Where Radio Voice is Hardly Heard

In the center of Dusheti (town  in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region, 54 km northeast of Tbilisi ) a one-storey building with white gratings is rooming the Biblus bookshop also selling magazines. That's the only place in the town where people can buy press though their number is scarce. According to the bookshop assistant the reason is the poverty of the dwellers: "The price for newspapers and magazines is at least GEL 1, the population cannot afford it."

The Gza (way) and the Sarke (mirror) magazines enjoy the highest sale in Dusheti (30-40 copies on a weekly basis, and the Kronika (chronicles) newspaper (20 copies per week).

"I am the Kviris Palitra newspaper reader, its content is diverse and is acceptable to me," at the newsagent's said a lady to me looking through the children's encyclopedia. She seems to be uncertain about buying it.

Dusheti dweller Paata Odishvili, 47, lost eyesight at the age of 14. He spends whole days at home and the main source of information for him is television. The Odishvilis' TV set broadcasts only three national channels such as Imedi, Rustavi 2 and GPB First Channel.

"I have no access to the radio here so I have TV on all day through. Mainly I listen to GPB 1 news but the rest of my family love watching the Profile (authorship program) and Shua Kalaki (comedy TV series), I have good fun with Shua Kalaki too.

Like the Odishvilis the majority of Dusheti dwellers have access to only three national channels. Only few families and the local hotel have got satellite antennas. Russian news programs are blocked here too.

I have been looking for the Internet café in the town but in vain, I could only find a PC at a local pawnshop. Internetization process has not yet been launched in Dusheti and the pawnshop has access to Internet via the modem of one of the mobile providers.

From Dusheti I am heading to the Dzveli Ossebi village by taxi. The bus goes to a small mountainous settlement three times per week, the road is damaged and I walk to up to the destination.

A middle-aged lady is working in the kitchen garden in the hot sun, I am not disturbing her work and greet the people gathered in "the center" of the village. The conversation starts with the discussion of the problems in the village.

In Dzveli Osebi there is a one-storey school with broken windows and the walls washed away with rain, though the remains of old paint are still visible. Only ten kids go to school. Undergraduates go to school in the neighboring Lafanaantkari village. Due to bad road three kilometers are hard to cover to reach the school.

Children get into the conversation. They are curious about my surname. After having learned my family name they try to find out the ties of relationship between me and one of the TV anchors.

According to the village dweller Giorgi Tsotskolauri, 50, press doesn't reach the village, the main source of information is television.

"Only three families have got a satellite antenna in a 20-family village. We have no radio signal, let alone Internet," said Giorgi Tsotskolauri.

"Only First Channel broadcasts in good quality here, Rustavi 2 and Imedi TV have got bad signals," the village dweller added.

Tsitsino Khosashvili doesn't care about the absence of press: "We have got a lot of work throughout a day, we work on the land, take care of animals and that's the way we survive. Being tired in the evenings we hardly look at TV to find out what is being on in the world, I can neither spent money on newspapers nor have I got time."

Leaving Dzveli Osebi I am heading to Mtskheta.

Restoration works are being on in the historic part of the town. Water pipes are being installed, the road is being paved. A high number if tourists is evident. Monitors are being installed in open bars trying to attract football lovers.

There are five news agents in the center of the town. I move to the outskirts. Magazines and newspapers are available in Mtskheta at every stop.

In Mtskheta-Mtianeti region there is no local TV available nor the newspaper comes out.

There are lots of satellite antennas visible in the town. Population applies the local cable TV service too. There is no official data about the users connected to the Internet though the local Internet café owner affirmed the Intrnetaization process in the town has been on for three years now and almost all families have access to net.