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Vazha Tavberidze

Vazha Tavberidze is a staff writer with RFE/RL's Georgian Service. As a journalist and political analyst, he has covered issues of international security, post-Soviet conflicts, and Georgia's Euro-Atlantic aspirations. His writing has been published in various Georgian and international media outlets, including The Times, The Spectator, The Daily Beast, and IWPR.

Also by Vazha Tavberidze

May 13, 2024
Interview: Putin Has Not Given Up On Erasing Ukraine 'As A State, A Concept, And A People'

Nataliya Bugayova of the Institute for the Study of War talks about Western wavering, Ukrainians' "will to fight" versus "defeatism," and what she believes is at stake in Ukraine for the United States.
April 15, 2024
Ukraine Will Become NATO Member, Predicts Former Deputy Secretary-General

As NATO approaches its 75th anniversary, the military alliance faces an "extraordinarily difficult moment" posed by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, said Rose Gottemoeller, a former NATO deputy secretary-general and senior U.S. diplomat.
March 27, 2024
Malcolm Nance: 'Always Listen To A Terrorist Group And Believe Them When They Confess'

RFE/RL's Georgian Service speaks to Malcolm Nance, a counterterrorism expert and former U.S. naval intelligence officer. Nance says Russia is culpable for the recent Moscow attack and that the Kremlin doesn't care whether it's telling the truth or not.
March 20, 2024
Historian Says Putin Has Slipped Up Geostrategically, Geoeconomically, And Geopolitically

Robert Service, a biographer of Soviet and Russian leaders, talked to RFE/RL about Vladimir Putin. While the Russian leader has shaped "an ideology of Russian patriotism that struck a chord with most Russians," he also failed on his interpretation of Ukrainian history.
March 18, 2024
Putin's Reelection Confirms Russia Is 'Authoritarian Society,' Says NATO Chief

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia's presidential election was "not free nor fair" and only confirms that Russia is "an authoritarian society."
March 18, 2024
Michael Clarke: If Ukraine Can Survive The Year, 'Pendulum Could Shift' Against Russia

From weapons shortages to Western fatigue, Ukraine faces more than a few hurdles against invading Russian forces. But Michael Clarke, a British defense and security expert, predicts the "pendulum could swing" against Russia in 2025.
March 10, 2024
With NATO 'Stuck,' Retired U.S. Colonel Says It's Time To Send EU Troops To Ukraine

Retired U.S. Army Colonel Alexander Crowther talks to RFE/RL's Georgian Service about his recent contention that if Ukraine loses its war with Russia, it is "time to send EU forces."
February 20, 2024
Interview: Latvia's President Says Ukraine Is Not Only Fighting For Us But 'Fighting Instead Of Us'

Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics tells RFE/RL's Georgian Service that the narrative needs to change from supporting Ukraine "for as long as it takes" to "we are going to support Ukraine to victory."
February 17, 2024
Interview: Putin's Strategic Mistake Was To Choose The West As An Enemy, Historian Says

Timothy Snyder, a history professor at Yale University, believes that Vladimir Putin will go down in history as a ruler who fundamentally weakened Russia, while Aleksei Navalny will be remembered for giving his life for his country.
February 17, 2024
Ex-Ambassador 'In Shock' After His Friend Navalny Reported Dead

U.S. Russia expert Michael McFaul said he was "in shock" after hearing about the death of Aleksei Navalny, whom he had considered a friend. The former U.S. ambassador to Russia spoke to RFE/RL in Munich on February 16, shortly after Russian authorities announced that Navalny had been found dead.
February 01, 2024
Interview: 'I Don't See How This Cannot Happen,' Bill Browder Says Of Seizing Russian Assets

Momentum is growing in the West to seize Russian assets and hand them over to Ukraine, argues U.S.-born British financier and political activist Bill Browder. In an interview with RFE/RL's Georgian Service, he argues that it makes sense and why he thinks those who argue against it are wrong.
January 05, 2024
Russia Bets It Can 'Outlast The Attention Span Of The West' To Defeat Ukraine, Says Defense And Security Expert

Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to waste lots of lives and money to defeat Ukraine, argues Professor Peter Roberts, a senior associate fellow at the U.K.-based Royal United Services Institute.
December 05, 2023
Interview: Putin Should 'Be Pretty Careful About Making Bets' In Ukraine

Washington Post foreign affairs columnist David Ignatius talks to RFE/RL's Georgian Service about the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, how next year's U.S. election could affect international support for Kyiv, and why the world needs "police, but not a policeman."
November 26, 2023
West 'Too Cautious About Giving Ukraine Weapons That Could Strike Into Russia,' Says Former NATO Commander

Former NATO European commander and U.S. national-security adviser General James L. Jones talks to RFE/RL's Georgian Service about how the outcome of the war in Ukraine could shape behavior around the world, and the risk of longer-range weapons provoking a wider war.
November 13, 2023
Ukraine War Marks 'Moral Bankruptcy Of The Russian Imperial Myth,' Says Exiled Journalist

Mikhail Zygar, a veteran Russian journalist who now lives in exile, tells RFE/RL’s Georgian Service that Vladimir Putin needs the war “to remain in power” and that he's waiting for Ukraine's Western support to fade.
October 13, 2023
With Ukraine War And Now Israel, German Politician Asks 'How Bad Does It Have To Get' For West To Step Up?

Nico Lange, a German politician from the center-right Christian Democratic Union and a senior fellow at the Munich Security Conference, spoke to RFE/RL about Hamas's asymmetrical warfare and how new pressure on U.S. ammunition stocks could affect Ukraine's defense against Russia.
October 08, 2023
Former British Army Chief Says It's 'Perfectly Reasonable' For Ukraine To Strike Inside Russia

It is "perfectly reasonable" for Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russia, in part to "degrade" Russia's military, says Richard Dannatt, a former head of the British Army. In an interview with RFE/RL's Georgian Service, Dannatt also says that given the slow pace of Ukraine's counteroffensive, Kyiv and its Western partners should prepare for a likely protracted conflict.
September 29, 2023
'Messianic' Putin Fell Victim To His Own Propaganda, Says Veteran Journalist

Veteran journalist and New Yorker columnist Susan Glasser talks to RFE/RL’s Georgian Service about Vladimir Putin’s evolution from “incrementalism” to “messianism,” authoritarianism and the “Russian river” of history, and Putin and the Ukraine war in the context of looming U.S. elections.
August 29, 2023
Interview: Prigozhin's Demise And Russia's 'Gangster Rules'

Soviet-born cybersecurity expert, author, and think-tank founder Dmitri Alperovitch talks to RFE/RL's Georgian Service about Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's presumed death and what it says about Vladimir Putin's Russia and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
August 26, 2023
'Ukraine Has Retaken The Initiative From The Enemy,' Says Former Top NATO Officer

With its counteroffensive, Ukraine has regained the initiative as it battles invading Russian forces says former NATO top official Giampaolo Di Paola, but that its lack of air supremacy is the “most significant missing element.”

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