Georgia: The next domino to fall in the Kremlin’s undemocratic direction

Last week, my husband and I awoke to messages from my stepson about how he was tear-gassed by riot police during protests in Tbilisi, Georgia.

He, and many others, have been in the streets every night for two weeks, peacefully expressing their opposition to a new foreign agents law being crammed through parliament by the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party, as opposition MPs have been forced out of the committee considering the draft.

This law closely mirrors Russia’s foreign agents law, which significantly curtailed civil society organizations receiving money from the U.S. and Europe, labeling them as “foreign agents” even if their work is charitable, development-related or educational. In addition to the stigma of such a label, the law would enable the government to conduct investigations into these NGOs, access personal data, demand detailed reporting, and levy restrictions, fines and prison sentences on media and civic groups deemed noncompliant.

The important point here is that the law specifically identifies countries that have historically been Georgia’s Western allies and friends as adversaries, while notably not mentioning Russia — the country physically occupying a quarter of Georgia, creeping its occupation foot by foot, and consistently exerting malign influence on the country’s politics and people through financial, technological and disinformation operations.