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In Berlin and Brussels, Georgians Fight for Their European Future

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In the center of the German capital, the 18th-century landmark, the Brandenburg Gate, is more than just a tourist attraction. Standing amid German government institutions, it’s also a popular spot for protests. Over the last few months, Georgian flags flapped around the monument’s pillars. People from Georgia, a country in the South Caucasus that borders Russia, demonstrated against their government, its drift away from the European Union, and its fierce repression of a popular uprising in their country. 

Natia, a young film critic who recently moved to Germany, attended the protests in Berlin to stand up for freedom and justice back home.

Georgia’s European future is written into the country’s constitution. However, the Russian-aligned ruling Georgian Dream party has recently turned its back on the country’s European path. They’ve done so even though around 80 percent of the population backs EU membership.  

“We just want to defend ourselves,” Natia explains. 

Georgians and their local allies take part in a human chain for Georgia. Photo by Gia Gagoshidze.

An unwelcome shift away from Europe

On November 28, 2024, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced his government was suspending the country’s membership application to join the European Union until at least 2028. Many Georgians, especially young people living in major cities, were horrified. 

Since then, Georgians have taken to the streets across the country. Many believe that the government has no legitimacy and is hanging onto power illegally.

Irregularities mired the elections that took place in October last year. The government also passed a controversial foreign agents’ law in the months leading up to the election. The bill mimics Russian legislation that Moscow has used to silence civil society organizations and independent activists critical of the government. Activists in Georgia say their government passed a similar law to crack down on dissent.

Rigged elections, repressive laws, and the government’s decision to shift the country away from Europe have been enough to mobilize hundreds of thousands of people in Georgia. The last few months have been colored by a near-constant arm-wrestling between Georgia’s pro-European population and its increasingly pro-Russian government. Tensions escalated after the government’s announcement on November 28. Those tensions have also played out in international cities like Berlin and Brussels, where a sizable Georgian diaspora lives. 

An “existential moment” for Georgians everywhere

Fearful for their country’s future, the Georgian diaspora kicked into action to make its voice heard in dozens of countries. Many Georgians living in the European Union are especially committed to their country’s European future. They know the benefits of living in the EU. They also know life would be much more challenging under pro-Russian, authoritarian leadership. 

Aware of the city’s importance for their country’s European future, Georgians in Brussels marched in front of Europe’s most important institutions. Lucas Ablotia, a Georgian journalist and LGBTQ activist exiled in Brussels, said he couldn’t watch the news without acting. 

“Everyone left, right, and center, even communists and capitalists, were together,” Ablotia tells Lazo Magazine. Ablotia noted that everyone felt a sense of unity because they faced an “existential moment” together. 

Many Georgians at home also felt hope when their compatriots protested around the world and brought their demands to Europe’s power centers.

Pointing “the way” to Europe

According to Gaga Gogoladze, a Berlin-based activist from Georgia, the first protests against Georgia’s October elections took place in Germany’s capital. Gogoladze and his friend Giorgi Kakabadze, a PhD researcher based in Berlin since 2021, are two of the co-founders of the pro-European Georgisches Zentrum im Ausland (GZA, the Georgian Centre Abroad), a collective of Europe-based Georgian civil activists. 

When thousands of pro-European Georgians decided to make a human chain in Tbilisi, activists in more than 40 countries followed suit. The GZA activists organized a human chain near the Russian embassy in Berlin.

GZA, which organized protests around the Brandenburg Tor, has become the backbone of pro-European Georgians in the German capital.

The organization’s acronym also means “the way” in Georgian. Kakabadze says it’s supposed to point the way to Europe.

The activists say GZA has served as an alternative embassy in Berlin. Through engaging with German media, politicians, and members of the public, GZA began discussions about Georgia that the official embassy wasn’t willing to have. Gogoladze and Kakabadze say that many people still see Georgia through a post-Soviet lens, with all its accompanying clichés.

“People never updated [their view of Georgia],” explains Gogoladze. 

Russian-led disinformation continues to describe Georgia as a country within the Kremlin’s orbit. That is why, for Kakabadze, one of GZA’s most essential endeavors is the fight against Russian propaganda. 

GZA began approaching German politicians, particularly representatives in the Bundestag. At first, it was sometimes difficult to generate interest in Georgia. Yet, in the wake of the pro-European protests, many of Germany’s four big pro-European political parties expressed renewed interest in the country.

Georgia is “not just food, drinks, and dances,” Kakabadze stresses. “It also has European values and people.”

A fight against apathy

Georgians abroad who try to bring attention to their country’s fight for its European future often face a recurring question: Who cares about a small country in the Caucasus? 

Facing this lack of interest and the persistent stereotypes about the post-Soviet space, many Georgians have lost interest in speaking out. Some have internalized the belief that no one cares about their country.

But Gogoladze and Kakabadze remain determined to do this delicate work. They engage with people directly and try to break through defeatism and apathy. 

“It also matters for Europe,” stress the two GZA co-founders. They are trying to warn people that Russian influence and meddling can impact countries across the continent. 

“It already happened, much faster than we thought,” says Gogoladze, pointing to recent cases of Russian interference in countries like Moldova and Romania. 

Many in the Georgia diaspora believe their commitment to a European and democratic future can revive hope in the European Union. That’s especially important when democracy feels fragile everywhere.

“We are almost the only hope in the world to democratize and renew things,” concludes Ablotia, the Brussels-based activist. “Because we see almost everywhere that democracy deteriorates.”


Paul Mazet is a French freelance journalist based in Berlin, where he reports on the local impacts of international developments. He studied history, international relations, and social sciences in Toulouse, Glasgow, Paris, Dublin, and Berlin.

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