For weeks, tens of thousands of Georgians have taken to the streets of Tbilisi and other cities to protest their government’s attempt to pass a so-called “foreign agents law,” which they claim is intended to neutralize civil society and destroy independent media. Below we offer you FPRI expert commentary on the current situation in Georgia.

Robert E. Hamilton

What is happening in Georgia is an existential struggle between a robust, pro-Western civil society and an increasingly anti-Western, authoritarian government. The Russian-style “foreign agents law” that Georgia’s parliament recently passed has drawn hundreds of thousands of Georgians to the streets of Tbilisi and other large cities. The protestors claim the law, which requires all organizations receiving 20% or more of their funding from overseas to register as “foreign agents,” will allow the government to shut down independent media and civil society organizations. Indeed, this is exactly what happened in Russia after it passed its own foreign agents law in 2012.

The Georgian government claims the law is needed to bring “transparency” into the NGO sector, argues that the Georgian public supports the law, and asserts that it is modeled after the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). None of these claims are true. The Georgian government already has full visibility of NGO and media outlet funding: all grant agreements are uploaded onto a government website and the Ministry of Finance has access to their financial records for audit purposes. Far from supporting the law, 68% of the Georgian public calls it unnecessary, and 73% believe the law will hurt Georgia’s chances of joining the EU, something that 90% of the population aspires to. Finally, Georgia’s law has much more in common with its Russian counterpart than the US FARA. The FARA applies explicitly to organizations engaged in political activity and acting at the behest of a foreign government. The Georgian law applies to all organizations that receive 20% or more of their funding from abroad, regardless of whether they engage in political activity. In this way, the Georgian law can be used to target civil society, religious, environmental, media, and other organizations – in essence, any organization the government chooses to target. As one analyst puts it, “The US law makes no assumption that an organization or a person receiving funds from a foreign power is a foreign agent. The Georgian law assumes that only receiving foreign funds makes an organization a foreign agent.”

Georgia’s foreign agent law will give its government a powerful tool to rein in – and eventually destroy – the vibrant civil society and sometimes raucous independent media that have developed in the country’s three-plus decades of independence. This is standard practice for authoritarian regimes, which resent any centers of power and influence that stand between the state and its citizens, and which provide a check against a repressive state. For Georgia’s government, removing that check on its power is a critical step in the consolidation of its authoritarian control. This is the real reason its parliament, which is dominated by the ruling Georgian Dream party, passed the foreign agents law over the expressed wishes of the country’s people.

Georgian President Salome Zourabishvili, an increasingly lonely pro-Western voice in Georgia’s government, vetoed the bill on May 18, saying it contradicts Georgia’s constitution and “all European standards”. She added that the law is so misguided that it cannot be amended and “must be abolished”. Echoing the language of Georgian protestors and Western governments, Zourabichvili said, “Today I vetoed a Russian law. This law is Russian in its essence and spirit.” Georgia’s parliament can override her veto with a simple majority vote, something its speaker has promised to do, and which the ruling Georgian Dream party has the votes to do. But Georgia’s parliament is increasingly out of step with the people it claims to represent. If it enacts and enforces this law, the Georgian government will overrule the will of Georgia’s president and the majority of its people, and perhaps fatally undermine the European future the to which vast majority of Georgians aspire.

For further comments contact: rhamilton@fpri.org

Dato Sikharulidze

The re-introduction of the Russian-style “foreign agent” bill can be perceived as a logical continuation of the policy line pursued by the Russian-made oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili since 2013. It represents another bold step toward establishing Russian-style, Russian-influenced kleptocratic authoritarianism in Georgia. This development is consistent with Ivanishvili’s long-term efforts to divert Georgia from democratic development and EU/NATO integration, against the clearly expressed will of the overwhelming majority of Georgians. These efforts include political manipulation, violence, intimidation, propaganda, disinformation, and corruption.

Given the drastic drop in public support for the Georgian Dream (GD) party, and its slim chances of victory in the upcoming general elections in October if they are conducted freely and fairly, Ivanishvili appears to be tightening his grip on power through harsh authoritarian measures and openly driving the country into the Russian sphere of influence.

 Over the past twelve years, while in power, Ivanishvili has appropriated all state institutions, exercising control or significant influence over much of the private sector. He also funds and controls large media outlets, government-organized non-governmental organizations (GONGOs), and online troll factories, while opposition media outlets are defunded through the use of business pressure. Ivanishvili will use the so-called “foreign agents” bill to undermine independent civil society, cultural and educational organizations, and independent media that receive funding from various EU and US sources, mirroring Putin’s actions in Russia. 

Georgian society has reacted with large protests. These self-organized demonstrations have persisted in Tbilisi for over a month, involving people of various ages—predominantly the youth—political beliefs, and professions. Large demonstrations are also occurring in other major cities such as Batumi, Kutaisi, and Telavi. The government has employed violence, intimidation, and disinformation tactics to suppress the protests. Methods used by the GD against protesters include police violence, attacks by government-controlled thugs, and intimidation of activists and their family members by the Ministry of Interior’s special forces. Despite these tactics, the protest movement continues to grow. President Salome Zourabishvili vetoed the bill last week, but the GD has enough votes in parliament to override the veto.

Statements from the US and the EU have clearly indicated that they consider this legislation undemocratic and contrary to the principles upon which the EU is founded. It poses a major obstacle to Georgia’s EU/NATO integration. The Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional matters, has urged the Georgian government to revoke the law. These statements are significant. While the broader perspective appears optimistic, practical support steps from the free world are essential to prevent a possible Belarusian scenario and further Russian interference that would push the country towards Russian-style kleptocratic authoritarianism.

The current protests represent a standoff between freedom and Putin-style kleptocratic autocracy and between European and Euro-Atlantic integration and a Kremlin-controlled state. The cause has transcended this particular bill and concerns the general direction of the country.

What is happening in Georgia extends beyond an internal political struggle or the fate of one country. The outcome could impact the entire region. If the Belarusian scenario prevails and Russian influence overcomes the spirit of freedom, it will negatively affect strategic connectivity projects and the strategic and political calculations of neighboring countries including the Central Asian states. It will also discourage reformers across the region and embolden authoritarians.

 The people of Georgia, who have been protesting for almost a month despite brutal crackdowns by the riot police, the violence and intimidation from special services, and ceaseless government pressure, deserve more serious support that extends beyond mere statements of solidarity.

Miro Popkhadze

Georgia is at a crossroads, it either continues its decades-long democratic development and Euro-Atlantic integration or falls into a dictatorship and joins the club of authoritarian regimes led by China and Russia, who aim to challenge democratic forces around the world and the Western-led international order.

The global competition between democracies and autocracies is manifesting itself in the South Caucasus as Georgia has become the battleground between democratic forces’ overwhelmingly pro-western public and a Russian-backed authoritarian regime in Tbilisi. The voices coming from Moscow and the Western capitals prove the point that this crisis is the turning point not only for Georgia but the whole region.

The trigger point to the growing crisis in Georgia has been the recent reintroduction of the so-called Foreign Agents Bill by the ruling party – Georgian Dream, causing widespread public outrage. While the government claims that the bill is similar to a U.S. law, the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which merely aims to make foreign funding more transparent, it is fundamentally modeled after a Russian law that Putin has used effectively to wipe out the opposition, silence dissent, and snuff out civil society.

As in Russia, the so-called Russian Law in Georgia aims to enable the Putin-backed regime in Tbilisi to destroy the foundation of Georgian democracy, wiping out NGOs, undermining civil rights groups, and silencing free media while suppressing dissent.

At a larger scale, by passing the Foreign Agent Law, Moscow with its puppet regime in Tbilisi is trying to create an effective instrument and institutional tool aimed at weakening democratic forces in Georgia, and cutting Tbilisi’s ties with its friends and allies in the West while destroying Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration process. 

With this very effective mechanism at his disposal, Bidzina Ivanishvili will attempt to consolidate his dictatorship and dislodge the U.S. and the EU from Georgia while opening the space for Russia and China’s greater influence in the country.

The stakes in Georgia are bigger than Georgia itself. As Georgia lies in the heart of the middle corridor, its submission to Russian pressure will create serious economic impediments for the West. For instance, the EU-Azerbaijani deals in the energy sphere will be imperiled, and the EU access to Central Asian markets will be more difficult, less reliable, and more expensive. Exercising control over Georgia will enable Russia to control all the major trading routes connecting Europe with China.

The stakes are high and time is working in Russia’s favor. The West can’t afford to lose Georgia and see Russia taking over the Middle Corridor. Investing in Georgian democracy will be much cheaper now than facing emboldened Russia once it has taken over the region. It is high time to act and act quickly! 

The US and the EU should authorize either the Global Magninsky Sanctions program on Georgian political leaders, or expand the Russia sanctions package to include Bidzina Ivanishvili and those parliamentarians who have voted for the legislation. The sanctions must include travel restrictions, asset freezes, and restrictions on financial transactions. Only American and European strict and swift measures can help the Georgians save democracy and keep the country on its Euro-Atlantic path.

For further commentary contact: Popkhadze6@gmail.com

Batu Kutelia

The current “Russian law” crisis in Georgia is a clear case of Russian interference and a matter of national security for Georgia but also for the future European security architecture. It represents a vividly visible segment of the global battle of Authoritarianism against the Democracies. Georgia, like Ukraine, has been a target of opportunity for Russian aggressive revisionism since Putin’s notorious 2007 speech at the Munich Security Conference. After Russia’s capture of Georgian territory in its 2008 war could not derail the Georgian public from the European and Euro-Atlantic choice, Russia resorted to the strategy of capturing the Georgian state. Russian-made oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili has deployed overt and covert infrastructure during the last 12 years of his informal rule. Some of the means of the state capture were proliferating corruption and kleptocracy along with anti-Western propaganda and heavy means of coercion against pro-Western elites. Georgians and their Western partners started loudly questioning the legitimacy of the government particularly after the government had heavily rigged the last few elections.

To silence those pro-Western voices, Ivanishvili and his Russian patrons advanced the “foreign agents” law (or “Russian law” as it was labeled by the public). The law represents the last “preparatory” stage for the October 2024 October parliamentary elections, which the Georgian government sees as the final and official change of not only the foreign policy vector against the West and towards Russia, but also the consolidation of an authoritarian governance system. Indeed, Ivanishvili announced as much in his public address on April 29. Through the foreign agents law, Georgia’s government is attempting to employ the playbook of other authoritarians globally, infused by Russian-style propaganda.

Fortunately, more than a month of public protests of tens of thousands of Georgians dominated by and organized by Generation Z revealed one of the key weaknesses of the kleptocratic authoritarian government. Far from penetrating this generation, the government’s anti-Western propaganda has generated a sense of true patriotism based on the values of democracy. As a response, the Government has resorted to unprecedented mass violence against the protestors, thus stripping themselves of any remains of legitimacy. Currently, the primary challenge to the rest of the democratic world is how to support the protestors to peacefully achieve their goal of having a legitimate pro-Western government. Sanctioning of those responsible for the “Russian law” and the broader assault on democracy is often discussed as a response. US leadership in the immediate time frame might be decisive.

For further comments contact: batu.kutelia@gmail.com 

Luis Navarro

During his one year of serving as Prime Minister, after leading his Georgian Dream coalition to victory in 2012 against the ruling party of then President Misha Saakashvili’s United National Movement (UNM), Bidzina Ivanishvili chose to leave office the week after Misha’s term ended, but before Georgia was to sign an association agreement with the European Union, part of their gradual process to full membership. His timing, and therefore not his signature on an affirmation of trans-Atlantic/European aspirations of Georgia’s citizens, is a reflection of his priorities, with internal threats to his interests being first and foremost. It is the main reason why Misha Saakashvili is in prison (although his hubris in believing he could return from exile and take power is a close second), and it is why the formal EU offer of candidate status to Georgia has not deterred Ivanishvili’s government from launching a frontal assault on NGOs which are funded by EU and NATO member nations. 

Even as Russia occupies 20% of Georgia’s internationally recognized sovereign territory, Ivanishvili’s “security concerns” have always been inwardly focused, while Russia has represented an entity with which to bargain at the margins. It should have been understood, going as far back as 2012, when Ivanishvili claimed to have sold off all of the Russian assets in his estimated $6 billion fortune, which he made in Russia. Ivanishvili never provided any proof of this claim, and almost no one outside of UNM seemed very interested in seeing any evidence of it. Similarly, the pressure by Ivanishvili’s Georgian Dream government on international as well as domestic NGOs alike has been an integral part of the ruling party narratives and its founder since 2012, with minimal, if any, pushback by their funders, which are member nations of the EU and NATO. Ivanishvili’s demonization of NGOs as the equivalent of enemy agents has gone so far as to accuse them of trying to organize coups and pushing Georgia into a “second front” of the war in Ukraine. Initially, NGOs were cast by Ivanishvili’s government as “merely” agents of UNM. However, now they are implied members of the “global war party”, which according to members of Ivanishvili’s government is not only made up of Freemasons and “unnamed others”, but apparently by the very EU and NATO member nations – organizations which Georgia has constitutionally stated it wants to join.

These events over time combined with the decision of the EU/NATO member nations to treat Georgia as a separate matter from, rather than another theater in Putin’s assault on the West, have emboldened Ivanishvili. The only remaining question is whether Georgian citizen demonstrations and their votes in upcoming elections can stop him. Because much of the Western approach is still wedded to offering carrots, when the Georgian oligarch no longer appears to believe in or fear any of its sticks. 

For further comments contact: Ln918@hotmail.com

Image: Shamil Shugaev