On 7 July, on the prime-time news show “Postscriptum”, which was broadcasted by the opposition-leaning TV channel Rustavi 2, the moderator Giorgi Gabunia had publicly insulted President of Russia Vladimir Putin. Gabunia made his statement in Russian, heavily insulting him and his deceased parents in extremely vulgar terms (*the direct quote was left out for discretion. For access to direct quote see hyperlink above).

The protesters had gathered in front of the Rustavi 2 TV building shortly after the statement was made. They were carrying banners that stated “We want stability!”. They demanded an investigation into Gabunia’s swearing and the resignation of Giorgi Gabunia and Nika Gvaramia (Director General of Rustavi 2). Gvaramia suspended the broadcasting of the TV channel as several journalists and cameramen were attacked by protesters. “The Ministry of Interior could not ensure our security (…) there were threats of break-ins into the building; things were thrown at the building,” he said. The broadcasting was continued on 8 July.

After the broadcast, Nika Gvaramia publicly commented on Gabunia’s outburst. “After Gabunia’s show, I think, Rustavi 2 owes an explanation to the public. While I share the pathos, and I am not going to apologize for swearing Putin off, I still believe that… the form was not politically correct. I want to stress this point once again, that expressing one’s self in this manner is, of course, unacceptable. That is not the channel’s attitude and it does not follow our editorial or our journalistic standards. Despite the fact that Gabunia is completely independent in regards to his show [meaning that no content is controlled before the broadcast], the channel is disappointed and unsatisfied as such statements do not compliment our media code,” he said. Even though Gabunia was suspended for two month, he has not been fired as of yet. 

The Georgian government, as well as other actors, reacted harshly to Gabunia’s inappropriate use of words. “What the Georgian society has witnessed today on Rustavi 2 is categorically unacceptable! I profoundly categorize this television message as a provocation and as one that is containing the greatest threat against the peace and security of Georgia. It is a war of provocateurs against their homeland, a dirty and outrageous game putting the security of the state and its citizens at stake,” said Prime Minister Mammuka Bakhtadze.

The same view was shared by the President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili. “The president condemns one of the TV anchors’ provocative and offensive name-calling of a neighboring country’s leader. Patriotism differs from this act and one cannot defend one’s country by causing a mess and destabilization. Our way is the peaceful way, our perspective is Europe and our strength is stability. Dividing the country into two groups, encouraging conflicts within and out of the border of the country is inadmissible! This recent move either serves as a provocation for a new war or as revenge for an unfinished revolution! Either way, this is an act against one’s country. This person did exactly what a Georgian with dignity should never do. This is what damaging the interests of your own country looks like!” said Zurabishvili’s, press secretary.

The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a public statement, calling the international community to react to Gabunia’s statement. “We strictly condemn the expressions used by the TV Company "Rustavi 2". It has nothing to do with freedom of speech and is a clear provocation aimed at the further complication of the existing situation in Georgia-Russia relations. Obviously, there is a deliberate action aimed at establishing a sense of destabilization in the country, while the government of Georgia tries to de-escalate tensions in accordance with the national interests of the country,” read the statement.

Members of the opposition also criticized Gabunia’s act. Sergi Kapanadze, member of European Georgia, condemned the wording of the speech in his Facebook reaction, but added that the government’s “irrational” reaction is “no less concerning”. Georgia’s former President Mikheil Saakashvili also reacted on Facebook saying “while combating Russian imperialism and occupation, our media shall not become the likeness of the hysterical Russian media! Truth is on our side, and this truth needs to be told in a civilized manner! Aiming to shock and being hysterical will only harm us!”

The Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics, an independent union of journalists aimed at raising the social responsibility of media through protection of professional and ethical standards and development of self-regulation mechanisms, also condemned the speech. They said that Gabunia’s statement damaged not only Rustavi 2, but ethical journalism standards as a whole, undermining the confidence and respect towards journalists and propagating hate speech.

The Russian officials also responded. According to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Gabunia’s statement was perceived as a provocation and an adequate reaction from international organizations and the journalist's community is expected. However, the Russian Foreign Ministry also pointed out that, unlike the protests in Tbilisi on 20 June, the Georgian government clearly distanced itself from the "provocateurs" and "radicals" and condemned their behavior.

Timur Shafir, the Executive Secretary and International Director of the Russian Union of Journalists, commented on the statement, calling it an “eccentric ploy of an inferior individual, which has no connection to journalism at all.” He said that Gabunia’s behavior was unprofessional and disgusting. The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, also joined in the discussion and described Gabunia as a "disgrace to the Georgian people". The spokesman for the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov, said something similar. He accused the Georgian government of the responsibility for the incident, because it does nothing against extremists in Georgia..  

Gabunia’s unethical public statement came at an inopportune time as the flight-bans from Russia to Georgia had officially started. The “Georgian Airways” hope to overcome this problem, by offering their passengers the route Tbilisi-Yerevan-Moscow as a means to cope with the sanctions. It leaves to be seen if Gabunia’s statement will make the situation between Georgia and Russia worse as it already is. Among the state-related Russian media and at the level of Duma deputies it is already considered to introduce import bans on Georgian wine and mineral water.