The document is subject to regular updates (Last updated: January, 2025).
Georgian politics has spent the past five years in a state of seemingly never-ending turmoil. Understanding everything that happens can be very difficult if you don’t even know the basic series of events. Often when researching such things on the internet, you will come across dozens of analytical articles written by journalists, politicians, or academics, but in amongst all the prose a simple knowledge of what happened and when can become cloudy.
June 2019 - Mass protests erupt outside Tbilisi’s parliament building on 20th June
after Communist Russian MP Sergei Gavrilov occupied the speaker’s chair in parliament while chairing the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy. Gavrilov is viewed as an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and supporter of Abkhaz and South Ossetian separatism. Protests turn violent with 240 people being injured, including 40 journalists, and the police resort to using tear gas and firing rubber bullets. Protesters demand the resignation of the speaker Kobakhidze, who duly resigns on Friday 21st June. President Zourabichvili condemns the action, calling it a ‘major crime’, but also hints that someone may have artificially organised the protest. On 24th June, the head of GD Bidzina Ivanishvili announces that the 2020 parliamentary elections would be held under a proportional system instead of in 2024, the date prescribed in the constitution, in line with protesters’ demands. Vladimir Putin signs a decree banning flights between Russia and Georgia.
26th June 2019 - The Georgian parliament strips United National Movement (UNM)
leader Nika Melia of his parliamentary immunity, charging him with inciting and participating in the 20th June protests. Opposition parties criticise the move as politically motivated.
8th July 2019 -Tbilisi Pride is cancelled after clerics and members of nationalist groups gathered in Tbilisi to prevent the rally from taking place. This came off the back of violence in 2013 when anti-LGBTQ+ protesters were allowed to break through a police cordon and then attacked gay rights activists.
18th July 2019 - The European Court of Human Rights upholds a March 2017 Georgian
Supreme Court ruling that transfers the ownership of Rustavi-2, then the country’s main opposition TV channel, to its previous owner Kibar Khalvashi who said that he had been forced to relinquish ownership of the channel after coming under pressure from authorities during Mikheil Saakashvili’s tenure as President. Director General Nika Gvaramia is fired.
20th August 2019 - Several prominent journalists from Rustavi-2 are fired by the channel’s
new Director General, Paata Salia, who said that the journalists were “in conflict with the interests” of the new owner, and accusing them of plotting to set up a rival TV station with former director general Nika Gvaramia. Opposition accuses GD forces of trying to muzzle criticism of the government.
8th November 2019 - Far-right groups protest in Tbilisi over the premiere of Georgia’s first
LGBTQ+ film, And Then We Danced.
November 2019 - Mass protests take place outside Georgia’s parliament on 14th
November after GD reneges on the promise made in June 2019 on introducing a proportional voting system four years earlier than planned (the current system favoured the ruling party). Protesters saw the move as a “power grab”, with 85% of people aware of the planned change supporting it. Police crackdown on the protests with water cannons as protesters attempt to blockade parliament on 26th November.
20th December 2019 - Facebook shuts down hundreds of accounts, pages and groups
revealed to be linked to GD which had been used to post about domestic Georgian politics, elections, government policies, and to criticise the opposition and local activist organisations.
8th March 2020 - GD and the opposition reach an agreement on electoral reform ahead of the 2020 parliamentary elections. The agreement stipulates that 120 seats would be elected proportionally, whereas 30 would be single mandate majoritarian constituencies. The reforms were officially adopted on 29th June 2020.
31st Oct - 21st November 2020 - GD wins the parliamentary election with 48%
of the vote and winning 90/150 seats in parliament, but the election was marred by irregularities. OSCE writes that there were ‘pervasive allegations of pressure on voters and blurring of the line between the ruling party and the state’, ‘the dominance of the ruling party in the election commissions negatively affected the perception of their impartiality and independence’, the framework for campaign financing ‘disadvantaged smaller and new parties’, the ‘diverse and pluralistic media were highly polarized, and there was little analytical reporting and policy-based discussion, detracting from the voters’ ability to make a fully informed choice’. Opposition UNM refuse to accept the result of the election and boycott parliament, plunging Georgia into a political crisis.
18th February 2021 - Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia resigns in protest at a decision to
arrest and detain UNM Chairman Nika Melia until trial, accused of organising mass violence during the 2019 protests. He was arrested on 23rd February. Irakli Gharibashvili is named as his replacement.
19th April 2021 - The EU brokers a deal between GD and some opposition parties to bring an end to the political crisis. The deal stipulates that new parliamentary elections would be held in 2022 if GD gets less than 43% of the vote in upcoming local elections, sets up rules for power sharing in government, and suggests reforms to the judicial system and the Central Election Commission. UNM refuse to sign the agreement, suggesting that they would do so if Nika Melia is released from prison. GD wins 47% of the vote in the October elections.
10th May 2021 - Nika Melia is released from pre-trial detention.
30th May 2021 - UNM announce that they will end their months-long boycott of parliament, but refuse to sign the EU-brokered 19th April deal.
June - July 2021 - Georgian Dream appoints six judges to the Supreme Court deemed to
be loyal to the party, attracting international condemnation and warnings that it may contravene the 19th April deal.
5th July 2021 - Tbilisi Pride is cancelled again after anti-LGBT groups attacked activists and around 60 journalists, and stormed the Tbilisi Pride headquarters, burning gay pride flags and ransacking the office. PM Gharibashvili had said it would be ‘inappropriate’ to hold a Pride march, arguing that it would be ‘unacceptable for a large segment of Georgian society’. The Georgian Orthodox Church also called on people to come out and oppose the rally. Cameraman Lekso Lashkarava is found dead on 11th July, reportedly as a result of injuries sustained during the violence. Subsequent protests call for Gharibashvili to resign, he dismisses the calls and alleges an ‘anti-state’ and ‘anti-church’ conspiracy. UNM vow to boycott parliament in protest at the government’s handling of the events.
28th July 2021 - GD tears up the 19th April deal and declares it “void”, blaming UNM for not signing up. Some opposition MPs say they will leave parliament and boycott elections.
2nd September 2021 - UNM announces that they will sign the 19th April agreement,
despite GD having declared it void.
1st October 2021 - Former President Mikheil Saakashvili is arrested after returning to
Georgia, reportedly in a shipping container, from eight years of self-imposed exile in Ukraine to avoid being sent to prison on charges he alleges are politically motivated. He then goes on a 50-day hunger strike. Saakashvili was convicted in absentia in 2018 for abuse of power and seeking to cover up evidence about the beating of an opposition member of parliament. UNM announces another parliamentary boycott on 2nd November to demand adequate protection for Saakashvili’s life and health in prison.
10th November 2021 - Hundreds of Saakashvili supporters rally outside government
buildings as the former president’s trial gets underway without him actually being present.
30th December 2021 - GD pushes through legislation to eliminate the State Inspector’s
Service, responsible for monitoring data protection and investigating abuse of power and human rights. There are concerns that the Service’s abolition is politically motivated, as it had begun to investigate the alleged torture and treatment of Saakashvili in prison.
31st January 2022 - UNM announces that they will end their on-and-off boycott of
parliament, citing the release of Saakashvili as their priority.
21st February 2022 - Saakashvili announces another hunger strike in protest at the
government refusing to provide him with adequate healthcare. He calls
it off on 10th March because of the massive escalation in Russia’s war on Ukraine.
24th February 2022 - Eight years after the first invasion, Russia launches a full-scale
invasion of Ukraine. Solidarity rallies of thousands of people take place all across Georgia, lasting for several days. The war puts GD in a very awkward position. The population demands the government do more to support Ukraine, but the government is nervous not to antagonise Russia. Georgia declines to join EU sanctions on Russia. Rallies gradually take on a distinctly anti-government tone. Visible signs of solidarity pop up all around Georgia, from flags, billboards, cars, graffiti, and even on ATMs.
1st March 2022 - Ukraine recalls its ambassador from Georgia amid increasing
impatience with the Georgian government’s perceived indifference and inaction to support Ukraine in the wake of the 24th February invasion. A plane that was supposed to carry Georgian volunteer fighters from Georgia to Poland is denied landing in Tbilisi on 28th February, angering Ukraine.
3rd March 2022 - Hot on the heels of Ukraine, Georgia applies for EU membership.
24th March 2022 - President Salome Zourabichvili is increasingly outspoken over the war
in Ukraine, demanding that the government do more to help Ukraine and angering GD. On 24th March 2022, GD announces they would take Zourabichvili to court for overstepping her constitutional duties.
16th May 2022 - Nika Gvaramia, the founder and director of TV channel Mtavari Arkhi Was Sentenced to 3.5 Years in Prison on Politically Motivated Charges. Earlier, the Public Defender had concluded that the criminal prosecution against Gvaramia (abuse of power and misappropriation of property) was legally unfounded.
6th February 2023 – The Speaker of the Parliament issued an order (1/31/23; 06-
02-2023) on “On Approval of the Rules of Accreditation of Representatives of Mass Media in the Parliament of Georgia”.
14th February 2023 – People’s Power, a political group that is part of the ruling
team, announced initiating the bill “On Transparency of Foreign Influence", so-called "Agent's/Russian law".
20th February 2023 - Media organizations launched a protest against the bill. Soon
after, 260 civil society organizations issued a joint statement calling the bill
a “Russian law.”
7-10th March 2023 - The bill “On Transparency of Foreign Influence” was passed
in the first reading on March 7. Amid mass protests, the ruling majority was
forced to vote down the bill on March 10.
19th June 2023 - The Supreme Court upheld the prison sentence of Nika Gvaramia,
co-founder and general director of Mtavari Arkhi TV.
22th June 2023 – Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili signed the act of pardoning
Nika Gvaramia.
18-19th October 2023 – The ruling Georgian Dream party registered amendments to
the Law on Broadcasting related to the regulation of hate speech. The Georgian Parliament fast-tracked amendments to the Law on Broadcasting in the third reading, moving hate speech and obscenity from the realm of self-regulation to that of regulation. The amendments further expand the powers of the Georgian National Communications Commission.
8th November 2023 - The European Commission recommended that Georgia be
granted EU candidate status.
14th December 2023 – The European Council decided to grant Georgia candidate
status.
3th April 2024 - The Georgian Dream initiated the reintroduction of the “Agent’s Law,” which sparked mass protests and harsh criticism both domestically and internationally.
15th April 2024 - Georgian Dream registered amendments to the Tax Code, known as the Offshore Law (N: 07-1/31/10).
7th May 2024 - The European Court of Human Rights ruled in the case "Tsava and Others v. Georgia" that Article 3 of the Convention's procedural aspect had been violated, citing ineffective criminal investigations. This case pertained to the violent dispersal of protests during the so-called “Gavrilov Night” (June 20-21, 2019), in front of the Georgian Parliament, where more than 30 journalists were injured.
14th May 2024 - Despite mass protests and international criticism, the ruling party adopted the “Agent’s Law” under the title “Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence” in its third reading (N: 07-3/435/10).
28th May 2024 - After overcoming the President's veto on the "Agent's Law," the bill was signed by Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili.
29th May 2024 - Georgia’s Parliament fast-tracked amendments to the Tax Code (N: 07-1/31/10), allowing tax exemptions for companies registered offshore if they transferred their assets to a company registered in Georgia.
4th June 2024 - The ruling party registered a censorship and homophobic bill (N: 07-3/446/10) titled "On Family Values and the Protection of Minors."
6th June 2024 - The U.S. Department of State imposed visa sanctions on several dozen individuals responsible for or complicit in the "Agent’s Law."
15th July 2024 - President Salome Zurabishvili filed a lawsuit (Case N: 1828) with the Constitutional Court, requesting the annulment of the "Agent's Law."
17th July 2024 - NGOs and media organizations (122 plaintiffs in total) filed a lawsuit (Case N: 1829) with the Constitutional Court, seeking to declare the "Agent’s Law" unconstitutional.
31th July 2024 - Members of Georgia’s Parliament (38 MPs in total) filed a lawsuit (Case N: 1834) with the Constitutional Court, seeking to declare the "Agent’s Law" unconstitutional.
4th September 2024 - The deadline for registering under the "Agent's Law" in the Foreign Agents Registry expired. Only two media organizations registered.
16th September 2024 - The U.S. Department of State announced another round of targeted sanctions.
17th September 2024 - Parliament adopted the so-called censorship law, "On Family Values and the Protection of Minors," amending 18 existing laws, including the Freedom of Speech and Expression Act, the Broadcasting Act, and the Higher Education Act, etc.
19th October 2024 - LLC "Information Centers Network" and NGO "Studio Monitor" filed a lawsuit (Case N: 1837) with the Constitutional Court, seeking to declare the "Agent’s Law" unconstitutional.
4th October 2024 - The Constitutional Court admitted certain claims regarding the "Agent’s Law" for substantive review. However, it rejected motions to suspend the disputed provisions until a final decision was reached.
17th October 2024 - A claim against the "Agent’s Law" was filed with the European Court of Human Rights (ECoHR), led by the Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA). The plaintiffs included 16 media organizations, 120 NGOs, and four individuals.
26th October 2024 - Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia.
14th November 2024 - The European Court of Human Rights (ECoHR) registered the case against the "Agent’s Law."
27th November 2024 - Georgian Dream nominated Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former footballer and leader of the anti-Western political party “People’s Power,” as their presidential candidate. Notably, "People’s Power" authored the initial draft of the "Agent’s Law" in 2023.
28th November 2024 - Georgian Dream leader Irakli Kobakhidze announced that the ruling party had suspended EU accession negotiations until 2028. Decision led to massive protests in Georgia.
12th December 2024 - The U.S. Department of State announced further targeted sanctions.
13th December 2024 - Georgian Dream’s Parliament passed a legislative package on its third reading, introducing more repressive measures under amendments to the Administrative Offenses Code and the Public Service Law.
19th December 2024 - The U.S. Department of State announced another round of targeted sanctions, paralleled by sanctions imposed by the United Kingdom on high-ranking Georgian Dream officials.
20th December 2024 - The European Commission proposed suspending visa-free travel for holders of Georgian diplomatic passports and their family members.
27th December 2024 - The U.S. Department of State sanctioned Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of Georgian Dream and an oligarch.
29th December 2024 - The inauguration of Georgian Dream's chosen president, Mikheil Kavelashvili, was held.
29th December 2024 - The newly appointed president by Georgian Dream, Mikheil Kavelashvili, signed the repressive laws into effect.
31th December 2024 - Germany’s Foreign Ministry imposed visa sanctions on nine individuals directly responsible for violence against activists and opposition members. Additionally, the Weimar Triangle countries issued a joint statement regarding ongoing events in Georgia.
12th January, 2025 - well-known journalist and director of the newspaper Batumelebi and online publication Netgazeti, Mzia Amaglobeli, was arrested and charged under Article 353¹, Paragraph 1 of the Georgian Criminal Code.
Our special acknowledgments to Patrick Norén: While delving into the complexities of recent Georgian politics during his work with Media Voice, Patrick Norén, Research Fellow, compiled a detailed timeline of key events in Georgia’s democratic landscape from 2019 to 2021. Since then, the document has been regularly updated. Each date in the timeline includes a link to an online source, allowing readers to explore further details about the events.
We hope this will be a useful resource for anyone who is looking into issues of democratic backsliding, electoral reform, human rights, media and society, or Georgian politics in general.
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