If you drive through the Georgian Caucasus in winter, you are sure to be stopped by men in the road. Armed with stick or a plastic sword, they waylay your car and ask for money, cigarettes or alcohol.

They are called the Berikas.

From poor backgrounds in rural areas, they adopt elements of a pagan Georgian ritual, the Berikaoba, to earn a living. Every year, from early January to mid-March, they take to the roads and block the traffic to ask for money. The proceeds, shared out equally, are used to buy seeds, land, farming equipment, a car…