Some foreign and Georgian political forces, NGOs, and individuals try to present interests of the government as separate from those of the people, writes the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament on his Facebook page

“The tactic of virtually separating Georgia’s democratic government from Georgian people fits the Russian hybrid playbook. We have witnessed, in the last years, a targeted campaign aimed at decoupling Georgian government from Georgian people. Be it the question of European integration, Russian invasion of Ukraine, or domestic political reforms, some foreign and Georgian political forces, NGOs, and individuals try to present interests of the government as separate from those of the people. This has been especially evident in the case of Georgia’s application to the European Union membership. ‘Give the EU candidacy to Georgian people, not Georgian government’ has become a rallying cry for this motley political grouping.

This practice is not new to those who are familiar with Russian hybrid warfare. Using de-legitimation of the government as a tool of political subversion was the favorite tactic of the Soviet regime, and the current Russian government seems to have also employed it with enthusiasm. President Putin of Russia, to this day, sends congratulatory holiday messages to ‘Georgian people’ as separate from its government. The radical wing of Georgian opposition took this tactic up, often imposing it on the more moderate political parties. In a way, this is not just a coincidence. Some of the most radical members of Georgian opposition did, after all, study at the KGB-run Soviet and Russian ‘educational’ institutions: former president Mikheil Saakashvili and the leader of Droa Elene Khoshtaria, among others. It is unfortunate that some of our foreign partners and foreign-funded Georgian NGOs have used this tactic with respect to Georgian government”, - writes Shalva Papuashvili.