‘Georgians will not accept autocracy’: Former defense minister and diplomat Vasil Sikharulidze reflects on Georgia’s year-long political crisis

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Protesters in Georgia have been taking to the streets for 364 straight days. On October 26, thousands joined an anti-government march in central Tbilisi marking the anniversary of the country’s disputed parliamentary vote, which saw the ruling party, Georgian Dream, declare victory despite reports of widespread fraud ... This is a Q&A session with Vasil Sikharulidze, Georgia’s former defense minister and former ambassador to the United States, to get an expert perspective on this year-long standoff.

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Vasil Sikharulidze: The response to public protests has been marked by terrible violence. Demonstrators were dragged into vans, beaten, and intimidated, and no one was held responsible. On the contrary, some policemen involved in these acts were even rewarded.

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We now have over 120 political prisoners, which for a country of 3.5 million is a staggering figure. The government continues to spread a mix of disinformation and conspiracy theories, including absurd claims that the West is trying to drag Georgia into the war [with Russia] and that Georgia is resisting a so-called “global war party” or “deep state.”

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Despite the violence and intimidation, protests continue every day in downtown Tbilisi and other cities. People are demanding two basic things: freedom for political prisoners and free and fair elections. At the same time, the government is moving to ban major political parties and restrict voting rights for Georgians abroad. Overall, the situation is worsening, and Georgia is moving dangerously close to a Russian-style autocracy.

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Russia has always been a dangerous neighbor — an expansionist, openly revisionist, militarized regime that invades, occupies, and destabilizes countries around it to impose its will. It invaded Georgia in 2008 and continues to occupy 20 percent of our territory, and it has never stopped waging a hybrid war aimed at undermining the Georgian state. At its core, the Kremlin views freedom and democratic governance as existential threats to its authoritarian model, and it consistently works to erode them wherever they appear — especially in countries along its borders.

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The European Union has been consistently and increasingly critical of the political situation in Georgia. Throughout the past year, E.U. institutions — especially the European Parliament — have issued numerous statements and resolutions that strongly condemn politically motivated detentions, the imprisonment of opposition figures and civil activists, the crackdown on civil society and independent media, and the broader democratic backsliding underway in the country.

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We are also seeing targeted measures from E.U. member states. Several have begun imposing individual sanctions on those responsible for democratic backsliding, human rights violations, and the violent suppression of protesters — including officials linked to police brutality. At the political level, the E.U. has effectively frozen high-level engagement with the Georgian government. When the E.U. recently met with aspiring member states, Georgia was not invited — an unprecedented and very clear signal that Brussels no longer considers the current government aligned with the values and commitments required for E.U. integration.

This situation sends a powerful message, even if the ruling party tries to downplay it. Meanwhile, Georgia’s opposition parties and civil society actors continue to call for stronger measures to counter the government’s authoritarian trajectory and to support the democratic aspirations of the Georgian people.

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The protests are being sustained by the people themselves. Despite intimidation, violence, and mass detentions, Georgians continue to come out into the streets because they understand that the country’s future depends on defending democracy. These are not protests organized by a single party or leader; they are grassroots movements, driven by citizens from every walk of life — university professors and students, journalists and small business owners, artists, writers and doctors, workers and ordinary citizens from every part of the country.

Importantly, these protests have been non-stop, every single day, for a year now. Even in the face of over 120 political prisoners and thousands more hit with heavy fines or short-term imprisonment, people keep returning.

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While the authoritarian environment severely restricts how opposition parties can operate [...] the overwhelming majority of Georgians reject the path toward autocracy and want a democratic, European future.