The propaganda publication Izvestia (News) has distributed a manipulative video report from Tbilisi. It features Russian propagandist Stanislav Hryhoriev, who has been repeatedly caught in biased coverage of events from the ATO zone in Novosti24 since 2014.

The video footage was filmed against the backdrop of a group of people who had come out to protest outside the Georgian parliament; the protest was called for by Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili due to systematic violations during the elections. In fact, she refused to recognize the results of the parliamentary elections – the previous victory of the Georgian Dream, the current ruling party.

In the story, Hryhoriev describes activists holding Ukrainian and EU flags and a poster with the inscription in English “Georgia is not Russia”:

“This is something that has long been expected in Georgia. Ukrainian activists with the appropriate symbols have appeared on the square near the parliament. They say that quite a few Ukrainians have entered the country over the past week. Their purpose is unclear, perhaps they came to share their protest experience”, the propagandist said.

In fact, the information in the video is distorted, as our Georgian fact-checking colleagues from the Myth Detector organization report. After all, it is the Italian political activists who are depicted in the video who came to support Georgia's European course. That is, this does not change the fact that there were no Ukrainians during the protests; they could also have supported Georgian citizens. However, Russian propaganda, one way or another, demonized potential attempts by Ukrainians to support the country, this time passing off Italian activists as “Ukrainian protesters”.

Italian activists arrived to observe the election process as part of the Europa Radicale delegation, which fights for democracy, rights and laws through “non-violent” forms of protest and initiatives. Since the victory of the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party “effectively stops” Georgia’s accession to the EU due to its non-compliance with the bloc’s principles and values. In particular, this concerns the adoption of the law on “foreign agents”, which had previously led to the suspension of the country’s accession to the EU.

Thus, Russian propaganda is working to create an image of bloody Ukrainian revolutionaries who, on instructions from the West, are seeking to destabilize the domestic political situation in Georgia. Russia is also promoting similar narratives in relation to the United States, accusing them of organizing “color revolutions” and protests if they are pro-democratic and reformist in nature.

Propagandists in Russian media and telegram channels claim that Georgia allegedly announced the participation of Ukrainians in organizing protests in Tbilisi. They say this was reported by the Georgian security service. However, this is fake.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that we are talking about mass protests in Georgia against the bill “On Foreign Influence”, similar to a document in Russia, which is used there to oppress dissidents.

However, statements about the participation of Ukrainians in “organizing protests in Tbilisi” are unreliable, in particular because the Georgian security service, cited by Russian media, did not make them. StopFake journalists examined all official channels of this department and did not find any relevant statements.

It seems that the fake was created based on a report from the Georgian security service that during the protests some groups are trying to “organize provocations aimed at developing destructive and violent scenarios”, and these groups are funded by foreign countries, without specifying which ones. The Georgian Security Service also reported that “Georgian citizens outside the country are actively participating in the mentioned criminal plans, in particular, a certain part of the Georgians fighting in Ukraine, who declare their readiness to come to Georgia and actively participate in the planned violence against the police”. However, this service message does not talk about any Ukrainians.

Russia is covering the protests in Georgia through the prism of “color revolution” narratives and conspiracy theories. They say that any protests against government decisions are organized by “Western hands”. Detector Media has repeatedly refuted other conspiracy theories used by Russian propaganda.

Such messages appeared in the Georgian segment of social networks. The reports said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi compared the events in Georgia to the events in Ukraine nearly a decade ago during the Euromaidan period. The authors of the post assured that Zelenskyi made such a statement during one of his video messages and added that he “wishes the Georgians would achieve the same success as the Ukrainians did”. However, this is manipulation. In fact, as analysts of the MythDetector project found out that neither in the video fragment added to the message, nor in the full version of the appeal, the President of Ukraine made an identical or similar statement. He only expressed support for the Georgian people and thanked them for playing the Ukrainian anthem and for waving Ukrainian flags at the protests. On March 9, Volodymyr Zelenskyi indeed published a video message on his official Facebook page. The first part of the video deals with current events in Ukraine. In the second part, Zelenskyi reacted to the protests in Georgia against the bill on “transparency of foreign influence”. However, in the video message, Zelenskyi did not mention Euromaidan. He thanked the Georgian people for supporting the Ukrainians and noted that there is no Ukrainian who would not wish Georgia's success. That is, the authors of messages distorted the words of the Ukrainian president on social networks. 

This thesis is spread by propaganda media and on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric. They say that Western countries have found a new puppet for themselves - Georgia - and provoked protests there. They also add in the reports that protests against the Georgian authorities are beneficial for Western states, because they do not want Georgia to be independent of them.

Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project drew attention to the case. They note that there is indeed no evidence that the recent protests in Georgia were orchestrated by Western states as an attempt at a violent change of power.

In fact, the protests in Tbilisi arose after the Georgian parliament passed in the first reading a bill requiring some organizations that receive foreign funding to register as “foreign agents”. As Detector Media has already written, the law is considered analogous to the notorious ban on “foreign agents” in Russia, which actually suppressed the already weak voices of the opposition and made it impossible for international monitoring missions to be present inside the country. The law, adopted by the Georgian Parliament on March 7, 2023, provides for the creation of a register of “agents of foreign influence”. That is, the authorities must create a special open database of organizations and individuals if the share of foreign investments in their activities is at least 20%.

During the protests, Georgian law enforcement officers used tear gas, pepper spray and water cannons. However, as a result of massive protests, the Georgian parliament rejected the “foreign agents” bill after the incumbent party withdrew its support.

Russian propagandists reacted to the protest in the first days. In particular, they claimed that the protests in Georgia were orchestrated by the United States. By spreading such messages, propagandists seek to nourish the narrative of so-called Western governance. Allegedly, Georgia is really controlled by Western curators. The same narrative has been circulating in the information space regarding Ukraine for about nine years now. So, Russian propaganda seeks to neutralize the subjectivity of other states; to show that they themselves really do not decide anything.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that during the March 8 protest, it was led by two Ukrainians who were “trained by the Americans” and participated in “color revolutions” in other countries. The authors of the reports add that “Ukrainian protesters” used Molotov cocktails. As evidence, the authors of the messages add a video fragment of the protest, recorded by one of the Georgian channels. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the MythDetector project got down to the case and found that Ukrainians were not depicted in the footage. As the fact-checkers explain, the video shows Georgian volunteers of the Center for Extreme Medicine providing medical assistance to the victims during the action. This video was also posted on the Center for Extreme Medicine Facebook page. The video shows people in the same clothes, they wash the eyes of the victim with a saline solution, which the authors of the messages call a Molotov cocktail.

Analysts also turned to volunteers, who confirmed that the footage depicts Georgian volunteers, and not “Ukrainian protesters trained by the Americans”.

The public of Georgia actively opposes the adoption in the first reading of the law “On the transparency of foreign influence”, called the “Russian law”. It is considered an analogue of the notorious ban on “foreign agents” in Russia, which actually suppressed the already weak voices of the opposition and made it impossible for international monitoring missions to be present inside the country. The law, adopted by the Georgian Parliament on March 7, 2023, provides for the creation of a register of “agents of foreign influence”. The authorities will create a special open database of organizations and individuals if the share of foreign investments in their activities is at least 20%. It is noteworthy that the voting continued in violation of the rules of parliament and without public discussion.

We recall that Detector Media analyzed messages aimed at discrediting the protest movement in Georgia.

This thesis was spread on social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Amid protests in Georgia, reports say a “huge queue” of people wishing to leave for Russia has formed at the only checkpoint across the Georgian-Russian border. Like, Georgians are running away from protests and “color revolutions” to Russia. The authors of the messages add a screenshot from the electronic map, where you can supposedly see “live traffic”. This is manipulation.

The Insider project specialists investigated the case and found out that there really was a queue of people on the Georgian-Russian border, it was formed on March 5, while the protests began on March 6. The day before, the checkpoint was closed due to bad weather and the danger of avalanches, and it was opened only on the evening of March 7. In the screenshot, you can see that the crowd was in two directions, that is, from Georgia to Russia and vice versa. Analysts explain that it was this situation that caused a large number of people on the Georgian-Russian border, but the propagandists distorted everything in their own way.

The public of Georgia actively opposes the adoption in the first reading of the law “On the transparency of foreign influence”, called the “Russian law”. It is considered an analogue of the notorious ban on “foreign agents” in Russia, which actually suppressed the already weak voices of the opposition and made it impossible for international monitoring missions to be present inside the country. The law, adopted by the Georgian Parliament on March 7, 2023, provides for the creation of a register of “agents of foreign influence”. The authorities will create a special open database of organizations and individuals if the share of foreign investments in their activities is at least 20%. It is noteworthy that the voting continued in violation of the rules of parliament and without public discussion.

We recall that Detector Media analyzed messages aimed at discrediting the protest movement in Georgia.

Pro-Russian telegram channels write that Georgians bring Ukrainian flags to the protests, but this is inappropriate. Like, they are protesting against the law, which will allow the authorities to close the media and “crush” the opposition. And in Ukraine, all “opposition” media were allegedly closed and the opposition as such was “legally banned”. Allegedly, in Ukraine there is no freedom of speech, for which the Georgians are fighting.

Spreading such messages, Russian propaganda uses a substitution of concepts and calls opposition only pro-Russian political parties, which were really banned in Ukraine after the start of a full-scale war. The same applies to the media: those who spread messages supporting Russian propaganda were banned. That is, in Ukraine they are fighting not with the opposition, but with pro-Russian forces. Actually, in Georgia they are also protesting against changes in the legislation that imitate the Russian legislation on “foreign agents”.

Read more about the reaction of Russian propaganda to the protests in Georgia in the material selection of Detector Media.

The public of Georgia actively opposes the adoption in the first reading of the law “On the transparency of foreign influence”, called the “Russian law”. It is considered analogous to the notorious ban on “foreign agents” in Russia, which actually suppressed the already weak voices of the opposition and ruled out the possibility of the presence of international monitoring missions inside the country. The law, adopted by the Georgian Parliament on March 7, 2023, provides for the creation of a register of “agents of foreign influence”. The authorities will create a special open database of organizations and individuals if the share of foreign investments in their activities is at least 20%. The Ministry of Justice will have the right to “observe” the work of potential “foreign agents” and receive the necessary information, including personal data. It is noteworthy that the voting was held in violation of the rules of parliament without public discussion. There is still a second and third reading, but since the law has the support of the ruling Georgian Dream party, the parliament will probably approve the document.

The law marginalizes key international organizations that monitor rights and freedoms in Georgia. This is exactly what happened in Russia after the adoption of the relevant law in 2012. Also, due to the adoption of the law, funding for opposition media, whose work is supported from abroad, will potentially decrease. In addition, the adoption of the law may indicate the actual departure from the European integration course, which Georgia announced together with Moldova and Ukraine (Associated Trio). The law could deal a blow to the Georgian economy. Georgian entrepreneurs are being helped by a European program to support traditional small and medium-sized businesses (for example, in the distilling industry), and the new law will put this program in jeopardy.

The state has come to the so-called “Yanukovych crossroads”, when society and the authorities have diametrically opposed visions of Georgia’s development, and contradictions peaked after the missed chance for EU membership in July 2022. Against the backdrop of these upheavals, a number of messages appeared on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric aimed at discrediting the Georgian protest movement. We consider them in more detail below.

The events in Georgia are the beginning of the “color revolution”, the “beautiful life” will soon come, as happened in Ukraine. The term “color revolutions” refers to the most civilized disintegration of the 20th century - the “velvet divorce” of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, where, as a result of the bloodless and democratic Velvet Revolution, the post-communist elites of both parts of Czechoslovakia headed for independence, announced a transition from socialist relations. Currently, “colored” or “velvet” refers to peaceful protests that result in certain political changes. Despite the non-violent nature of the protests, Russian propaganda interprets such revolutions negatively, they mark a departure from the communist course, the dismantling of the socialist system and the transition to democratic governance. Propaganda uses this term in a negative sense, assuring that such protests advocate false values. The mention of Ukraine in a disparaging way reproduces the narrative of condemning the Revolution of Dignity and devaluing its positive consequences. Propaganda claims that due to the removal of Yanukovych from power and following a new pro-European course, the life of Ukrainians has worsened, so they “warn” the Georgians that if the protesters succeed, their society will expect the same thing. Yes, Ukraine had to endure a deep economic crisis in 2014, but at the same time managed to take a confident course towards Euro-Atlantic integration and strengthen its democracy. Russia is afraid of a “velvet divorce” with Georgia, because it does not want to lose it from its field of influence for a number of geopolitical and economic reasons.

Local “Sorosiata” (Soros’s supporters) are trying to prevent the cessation of foreign funding. This message discredits representatives of Georgian civil society who stood up for democracy and ascribes a far-fetched mercantile goal to their actions. The protests in Georgia are not about funding, but about protecting democracy and freedom of speech. Similar assessments were made about the events of the Euromaidan. It seems to be, in particular, a struggle for the opportunity to receive Western “handouts” and grants in exchange for sovereignty. With such statements, propagandists are trying to substitute  concepts, calling the struggle for values a struggle for money.

“Verkhniolarsivtsi” (Russins who fled to Georgia through the border crossing point “Verkhnii Lars”)  join the ranks of the protesters and chant anti-Russian slogans. With this neologism propagandists call Russians who fled to Georgia in order to avoid mobilization or to avoid reprisals for their anti-war position. In autumn, the line at the “Verkhnii Lars” checkpoint stretched for tens of kilometers, because there were hundreds of thousands of people who wanted to leave Russia. Propaganda claims that the “Verkhniolarsivtsi” have settled down well in their rented apartments, and having lost any sense of shame and dignity, these “traitors” went to the “Georgian Maidan” and chanted slogans insulting to Putin and chanted “Sa-kart-ve- lo”*. This message rather works for the internal Russian audience, forcing once again to condemn those who are hiding from the mobilization.

Local Georgian authorities are out of control. The US State Department is concerned about this fact, therefore it supports the protesters in every possible way, and wants to “calm down” the elite with their hands and direct it to the true path. This message is a classic reproduction of the “external control” narrative carried out by “Western curators” to please the US State Department and powerful international corporations. Propaganda assures: all the events of the Revolution of Dignity were orchestrated from the outside and successfully implemented by local actors from the “Soros structures”. Now Russian propaganda is convincing that the same thing is happening in Georgia: representatives of grant structures allegedly actively oppose the “legitimately elected” government, undermining its authority and the legality of its decisions. The purpose of this message is to disregard the sovereignty of Georgia, leveling the independence of decision-making and discrediting any actions of civil society.

* Sakartvelo is the name of Georgia, which is used by its inhabitants themselves. The name “Georgia” is used by Russia and 20 other states, including Ukraine; in most countries of the world, the name “George” (or its derivatives) is adopted. Against the backdrop of deteriorating relations with Russia and the Russian-Georgian war of 2008, official Tbilisi calls on other states to abandon the name “Georgia” in favor of Sakartvelo or “Heorhia”. Lithuania, Japan, Israel and South Korea have already abandoned the name “Georgia” in official documents.