The Daily Beat: 25 February

For the 89th consecutive day, protests continue on Rustaveli Avenue, with demonstrators blocking traffic despite police efforts. Participants from the Ukrainian Embassy and the Public Broadcaster joined the rally, chanting “Glory to Ukraine!” and “Freedom to the regime’s prisoners!” Key demands include new elections and the release of those arrested during past protests. For more updates, follow our live blog: Resistance 2025.

On February 24, Georgian demonstrators, politicians, and civil society representatives marked the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine by expressing solidarity with the war-torn country. In Tbilisi, a solidarity rally was organized in front of the Ukrainian Embassy, honoring both the Ukrainian resistance and the Georgian volunteers who fell in the war. To read more about the reactions of Georgian politicians on the third anniversary of the invasion, tap here.

Ahead of the February 25 protest, marking the day the Soviet regime was established in Georgia in 1921, President Salome Zurabishvili urged citizens to take to the streets en masse. She called February 25 one of the “gravest day in our recent history, when Bolshevik troops entered the capital.” “So tomorrow, we all have an obligation to stand together on Rustaveli Avenue, to say – no to Russian occupation,” Zurabishvili said in a video address.

The Georgian Dream (GD) party has registered a new legislative initiative entitled “Foreign Agents Registration Act”, which has been referred to the Legal Affairs Committee for consideration. GD majority leader Mamuka Mdinaradze previously described the bill as an “exact copy” of the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

GD Prime Minister Kobakhidze highlighted that the absence of the UNM in the current GD parliament is vital for the nation’s progress. He celebrated the fact that, for the first time in 20 years, the UNM is not represented in the Georgian parliament. “Georgia’s democratic system will develop much faster without radicalism. Under such conditions, our democratic progress and development in all directions will be much less hindered,” said Kobakhidze.

U.K. Ambassador to Georgia Gareth Ward has rejected claims by the country’s ruling party that the West has been trying to drag Georgia into Russia’s war with Ukraine and open a second front in the country. “That is simply not true,” he said, clarifying what Georgia was being asked to do instead: ensure that sanctioned products do not pass through its territory and maintain financial and banking sanctions.

In her remarks following the Foreign Affairs Council meeting, Kaja Kallas, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, raised significant concerns about the ongoing political developments in Georgia. Kallas characterized the GD parliament’s recent repressive legislations and excessive use of force against protesters as an “alarming deterioration in the region,” further calling for the immediate release of all detained protesters.