Georgia’s ruling party official calls on domestic opposition and NGOs to apologise over “Russian Law” campaign

Levan Machavariani, the First Deputy Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream faction in Parliament, said on Wednesday that opposition parties, well-funded NGOs, and what he described as “ultra-left, pseudo-liberal activists” should apologise to the overwhelming majority of Georgian society for what he called a campaign of insults, hatred, aggression, bullying, and branding people as “Russian” during the debate over Georgia’s transparency law, commonly referred to by critics as the “Russian law”.

In a social media message, Machavariani argued that, after apologising, these groups should ultimately withdraw from Georgian politics.

He said that discussions about reducing political polarisation must be accompanied by concrete actions.

According to Machavariani, the “proxy opposition”, NGOs aligned with it, and “ultra-left, pseudo-liberal activists” had repeatedly attacked the majority of society, contributing to deeper divisions in the country. He claimed these groups promoted narratives based on falsehoods at the direction of external actors and sought to convince the public that “black was white”. Those who rejected such narratives, he said, became targets of organised campaigns of condemnation, hatred, bullying, and insults.

Machavariani cited the transparency law as a key example.

He claimed that, in an effort to prevent the funding sources of figures such as Nino Lomjaria, Eka Gigauri, Baia Pataraia, and what he called “collective Sorosists” from becoming public, opposition parties and their supporters launched a campaign branding the legislation as a “Russian law.” According to him, the campaign, which he alleged was coordinated under the leadership of former US Ambassador Kelly Degnan, was marked by “unprecedented energy, ruthless aggression, and extreme hatred.”

He argued that while the campaign succeeded in misleading part of the public, those who questioned why transparency requirements for NGOs were being labelled “Russian” were often met with insults rather than answers. He further claimed that campaigners sought to discourage citizens from reading the legislation and examining its contents.

Machavariani also alleged that many people attended protests primarily to avoid being labelled “Russian sympathisers” on social media.

“I am sure many of you will remember, while reading this post, the psychological terror that you personally experienced”, he wrote.

He went on to accuse opposition parties, NGOs, and their supporters of spreading misinformation and manipulating public opinion online in an effort to protect what he described as “dark money”.

Machavariani recalled several claims that circulated during the debate over the law, including assertions that Georgia would “wake up in Chelyabinsk”, opposition media and NGOs would be banned, emigrants would no longer be able to send money home, students would lose access to educational funding, farmers would be unable to receive grants, and that questioning funding from USAID and NED would become unacceptable.

He argued that, two years later, none of those predictions had materialised. According to Machavariani, opposition media outlets and NGOs continue to operate, emigrants have faced no obstacles in transferring money, students have continued to receive funding for studies abroad, and farmers still receive grants and continue their work.

Addressing USAID and NED, Machavariani claimed that the current US administration had designated both organisations as criminal entities, alleging that evidence had emerged showing they financed “unhealthy processes, chaos, and revolutions” in Georgia and elsewhere. He further asserted that both organisations had subsequently been shut down.

“In short, over these two years, it was not proven that black was white”, he wrote.

Machavariani argued that the episode demonstrated a willingness among opposition parties and their allies to “trample on, humiliate, and psychologically destroy” citizens who refused to accept what he described as a fabricated narrative without question.

Returning to his broader argument about polarisation, he said that merely discussing the issue was insufficient and that concrete measures were required. He reiterated that opposition parties, wealthy NGOs, and “ultra-left, pseudo-liberal activists” should apologise to the majority of Georgian society for the “insults, hatred, aggression, bullying, and labelling people as Russian” that he said accompanied the campaign against the transparency law.

After offering such an apology, he added, they should leave politics altogether.

Machavariani concluded by saying it was important to remind the public of similar events from recent years so that Georgian society would remain vigilant and, in his words, never again allow “agents and ultra-left pseudo-liberals” to subject citizens to “psychological terror”.