Do Georgia’s Ongoing Protests Have Anything in Common with Ukraine’s Maidan?

The Kyiv Post spoke with protesters and journalists from Tbilisi who are directly on the scene and analyzed the situation in Georgia.

Protests in the country have been ongoing since late October, following the discovery of massive fraud in the parliamentary elections. While the protests resumed with mass demonstrations on Nov. 28, the situation escalated on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 after the police violently dispersed protesters, beating people severely. This marked the move to a more violent phase of the protests.

For many, the situation is reminiscent of the start of Ukraine’s Euromaidan - a series of spontaneous protests that evolved into a popular uprising against the pro-Russian regime of President Viktor Yanukovych. In Ukraine, protests erupted after he refused to sign the long-promised Association Agreement with the EU. In Georgia, they began after the head of the country's pro-Russian government publicly announced that European integration processes would be frozen until 2028.

These scenes are strikingly similar to those of the Ukrainian Maidan. It’s hard to distinguish whether the images are from Georgia or Ukraine.

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Water cannons and security forces are beating protesters mercilessly, but they refuse to disperse, instead setting off fireworks at police lines.

“We have already dubbed it the ‘Fireworks Revolution.’ Pyrotechnics have become the primary means of countering police assaults among the protesters. I have never seen such quantities of fireworks, even during national holidays,” journalist Khatia Khasaya told us.

“Yes, the surge occurred precisely after the government announced that European integration was being frozen. Many Georgians, who understand that otherwise the country faces isolation, see joining the European community as their future. Moreover, the government making this announcement is illegitimate,” one observer from a Georgian humanitarian organization said.

However, while there are similarities with the Ukrainian Maidan, there are also key differences.

Is This Already a Revolution?

The first similarity is that young people, particularly students, are leading the protests. During Ukraine's Euromaidan, students were the driving force behind the movement. The same is happening here.

“Private universities have suspended classes: Caucasus University, Georgian University, GIPA, Sulhan-Saba Orbeliani University, and BTU. A protest statement was also made by Ilia State University, as well as the Agrarian University of Georgia and the Free University of Tbilisi,” says Khasaya.

Journalists in Georgia add that many schools have joined the protests. Furthermore, there is growing anticipation this will be followed by strikes among factory and office workers.

“It would greatly help the protest if workers joined in. It would expand its base, apply pressure on the economy, and force the authorities to make compromises,” Nini Kilia, an active participant in the protests said.

The second similarity is the resilience of the protesters. Both in Georgia and Ukraine, despite violent crackdowns by police, the number of protesters increased daily.

“In recent years, we have seen the most severe crackdowns on protesters, with unprecedented brutality. Videos showing people being beaten - even as they hide in subways or pharmacies - have sparked outrage. After each dispersal, the anger and sense of injustice grow. In the spring, we sang songs and played ball at protests; now, people are building barricades and storming parliament,” Khasaya said.

One protester, speaking anonymously, said the police are tracking activists through social media and targeting them at home if they post anti-government sentiments.

“There have been cases where homes were raided, and one woman was detained at the kindergarten where she dropped off her child,” an activist told Kyiv Post.

The third similarity lies in the demands: a return to European integration, a rejection of a pro-Russian course, and a reset of the government. In Ukraine, the demand was for the resignation of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov’s government. In Georgia, it is for new parliamentary elections due to concerns about the legitimacy of the recent results.

“Re-elections to parliament are crucial, and it is equally important that these elections are fair. President Salome Zurabishvili has stated that she will not resign until there is a legitimate parliament,” says Kilia.

Isn't It a Revolution Already?

Despite the similarities, key differences exist between the Georgian protests and Ukraine’s Maidan.

An important detail is the gender composition. While young men were the mainstream of the movement on the Maidan, women are playing an important role in the protests in the center of Tbilisi. For example, this protester who recorded police fire under the blasts of a water cannon is a woman!

But this is the last good point. Others are not so good for Georgians.

The most significant is the lack of centralized coordination.

“Honestly, everything here is spontaneous. The parliamentary opposition is afraid to take the lead. In Ukraine, opposition leaders coordinated the movement. Here, we gather at the central square. No one says, ‘I’m the leader; here’s our plan for tomorrow’,” says one activist.

"Opposition is not going to enter the parliament, secondly, opposition supporting the president, the only legitimate institution left in the country, and opposition helps people fighting on the streets. Protests weak the police forces cause not the whole police ready to make violence against the nation", - Elene Khoshtaria, the leader of the oppositional DROA party told Kyiv Post.

Another major difference is the absence of a physical “anchor” or “core” for the protest, such as Ukraine’s tent city that formed on Maidan. In Georgia, attempts to establish a similar camp outside parliament have been disorganized and ineffective.

“We’re trying to set up a tent city, but it’s poorly organized, and we haven’t even managed to block the main street. There is hope students will maintain a presence 24/7,” says Kilia.

Additionally, many Georgian TV channels have avoided covering the protests, in stark contrast to Ukraine, where every major network streamed live coverage of the Maidan.

Georgia’s Prospects

The protesters have achieved at least one victory: public television, under pressure for its pro-government stance, has started airing coverage of the protests.

“Finally, this happened. Now everyone is awaiting the resignation of the Public Television leadership,” says Khasaya.

The protests in Georgia are only a week old, and they have transitioned into a “hot stage” much faster than Ukraine's protests did. It’s too early to predict the outcome. However, unless Georgian protesters establish organized structures to sustain the movement, the state could exploit this lack of coordination in its efforts to suppress them.