Georgia's Nightly Protests: A Year of Defiance Against Authoritarianism

Thu Nov 27 2025 10:55:36 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Despite a year of governmental crackdowns and a halt in EU accession talks, thousands of Georgians continue to stage nightly protests in Tbilisi, defending their democratic ideals and European aspirations.

A year after Georgia's EU membership aspirations were halted, protests persist in Tbilisi as citizens fight against oppressive government policies and seek to uphold democracy. Even amidst increased arrests and harsh penalties for dissent, demonstrators remain resilient, underscoring the nation's complex relationship with Russia and the EU. Leading voices from the protests express their hopes for a future aligned with European values, even as efforts to silence opposition escalate.

I'm standing for the future of this country, says Giorgi Arabuli, who has taken part in protests on the streets of Georgia's capital Tbilisi almost every night since they began a year ago.

Mass demonstrations were met with violent police crackdowns as tens of thousands of Georgians turned out, angered by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze's decision on 28 November 2024 to call a four-year halt on moves towards joining the EU.

I'm from the generation of the 1990s. I've seen those dark times after the civil war, said Giorgi. Most of it was caused by Russian influence in a post-Soviet country. We don't want to go back there.

Since then Georgians have seen a dismantling of democracy, in the words of governments across Europe, and it has prompted accusations of Russian-style rule.

On the streets, the protests have evolved into a grinding war of attrition.

For months, Tbilisi's main Rustaveli Avenue was blocked for a few hours every evening. New laws and a heavy police presence forced the protesters to adapt, marching through adjacent streets and facing nightly arrests.

The Georgian Dream government has imposed massive fines for blocking roads, slapped criminal charges on young protesters and most recently pushed through a law allowing up to 14 days' imprisonment for a first offence of blocking traffic.

Freedom for regime prisoners, reads a large banner carried towards the nearby Supreme Court.

The belief that Georgia's government is acting in Russia's interest is widespread among pro-Europeans here. They point to the ruling party's billionaire founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili, who made his fortune in Russia in the 1990s; legislation mirroring Russian laws targeting civil society; the government's refusal to impose sanctions on Moscow over Ukraine and increasingly hostile anti-Western rhetoric.

Despite the government's growing repression, demonstrators persist in their fight for democracy and European integration, refusing to be silenced by fear.