Georgia
Georgia is on the frontline of the struggle between Russia and the west. Will its democracy survive? | Nathalie Tocci
Polarisation is growing across Europe and the west. Nowhere is this clearer than in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. The “Russian law”, a copycat piece of legislation imported from Moscow, which forces Georgian civil society groups to register as foreign agents if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad, was recently passed – despite massive protests and widespread police violence. The law is set to be implemented later this summer, just in time to cripple civil society and squeeze the opposition parties ahead of the country’s crucial parliamentary election on 26 October.
Against the backdrop of the protests, the governing party, Georgian Dream, lowered its mask. In a hyperbolic speech in April, the billionaire tycoon and behind-the-scenes leader of the party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, launched an all-out attack against the liberal west, rife with conspiracy theories about a putative “global war party” driven by Freemasons, traitors, foreign agents and more. Georgian Dream does not claim it wants to abandon the path to the EU and Nato. On the contrary, it boasts that under its watch, Georgia was recognised as an EU candidate. For its part, the EU took too long to distance itself from the government in Tbilisi, which brazenly dusted off the Russian law – postponed after the first protests last year – only weeks after Georgia was granted candidacy in December.
European leaders and institutions condemned the law and the police violence against demonstrators, who mobilised for the second time in the spring to stop the law – this time to no avail. Yet in the eyes of civil society and the opposition, European criticism was too timid. As one opposition leader put it to me in Tbilisi a few days ago: “When you’re in a room with a snake, you don’t engage with it or seek to understand its ‘legitimate concerns’. I was shocked to watch on television the EU ambassador cut ribbons with top Georgian Dream leaders while I was in hospital with a concussion caused by police violence.”
The EU has now toughened up. A few days ago it formally suspended Georgia’s accession process and froze €3om (£25m) in financial aid for the country’s defence ministry. Meanwhile, the EU has rightly agreed to move forward with Ukraine and Moldova’s accession negotiations.
But more is needed. So far the Georgian government has had its cake and eaten it. When the Russian law comes into effect, the EU should consider personal sanctions and travel bans on individuals in the political, business and media circles of the regime. Were the authoritarian squeeze to continue in the event of Georgian Dream’s electoral victory, the EU should revoke Georgians’ free movement across Europe without the need of a visa.
The opposition knows that the autumn election is a fight for life or death. As one academic and renowned opposition figure told me: “Georgia is already lost. This is our last chance to recover our country.” Opposition leaders are having tactical discussions on how to create a united alliance to avoid splitting the opposition vote, especially given the 5% electoral threshold below which parties are not represented in parliament at all. Yet they know that they can’t afford to blow this chance: it may be their last to restore liberal democracy in Georgia.
However, the outcome is uncertain. Alongside the skewed political playing field – with funds, social welfare programmes, police forces, a well-oiled propaganda machine and the upcoming repression of civil society on its side – Georgian Dream has a story to tell. The message is simple: war versus peace. In its narrative, the opposition fell into Russia’s trap in 2008, led by an irresponsible Mikheil Saakashvili and egged on by a hypocritical west, which then abandoned Georgia to its destiny when Russia invaded. Playing on citizens’ fears, exacerbated by the trauma of Russia’s invasion in 2008, the government portrays itself as the party of “peace”. In contrast, the opposition, which now firmly backs Ukraine’s resistance against Russia, is depicted as the “global war party”. Glossing over its ever closer ties to Moscow, Georgian Dream depicts itself as the bulwark against a new, unwinnable war against Russia.
The opposition also has a strong story to tell: it’s about Europe and freedom versus Russia and repression. An electoral victory in October, it says, represents the only route for Georgia to avoid sinking deeper into a post-Soviet authoritarian swamp. The mass demonstrations against the Russian law, both in 2023 and this year, tell us that it has a compelling case, capable of mobilising people and putting Georgia back on track towards democracy and the EU.
But it will not be easy. Georgian Dream also has a unified Russia backing it up. The opposition has a distracted and divided west. The divisions in the west mirror precisely those in Georgia. Georgian Dream could not win the election on a clear anti-west and anti-European ticket. Georgians know that their country’s independence and freedom (from Russia) is tied to the west. But is it an open, democratic and law-abiding west, or a closed, nationalistic and socially conservative one? If it’s the west represented by Viktor Orbán, Marine Le Pen, Giorgia Meloni and Geert Wilders in Europe, flanked by Donald Trump on the other side of the Atlantic, Ivanishvili may be quite comfortable with being pro-west. Probably Vladimir Putin would too.
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Tiny Georgia is a microcosm of the fight for liberal democracy in the west. For years, Georgian democrats pleaded for their western partners to wake up to the threat posed by Russia. But as those eyes started opening after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Georgian government turned towards Moscow in a tragic twist of history. Paradoxically, it did so just as Georgia came a step closer to joining the EU, riding the wave of the revival of its enlargement policy and spurred on by the Ukraine war.
In older democracies, where institutions are stronger, liberal democracy can withstand (for a while) the election of autocrats, nationalists and populists. In young and fragile democracies on Russia’s doorstep, in contrast, democracy, has to be supported and saved. If not, it can quickly end with a bang.
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — One metro Atlanta organization is weighing both the potential benefits and risks following President Donald Trump’s signing of an executive order Thursday aimed at expediting the reclassification of marijuana.
Atlanta News First spoke with Michael Mumper, executive director of Georgians for Responsible Marijuana Policy. He emphasizes this action is about research – not legalization – and said the science surrounding marijuana use remains unsettled.
“There are a lot of results, research that says that it has benefits and a lot that says it has harms,” Mumper said. “We need to dive into those much more before we rapidly expand marijuana access. This research will allow us to dig deeper into the real benefits and harms of marijuana.”
He adds that this action will also reduce paperwork for researchers and change how the drug is regulated by both the FDA and the DEA.
This order makes marijuana a schedule three classification under controlled substances, putting it in the same category as some steroids. Drugs that can be used in different situations based on the type and severity of pain.
Mumper shares his deep concern after this decision on Capitol Hill.
“Most important message to the public is that it normalizes marijuana as a product for consideration,” Mumper said. “For us, that’s a bit premature and dangerous because youth are still being harmed at alarming rates.”
The move does not change Georgia law and does not fully legalize the use of cannabis.
In Georgia, multiple efforts to legalize or decriminalize marijuana at the state level have failed. Under current state law, patients may access low-THC oil strictly for medical use if they have one of the qualifying medical conditions approved for treatment.
“Will be pressure on states to expand medical marijuana programs,” Mumper said. “But our argument has always been we have to stick to the science.”
President Trump has also directed his administration to work with Congress to “ensure seniors can access CBD products they have found beneficial for pain.”
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THE FLATS – Two generous, anonymous families have each given $10 million gifts to support Georgia Tech athletics’ Full Steam Ahead initiative and the Yellow Jackets’ football program, Tech vice president and director of athletics Ryan Alpert has announced.
“We’re incredibly grateful to these two generous families for their investments in Georgia Tech athletics and a championship-level football program,” Alpert said. “Led by these families, their relentless investments in our mission and their belief in our upward trajectory, support of Georgia Tech athletics and Tech football are at unprecedented levels.”
With these transformative gifts, Georgia Tech athletics is well on to set a new fundraising record in the 2026 fiscal year, as donor participation is up 21% in just six months since the fiscal year began on July 1.
Additionally, in just 14 months since the public launch of Full Steam Ahead in October 2024, Tech athletics has received nearly $90 million in new commitments to the initiative. In total, nearly $400 million has been raised towards Full Steam Ahead’s $500 million goal, which is a part of the Institute-wide Transforming Tomorrow campaign.
Georgia Tech continues to display its commitment to fielding nationally prominent, championship-level athletics programs. Notably, Tech athletics has committed to making more than $150 million in investments to its football program over the next several years, which includes the opening of the Fanning Student-Athlete Performance Center in the spring (a state-of-the-art facility that will benefit Georgia Tech’s full body of 300-plus student-athletes), a renovation of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field that will be completed prior to the 2027 season, a continued pledge to provide maximum revenue sharing to student-athletes and significant new resources devoted to expand and enhance staff.
To fulfill these commitments, enhanced engagement and support from the Georgia Tech community is vital.
“We still have progress to make to achieve our goal of consistently competing for championships at the highest levels of intercollegiate athletics,” Alpert continued. “Never in the history of college athletics has success been so closely tied to resources, and now is the time to seize the opportunity to take advantage of the great momentum and energy that we’re experiencing on The Flats.
“Every member of the White and Gold community can play a part. We urge fans to get in the game. Whether it be through gifts to the A-T Fund, purchasing tickets and merchandise, corporate sponsorships – every manner of support is vital to the success of Tech athletics.”
For more information and to make a year-end gift to the A-T Fund, visit atfund.org.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
Fourth Quarter
Less than two weeks remain for the Georgia Tech community to take advantage of the A-T Fund’s year-end Fourth Quarter Initiative, which gives supporters the opportunity to receive four A-T Fund priority points for every $100 donated to the Athletic Scholarship Fund through Dec. 31. The Athletic Scholarship Fund provides direct support for student-athletic scholarships and is one of the A-T Fund’s highest annual priorities, as it helps bridge the gap between endowment returns and scholarship costs.
Fourth Quarter gifts to the Athletic Scholarship Fund will provide donors with four A-T Fund priority points per $100 donated, which is double the two points normally allotted per $100 given. A-T Fund priority points are used to allocate benefits such as seat locations and parking for Georgia Tech athletics home events, as well as access to tickets for away games and postseason events, including ACC and NCAA Championships, bowl games and the College Football Playoff. To contribute to the Fourth Quarter Initiative and begin collecting four A-T Fund priority points for every $100 donated, click HERE. For more information, visit atfund.org/4th-quarter.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram and at www.ramblinwreck.com.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testifies before a Georgia State Senate committee in Atlanta as she ends her year-long legal fight over a subpoena and defends her actions in the Trump election interference case.
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