FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Natalia Arno, President
Phone: +1 202.549.2417
Email: [email protected]
FREE RUSSIA FOUNDATION OPENS OFFICE IN TBILISI, GEORGIA
WASHINGTON, DC, February 11, 2019. Free Russia Foundation (FRF), a 501(c) 3 non-profit defending freedom and human rights and working to restore Russia’s path to democracy, announces a new chapter in Tbilisi, Georgia.
FRF Georgia office will work to foster dialogue and cooperation among pro-democracy forces in Russia, Georgia and the entire South Caucasus region and strengthen ties between civil society groups from these areas. FRF Georgia will support and publish research on critical issues related to Georgian and Russian relations, such as the Kremlin’s influence in South Caucasus and possible approaches to solving regional conflicts.
“We are thrilled to have this new platform for connecting pro-democracy forces in Georgia and to expand our programs to the South Caucasus region,” Natalia Arno, FRF’s President said.
The official launch of the FRF branch took place on February 7, 2019. This will be the fourth regional center for FRF that already maintains offices in Washington, DC, Silicon Valley, CA, and Kyiv, Ukraine.
From left to right: Egor Kuroptev, Head of FRF Georgia, Greg Frolov, FRF VP and Head of FRF Ukraine, and Nikolai Levshits, FRF Research Fellow
Mr. Greg Frolov, FRF Vice President and Head of FRF Ukraine Chapter, in his keynote address at the launch said “our office in Kyiv has successfully operated for two years. And now, with opening the new office in Tbilisi, we’ll be able to offer our services in Georgia and also to establish educational and analytical programs to counter the Kremlin’s disinformation on a regional level, and bolster our expertise in security of the Black Sea region.”
Egor Kuroptev will head the FRF Georgia Office. A native of Russia, Mr. Kupotev moved to Georgia in 2012. He is the founder and host of a TV program Border Area (Pogranichnaya Zona).
Ambassador Ian C. Kelly, a member of Free Russia Foundation Board and former U.S. Ambassador to Georgia, commented: “I was very pleased to see FRF open a representation In Tbilisi. Democratic Georgia and free Russians should work together to realize a democratic and free Russia. I know Egor Kuroptev well from my time in Tbilisi, and am convinced he is the right person to lead the FRF’s office in Georgia.”
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For more information, please visit the Free Russia Foundation’s website, www.4freerussia.org, or contact Natalia Arno at +1 202.549.2417 and [email protected].