Fight Against Kremlin's Tentacles

The struggle of Georgians against the "Russian law" on foreign agents is immensely respected.

On April 9, 1989, the Georgian people came to Rustaveli Avenue, the main street of Tbilisi, demanding independence. The answer was Soviet tanks, gas, and sapper blades. And now, 35 years later, Georgia is rapidly drifting away from European values towards anti-democracy.

Like 35 years ago, today's struggle of the Georgian people against the "Russian law" on foreign agents commands immense respect. Having adopted the "best" practices from Russia, the authorities are trying to suppress the protests by force. But the Georgians know what they are fighting against, understand what they want to come to, and the truth is on their side.

This fight is not against the “foreign agent” label, which NGOs and civil society groups that receive part of their funding from abroad should use. This is a fight against the Kremlin's tentacles, which are ready to seize everything they can reach.

They are trying to persuade Georgians that the "Georgian Dream" is to be part of the "Russian world", a swamp without freedom and dignity. But those who go out these days on Rustaveli Avenue have another dream – about the European future, about independence, about progress. It cannot be washed off with a water cannon or suffocated with tear gas.

Leonid Nevzlin, Telegram