By Tornike Mandaria in Tbilisi To critics, Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili’s announcement on December 30 that he would become ‘honorary chairman” of Georgian Dream merely makes explicit the control he has continued to exert over the party he founded. Ivanishvili’s return to frontline politics is seen both as a move to sidestep European Union criticism of his backroom role, as well as to boost his Georgian Dream party’s chances in this autumn’s general election. But it could also enhance Russia’s already growing influence in the Caucasian country. In his announcement, Ivanishvili said …