CHORVILA, Georgia: In his garden in Chorvila, a tiny village overlooking the Caucasus mountains, Mamia Machavariani filled an empty soda bottle with homemade beverage, heaping praise on billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili. “No one has done as much for Georgia as he has,” Machavariani told AFP, as cattle wandered the quiet streets outside his home in western Georgia. Ivanishvili is a reclusive figure, but his ruling Georgian Dream party has sparked some of the Caucasus country’s largest demonstrations in years, introducing divisive “foreign influence” legislation targeting NGOs and the media.

Signs of his face and name are nowhere to be found in his hometown, but his party’s flag proudly flew over the village’s hotel, and residents gushed about his donations to the local hospital and schools when his name was mentioned. “I don’t know him personally, but I have high hopes for him,” said Machavariani, praising the oligarch’s construction of a multimillion-dollar tree park near the coastal city of Batumi.

One of Ivanishvili’s most famous projects, nicknamed the “glassle”, is a sprawling steel-and-glass villa towering above Tbilisi’s old town that has drawn criticism from locals. But Machavariani had nothing but praise for Ivanishvili, Georgia’s richest man. “Georgia often overlooks his kindness and focuses on the negatives,” he said.

Since founding Georgian Dream 12 years ago, Ivanishvili has been a divisive figure in Tbilisi, ruling his party from behind the scenes after briefly serving as prime minister from 2012 to 2013. He makes public appearances sparingly, giving an impassioned defence of the controversial “foreign influence” law in a rare speech laden with anti-Western rhetoric in April.

The opposition has accused him of being sympathetic towards Russia, the country where he made his fortune in the 1990s, but his party has rejected this. In the nearby town of Sachkhere, police cars patrolled outside Georgian Dream’s local headquarters, and many residents were hesitant to talk. “I do not watch or observe political developments,” Ketevan Toroshelidze, a 46-year-old ice cream vendor at the local market said, stocking her fridge on the street.

“The only thing I am interested in is supporting Georgian Dream and maintaining peace in Georgia,” she added. Georgian Dream has often accused the opposition of antagonizing ex-Soviet neighbor Moscow, warning the Kremlin could open a “second front” in Georgia in addition to Ukraine. The opposition has accused Ivanishvili of scare-mongering an already deeply polarized population.

The question of Kremlin interference in politics is particularly sensitive in Georgia, where Russian troops still occupy a fifth of the country following a 2008 war, and the invasion of Ukraine has only added to security concerns. The billionaire returned to frontline politics last year, raising fears among the opposition he might steer Tbilisi away from its national dream of joining the European Union and NATO, an idea supported by more than 80 percent of the population.

But Toroshelidze had no complaints about the ruling party. “People are employed, and we have a peaceful life with our families,” she said. At the plush hospital building in the town’s centre, officials were not available to talk. The mayoral office in Chorvila agreed to give an interview, but later declined. - AFP