"When the state serves an oligarch, villages and cities empty out." Video podcast "Protests in Georgia"
Video podcast “Protests in Georgia”
The traditional pro-European “Saturday march” in Tbilisi on August 22 was dedicated to Georgian citizens who have left the country in search of work and better opportunities.
Participants said the growing emigration is driven by the policies of the ruling Georgian Dream party, which they say have pushed the country away from the European integration path enshrined in the Constitution.
Many blame the party’s founder and honorary chairman, oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, personally.
“Villages and cities are emptying out when the state serves Ivanishvili” — this was the central message of the march, reflected in the slogans and statements by speakers.
Organisers announced that throughout September, the traditional “Saturday marches” will be held in support of Georgian emigrants.
For more than a year and half – since November 2024 – continuous protests have been taking place in Georgia, with demonstrators demanding that the country return to the path of European integration. The results of the parliamentary elections held in autumn 2024 are still not recognised by part of Georgian society.
Every evening thousands, and often tens of thousands, gather in Tbilisi and several other cities. Over this time dozens of participants have been detained, many have faced criminal charges, and some have been sentenced to prison terms.
For the first time in the history of independent Georgia, the country has up to 150 prisoners of conscience, including women. Among them is Mzia Amaglobeli, founder of the popular outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti.
In 2025 she was sentenced to two years in prison for slapping a police officer. Protesters demand the release of all political prisoners and the repeal of all anti-democratic laws adopted over the past two years.
To suppress the protests, the ruling Georgian Dream party has increasingly tightened repression against civil society and the media. However, protests in various forms continue.
News in Georgia
