On Saturday another 56 members of the religious society of Dukhobors will leave Georgia for good, where their ancestors settled a century and a half ago. On that day a motorcade will cross the Russian-Georgian border at Verkhny Lars and travel toward Briansk province. Up to the Russian border they will be accompanied by the Department of Emergency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, and they will move to their new place of settlement under the protection of the "Leader" center of Russia.

Before Georgia gained its independence, about 6,000 Dukhobors lived on the territory between the lakes Parvana and Khanchala in the Ninotsmindi province (approximately 200 km. from Tbilisi). They had arrived here more than 150 years ago, persecuted by the official Orthodox church. The Dukhobors engaged mainly in farming. Here they operated the cooperative farm "Dukhobor" in which there was a stock farm, with dairy and swine products, as well as a juice unit. The exodus of the Dukhobors from Georgia into Russia and Canada started at the time of the ascendancy to power in Georgia of the adherents of the former president Zviad Gamsakhurdia, who propounded the principle of "Georgia for the Georgians." And although the government of Georgia changed subsequently, the departure of the Dukhobors continued. In all, in recent years 4,000 Dukhobors have quit the republic. It is true that Georgia has tried to represent the resettlement of Dukhobors as a "natural process." The aide to the Georgian president for international affairs, Alexis Gerasimov, has stated: "The action planned for Saturday demonstrates the possibility of productive cooperation between the two countries." (tr. by PDS)

Russian text at http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/doukhobors270199.html