Georgian public broadcaster launched its third, Russian-language TV channel, First Caucasian, on the web at www.1k-tv.com.

As Gia Chanturia, general-director of the public broadcaster, said last month the plan was to launch the new channel, targeting Russian-speaking audience in the post-Soviet space with focus on the Caucasus region, first on the web and then to go out on satellite and cable.

“We want to provide you with facts rather than assessment. We also plan to talk about what remain beyond the screen on other Russian-language TV stations,” the new TV channel, which will have four news bulletins per day, announced on its website.

President Saakashvili, who was interviewed by the First Caucasian, said he was “glad that a powerful Russian-language TV channel has been launched in Georgia.”

“It is important for Georgia, for the Georgian audience, because we should not lose the Russian language; this is very important layer of civilization, very important layer of culture,” he said.

“On the other hand, it is a permanent channel of dialogue of our society with neighboring societies and people; [channel for] borderless dialogue and dialogue without restrictions. Information has no borders in the 21st century; it is impossible to stop the flow of information and it is impossible to hide the truth,” he added.

Head of the Georgian public broadcaster told the First Caucasian that the TV channel would be an opportunity for viewers “to learn such facts, both from history and current events, which are not possible to learn from other Russian-language TV channels.”

“Especially from the Russian media sources,” he added. “So we will serve the people of Caucasus.”

According to Levan Gakheladze, the chairman of public broadcaster’s board of trustees, 70% of First Caucasian’s news reports will be dedicated to developments in Georgia and the remaining to foreign affairs, including current events in Russia, including in its North Caucasus republics.

“We want to say truth about what is happening also in Russia – not only in North Caucasus, but also in Moscow,” Gakheladze said last month.

The TV channel will also have nonnews programs with one of them, Caucasian Portrait, on culture to be hosted by Alla Dudayeva, a widow of Dzhokhar Dudayev, Chechen rebel leader killed in a Russian rocket attack in 1996.