Thread by @tweet4Anna_NAFO

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Georgia is fighting for its future — and Russia is terrified.

If Moscow loses Tbilisi, it loses far more than a former Soviet republic. It loses its grip on the Black Sea, the Caucasus, and the dream of empire.

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For 310+ days, Georgians have defied water cannons, arrests, and repression — fighting for Europe and against a Kremlin-backed regime clinging to power.

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On Oct. 4, as local elections took place — boycotted by most opposition parties — central Tbilisi erupted. Protesters waved Georgian, EU and Ukrainian flags, denounced the vote as a “Russian special operation” and demanded an end to “Russian Dream.”

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The govt answered with violence.

▪️Riot police used water cannons mixed with chemicals & pepper spray.
▪️Protesters were beaten & detained.

Yet the protests surged forward toward the presidential palace.

4/14

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“There were a lot of people, then suddenly gas was released. It became hard to breathe. People started running, and police were arresting everyone,” recalls Irakli.

Authorities opened criminal cases accusing protesters of attempting to “overthrow state power.”

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Behind the police lines, the regime shows its fear.

PM Irakli Kobakhidze threatened protesters w/ a “strict response” & blamed “foreign actors” — including the EU ambassador — for the unrest.

Bidzina Ivanishvili stuttered & froze when pressed about UK sanctions

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“I want Georgian Dream to go. I want my country back,” says Ia, 21, dressed in black with a helmet and gas mask.
“I want my friends, illegally imprisoned, to be free.”

Her words echo across Freedom Square: this fight is not just political — it’s existential.

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In Tbilisi, students who gathered on the Metekhi Bridge and were preparing a statement to present tomorrow, October 4, on the day of municipal elections, were beaten. In the video, activist and member of the student movement Igor Narmania is seen covered in blood

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The leaders & co-organizers of the protest, members of the opposition, M. Zodelava & I. Nadiradze were arrested.

Nadiradze's last words were to his children: "Know that dad did nothing wrong, dad fought & will continue to fight for the freedom of this country."

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The police subjected "Radio Tavisupleba" journalist Giorgi Diasamidze to physical and verbal abuse.

— "I am media, I am a journalist"
— Police officer: "So what if you are a journalist?"

Video: Formula

10/14

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Zelenskyy: “We cannot allow a Russian-controlled mafia in Georgia to steal the country’s European future.”

He urges the EU to pressure oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili & his allies, warning that losing even one European country would endanger the whole continent.

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The U.S. has joined the EU in targeting Georgia’s pro-Kremlin elite. Washington imposed new visa bans on ~20 officials, while Zelensky signed sanctions against Ivanishvili and others “betraying the country to Russia.”

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It’s a dramatic fall for a country once seen as a frontrunner in the “Associated Trio” with Ukraine and Moldova.

If Tbilisi turns away from Europe now, it will embolden Moscow and weaken the EU’s vision for the Black Sea region.

📽 Tata Chemia

13/14

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Opposition leaders are behind bars. The regime is reinforcing parliament and promising “surprises.”

This fight is bigger than Georgia — it’s about the future of democracy on Russia’s doorstep.

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