Luka Berulava

The two made their debut for Georgia in September 2019, placing eighth at an ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) event in Poland[4] and then sixth at JGP Croatia.[5] Their results earned a spot for Georgia in the pairs' event at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics.[6] In November, they took bronze in the junior pairs' category at the Volvo Open Cup in Riga, Latvia.[7] In December, they won the junior event at the Golden Spin of Zagreb.[8]

In January 2020, the pair competed at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics in Lausanne, Switzerland. They finished third in the short program behind two pairs from Russia,[9] then did likewise in the free skating program. Their combined score put them in third place with a bronze medal.[10] This was Georgia's first medal in the Winter Youth Olympic Games, and their tenth medal in the Youth Olympic Games overall.[11] The pair also received a gold medal for their participation in the team event as part of Team Courage, composed also of Arlet Levandi from Estonia, Ksenia Sinitsyna from Russia, and ice dancers Utana Yoshida / Shingo Nishiyama from Japan.[12] Butaeva/Berulava finished the season at the 2020 World Junior Championships, where they placed seventh.[13]

After the end of his partnership with Butaeva, Berulava formed a new partnership with Russian pair skater Karina Safina. With international junior competition resuming following the COVID-19 pandemic causing the 2020–21 junior season to be cancelled, Safina/Berulava made their Junior Grand Prix debut at the 2021 JGP Slovakia. they won the silver medal behind gold medal-winning Russian team Mukhortova/Evgenyev, and ahead of third place Russian team Kostiukovich/Briukhanov. Their placement marked the first Junior Grand Prix medal for Georgia in pair skating.[1]

Safina/Berulava next made their senior international debut at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy to attempt to qualify a berth for Georgia in the pairs event at the 2022 Winter Olympics. The team set a new personal best to win the short program by a narrow margin over German team Hase/Seegert. They fell to third in the free program after losing their forward inside death spiral and one of their lifts, and ultimately finished third overall to successfully qualify an Olympic spot in their discipline for Georgia. Berulava remarked afterward "we would like to have done it in a better, nicer way."[14]