Zugdidi

A truism in economic development is that the bulk of investment gets sucked into the capital while the regions languish. Georgia is no exception to this rule. While Tbilisi, the capital, has 24 hours of electricity a day during the winter, the regions get eight. Still, it's better than what they had during my years here: none at all. Also during my time, the roads between Kutaisi and Zugdidi were so potholed it took two hours to drive the 40 miles between them. Now the roads have been repaired and it only takes one. While the regions lag behind Tbilisi, I think they are moving forward.

Another example of this is the city Zugdidi, in west Georgia. On the edge of the conflict zone with the breakway region, Abkhazia, Zugdidi used to be a lawless dark spot on the map. I never traveled there - the threat of kidnapping or a gunshot wound was too high. So it was for the first time, this week, that I visited the town. Its roads are still guarded by bored-looking Russian peacekeepers, and it's still economically depressed, but I didn't fear for my life. Things were better, the people I spoke with in Zugdidi agreed. Maybe not good, but better.