Georgian Dream Launches Russian-Style Repression Against Opponents

Executive Summary:

• Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s November 28 announcement about suspending EU integration discussions has caused a pre-revolutionary situation to develop in Georgia, with protests spreading across the country. The government has stepped up repression against the Georgian people in response to the demonstrations.
• Georgian Dream has been taking steps to suppress any potential uprising and demonstrate its strong relations with the United States and the incoming Donald Trump administration to appease the Georgian people by means of disinformation and propaganda.
• In Georgia, many believe that if the West does not respond immediately to the government’s repression of protests, it could lose Georgia as a potential ally, while some believe the ruling elite may eventually strengthen ties to Russia to help them retain power.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s November 28 announcement about suspending EU integration discussions has caused a pre-revolutionary situation to develop in Georgia (Facebook.com/KobakhidzeOfficial, November 28; see EDM, December 6). Since November 28, strikes and protests have spread across the country. The government, which has been accused of election fraud and seeking to establish Russian-style authoritarianism in the country, is brutally cracking down on its opponents (see EDM, April 9, 24, May 1, 13, July 3, October 28, November 5). As a result of the ongoing protests, hundreds of people have been arrested, beaten, and maimed, including opposition party leaders, politicians, civil activists, journalists, and ordinary citizens, including teenagers and women. On December 7, Georgia’s public defender, Levan Ioseliani, warned that if the unrest does not stop, the country will descend into civil war (Facebook.com, December 7). On the same day, an unidentified masked group attacked journalists from an opposition TV channel live on air, emphasizing Ioseliani’s concerns (TV Pirveli, December 8). The ruling Georgian Dream party denied involvement in the incident, but local media reports suggest that government agencies were behind the attacks. As Georgians continue to protest Georgian Dream’s path away from EU integration and toward authoritarianism, Georgia’s Western turn becomes increasingly at risk.

Due to the difficulty of dealing with mass protests, the government has introduced new legislative restrictions similar to repressive tactics seen in Russia. On December 8, Kobakhidze declared that by the end of December, there would be a new law prohibiting face coverings for those participating in public demonstrations (Facebook.com/KobakhidzeOfficial, December 8). A similar law was approved by the pro-Russian regime in Ukraine in 2014 during the Euromaidan demonstrations, when protests broke out when then-President Viktor Yanukovych decided to not sign the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement (Ukranews, January 17, 2014). Since November 28, demonstrators have used masks to both protect themselves from the tear gas that the police have been actively using to brutally disperse them and to protect their identities from the special services and police.

Georgian Dream and its supporters are taking steps to show that they will not allow the West to “arrange” a revolution in Georgia similar to the 2014 Velvet Revolution in Ukraine. Mamuka Mdinaradze, the leader of the parliamentary majority, claims that the West, in alliance with the Georgian opposition, planned a revolution for December 16–20. According to Mdinaradze, Georgian Dream was able to foil these plans (Imedi TV, November 29). The Georgian Education Ministry has threatened to revoke the licenses of schools and higher education institutions whose students and teachers went on strike after November 28. Leaders of the ruling elite have openly threatened state employees who signed a petition condemning the government’s latest steps. The mayor of Tbilisi and the executive secretary of Georgian Dream, Kakha Kaladze, indirectly threatened to fire city employees who signed these petitions and said that “reorganization” of those employed by the mayor’s office has already begun (Interpressnews.ge, December 1).

Since November 28, thousands of employees of various ministries, including defense, justice, and foreign affairs, have openly protested, writing against the suspension of integration with the European Union. Many officials, including the Georgian Ambassador to the United States, David Zankaliani—who previously held the post of Foreign Minister under the Georgian Dream government and several other Georgian ambassadors have resigned (Palitravideo.ge, December 1).

The ruling party’s propaganda has additionally played a role in the discontent in Georgia. One of the main pillars of Georgian Dream’s influence over Georgia is a well-organized and financially strong network of electronic media outlets that effectively utilize social networks to spread their point of view. The scale and content of misinformation in pro-Georgian Dream media have reached an incredible level, even going as far as promoting US politicians loyal to the incoming Trump administration. In early December, 1tv, a Georgian public broadcaster financed by the state budget, aired an interview with US politician Kimberly Lowe (1tv.ge, December 4). The outlet introduced her as an associate of President-elect Donald Trump and the future US Ambassador to the European Union. Pro-government media and social networks run by supporters of the ruling elite were filled with quotes from this otherwise-unknown American politician, including her statement that “there were certain actions in the United States that were very unfair toward Georgia. … With the new Trump administration, relations between the United States and Georgia will improve.” The outlet reported that she also went as far as saying, “I can help Georgia join the European Union, renew negotiations in many different areas, including Russia” (Imedinews.ge, December 4). The day after the interview, however, it was revealed that the alleged future representative of the Trump administration was not what the Georgian Dream presented her to be. Lowe is a US politician who has been unable to successfully run a campaign for the US Senate, and there has been no information about her becoming a part of the incoming Trump administration (Mythdetector.com, December 6). This interview and the promotion of inaccurate information about her importance demonstrate Georgian Dream’s active disinformation campaign and knowing attempts to deceive the Georgian population into believing that a Trump presidency will improve the country’s relations with the United States (1tv.ge, December 2).

The state of US-Georgian ties was a key factor to the development of the ongoing discontent. On November 30, the Biden administration announced that the United States was ending its strategic partnership with Georgia, which began in 2009. This development, however, did not seem to sadden Georgian Dream. Kobakhidze responded by saying that the Biden administration’s decision was not of fundamental importance and that Tbilisi would wait for the new US administration to come into power before reopening discussions of US-Georgian relations (Radiotavisupleba.ge, December 1). Additionally, Kobakhidze claimed that Georgia’s strategic partnership with the United States had no practical significance because “we did not have direct flights, a visa-free regime, or a free trade regime.” The illusion that Trump would look favorably on the Georgian Dream was partially dispelled on December 7, when pro-Western Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili met with Trump in Paris, which Georgian society considered a good sign (Facebook.com/zourabichvilisalome, December 7). The details of this meeting are unknown, but Zourabichvili wrote, 

In-depth discussion with Presidents Trump and Macron. Exposed the stolen election and extremely alarming repression against the people of Georgia. Underscored the need for a strong US. The Georgian people have a friend in Donald Trump. God bless the United States of America (X.com/Zourabichvili, December 8).

In Georgia, opponents of the government are expecting significant sanctions from the European Union and the United States against the country’s ruling elite. Since November 28, Zourabichvili has called several times for Western policymakers to speed up the introduction of such sanctions, and on December 4, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced new sanctions against Georgia’s ruling elite (US Embassy in Georgia, December 4). At this stage, however, said threats against Georgian Dream are merely rhetorical. The West’s indecision in how to react to Georgian Dream’s authoritarian tilt is inciting and inspiring the ruling party to enact a new wave of repression against its opponents. In Georgia, many believe that if the West does not act immediately, it could lose Georgia as a potential ally, while some local observers believe the ruling elite may eventually draw more closely to Russia to help them retain power (Interpressnews.ge., December 7).