Russian graduate, oligarch and puppeteer - Bidzina Ivanishvili is considered the gray cardinal of Georgian politics, who is behind the controversial bill on "foreign agents". What goals does he pursue?
Despite mass demonstrations in support of the EU, criticism from the West and the veto of the country's president, the Georgian parliament passed the controversial law on "foreign agents". Critics say it copies Russian law and is essentially the same tactic used by the Kremlin to crack down on the opposition, civil society and independent media.
The law requires NGOs and individuals that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as "protecting the interests of a foreign power". The government says the bill aims to ensure transparency. But his opponents see in him a means of moving away from Europe and getting closer to Russia.
According to them, the founder of the ruling party "Georgian Dream" is behind the law. and its informal leader Bidzina Ivanishvili. As honorary chairman of the party, he has the unofficial power to elect prime ministers, approve new judicial appointments, and approve laws passed by parliament.
How did Ivanishvili get so much power?
"He leads a sterile and ascetic lifestyle. He is a recluse," Gia Huhashvili, Ivanishvili's former adviser and friend, told DV.
Ivanishvili was born in 1956 in the village of Chorvila in western Georgia. He enrolled to study at a university in the capital Tbilisi, after which he went to Moscow, where he defended his doctorate in economics. It was from the ruins of the Soviet Union that his rise began, which also turned him into a billionaire.
During the privatization that followed the fall of communism, Ivanishvili became a banking and metallurgical magnate. He also acquired 1% of the shares of Russian state-owned gas giant Gazprom, which he later claimed he sold before entering Georgian politics.
Ivanishvili left Russia in 2002, first moving to France, and in 2003 returning to Georgia. There is speculation that he left after seeing Putin start a showdown with some Russian oligarchs. "He understood that Putin would not let him run his business in peace," says Khukhashvili.
After returning to Georgia, Ivanishvili continued to engage in business, careful not to enter the spotlight. This changed when he founded the party "Georgian Dream" and ran for the parliamentary elections in 2012, which he won against his rival Mikheil Saakashvili. As prime minister, he remained for only one year, after which he retired from politics. Observers say he made the move to continue pulling strings behind the scenes.
Ivanishvili behind Georgia's pro-Western facade
Public opinion surveys show that more than 80% of Georgians support the country's further integration into the European Union. Anti-Kremlin sentiment is strong in Georgia, especially since Russia invaded Georgia in 2008.
Since being in power since 2012, the "Georgian Dream" has always officially claimed that it is for the country's accession to the EU and NATO, but the opposition accuses it of hidden pro-Russian positions.
Ivanishvili was able to attract allies who believed in Georgia's pro-Western course and believed that he had severed ties with Russia. "He said that he sold his assets in Russia and freed himself from the Russian grip," former Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili told DV. "We have always talked about Euro-Atlantic integration. At some point I stopped believing in her. I saw that we were moving in another direction. But voters thought they were still going to Europe," he adds.
After the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, representatives of "Georgian Dream" began to accuse Western representatives of wanting to involve Georgia in the war in Ukraine, opening a "second front". In April, Ivanishvili announced that a "global military party" backed by the West was interfering in Georgia's internal affairs and pushing it into conflict with neighboring Russia.
"Despite the promise made at the Bucharest summit in 2008, Georgia and Ukraine were not allowed to join NATO. All such decisions are made by the "global war party," which has a decisive influence on NATO and the European Union and sees Georgia and Ukraine only as cannon fodder," he said in his speech at the time.
Margvelashvili believes that the "foreign agents" bill, which targets Western-funded civil society and pro-European movements in Georgia, is entirely working for Putin. "Russia will be able to say: "Look at Georgia, they are trying to break away from us, but they are still coming back to Russia. No matter what you do today, you will return to Russia." This will resonate among Ukrainians as well," says the former Georgian president.
Sanctions, conspiracy theories and Credit Suisse disputes
After parliament passed the "foreign agents" bill, which critics say will put Georgia's pro-Western orientation at risk, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for sanctions against Ivanishvili. The US, traditionally one of Georgia's main strategic partners, introduced a ban on issuing visas to "Georgian Dream" collaborators because they "undermine democracy". in the country.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze recently stated that "unofficial sanctions" against Ivanishvili as a result of his ongoing battle with the Swiss bank "Credit Suisse" to freeze his assets worth 2 billion dollars.
"When you don't believe in democracy, the independence of institutions and the system of checks and balances, then conspiracy theories are the easiest way,' commented the former Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia for DV.
What is Ivanishvili afraid of?
Some of Ivanishvili's critics believe that the current illiberal turn is part of his strategy for political survival. If the pro-Western opposition wins parliamentary elections in October, Ivanishvili's wealth and position could be threatened.
"He is sacrificing his country's democracy and EU integration for his wealth and will use all his resources to retain power. Because only staying in power can guarantee his well-being," says Gaharia.
According to the former prime minister of the country, Ivanishvili will use the bill on "foreign agents" as a tool against the election observers so that the results can be manipulated.
"The problem now is how to hold fair elections. Ivanishvili fears two things: not getting the necessary legitimacy from Georgians if the elections are not recognized, and not being recognized internationally. If these two things are a fact in October, it's over," says Gaharia.