Opinion: 'Rustaveli Avenue protests are the strongest expression of resistance in Georgia'

Protests in Georgia against authoritarianism

“The protests on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi (which have been ongoing continuously for more than a year — JAMnews) are the clearest expression of social defiance, public disobedience, and the resistance movement. We see examples of small acts of heroism every day,” said sociologist Iago Kachkachishvili.

According to him, Bidzina Ivanishvili (an oligarch, founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, and considered the shadow ruler of Georgia) “has failed to consolidate authoritarianism in the country, as Georgian society has refused to remain loyal to the regime he created.”

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Sociologist Iago Kachkachishvili:

“Georgian Dream and Bidzina Ivanishvili personally have begun to legally formalize their authoritarianism, and it can already be described as a dictatorship.

Until now, Ivanishvili pursued this through propaganda and was entirely focused on it. But what he has not yet achieved — and this is precisely why there is no true authoritarianism in Georgia — is the sympathy of the majority of society.

Society has not become loyal to this regime. This is a very important point — it is the light that still shines within Georgian society.

Today, we still have a dictatorship of the minority in the form of Georgian Dream and its supporters. Authoritarianism and minority dictatorship are always imperfect and unconsolidated.

That is why Ivanishvili has failed to gain the support of most of Georgian society, and it is in this context that the ongoing protest on Rustaveli Avenue should be understood.”

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“Rustaveli Avenue is the clearest expression of social defiance, public disobedience, and the resistance movement. We see examples of small acts of heroism every day.

This resistance movement is not retreating — it is gaining strength. That means the economic, legal, and propaganda tools have failed. It shows that the regime has not won the loyalty of Georgian society.

Some people may have grown used to the situation or become tired of active protest and no longer go to Rustaveli every evening, but that does not mean the protest is fading.”

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