Givi Chanukvadze: “We have never seen in Georgia these amounts of people ready to openly say ‘no’ to Russia”

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“In terms of the protests and the amount of people that we see, I should say that for Georgia to have around 300,000 people coming out in the streets – it's unprecedented. We've never seen in Georgia these amounts of people being ready to openly say no to Russia and this is about that. The idea is that it's not only about Russian law and we all understand that this is just a component of a bigger strategy of a larger picture that we've been seeing especially after 2012.

I think we should see these particular developments in the big picture. The Russian law, so-called law about foreign agents – it's one aspect of a bigger problem that Georgia has been facing historically and since its independence. We know that, we've been fighting our northern neighbour for generations so this is nothing new for any of us.

We know exactly with whom we are fighting. The realisation that Georgia is in its existential phase is clear. However, the government propaganda is still working very well and many things should be done on that front in order to counter those narratives that are coming from government propaganda channels” – says the guest of the new episode of the “(un)Safe Country” podcast.

What is the attitude of the active part of Georgian citizens and what is the current situation of the country's authorities?

In the new episode of the (Un)Safe Country podcast, its permanent host Alina Frolova talks to Givi Chanukvadze, an international development expert and associate professor at Ilia State University in Tbilisi. The conversation covers the latest developments in Georgia, high civic activity, Georgian attitudes towards Russians, manipulations on the topic of the war with Russia, the influence of the Georgian Orthodox Church, and possible scenarios for the future of Georgia.