Georgians Protest for 150 Straight Nights Against the Illegitimate Regime
4/27/25
By: Daniel Miller
Despite months of the illegitimate government enacting punitive legislation to punish and terrorize those who dare protest against the ruling Georgian Dream party’s legitimacy, Georgians across the country still defiantly protested for the 150th-straight night. It’s estimated that close to 200,000 people marched through Tbilisi, nearly three weeks after the 26th anniversary of the bloody massacre by Soviet troops, deployed by Colonel General Igor Rodinov, in which 21 people, most of whom were women, were killed on Rustaveli Avenue, in front of Parliament. On that day, April 9, 1989, thousands more were injured through beatings or affected by tear gas poisoning, tactics that are still used by the current Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs. Two years later, on the same day, a previous referendum was honored, and Georgia officially became an independent country.
The fight against Moscow never truly ended on that day, and now the country is dangerously close to falling back under Russian influence for another generation. Conspiracy theorist Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze is little more than a figurehead posing as the country’s leader, while the party’s founder, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, operates clandestinely behind the scenes. It’s an open secret that Ivanishvili, who made his fortune in banking and black market dealings in Russia during the tumultuous ‘90s era, has been responsible for the party’s broken promises of European Union integration and ongoing democratic backsliding. The commander on the ground during the April 1989 massacre was Alexander Lebed, whose 1996 Russian presidential run against Boris Yeltsin was largely financed by Ivanishvili himself. In other words, Ivanishvili funded the campaign of a Russian man responsible for the deaths of 21 of his fellow Georgians only seven short years earlier. Georgian Dream party insiders and defectors have substantiated everyone’s suspicions, claiming that Ivanishvili has always communicated with Russian intelligence.
Party officials continue to hunt for Western legitimacy that would reinvigorate their propaganda efforts, which are rife with mixed messaging about joining the prosperous EU while promulgating anti-Western conspiracy theories as they play victim to spooky external forces. The essence of Georgian propaganda spread by so-called independent media outlets such as TV Imedi can be summed up in a single sentence: We would also love to join hands with Europe, it’s just that they don’t like us!
This message appeals to two key demographics responsible for keeping the party in power, as they do the rest by rigging elections. One group is the people who either support Russia due to believing the myriad anti-Western conspiracy theories surrounding the invasion of Ukraine and the rigged parliamentary elections on October 26th, 2024, or they simply hold the belief that an authoritarian style of government is preferable to a democratic one. The second are those who are old enough to remember the events from a quarter century ago and still harbor an uneasiness towards the idea of the country becoming a “Russian slave” yet again, an apt slur frequently hurled at the police and government officials. The plausible deniability maintained by the ruling party that they aren’t jumping into Putin’s arms, coupled with the sad photo ops with leaders and representatives of other autocratic countries, is enough to pacify them so that they don’t have to use the smart parts of their brains to figure out it’s all smoke and mirrors.
Many are still reporting health problems from the chemicals used during the brutal crackdowns that occurred during late November and early December. For two out of the first ten nights of protests that began on November 28th, water cannons infused with tear gas were used to disperse the crowd, and gas canisters were used nightly. The chemicals infused in the water cannons were palpable in the air and took a while to dissipate. Dozens were being doused in the eyes with saline to mitigate the burns, and many others without proper gas masks are still suffering respiratory issues. I was able to avoid being hit directly by a cannon by hiding behind a concrete planter, but many others suffered severe vision and respiratory problems for days and weeks on end. I was also fortunate enough to have carried a gas mask and was able to recover quickly from minor eye exposure.
According to Georgian reporter Rusudan Djakeli, protester Nino Kharchilava says she experienced a dangerous drop in blood platelets, putting her life in danger. She reported severe weakness, unexplained bruising, red pinpoints on her skin, and excessive bleeding from minor cuts. The illegitimate government has still refused to disclose which types of chemicals were used on those nights in the water cannons.
Fines for violations such as wearing a face covering now exceed the average Georgian's monthly salary several times. People are refusing to attend sham trials adjudicated by judges loyal to the regime. A country that relied heavily on tourists taking advantage of its lenient visa policy is starting to feel the economic effects of the protests as the Georgian Dream party remains desperate for any kind of Western recognition. There has never been a better time than now to support British MP James MacCleary’s proposal urging Foreign Secretary David Lammy to sanction Ivanishvili since his financial empire stretches across the UK and its territories. Doing so would effectively collapse the Georgian Dream party and drastically swing the momentum towards holding a new round of parliamentary elections monitored by international observers. If the numbers for the 150th night of protests were as large as the third night, then the Georgian Dream needs to wake up before it’s too late, because the people will continue fighting until the very end. It’s now or never for them, and they fully understand that.
