Georgian Oligarch Ivanishvili Sanctioned, Protesters Form Human Chain Across Tbilisi

12/28/24

By: Daniel Miller

The United States Treasury Department has finally decided to impose sanctions against Georgian billionaire and oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and financier of the Georgian Dream party since 2011, and other party members. In 2013, he abdicated his position as Prime Minister after serving for almost thirteen months. Ivanishvili still serves as the country's de facto ruler, authorizing all of the decisions made by the now illegitimate ruling party.

The sanctions are likely to have a significant impact. They include frozen assets, transaction bans, travel restrictions — including family members, and financial restrictions. Individuals targeted have now lost access to the dollar system and U.S. financial institutions. Foreign and Georgian banks that conduct business with them risk losing access to corresponding banking services which would effectively isolate them from the rest of the global financial system. 

The Georgian Dream (GD) party rose to power in 2012 after Ivanishvili and its members positioned themselves as critics and reformers of the status quo. After his resignation, Ivanishvili soon encountered accusations of maintaining informal control over the government, much like the power grip Donald Trump kept over the Republican Party during Biden’s term in office. GD’s rise to prominence and continued rule has largely been due to its false promises to eventually integrate its economy with the European Union (EU), a position that up to 85% of the country supports. On November 28, 2024, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that the government would be waiting until later 2028 to begin talks of joining the EU and would not be accepting any grant money in the meantime. Hours later, tens of thousands of protesters assembled in front of Parliament in the capital city of Tbilisi, and thousands more protested across the country. 

The protests have been happening for 31 consecutive days in Tbilisi and other cities across the country with demands of new parliamentary elections, immediate EU integration, and the release of all political prisoners who have fallen victim to the brutal and violent crackdowns that have occurred since the announcement was made. Over 450 individual reports of human rights violations have been recorded, including the assault, intimidation, and obstruction of journalists trying to do their jobs. 

The morning after the announcement of sanctions on Ivanishvili, citizens in Tbilisi formed a human “Chain of Unity for Georgia” that stretched across the city, reminiscent of the Baltic Way on August 23, 1989, in which approximately two million people joined hands from Estonia to Lithuania, stretching 420 miles (675 kilometers). The planned event also saw signs castigating Ivanishvili, with some ordering him to leave the country. 

Here is a common sign I saw of Ivanishvili and Russian President Vladimir Putin I saw around various protests. Pictures of his mansion in Tbilisi can be found below as well: