State Security Service Alleges Foreign-Funded Plot to Overthrow Georgian Government
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
According to a newly released report by Georgia's State Security Service (SSS), a group of individuals allegedly planned to provoke civil unrest and destabilization in the country with the ultimate goal of forcibly changing the government.
The report claims that these actions were coordinated both inside and outside Georgian territory and were financed by foreign sources. It accuses leaders of certain parliamentary and non-parliamentary political parties, as well as heads of non-governmental organizations, of managing the alleged operation.
The SSS states that the pretexts used to incite unrest included opposition to the controversial "Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence" and allegations of election rigging. The report also asserts that some Georgian citizens abroad, particularly fighters currently in Ukraine, were prepared to return and take part in violent confrontations with law enforcement in Georgia. Plans allegedly included the assassination of officials from the ruling party.
Authorities say the organizers aimed to replicate a scenario similar to Ukraine's 2014 Maidan protests, involving the blockage of key infrastructure in Tbilisi, including transport hubs, government buildings, and law enforcement bases. The report describes plans to erect tent cities and provoke violent clashes with police using pyrotechnics and Molotov cocktails, particularly by youth groups.
Additionally, the report claims that there were attempts to disrupt the presidential election scheduled for December 14, 2024, by escalating tensions around the Parliament building in hopes of causing casualties and blaming the government.
The SSS further alleges that protest organizers specifically targeted law enforcement officials for threats, bribery, and psychological manipulation, strategies the agency links to tactics used during so-called "color revolutions" aimed at undermining state authority.
