“You can take a person out of Soviet Union, but not Soviet Union out of a person”: Georgian Parliament Speaker denounces “post-soviet MEPs” lecturing Georgia “in the name of Europe”

In the face of what he described as a “hostile environment”, the Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday announced that the Parliament’s official delegation would not participate in upcoming EuroNest sessions until there is readiness for dialogue.

In his remarks, Papuashvili criticised certain European Parliament members, stating that “post-Soviet individuals are lecturing Georgia in the name of Europe”.

“In this hostile environment, the official delegation of the Georgian Parliament will not take part in the next EuroNest sessions until we see a willingness for dialogue”, the Speaker stressed.

“It’s a fact that we are being lectured in the name of Europe by post-Soviet individuals - Gorbachev’s ally Rasa Juknevičienė and Sergey Lagodinsky, who was born and raised in Astrakhan and is now presented to us as a German MEP. This is a clear example of the saying: you can take a person out of the Soviet Union, but you can’t take the Soviet Union out of a person. These are exactly the people who look at Georgia with the same Soviet mindset and believe that the Georgian people can be tamed”, he continued.

He concluded by reiterating that the Georgian Government didn’t need lessons on European values from Gorbachev’s associate Rasa Juknevičienė and Astrakhan-born Sergey Lagodinsky.