“PEOPLE’S RIVER will never stop flowing, flowing from the country’s heart,” reads the long fabric banner on the streets, protesting the Russian regime in Tbilisi, Georgia. The country, situated in the Caucasus, has been independent for more than thirty turbulent years since the collapse of the Soviet Union – yet Georgia’s relations with Russia remain tense and strained. The Russo-Georgian August war in 2008, Russian totalitarian regime’s creeping occupation, and its influences over Georgia climaxed with the introduction of a highly controversial ‘Kremlin-style’ law on foreign influence back in 2023. The country’s current ruling party, Georgian Dream, led by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, subsequently withdrew the law following street protests in Tbilisi. The Georgian Dream promised they would never put the law into discussion again.
Yet, this year, the story repeats itself. The ruling party reframed the law as “Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence” and reintroduced it this spring, leading to continuous protests for more than forty days as of today.
The latter aims to limit the work of non-governmental organisations and free media, affecting entities that receive more than 20% of their funds from foreign countries. The Georgian government claims that this serves a purpose to ensure transparency of these organisations and their finances, however, this is factually inaccurate as the financial declaration is already transparent. Georgian people believe that the law is aimed at restricting the functioning of the organisations that maintain criticism over governmental entities. A similar law was introduced in Russia back in 2012 that in the long term resulted in limiting and cracking down on independent and critical media, non-governmental organisations and activists.
The reliability of the Georgian government is deteriorating due to the continuous breaking of promises. This was initially evident in the reintroduction of the law, accompanied by claims that it would not affect natural persons. Despite these assurances, it became clear during the third and final hearing—lasting only sixty-seven seconds and held without opposition party representatives—that government officials have made ‘secret’ changes to the law, extending its reach to natural persons as well.
The authoritarian turn undertaken by the Georgian government, led by the Georgian Dream party, was met with mass protests on the streets. Peaceful movements have been unlawfully dispersed by water cannons, gas, and rubber bullets. In addition to an increased number of people hurt during demonstrations by police brutality, the ruling party has started encouraging a severe, large-scale repression. Thuggish violence against protestors and opposition leaders has been expressed through anonymous calls and threats, with the state mobilising so-called Titushky—mercenary agents provocateurs in civilian clothes—for street beatings, stalking and harassing, imprisoning activists, and faking cases in court filings to further delegitimize and discredit the demonstrations.
“Peaceful movements have been unlawfully dispersed by water cannons, gas, and rubber bullets.”
Despite the brutal wave of repression and authoritarian tactics employed by the government, people continue to take to the streets. The president of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili, formerly a member of the Georgian Dream party, retains a pro-European stance and has vetoed the law. Responding to this absurd situation at hand, she made a single change in the description indicating that the law will be valid for only one day after its implementation. Nevertheless, the parliament of Georgia can overrule her veto, leaving Georgian people yet again without the legislative power.
The EU, NATO and the US decry the ‘Russian Law’, stating that if it passes, GD party members should expect financial sanctions and travelling restrictions, and Georgia’s EU candidate status will be reconsidered. The response from the majority party is laced with conspiracy. Several mentions of the “Global War Party” by the PM and other parliament members have received another wave of utter criticism and have been deemed “unreal, wrong and complete misunderstanding. A Reddit page come to life”, as stated by James O’Brien, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs in the US at the press conference in Tbilisi. “The Global War Party” refers to the conspiracy theory conceptualised by the GD party. By propagating this theory, the GD tries to convince the population that Georgia is being dragged into the war. When addressing this matter the GD never specifies who is the member of this “the Global War Party”, but rather uses this to discredit the opponents, and western allies.
Fear and Loathing on the Streets: New Ground for Protests in Tbilisi
The Reddit page might have come to life for the Georgian Dream party; however, it is the streets that lay the ground for an authentic and freedom-driven reality. This reality is self-actualised on the streets by urban resistance. As one prominent historian Gyan Prakash writes, the city cannot be comprehended outside of its constitution by its political histories. And nor can the streets be actualised without their socio-political historical trajectories. Georgia has a long-standing history of protests. This time, the movement takes a fresh turn: it is decentralised, resilient, spontaneous, and organised, led by the new generation born in independent Georgia and joined by older generations.
If previously, in the last two decades, protests were typically shaped in front of the parliament on the central avenue of Rustaveli, now the movement is scattered through the different districts of the city, making the protest sudden and fast-paced. The ‘suddenness’ of this new urban space-claiming is manifested by independent media capturing the intricate symbolism of the protest movement. Back in 2023, when thousands of people took to the streets after the initial introduction of the Russian-style law, a live stream broadcasted a woman with a European Union flag standing in front of a large group of policemen using water cannons against her, making her a symbol of the Georgian people’s fight for their EU future. Similarly, in another striking image, journalists captured a young girl jumping over a water cannon, depicting the free spirit and will of a younger generation born in a free, independent Georgia. “A girl dancing on a water cannon” was a term spontaneously conceptualised locally that continues to be embedded within the “street constitution” – indicating a web of common values and aspirations created by protestors.
“The power of people is stronger than the people in power.”
The symbolism of the protests has expanded this year, leaving indelible marks on the memory of Georgian society. During one of the peaceful demonstrations in old Tbilisi, a young man climbed the statue of King Vakhtang Gorgasali, a founder of the capital city, and placed a Georgian flag into his hands. King Vakhtang Gorgasali is considered a key figure in the Georgian collective identity, fighting for Georgia’s unity in the 5th century AD. The national identity, along with civic and political values, is currently being reimagined and reconceptualised, tying the nexus of present and past. This provides new discourses on how the past is being reproduced and how the present is evolving.
Georgian society has revived the memory of historical figures, re-envisioning their contributions to the civil society movement and marking their signatures during the protests. Although their contributions span centuries, the ideas driving the protests resemble those that Georgian historical figures strived for centuries ago.
On the main street of Tbilisi, where the protests are usually held, stands a statue of two important historical figures and authors, Ilia Chavchavadze and Akaki Tsereteli, in front of the Tbilisi Classical Gymnasium – the first educational facility, built in 1801. Both Ilia and Akaki were part of movements striving for Georgia’s autonomy from the Russian Empire and independence in the 19th century. They were dedicated to preserving Georgian identity through spreading literacy and education among the population. Their progressive minds made them targets of repression, nonetheless these figures hold remarkable merit in Georgian history and the course of its development.
“Freedom sparkles on the streets.”
After Ilia was killed, Akaki said these words at his funeral: “Ilia’s invaluable contribution to the revival of the Georgian nation sets an example for future generations.” Indeed, their legacy fuels the young Georgian civilians to pursue the same aspirations from the 19th century. On the night of one of the protests, two centuries later, the statue of Ilia and Akaki held the flag of the European Union. Long before its existence, they had already envisioned that future for Georgia.
Another example of urban space-claiming that has a multifaceted characteristic is a young man holding both the Georgian and EU flags while standing on wooden pillars and trash cans moved by protestors to the side entrance of the parliament. Additionally, a few days later, a young woman with the EU flag climbed a steel structure that the Georgian Dream party built in front of the parliament for its own demonstration supporting the “Law on Transparency”. The individual autonomies that make up a temporal and spatial co-production of cultural values fuel the processes of identity construction, which leads to the emergence of new civil society. This movement is dominated by young generation who might be less biased by the Soviet regime and post-Soviet traumas, coupled with older generation who has a long-standing experience in living through the regime and becoming resilient to it. Sharing and exchanging experiences between generations leads to temporal and spatial cultural unity.
The infrastructure of the protest movement in this particular context is driven by the actions of the demonstrators, highlighting the extent to which the country belongs to the nation, and not to those in power. “The power of people is stronger than the people in power,” reads one of the posters, followed by other protest signs declaring “Freedom sparkles on the streets.” During one demonstration, when the police placed iron barriers in front of the parliament, the Georgian protestors took down these barriers, proclaiming that the parliament should not block their society but should listen to its people. That day, the protestors wrote on the parliament building these words: “This country is ours”.
