In a sense, life was relatively simple back in the Soviet Union days. Consumers had few choices, and material aspirations were limited to the unholy trinity of “apartment, car, and dacha”. That said, homo Sovieticus spent enormous amounts of time and energy chasing material goods ranging from potatoes to nylon stockings and cars.

On November 4, ISET hosted Dr. Tariel Sikharulidze, visiting professor of ESSEC Business School Paris Singapore, Associate Professor of Ilia State University, and Black Sea University, who presented a topic titled Mediation as an Alternative Tool of Conflict Resolution.

ISET Policy Institute was contracted by UNICEF to revise the Needs Index and upgrade it to reflect current reality. Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Affairs of Georgia, the Social Service Agency, and UNICEF are in the process of refining the social service protection system in Georgia to make it more child-sensitive.

After consistent increases in two previous months, the average cost of cooking one standard Imeretian khachapuri stayed at 3.35 GEL in October 2014, unexpectedly bringing the Khachapuri Index to a halt. The Index dropped 0.1 % month-on-month (compared to September 2014) and year-on-year (compared to October 2013).

A few days ago, I was walking in Kostava Street towards the Philharmony when I passed a construction site that was separated from the sidewalk by a wooden fence. Suddenly, I heard the ugly sound of fabric torn apart. Yes, it had happened! My nice winter coat was ripped up by a rusty nail that stuck out of the fence, causing a huge hole in the coat that went down to the lining.