On February 26, Russian activist Maks Ivantsov reported that he had been denied re-entry into Georgia, claiming that this was because he was campaigning in Tbilisi and collecting signatures in support of Putin’s opponent Boris Nadezhdin candidacy for the 2024 presidential elections in Russia (on February 8 anti-war candidate Nadezhdin was barred by Central Election Committee of Russia from standing in Russia’s presidential elections). According to Ivantsov, he was shoved and rudely forced to leave the country, and was denied political asylum, despite repeated requests. Ivantsov is the coordinator of non-governmental educational organization “Frame” and has a record of public protest against Putin’s regime in both Russia and Georgia.
What happened?
In a live podcast on February 26, Ivantsov explained his case in detail. Although he travels extensively, he has been spending a considerable amount of time in Tbilisi, and in recent months he and his organization have been collecting signatures for Nadezhdin. Ivantsov noted that during this process, representatives of the Georgian State Security Service would visit him every few weeks and copy the signatures collected.
After his recent brief visit abroad, he returned to Georgia and landed at Kutaisi International Airport, where he went through passport control as usual, got his arrival stamp, and entered the country with virtually no problems. However, as he was leaving the airport, a woman stopped him and told him that he had to go back to the passport control because he had unpaid fines.
When he returned, he was met by three policemen and told that he had to leave the country. He was given a paper stating that he had to leave Georgia, but the paper gave no reason for this request, not even the “other reasons” that is often used when Russian activists are denied entry. Ivantsov strongly objected to leaving the country and asked to speak to his lawyer, but the policeman took away his phone and computer and wouldn’t let him make a call.
He was then put on a plane to Vilnius. He recalls, that as he stated he wanted to ask a political asylum in Georgia, the policeman began to laugh. Because of his objections, the captain of the plane began to defend him, asking the policeman to start the necessary procedure and draw up the documents required for Ivantsov’s deportation, otherwise he wouldn’t fly the plane. The cabin crew and passengers all began to support Ivantsov, and after two hours of trying, the police gave up and let the plane fly without him.
The Russian activist was then taken to a small room where he had to stay until 5 a.m. Policemen came in and out to check on him, some offered him food and water, and some, the higher-ranking law-enforcers, visited him to force him to leave. Ivantsov states that these men tried to intimidate him by saying that they would force him to go to Moscow if he didn’t comply and leave for Europe. They also threatened to use violence, pushed him around, and generally treated him “horribly”, calling him the enemy of Russia, Georgia, Poland, and Latvia (where he was also denied entry because these states rarely accept Russian migrants, as he explained).
After a few hours in the room, he made the decision to leave for Hungary. Notably, Ivantsov stated during the podcast that those policemen made frequent calls and told an unknown person that he agreed to fly back, that he was in a hotel and that the situation was taken care of. Ivantsov added that the security cameras were turned on and off by the policeman all the time.
What are Ivantsov’s plans now?
The anti-Putin activist is now in Warsaw, Poland. He plans to stay there for a few weeks and then leave for Armenia to participate in the Russian elections on March 15-17. After that, he announced plans to try to enter Georgia again, this time from the Armenian border.
During the podcast, Ivantsov noted that this is not the first case of anti-Putin activists being denied entry to Georgia, and mentioned that his main goal now is to raise awareness of this issue and create a lot of buzz around such instances, so that the Georgian Dream Party will be harmed by such cases more than it will benefit from pleasing Putin.
Ivantsov noted that Georgian Human Rights defender organizations have already contacted him and he is planning to work with the Social Justice Center and Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association to demand justice internally in Georgia.
As for broader actions, he plans to appeal to the European Commission to demand that Georgia take more responsibility when legally admitting Russian activists, and will to continue defending his rights in the European Court of Human Rights.
Similar cases
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the cases of anti-Putin activists being denied entry to Georgia have risen. Those cases include:
- 02/06/2023 – Russian Anti-Putin Publicist Denied Entry to Georgia
- 10/05/2023 – Chechen journalist tortured in Russia denied entry to Georgia
- 08/09/2022 – Another Russian Journalist Denied Entry to Georgia
- 19/07/2022 – Another Russian Blogger Says Denied Entry to Georgia
- 11/03/2022 – Another Russian Journalist Says Barred from Georgia Entry
- 07/03/2022 – TV Dozhd Journalist Allegedly Denied Georgia Entry
In addition, activists already in Georgia have not received adequate protection and have faced threats to their lives. For example:
- 09/11/2023 – Russian Lawyers: Banned Movement Participant Vanishes from Tbilisi, Suspected in Russian Custody
- 16/08/2023 – Russian Opposition Journalist Reportedly Poisoned in Georgia
Meanwhile, GD government has been making steps towards rapprochement with Moscow. In 2023, Georgia resumed direct flights with Russia, increased its economic dependence and imported more gas, received praise for its “pragmatic” policy and was recently named as a “relatively friendly” communication regime towards Russia.
Also Read:
- 17/02/2024 – Russian Citizens in Georgia Commemorate Alexei Navalny
- 12/02/2024 – Russia to Pursue “Normalization with Georgia” Despite Absence of Diplomatic Relations
- 01/11/2023 – Jokes, Grievances and Demonstrations: Russians in Georgia and Germany
- 15/06/2023 – Tbilisi Stuck in Neutral Between Russia and the West
