DISINFO: Failure of Georgian Maidan prevented the country from becoming a second Ukraine
SUMMARY
The Georgian ‘Maidan’ failed because the EU has no money for it. The US and UK benefited from the war in Ukraine whereas the EU faced colossal losses. This is the consequence of the EU's blind Russophobia. The Anglo-Saxons’ war against Russia converted into a war against Europe. If the Georgian political opposition had won the parliamentary election, the Anglo-Saxons would have gained control over the country and Georgia could have become the ‘second Ukraine’.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Georgia in the context of the 2024 parliamentary elections, framing any protests following the election as a Western-sponsored colour revolution or a coup, ultimately aimed at dragging the country into the war with Russia. Furthermore, the article is consistent with recurring themes about the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russophobia and belligerent Anglo-Saxons. As a negative catch-all term, the “Anglo-Saxons” term is a useful building block for pro-Kremlin conspiracy theories. You can find plenty of examples in our database.
Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, which was launched on 24 February 2022 and which is Europe's largest military conflict since the Second World War, has caused serious damage to the security situation in the whole of Europe. Presenting it as an ‘Anglo-Saxon’ war against the EU is an absurd attempt to justify the invasion of Ukraine.
The 2024 Parliamentary elections in Georgia were marked by serious irregularities and alleged large-scale fraud schemes, which led to many, including the President of Georgia, the opposition and civil society organisations, rejecting the official results. Violations noted by local and international observers contain a pre-election climate of fear and intimidation of civil society, including the passage of the Foreign Agents Law, reports of vote-buying, violations of voter privacy, physical altercations, and controversial changes to election administration rules prior to the vote. See also the Joint Statement by the High Representative Josep Borrell and the European Commission on the Parliamentary elections.
Pro-Kremlin media frequently falsely portray popular protests around the world as “colour revolutions” instigated from abroad, often by the US and the West. The disinformation narrative has been applied, among others, to reports about protests in Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Belarus, Venezuela, Slovakia, Hong Kong, with the aim of portraying protest movements as aggressive actors who constantly prepare new coups.
Since the launch of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, pro-Kremlin media actively deployed disinformation narratives that the US, the EU, or even Ukraine are aiming to change power in Georgia and drag the country into the war with Russia, to open a ‘second front’ against Moscow and to ease the situation for Kyiv on the Ukrainian front. The claims are groundless. Western countries are not interested in an escalation of the war. Neither the US nor the EU, nor Ukraine are pushing Georgia to open a second front against Moscow.
Read EUvsDisinfo's articles on the political developments in Georgia: "Twists and turns: Georgian Dream rhetoric on the EU", “Georgia: Resilience in action” and “Georgia: The next colour revolution?”.