Zourabichvili Warns Georgia Is a 'Testing Ground' for Russian Hybrid War
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, October 1, 2025
The 5th President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, said the country is facing attempts at isolation encouraged by Moscow and warned that hybrid warfare is undermining Georgian democracy. She made the remarks during a panel discussion on "The Struggle for Democratic Sovereignty in a Hostile Neighborhood" at the Warsaw Security Forum.
"One of the main problems that Georgia faces today is probably that it is a small country, which the ruling party of this country is trying to isolate, at the instigation of Moscow," Zourabichvili told participants.
She described the situation as a form of hybrid war in which Russia is using propaganda, cyberattacks, and election manipulation as tools. "Many people talk about peace in Georgia, but this is the usual old Soviet and now Russian propaganda, which talks about peace and makes war. We are facing a hybrid war in Georgia. As a rule, we are Russia's testing ground for how to try to revive the influence of Russian imperialism around it and beyond," she said.
According to Zourabichvili, the Kremlin is distorting democratic mechanisms to advance authoritarian control. "Hybrid war is their new tool, and they are trying it in Georgia, as in 1993 or 2008. To fight a hybrid war, which consists of everything: propaganda, cyberattacks, and election manipulation, they are using our own democratic tools. This is the distortion of democracy by totalitarianism," she stated, stressing the importance of strong civil resistance.
Zourabichvili highlighted the persistence of Georgia's civil society, noting that protests against government policies in Tbilisi have continued for more than 300 days. "Our struggle for stability, of course, is not the armed heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people, but it is very peaceful and without means, because we have no means, except for the resistance of civil society against the attacks that are taking place on all fronts, including the latest one, which the Russian leadership has developed against civil society and those people who have been protesting on the streets of Tbilisi for 308 days," she said.
The 5th President stressed that the demonstrators have maintained a non-violent approach. "Not only them, but also their families, parents and grandparents are being attacked, because until now nothing could have stopped these people from continuing to take to the streets of Tbilisi, to take a very peaceful stand. I would like to emphasize once again that during these 308 days, the protesters have not broken a single shop window," she noted.
She argued that internal resilience is not sufficient without external backing. "Civil stability within the country is not enough in today's world if there is no attention from the outside," she said.
Zourabichvili also cautioned against believing that Georgia's ruling party can be persuaded to return to a pro-European path. "When some of our partners think that they can work with the government to bring them back to the old pro-Western, pro-European path, this is an illusion. You cannot bring back a country or a ruling party that has gone so far into the arms of Russia, but you can help the population. You can protect the population," she told the audience.
She emphasized that Georgia's democratic future rests with its people, not its ruling elite. "Georgia is not lost, because Georgia is the population of Georgians, this is the population that is on the streets, and those who are not on the streets will come out tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, because the inner determination of the Georgian people to never return to Russian domination exists, is intact, and will not weaken," she said.
Concluding her remarks, Zourabichvili appealed for international solidarity. "What we need from you is attention, attention, attention, because this is the only protection against isolation. In a world of many crises, it is very difficult for a small country to exist on the international stage, and this is what we need, this is why I am here," she said.
