Rusudan Shelia

Bidzina Ivanishvili is not Georgian in essence or nature, and he has nothing in common with the Georgian consciousness. He possesses neither spiritual nor moral-ethical standards and is completely devoid of basic values, faith, and empathetic understanding. He has nothing to do with ideals, the concept of mutual respect, or the ideas of equality and solidarity. He lacks the characteristic signs of humanity that, as a nation, have carried us through a thousand historical battles and keep us alive to this day (we, Georgians, believe this). He smiles when Georgians sacrifice themselves for the independence of the country. For Ivanishvili, it is incredibly difficult to believe that up to 4 million people aspire to govern an independent and, moreover, European-minded state. He is not a rational ruler too who acts with logic, analysis, and facts. Everything around Ivanishvili boils down to a simple formula: to dominate the already weakened and morally bankrupt individuals, thereby bolstering his own power. He is "strong" against the weakest citizens of Georgia—the elderly and children—whose daily struggle is to escape hunger. He is "strong" in the company of immoral people, where morality is often discussed to cover up their own failings. Ivanishvili has even ordered prominent figures in Georgia's LGBTQ+ community to conduct a discriminatory campaign against sexual minorities; he "defends" the so-called Georgian manhood through the most cowardly means.

The irony of this tragic picture is that Ivanishvili revealed all of this to us on April 29, 2024, through his own words. If anyone had doubts before or failed to see the direct connections between certain events—or even chose to blind themselves to the truth—there was, admittedly, a small but significant space for this, on April 29, Bidzina Ivanishvili spat his naked truth in our faces. He spat on us and began to act. He unleashed animals dressed as police on the streets to mercilessly beat young people of his children's age. These specially trained so-called law enforcement officers have repeatedly carried out Ivanishvili's personal orders over the past seven months, using all their contempt to beat those citizens who do not obey their master.

But Where are the leaders of the opposition parties at this time? Where are the representatives of the civil sector? Why have people been gathering on Rustaveli for three days, soaked in the blood of citizens, through self-organization? When will the political elite stop ignoring the public's demands? Why has the protection of brutally beaten citizens still failed to unite these four parties? How long must we endure Giorgi Gakharia's analytical digressions when his voters are demanding political courage and real decisions from him? Should we thank him only for periodically posting photos from rallies to confirm his presence? When will Nika Gvaramia emerge from his false complacency, believing he represents the number one opposition party? When everyone knows, and likely better than we do, that he understands his votes are solely due to his association with Mikheil Saakashvili. Do "Akhali" voters trust Nika Gvaramia and Nika Melia as independent political leaders, or merely as Mikheil Saakashvili's former lawyer and former chairman of the National Movement? Do any of them have the political courage to confront this reality? If they don’t, what are they doing for opposition unity? Where are the members of the National Movement, including those who left the party? Why are they now silent observers of these processes? Has the former ruling party completely fallen under the influence of only Giorgi Vashadze? When will Mamuka Khazaradze stop making ambiguous statements and actually use his resources to help the political process?

Whether we like it or not, whether we want it or not, and whether it suits our ambitions or egos, the fact is that after the arrest of former President Mikheil Saakashvili, the balance in the political field of Georgia was completely disrupted, giving Ivanishvili carte blanche to act confidently. Of course, Mikheil Saakashvili was a tool in Ivanishvili's hands to threaten people with the prospect of his return to power, but the political weight of the former president also posed a personal threat to Ivanishvili. For the last three years, the political process has been in a state of complete imbalance. Bidzina Ivanishvili has become convinced that no matter what crimes he commits against the country and the people, the opposition—divided and driven by its own ego—and the public protest left without political leaders will never pose a threat to him. On the contrary, his ideal scenario is to create the illusion of multi-partyism in the country, knowing that when the moment of testing arrives, none will be able to resist him. Didn’t this become clear after the recent stolen elections? I’m not even mentioning the serious "mistakes" (I use quotation marks intentionally, and the time to discuss this will come soon) the opposition parties made before the elections.

Yes, everything looks better from the outside than one might imagine, so the responsibility for how this turning point in saving Georgia's future will unfold—who will play what role in its management and results—will undoubtedly be shared among other actors, along with Bidzina Ivanishvili. Today, the question of Georgia's existence as an independent state is at stake, and without coordinated, unified action from the opposition, the Georgian people will be unable to win this battle alone due to the very tyrannical qualities of Bidzina Ivanishvili that I have outlined at the begining.