FLASHPOINT

200+ Hurt in Republic of Georgia Protests Over Putin Friend’s Parliament Visit

Kremlin condemns neighboring republic after outrage over controversial Russian figure sitting in politician’s parliamentary seat.

More than 240 anti-Russia protesters were hurt, including two people who lost eyes, in violent clashes in Tbilisi, Georgia, overnight, the BBC reports. Demonstrators tried to storm the Georgia parliament, where Russian politician Sergei Gavrilov had earlier addressed a group from the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy at the invitation of Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze, who resigned under pressure Friday after he allowed Gavrilov sit in his official government seat. Gavrilov spoke to the assembly in Russian, angering those who are against any Russian presence in the country. Gavrilov has been a vocal supporter of independence for the Georgian breakaway region of Abkhazia as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin instead blamed the protests on radical Georgian politicians, calling the episode an “anti-Russian provocation.” Tensions between Russia and Georgia have reached an 11-year-high after the two countries battled over the region of South Ossetia.