DISINFO: The West wants to turn Georgia into an anti-Russian springboard, attempts to influence elections to replace current government
SUMMARY
The United States, through its agents and NGOs, will try to influence the outcome of the parliamentary elections in Georgia in order to destabilise the situation near Russia’s borders.
This is due to the fact that the West really wants to involve Georgia in a new war against Russia, which would require replacing the ruling Georgian Dream party with a pro-Western government more inclined toward war with Russia, to turn Georgia into a springboard for a new anti-Russian front.
RESPONSE
A recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative, pre-emptively framing any future protests in Georgia as a Western-sponsored colour revolution.
This claim is an attempt to discredit potential protests and justify repressive measures against them in light of the upcoming Parliamentary elections in Georgia on October 26th 2024. Human rights organisation Amnesty International has previously accused Georgia’s police of excessive use of force against overwhelmingly peaceful protesters.
Neither the US nor the EU are planning a forcible overthrow of the government in Georgia. No evidence is provided to support this claim. The US State Department Spokesperson categorically denied a number of times Russian allegations that the US is planning a “color revolution” or “Maidan in Georgia,” calling them completely false and absurd, instead emphasizing US support for Georgia’s development and its struggle against Russian aggression.
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. The West is 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.
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.
Read also EUvsDisinfo's articles on “Georgia: Resilience in action” and “Georgia: The next colour revolution?”
See similar disinformation cases claiming that The US plans a colour revolution in Georgia after October elections, that The US plans a colour revolution in Georgia after October elections, that The US is preparing a “Tbilisi Maidan” in Georgia, that The West is seeking a coup d'etat in Georgia, that US and EU wants to orchestrate Euromaidan-like scenario in Georgia at parliamentary elections, that The US plans to change power in Georgia through protests to be blamed on Russia, that West plans to orchestrate Georgia maidan, install government to confront Russia or that West behind Georgia protests to turn the country into a second front against Russia.