Papuashvili Chronicles “Five Revolution Attempts” in Annual Report to GD Parliament
Georgian Dream parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili presented his annual report to the country’s legislature on May 14. The report was permeated with conspiratorial narratives and anti-Western invectives directed at Georgia’s traditional partners, such as the EU and the US. Although the presentation was supposed to cover the annual report of parliamentary work and the plan of action for the next year, Papuashvili’s speech spanned the four years of the 10th convocation of the Georgian Parliament, focusing entirely on what he called the five “attempts at revolutions” in Georgia since 2020.
Calling the 10th convocation of the Georgian Parliament a “truly turning point in Georgian recent history” due to its role in “strengthening the country’s sovereignty and defense of national interests”, he praised its former or present members, and said they all should be proud of their contribution to the country’s progress.
These four years, Papuashvili said, were marked by “confrontations, foreign influences, interference in internal affairs, attempts to undermine the state’s foundations by destructive groups, political fronts opened by interest groups, treachery, diversion, and traps set by both enemies and friends.”
“But it was precisely this hard time,” he added, “that revealed the loyalty, wisdom, and trust of the Georgian people.”
Papuashvili then moved on to discuss in detail what he claimed were “attempts at revolution” in Georgia.
Papuashvili claimed the first attempt at a revolution came from political parties- “political parties’ revolution”– after the 2020 parliamentary elections. He lashed out at the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), a local election monitor, for its error in parallel vote tabulation, reiterating the ruling party’s frequent accusation that the PVT error served as the basis for the opposition’s post-election protests. Papuashvili also took aim at USAID, accusing the agency of “spreading false results,” and lauded the new U.S. administration for “exposing” USAID’s alleged attempts to “destabilize governments” and “replace public democracies with foreign-controlled democracies.”
The second revolution attempt, which he labelled the “media workers’ revolution” he said, took place from April to August 2021, around the Charles Michel-brokered agreement, which aimed to resolve the political crisis at the time with the EU and US mediation. Papuashvili blamed the opposition for refusing to enter the parliament after the 2020 elections and accused the “main nucleus of the opposition” [UNM] of refusing to sign the agreement. The objective, he alleged, was “escalating the political polarization and crisis,” which he said the opposition wanted to use at the local elections. That’s why, he said, the GD left the 2019 Charles Michel agreement in July 2021. He lashed out at the media representatives for “dividing society” during that period by “manipulating minority rights and LGBT marches, which turned violent,” adding, “On Rustaveli Avenue appeared the media workers-turned political activists.”
The third attempt at revolution, which the GD parliament Speaker dubbed the “sour cream revolution”, stemmed from Mikheil Saakashvili’s illegal entry into Georgia in 2021, hidden in a truck container for sour cream, days before the election day. Papuashvili claimed this was organized by Ukrainian intelligence. He said the “revolutionary process” was planned to start shortly after the local election results were announced.
Alluding to the alleged EU involvement as well, he conspicuously noted, that several days before coming to Georgia, Saakashvili “was walking in Brussels’ corridors and held meetings.”
Despite Saakashvili’s “failure” to incite the revolution, Papuashvili said he remained “beneficial” to his supporters, who, he claimed, sparked “hysteria” over Saakashvili’s possible death due to his hunger strike in prison. He also accused Ambassadors and Baltic states’ parliamentarians of pressuring the GD government to release Saakashvili and of manipulating the situation surrounding his possible death so that the “attempt at revolution” would go unpunished.
These processes, Papuashvili said, continued with the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He said the “radical opposition” demanded sending volunteer fighters to Ukraine, imposing bilateral sanctions against Russia, closing the sky, and introducing visas for Russians – moves he claimed were meant to “go for full and unconditional escalation.” He accused the opposition parties and civil society organizations of being controlled from outside and took an aim at foreign politicians and diplomats, accusing them of trying to “drag” Georgia into the war and open a “second front.” He then alleged international pressure on the GD government towards this end.
“What would have happened if the ‘sour cream revolution’ had succeeded, and if those so-called ‘sincere citizens,’ wrapped in Ukrainian flags on Rustaveli Avenue and demanding the sending of volunteer fighters, the closing of the sky, and the imposition of sanctions, had been in government, facing the war? Wouldn’t they have been drawn into an escalation spiral guaranteed to end up in a war?! Wouldn’t Kursk happen here? Wouldn’t it be the second front here?!” Papuashvili asked the one-party parliament, before answering himself, “This is the scenario we have avoided for our country, and it was the 10th Convocation of the Georgian Parliament that stood at the avant-garde of this political defense.”
The fourth attempt at revolution, Papuashvili continued, labeling it “the NGOs’ revolution”, came shortly after, triggered by the EU’s initial refusal to grant Georgia candidate status in June 2022. He called this decision a “political” decision, which resulted in “encouraging radical movements.” He claimed that the CSOs demanded that parliament dismiss the government and that the new government be formed with the involvement of the CSOs, who would have a veto right. “The NGOs that usually think only of donor benevolence and have no contact with the people were, of course, there too, misread the public mood, and so this attempt at revolution failed as well,” Papuashvili said.
As Papuashvili leveled up his accusations, he claimed foreign donor organizations attempted a fifth revolution attempt- a “donors’ revolution” in 2023 amid protests against the Foreign Agents Law. He claimed the well-tested narrative that all GD wanted do when introducing the Agents’ law, was to increase the transparency of the donor money.
He also alleged that in 2023, the “baton of the revolutionary movement was directly taken up by foreign politicians and donors.” That’s why it was a foreign country’s Ambassador, he added, who first called the law – the “Russian law”.
He said the GD government “cooled things down” by temporarily dropping the bill, only to reintroduce it a year later, and “thus averted that attempt at revolution.” According to Papuashvili in 2023, “all foreign or internal actors” who would try to influence the 2024 elections, were “exposed.”
He claimed that the ruling party had to go through the 2024 pre-election campaign against a backdrop of “unprecedented foreign influence” adding: “We were told this would be a final struggle – all against one.” “This was to be a referendum”, he said, adding that GD had to counter the “collective UNM, big and small NGOs, activists, media workers, destructive party-affiliated TV channels, demonstrators who had undergone trainings, foreign donors and diplomats, with the expired and outgoing President in the lead.”
“This polarization was imposed on us by the West,” said GD parliament Speaker, noting that ultimately, the majority of voters made the right choice at the elections.
“We came to the paradox that today, violence walks the streets wrapped in an EU flag,” he said, adding: “Under such circumstances, the formula for victory is unity, strength, and faith in your country, your people, and your history.”
“The 10th Convocation of Parliament became a turning point when we made national interests the cornerstone of the country’s development, and wise action the guiding principle of political decision-making.”
“Today, we continue our work in service of our country’s interests. Unifying the nation and ensuring the prosperity of every citizen are our two main national goals. Any other objective, intention, and aspiration will be measured against these standards. May God guide us in this work,” Papuashvili concluded.
Also Read:
- 07/03/2025 – GD Parliament Speaker Papuashvili Accuses Foreign Partners of Political Meddling
- 22/02/2024 – Speaker Papuashvili Presents 2023 Report on Parliament’s Work
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