The Rise and Rise of 'Saint Gia'

Some notes on the controversial pop star who's become the hero of the Georgian opposition this year, from my column in The Moscow Times. Photograph from Civil Georgia.

More than seven weeks of non-stop opposition protests in Georgia may not have achieved their desired goal – the resignation of President Mikheil Saakashvili – but they have turned one man into a political phenomenon: pop star Giorgi Gachechiladze.

For many opposition supporters, Gachechiladze is a patriotic icon and a valiant crusader for justice. Since January, the star - best known by his stage name Utsnobi (‘The Unknown’) - has confined himself to a purpose-built ‘prison cell’ in a television studio, from which he broadcasts an anti-government reality-TV show. His example inspired the opposition to blockade streets outside parliament and the presidential palace in Tbilisi with hundreds of imitation ‘cells’.

Utsnobi’s arrival at a showpiece rally at the national football stadium last week invoked mass delirium and a display of devotion which no Georgian politician could hope to inspire right now (see photo). Tens of thousands of people rose to cheer as the singer, dressed in gleaming white, was borne aloft on a lap of honour around the arena. Tears flowed as he doffed his trademark urchin’s cap to his delirious admirers. The fiery speeches of the opposition leaders who followed him to the podium seemed tepid in comparison.

After the rally, one phone-in caller to his TV show was ecstatic: “You are not Gia, you are Saint Giorgi!” she gushed, insisting that the star had been sent by God to save the nation. Another prominent activist declared: “America had Martin Luther King, Georgia has Gia Gachechiladze.”

Utsnobi’s brother, opposition politician Levan Gachechiladze, ran against Mikheil Saakashvili in presidential elections last year. Both have a populist, streetwise style and a taste for intemperate rhetoric. When I interviewed Utsnobi in his ‘cell’ a few weeks ago, he compared Saakashvili to Adolf Hitler, undermining his grievances with hyperbole. Last month, he led an angry crowd on a late-night march to police headquarters in Tbilisi in an attempt to release three young activists who had been detained for allegedly assaulting journalists and were then allegedly assaulted in custody themselves.

The march ended in violence after the pop star scaled the gates to confront cops who were chanting “Misha! Misha!” - Saakashvili’s nickname - as they swung their batons. Critics condemned his behaviour as reckless, but for his followers, it was just another reason to sanctify him.