Executive Summary: The number of Russian companies registered both in Russia and Georgia that are winning Georgian state tenders is increasing, even though Russia has occupied 20 percent of Georgia’s territory since Moscow’s 2008 invasion of Georgia. Russian companies winning Georgian state contracts became more... MORE

April 2024–September 2025: Between April 2024 and September 2025, Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party enacted illiberal laws, held parliamentary elections marked by voter pressure and Russian manipulation, violently suppressed resulting protests, and suspended EU accession talks. Georgian autocratization triggered Western sanctions and diplomatic fallout as... MORE

Executive Summary: According to a recent study by the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), re-exports of cars from Georgia are at a historic high, with light vehicles worth $1.2 billion exported in the first six months of 2025. Since 2021, car re-exports... MORE

Executive Summary: The recent peace declaration between Armenia and Azerbaijan on August 8—mediated by the United States—has stirred great interest in Georgia, as it signals an increased Western presence in the South Caucasus. The ruling Georgian Dream party has sought to convince the West that,... MORE

The Caspian Sea, once considered a “Russian lake,” is becoming a more multipolar space. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan have expanded their navies, built new security accords with each other, and increased cooperation with Türkiye. Russia has responded with naval cooperation with Iran, but this alliance... MORE

Executive Summary: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine aimed to reassert dominance over the former Soviet space, but Ukraine’s resistance and sustained Western support have instead weakened Moscow’s influence in the region. Moscow’s war against Ukraine has led the former Soviet republics to pursue... MORE

Executive Summary: Georgian Dream has detained eight prominent opposition figures ahead of the upcoming local elections, fulfilling a pre-election pledge by the honorary chairman of the ruling party, Bidzina Ivanishvili. The detentions stem from a refusal to appear before a parliamentary commission that many view... MORE

Executive Summary: Daily youth-led protests against the Georgian Dream government continue on Tbilisi’s Rustaveli Avenue, with participants calling for new elections, the release of detained protesters, and, in some cases, full-on revolution. The lack of substantive results from the demonstrations, as well as an inability... MORE

Executive Summary: Georgia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Khvtisiashvili expressed solidarity with Iran following the Israeli airstrikes, sparking outrage from the Israeli Embassy and raising domestic accusations of Georgian Dream acting as a regional proxy for Tehran. Russia is intensifying efforts to pull Georgia into strategic... MORE

Executive Summary: Officials from Abkhazia’s Foreign Ministry visited Syria on June 25 to advance political and economic ties with Damascus, highlighting ongoing diplomatic activity between the breakaway Georgian territory and one of its few international backers. Syria’s recognition of Abkhazia in 2018, likely influenced by... MORE