Politics
‘We are Promised War if Georgia does Not Submit to Putin’
October 29, 2024
- Maria LitvinovaJournalist
Ahead of last Saturday’s parliament election in Georgia, Republic correspondent Maria Litvinova spoke with Georgians at competing “pro-European” and “pro-Russian” rallies in the capital of Tbilisi.
The original text in Russian was published in Republic. We are republishing it here with their permission.
The rally of supporters of pro-European parties in TbilisiA rally of supporters of pro-European parties in Tbilisi. October 20. Photo: Maria Litvinova
Based on the official preliminary results of Saturday’s parliamentary election, the Georgian Dream party (GD), considered “pro-Russian,” will continue to rule the country for another four years. Meanwhile, the pro-European opposition, rejecting the idea that Georgian society could have chosen to move closer to Russia rather than the EU, is promising to present evidence of “total falsification” of the election.
‘We will overthrow this party of power’
Attendees of a “pro-European” rally in Tbilisi held less than a week before the election, on Sunday, October 20, were very optimistic. The people I managed to talk to were confident that this time they would be able to deprive Bidzina Ivanishvili’s GD of a parliamentary majority.Tbilisi businessman Davit was sure that GD does not actually have much support currently – in the capital or in the provinces. Davita came to the city’s main square together with his adultchildren to air “the demands of all Georgian society.”
“We will overthrow this party of power,” Davit said. “Georgian Dream will lose 30-40 seats in the parliament.”
The businessman has his own explanation for how GD managed to remain in power for several election cycles in a row, despite what he considers to be its low support in Georgia:
“Georgian Dream was shocked when we elected them in 2012. They decided that we had voted for them. But… we were just getting rid of Misha [Saakashvili]. Because Saakashvili was erraticat the start, and toward the end he went completely crazy, he started to go too far.”
Davit, in his words, is grateful to Saakashvili for the “cool” reforms: “but he has done so much that is not cool, he has created so many problems. It was a nightmare. In 2012, when this Bidzina [Ivanishvili] showed up, we just overthrew him. It was a conspiracy of the Georgian nation against Saakashvili. But in the end, Bidzina decided that [it was about] him getting elected. No, dude, we just got rid of Saakashvili. Now, we need to get rid of Ivanishvili too.”
Davit says not to believe the polls ordered by pro-government forces.
He is sure that Georgian society will not miss its chance for democracy, as happened 20 years ago. He blames the mistakes that brought “pro-Putin agents” to power on Mikheil Saakashvili: “a special situation played out in the parliamentary election in 2003, when we overthrew [Eduard] Shevardnadze. Five parties entered the parliament then. Were it not for Saakashvili, real parliamentarism would have begun in Georgia: the parties would have had to negotiate and create coalitions. But Misha orchestrated this ‘Rose Revolution’ and everything fell apart. And now, after so many years, the same special situation is playing out. I am sure that no party will gain more than 50%. If GD pencils in 51% for itself, we will have a revolution in Georgia again. And they will really be thrown out by force.”
Some Georgians indeed harbor grievances against Saakashvili, who has been held in prison in the city of Rustavi for three years on charges of illegally crossing the border.
People talk about this emotionally and not without disappointment.
‘We will overthrow this party of power’
Attendees of a “pro-European” rally in Tbilisi held less than a week before the election, on Sunday, October 20, were very optimistic. The people I managed to talk to were confident that this time they would be able to deprive Bidzina Ivanishvili’s GD of a parliamentary majority.Tbilisi businessman Davit was sure that GD does not actually have much support currently – in the capital or in the provinces. Davita came to the city’s main square together with his adultchildren to air “the demands of all Georgian society.”
“We will overthrow this party of power,” Davit said. “Georgian Dream will lose 30-40 seats in the parliament.”
The businessman has his own explanation for how GD managed to remain in power for several election cycles in a row, despite what he considers to be its low support in Georgia:
“Georgian Dream was shocked when we elected them in 2012. They decided that we had voted for them. But… we were just getting rid of Misha [Saakashvili]. Because Saakashvili was erraticat the start, and toward the end he went completely crazy, he started to go too far.”
Davit, in his words, is grateful to Saakashvili for the “cool” reforms: “but he has done so much that is not cool, he has created so many problems. It was a nightmare. In 2012, when this Bidzina [Ivanishvili] showed up, we just overthrew him. It was a conspiracy of the Georgian nation against Saakashvili. But in the end, Bidzina decided that [it was about] him getting elected. No, dude, we just got rid of Saakashvili. Now, we need to get rid of Ivanishvili too.”
Davit says not to believe the polls ordered by pro-government forces.
He is sure that Georgian society will not miss its chance for democracy, as happened 20 years ago. He blames the mistakes that brought “pro-Putin agents” to power on Mikheil Saakashvili: “a special situation played out in the parliamentary election in 2003, when we overthrew [Eduard] Shevardnadze. Five parties entered the parliament then. Were it not for Saakashvili, real parliamentarism would have begun in Georgia: the parties would have had to negotiate and create coalitions. But Misha orchestrated this ‘Rose Revolution’ and everything fell apart. And now, after so many years, the same special situation is playing out. I am sure that no party will gain more than 50%. If GD pencils in 51% for itself, we will have a revolution in Georgia again. And they will really be thrown out by force.”
Some Georgians indeed harbor grievances against Saakashvili, who has been held in prison in the city of Rustavi for three years on charges of illegally crossing the border.
People talk about this emotionally and not without disappointment.
“In the final years of Saakashvili’s presidency, the government was increasingly accused of resorting to authoritarian methods, including limiting freedom of speech and pressuring the opposition.”
In 2011, police brutally dispersed mass protests. In 2012, shortly before elections, tape of prisoners being tortured in Georgian prisons appeared in the media. This was a major blow to the reputation of Saakashvili and his United National Movement party.
Though Saakashvili can be credited with modernizing the country and carrying out effective reforms, many believe that his government did not do enough to improve the country’s standard of living. In addition, Georgian society had grown tired of the same leadership for almost a decade.
‘We are not afraid of war, we are afraid of slavery’
Georgian Dream, led by the billionaire Ivanishvili, offered an alternative, and the country voted in his party in the 2012 parliamentary election. Now, however, GD is increasingly seen as “pro-Putin.”
Such rhetoric has intensified since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Georgia did not join Western sanctions against Russia, while Ivanishvili, who made much of his fortune in Moscow, was labeled a “Putin agent” by the opposition. His business ties to Russia, combined with GD’s blocking of anti-Russia initiatives in the parliament, have fueled mistrust of the party’s independence and doubts about its pro-European line.
Another cause for concern was a proposed “foreign agent” law, which sparked prolonged mass protests in Georgia but was nevertheless eventually passed by the parliament over a presidential veto. The law, modeled on Russia’s, was considered by the pro-Western segment of Georgian society to be another step toward authoritarianism. Only now from Ivanishvili’s party. In July,European leaders announced their decision to suspend Georgia’s EU accession process.
A pro-European rally on October 20 was attended by about 100,000 people. Freedom Square was filled by the evening, people having flocked there from different parts of the city during the day. They sang the national anthem and held posters like “Georgia chooses the EU.”
The country’s president, Salome Zurabishvili, and famous artists spoke at the rally. From the roof of a nearby building, stooges of the ruling party tried to blind the speakers with a laser pointer.
“Georgian Dream is playing very dirty, people are exasperated by its blackmail of a war with Russia. We are promised war if Georgia does not submit to Putin,” explained a young man at the rally named Vuka. “You saw their propaganda with photos of Ukrainian cities destroyed by bombs. They are scaring us that the same will happen to Georgia if we join the EU.”
Madonna, who works in the beauty industry, says her family and friends have long been worried about Moscow’s influence. For her, the issue of European integration is important primarily because it affects the prospects and security of future generations. “Everything Russia does scares me. We want to keep away from it,” she says. “It will be better for our children if they grow up with the EU, not with Russia. Russia is war.”
‘The EU will not protect us, just as it cannot protect Ukraine’
Nevertheless, GD has managed to play on the fear of war that many Georgians have. This was clearly visible at a pro-government rally that took place three days after the opposition rally I attended. From the early morning of October 23, the streets of Tbilisi were cordoned off by police and entry for private transport into the city center was restricted. News reports began to appear online that GD was rounding up villagers and public-sector workers and pensioners from all over the country and busing them into the capital.
Though Saakashvili can be credited with modernizing the country and carrying out effective reforms, many believe that his government did not do enough to improve the country’s standard of living. In addition, Georgian society had grown tired of the same leadership for almost a decade.
‘We are not afraid of war, we are afraid of slavery’
Georgian Dream, led by the billionaire Ivanishvili, offered an alternative, and the country voted in his party in the 2012 parliamentary election. Now, however, GD is increasingly seen as “pro-Putin.”
Such rhetoric has intensified since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Georgia did not join Western sanctions against Russia, while Ivanishvili, who made much of his fortune in Moscow, was labeled a “Putin agent” by the opposition. His business ties to Russia, combined with GD’s blocking of anti-Russia initiatives in the parliament, have fueled mistrust of the party’s independence and doubts about its pro-European line.
Another cause for concern was a proposed “foreign agent” law, which sparked prolonged mass protests in Georgia but was nevertheless eventually passed by the parliament over a presidential veto. The law, modeled on Russia’s, was considered by the pro-Western segment of Georgian society to be another step toward authoritarianism. Only now from Ivanishvili’s party. In July,European leaders announced their decision to suspend Georgia’s EU accession process.
A pro-European rally on October 20 was attended by about 100,000 people. Freedom Square was filled by the evening, people having flocked there from different parts of the city during the day. They sang the national anthem and held posters like “Georgia chooses the EU.”
The country’s president, Salome Zurabishvili, and famous artists spoke at the rally. From the roof of a nearby building, stooges of the ruling party tried to blind the speakers with a laser pointer.
“Georgian Dream is playing very dirty, people are exasperated by its blackmail of a war with Russia. We are promised war if Georgia does not submit to Putin,” explained a young man at the rally named Vuka. “You saw their propaganda with photos of Ukrainian cities destroyed by bombs. They are scaring us that the same will happen to Georgia if we join the EU.”
Madonna, who works in the beauty industry, says her family and friends have long been worried about Moscow’s influence. For her, the issue of European integration is important primarily because it affects the prospects and security of future generations. “Everything Russia does scares me. We want to keep away from it,” she says. “It will be better for our children if they grow up with the EU, not with Russia. Russia is war.”
‘The EU will not protect us, just as it cannot protect Ukraine’
Nevertheless, GD has managed to play on the fear of war that many Georgians have. This was clearly visible at a pro-government rally that took place three days after the opposition rally I attended. From the early morning of October 23, the streets of Tbilisi were cordoned off by police and entry for private transport into the city center was restricted. News reports began to appear online that GD was rounding up villagers and public-sector workers and pensioners from all over the country and busing them into the capital.
“The pro-government rally on Freedom Square was attended by just as many people; thousands more watched the speeches of ruling party figures on screens installed on Rustaveli Avenue.”
The rally of supporters of the "Georgian Dream" party in Tbilisi. October 23. Photo: Maria Litvinova
People looked tired; some men were drunk. Groups were huddled in alleys and near minibuses, waiting for the event to end so they could go home. It seemed like they were uninterested in what was going on and were there just because they had to be.
But when asked about the war, they perked up. “I am from Abkhazia, and you have no idea how much we do not want a new war,” groaned a woman of about 50 named Roza, who stood arm in arm with her husband.
Roza’s family has lived in Tbilisi for years and dreams of the reunification of Georgia and Abkhazia, which Ivanishvili promised if his party is reelected. “Our house is there, in Abkhazia, and we hope that GD will win and we will not have any more wars.” Roza is convinced that “Putin can guarantee peace in Abkhazia, Georgia and everywhere, if you do not quarrel with him.” She adds that the EU “will not protect us, just as it cannot protect Ukraine.”
Georgians from different regions of the country at this rally admitted that they are cautious about the future. They said that the election raises very complex issues related to both Russian influence and Georgian alignment with the EU, as well as how to avoid the consequences that Russia’s neighbors face when they choose Europe. “The example of Ukraine is very scary, and we know very well what a war with Russia is,” said another attendee.
After the vote count from Saturday’s election, GD looks set to win a majority of seats in the parliament. On the one hand, it will not be enough to change the constitution; on the other hand, it will not prevent the ruling party from passing many laws without regard for its rivals in the opposition. This is assuming, however, that the street will not have the last word. Opposition parties and President Zurabishvili have publicly refused to recognize the election results, citing widespread violations during campaigning and voting. Zurabishvili stated at a rally in Tbilisi on Monday evening that it was a “Russian election,” with new technologies used to cover up the alleged falsification.
But when asked about the war, they perked up. “I am from Abkhazia, and you have no idea how much we do not want a new war,” groaned a woman of about 50 named Roza, who stood arm in arm with her husband.
Roza’s family has lived in Tbilisi for years and dreams of the reunification of Georgia and Abkhazia, which Ivanishvili promised if his party is reelected. “Our house is there, in Abkhazia, and we hope that GD will win and we will not have any more wars.” Roza is convinced that “Putin can guarantee peace in Abkhazia, Georgia and everywhere, if you do not quarrel with him.” She adds that the EU “will not protect us, just as it cannot protect Ukraine.”
Georgians from different regions of the country at this rally admitted that they are cautious about the future. They said that the election raises very complex issues related to both Russian influence and Georgian alignment with the EU, as well as how to avoid the consequences that Russia’s neighbors face when they choose Europe. “The example of Ukraine is very scary, and we know very well what a war with Russia is,” said another attendee.
After the vote count from Saturday’s election, GD looks set to win a majority of seats in the parliament. On the one hand, it will not be enough to change the constitution; on the other hand, it will not prevent the ruling party from passing many laws without regard for its rivals in the opposition. This is assuming, however, that the street will not have the last word. Opposition parties and President Zurabishvili have publicly refused to recognize the election results, citing widespread violations during campaigning and voting. Zurabishvili stated at a rally in Tbilisi on Monday evening that it was a “Russian election,” with new technologies used to cover up the alleged falsification.
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