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Russian Couple Tied to Kremlin-Linked Group Acquired Land in Georgia, iFact Investigation Reveals
A new investigation by the iFact collective, in collaboration with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), has uncovered how a Russian couple acquired land in the western Georgian village of Shukhuti under the guise of an investment project, while maintaining contact with a Kremlin-linked foundation.
According to leaked emails reviewed by journalists, Maria and Yulia Arkhipova presented themselves as investors planning to revive a defunct fruit-canning plant in Guria. Once they secured the land, they sidelined local landowners and began promoting the area as a future site for a cosmodrome. Investigators say no such project ever materialized.
Instead, iFact found that Maria Arkhipova regularly sent reports from Georgia to Pravfond, a foundation established by Russia's Foreign Ministry and sanctioned by both the U.S. and EU. The emails, dated from late 2021 onward, included proposals to strengthen Russia's influence in Georgia, such as opening Russian-language schools, granting official status to the Russian language, and even negotiating military base openings in exchange for Russia's recognition of Georgian territory.
In one email, Arkhipova wrote: "Otherwise, we will have to return Georgia in the same way as we are now returning Ukraine."
The couple also offered to help Pravfond circumvent sanctions. "I can deliver via so-called third countries or directly myself," Arkhipova wrote in April 2022, offering to supply electronics and spare parts to Russia. OCCRP noted there is no evidence this offer was acted upon.
Maria Arkhipova, a trans woman formerly known as Evgeny Arkhipov, had previously worked with Pravfond and attempted to run for Russian president in 2018. Leaked emails show her wife received Euro72,000 from Pravfond between 2014 and 2015, ostensibly for humanitarian work in Ukraine.
In Georgia, Arkhipova reportedly continued influence efforts through legal and consulting work. She told Pravfond she had represented Lali Moroshkina, a pro-Russian Georgian figure, who confirmed the interaction and said she had reported the couple to Georgia's State Security Service.
The Arkhipovas have since left Georgia. One of them is currently in France, reportedly for medical treatment.
UK Minister Warns of Georgia's 'Worsening Situation,' Cites Politically Motivated Arrests and Repression
UK Minister of State for Europe, North America and the UK Overseas Territories, Stephen Doughty, has said that the United Kingdom is "keeping the worsening situation in Georgia under close review," following concerns about political repression and the treatment of civil society groups in the country.
In a written response to Labour MP Blair McDougall, who asked about the UK's stance on the prosecution of opposition leaders in Georgia, Doughty said the government is "seriously concerned" by recent developments. He described the imprisonment of opposition figures as "clearly politically motivated and aimed at blocking political opposition from future elections."
Doughty outlined several recent actions taken by the UK government. He said that on May 15, he raised concerns about "recent repressive legislation on civil society and the media; restrictions on freedom of assembly and arbitrary arrests; and growing anti-Western rhetoric from high-level representatives of Georgian Dream."
He added that on June 18, he discussed these issues with Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili and voiced support for "her work supporting democracy in Georgia." On June 23, he called on Georgian Dream to "end its misuse of the courts to silence dissent, and free all political prisoners."
The minister also referred to a June 26 meeting between British Ambassador Gareth Ward and Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili, during which the ambassador raised concerns about pressure on NGOs, the media, and civil society. The Georgian Foreign Ministry later said that UK sanctions "cast a shadow over the strategic partnership and friendship" between the two countries.
On June 30, the UK summoned Georgia's chargé d'affaires to express its "firm opposition to Georgia's increasingly harmful trajectory." Doughty said he also chaired an emergency meeting with European partners on July 1 to discuss coordinated responses.
"The UK's support for Georgia's Euro-Atlantic aspirations remains steadfast, and we stand ready to assist in a return to European values and democratic norms," Doughty said.
