and participated in the negotiation process aimed at solving the Transdniestrian conflict in the “5+2” format. As a Political Officer in the NATO Liaison Office in Georgia from 2010 – 2017, he was responsible for monitoring and facilitating cooperation between Parliament and Georgian authorities; encouraging judicial reform, penitentiary and pro-abolition reforms; and facilitating strengthened political dialogue in Georgia. Dr. Klymzcyk has significant experience observing general, local and municipal elections in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. He graduated from Poznan University with a Master’s in Political Science and a PhD in International Law.

Giorgi Koberidze

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  • Giorgi Koberidze is a research fellow at the Georgian Strategic Analysis Center, as well as a lecturer in Theories of Democratization and Introduction to Political Science at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs. From 2015-2016, Giorgi worked at an NGO called the Alliance for Regional Development (ARD) as a PR and International Relation Manager. Prior to joining ARD, Giorgi served as a Senior Curator at the Georgian National Museum. From 2014-2015, Giorgi was a member of the Advisor Council at the Georgian Youth Palace. Giorgi Koberidze graduated from the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs and holds MA degree.

Volodymyr Kopchak

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  • Volodymyr Kopchak is the Head of the South Caucasus Branch of the Ukrainian Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies (CACDS).
    Work Experience: 
    – deputy Director of the Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies (CACDS)
    – deputy editor in chief of Defense Express «Defense Industry of Ukraine» magazine.
    Summary of qualifications: Research, analysis; Analytical work in the field of geopolitics, external policy, informational security (countering propaganda), countering «hybrid» threats, military-technical cooperation, etc.; Publishing the CACDS bulletin «Challenges and threats: security review»; Organizing of international conferences, seminars, round tables; Experience in the law-making process, including preparation of the offset law in military-technical cooperation sphere of Ukraine.   

Anatoli Korapanov

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  • Anatoli Korapanov explores the issues related to sport’s state policy and sports integrity. He has 13 years of experience in public service. In 2010-2016 he worked at the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs of Georgia, as the Deputy Head of International Relations and European Integration Department. In 2012-2016 he was the Head of the Georgian delegation at the Permanent Committees of the Sports Council of the Council of Europe, and a member of the Board of Governors of the Council of Europe Intergovernmental Platform “Advanced Partial Agreement on Sport”. He participated in the development of international conventional projects on “manipulations of sports competitions” and “general approach to safety, safety and service on football matches and other sporting events”. During his work in public service, he worked and coordinated the work of the thematic groups, including the IATF chairperson, in 2015, which was responsible for developing an “anti-doping state strategy”. Since 2016 Anatoly is a lecturer of the Sport Management Master’s Program of Physical Education and Sport of Georgia. In 2017, within the framework of the United Nations Development Program and the European Union project, he headed the process of development of “2018-2020 Strategy and Action Plan of the Parliament of Sport and Youth Affairs Committee”. Anatoli Correpanov has graduated from the Diplomatic Academy of Georgia and has a degree in Master of International Relations.

Elene Kvanchilashvili

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  • Elene Kvanchilashvili has been in the fields of psychology and journalism for more than 10 years. Passion for writing and reporting sparkled when she was just 16 years old: That’s when she wrote her dairies depicting her life as a teenager living in a host family and studying at Watauga High School, NC, USA. Her book One Year in America received a thank-you-note from then-President of the US Bill Clinton. Today, in journalism, her main interests are in business and economics: policy, regulations, main trends and impacts. Elene is an Executive Editor of Forbes Georgia, and author and anchor of a weekly talk show Analytics with Elene KVANCHILASHVILI produced by Business Media Georgia (BMG) on TV Pirveli. In psychology she mainly focuses on political and mass communication. Her PhD in psychology was on nationalism comparing three countries of South Caucasus: Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Her master’s course on psychology of political communication that she has been teaching for two years at Tbilisi State University faculty of psychology and education sciences was prepared on the basis of cooperation with the University of Berkley, US as part of the Carnegie Fellowship. Elene KVANCHILASHVILI is a Carnegie Fellow 2011. Recently, she wrote a policy paper for Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC) studying possibilities and challenges of commercialization of museums in Georgia and beyond. Elene has a husband and a 10-year daughter Anastasia Kalandadze.

Ambassador Ivane(Vano) Matchavariani

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  • Vano Matchavariani is an expert on strategic and international affairs and political commentator whose career spans foreign relations, diplomacy, business, academia and the non-profit sector. Most recently, he served as Deputy Secretary of the National Security Council of Georgia. Previously, he was Executive Director of the Georgia Development Foundation, Deputy CEO for External Relations at JSC Partnership Fund, and Advisor on Foreign Relations to President Giorgi Margvelashvili. Mr. Matchavariani served as Ambassador to Japan from 2007 to 2009 and as Ambassador-at-Large/Special Envoy on Energy Security Issues in Georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2007. From 2004 to 2007, Mr. Matchavariani was in the private sector as Director’s Representative for External Relations for the Australian listed company Bolnisi Gold and then as a member of the Supervisory Board of the Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation. From 1998 to 2002, he was Counsellor in the Permanent Mission of Georgia to the United Nations in New York.
    In 1997 and 1998, he was Assistant on Foreign Affairs to Chairman of the Parliament
    Zurab Zhvania. In 1996, he was a visiting fellow at the Institute for Conflict Management and Resolution at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. From 1996 to 1997, he founded and ran the Georgian office of the NGO Partners for Democratic Change. Mr. Matchavariani holds a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC, a graduate diploma in European Studies from the Central European University (CEU) in Prague, Czech Republic, and an undergraduate diploma from the Georgian Polytechnical University. He has taught foreign policy at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University and the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs.

Luis Navaro

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Nika Pipia

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  • Nika Pipia works as a project coordinator at Georgian Strategic Analysis Center. He got his bachelor’s degree in international relations from Georgian Institute of Public Affairs. In 2016, he was interning at Georgian Foundation For Strategic and International Studies (GFSIS). Since 2017, he’ been working as a project coordinator at GSAC.

Iryna Petriashvili

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  • Iryna Petriashvili is a Strategic Communications / Government Relations professional with 15+ years of experience, mainly with various international organizations. Her career started in Kyiv, Ukraine where she had been working with numerous world-known automotive brands, such as Porsche, Volvo, Jaguar, Nissan and Peugeot as Brand Manager / Public Relations Lead. 

    In 2014 Ms. Petriashvili moved to Georgia where she took various roles in communications in the automotive, hospitality, and corporate finance fields. In the last five years Iryna had served as the communications/stakeholder engagement lead at the two largest hydropower projects in Georgia – Nenskra Hydropower Plant project and Namakhvani Hydropower Plant project, as well as an Australia-headquartered international engineering firm, where she managed communications for Caucasus, Central Asia & South Asia. In March 2022 Iryna joined Georgian Renewable Energy Development Association (GREDA) as Deputy Executive Director.

    Iryna holds a Master’s Degree from Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University, specializing in Arabic and English philology, and is currently enrolled in the Master of Arts Program at Georgia Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA), specializing in Public Relations. Iryna is fluent in Georgian, Ukrainian, English and Russian languages.

     

Archil Razmadze

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Sophio Tskrialashvili

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    Sopio Tskrialashvili graduated from Tbilisi State University School of International Relations in 2013. After graduating, she enrolled in Erciyes University with a scholarship from the Republic of Turkey. In 2017, she obtained a Master’s degree in Public Administration and Political Sciences. In the spring of 2017, she studied in the University of Lodz in Poland through the “Erasmus” exchange program. In 2012 she interned in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in 2015 with the Department of Economics and Culture. In 2016, through the program “Georgia’s Young Ambassador,” which sought to popularize Georgia in Turkey, Sopio was chosen as Georgia’s youth ambassador to Turkey.

Giorgi Kiknadze

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  • Giorgi Kiknadze is an affiliated expert in the Georgian Strategic Analysis center. He analyses the state policy of public safety, the state policy of tourism security, as well as issues related to the processes of integration into the Euro-Atlantic structures of the country. He has 17 years of working experience in public service.

    In 2002-2012, he had been working in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, in the administration of the General Inspection on medium and high positions of the Information and Analytical Department. At the end, he had been working as the deputy director of the information-analytical department in the mentioned agency. During this period, he has attended various qualification and training courses in USA, Hungary, Poland, Great Britain, Norway and France.

    In 2013-2014, Giorgi Kiknadze continued his public service as the Deputy Head of the General Inspection of the Ministry of Correctional, Probation and Legal Assistance of Georgia, and later, as the Head of the Administration of the Ministry.

    In 2015-2016, Giorgi Kiknadze is the head of the project on the legalization of living spaces in temporary use of internally displaced people. In 2019-2021, Giorgi Kiknadze maintains working in the public service, this time in the position of the head of the regional policy service of the government administration.

     

     

Academic Associates

Abby Stern

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  • Abby is an Academic Associate at the Georgian Strategic Analysis Center. She joined the GSAC team while traveling to Georgia in 2022 and assists in project planning and implementation. She is also visiting research fellow from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Her research interests include U.S-Georgia military cooperation and democratization in Eastern Europe. 

Katrine Westgaard

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  • Katrine Westgaard is an Academic Associate at the Georgian Strategic Analysis Center. She is also a visiting research fellow from the College of William & Mary located in Williamsburg, Virginia. Her research interests include U.S.-Georgian cooperation and foreign policy, the intersection of gender and national security, as well as emerging areas of geopolitical import. 
     
    After travelling to Georgia in 2022, she joined GSAC and has assisted in drafting and editing grant proposals, while also contributing to the brainstorming process for GSAC projects. 

Daniella Marx

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  • Daniella Marx is an Academic Associate at the Georgian Strategic Analysis Center.  She is also visiting research fellow from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Her research interests include U.S-Georgia military cooperation, environmental governance, and democratization in Eastern Europe.
     
    After traveling to Georgia in 2022, she joined GSAC and has assisted in drafting and editing grant proposals, while also contributing to the brainstorming process for future GSAC projects.

Aliia Woodworth

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  • Aliia Woodworth is an Academic Associate at the Georgian Strategic Analysis Center. She is a visiting research fellow from William and Mary, a premier research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA. Her research interests include US-Georgia military cooperation, EU-NATO integration, Russian and Post-Soviet studies, and geospatial intelligence. 

    Aliia joined GSAC in 2022 and has played an instrumental role in writing grant proposals and analyzing relevant political developments/policy issues for the creation of new projects. 

Archil Razmadze

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