GEORGIA: UK Sanctions & more – 26th Feb 2026

Gamarjobat from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Georgia Update from the 26th of February twenty twenty-six. A quick summary of what's going down in Georgia.

On Tuesday, the 24th, the UK sanctioned Georgian TV channels Imedi and POSTV. The UK identifies both outlets as organizations that spread Russian disinformation. British officials point to the channels' constant efforts to undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty by spreading false stories about President Zelenskyy and how the West and Ukraine want to destabilize Georgia.

These sanctions freeze the broadcasters' bank accounts and assets. British companies must now stop providing advertising or technical services to these channels. This move blocks the stations from the British financial system. Some weeks before, the previous owner of IMEDI, Irakli Ruckhadze, sold the channel for a symbolic sum of 1,000 Lari - 350 dollars. He was likely aware of the upcoming sanctions and the damage they would have done to the rest of his business.

Next up. On Wednesday, the 18th, Georgian authorities released Gogi Bachiashvili from prison following a surprise plea agreement. Bachiashvili, a former top ally of ruling party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, was sentenced to nine years for defrauding Ivanishvili out of hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of cryptocurrency, a charge he previously denied. The Prosecutor General’s Office confirmed that Bachiashvili admitted guilt, paid for damages and received a suspended sentence and fines.

The agreement also ends the criminal prosecution against Bachiashvili’s parents. Previously, Bachiashvili said the charges were politically motivated and reported being beaten in prison to force him to hand over his bank details. After the beating accident, the director of the prison was found dead under suspicious circumstances.

Speaking of fraud and crypto. On Wednesday, the 18th, police detained journalist Eliso Kiladze in Tbilisi on charges of fraud and money laundering. The Prosecutor General’s Office names her as a member of a criminal ring led by Otar Partskhaladze, Georgia’s disgraced former Prosecutor General. Authorities say the group ran several fraudulent call centers that scammed international victims out of ten million dollars in cryptocurrency between twenty twenty and twenty twenty-three.

Investigators specifically accuse Kiladze of using her news outlets to protect the business. They say she publicly presented the scam centers as legitimate companies to hide their crimes. They also allege she blackmailed rival call centers by threatening to expose their locations in her reports unless they submitted to Partskhaladze's influence. While Kiladze denies the charges as a government fabrication, Partskhaladze remains in hiding in Russia.

On Monday, the 23rd, Kaja Kallas, the EU foreign policy chief, confirmed that she is pushing for the total withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgia as part of broader peace talks with Moscow. During a meeting of EU foreign ministers, Kallas revealed a strategic document outlining Europe's firm conditions for long-term security. She insists that any deal regarding Ukraine must also force Russia to leave the occupied territories in Georgia and Moldova. Kallas says that these demands create a necessary balance against Russia’s unrealistic territorial ambitions.

On Sunday, the 22nd, the government introduced new employment restrictions for foreigners without permanent residency in Georgia. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze issued a decree that sets annual quotas for specific jobs. Starting on the 1st of March, the government effectively bans these individuals from working as couriers, drivers, or tour guides by setting their employment quota to zero. Couriering jobs were particularly popular among foreigners.

The new rules apply to both employees and self-employed foreigners across the country. While most tourism and delivery sectors face a total ban, the decree allows a small exception for specialized roles. The government set a yearly limit of 200 people for those working as mountain, alpine, or ski guides.

On Wednesday, the 18th, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said in a parliamentary speech that the government must revise the social assistance database. He said that over 700,000 people receive monetary assistance, but a recent analysis showed that 8% of them are actually well-off. That’s 56,000 people.

Kobakhidze said that poverty fell from 30% in twenty twelve to 9% in twenty twenty-four due to rapid increase in the money supply. He blamed the outdated database on a moratorium that has been active since twenty twenty and now plans to remove ineligible recipients from the system.

In the same speech, Kobakhidze blamed liberal ideology and LGBT propaganda for Georgia’s declining birth rates. He said that the births of first- and second-born children dropped by nearly half between twenty fourteen and twenty twenty-four. He said that economic hardship does not cause this decline, since poorer countries, such as those in Africa, do not have the same problem.

He talked about the steps the government took against fighting liberal ideology, like banning LGBT propaganda and gender-affirming medical treatment. He said that the government's aim is to raise birth rates by supporting a more nationalistic worldview.

On Monday, the 23rd, the American outlet The Hill published an opinion piece by Georgia’s imprisoned third president, Misha Saakashvili. He writes that the Trump administration should be cautious when dealing with Georgia’s current leadership, adding that while the U.S. has seen recent diplomatic success in Armenia and Azerbaijan, it must not give the oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili a free pass.

Saakashvili says that Ivanishvili is lobbying hard to remove U.S. sanctions while running Georgia as a personal fiefdom. He describes a country in crisis, noting that he is in his fifth year of confinement while other opposition leaders and protesters face mass arrests. Saakashvili calls for Washington not to re-engage with the ruling party unless the Georgian government stops its domestic repression and moves away from Russian-style policies.

Check the full article with the link in the show notes.

On Friday, the 20th, the Tbilisi Justice Hall worked past its closing hours to fix a mistake with Georgia’s new passports. The Public Service Development Agency called citizens who received documents earlier in February to inform them that their passports were defective. Ironically, this recall happened just two days after the agency announced that the new passports had won an international award for security. While officials refused to explain the specific flaw, they ordered everyone who received a passport on the 4th or 5th of the month to return it. The agency is now rushing to print free replacements for travelers.

On Thursday, the 19th, official data showed Georgia’s petroleum exports jumped 401% during January compared to the same period last year. This surge made oil the country’s second-largest export. Many observers now question whether Georgia is facilitating the re-export of sanctioned Russian oil to Western markets. Specifically, the Kulevi refinery recently received its first batch of Russian crude. While Georgian authorities deny any sanctions evasion, economist and former MP Roman Gotsiridze says that Russian fuel likely reaches the EU through Georgian ports.

In cultural news. On Tuesday, the 24th, nine actors resigned from the Music and Drama State Theater after management removed a solidarity banner from the building's facade. The mass walkout included stars like Nanka Kalatozishvili and Kakha Kintsurashvili.

The dispute began when officials took down a tribute to Andro Chichinadze, an actor serving two years in prison for his participation in twenty twenty-four pro-European protests. The banner had hung for over a year, but management replaced it with an advertisement for a Ministry of Culture musical project.

Davit Doiashvili, the director of the theater, was fired in twenty twenty-five for supporting the protests.

Finishing off this episode. In an article for OC Media, journalist and photographer Tamuna Chkareuli analyzes the paradox of Georgian cinema, which wins prestigious awards abroad while remaining invisible to local audiences. Chkareuli explores how the collapse of Soviet-era theater networks left rural Georgia with decaying buildings and no way to distribute new work.

The piece details how a private monopoly and high ticket prices shut out the public. It also examines a rising tide of government censorship. The author shows how the Culture Ministry targets filmmakers for documenting sensitive topics, such as the destruction of heritage sites. From activists carrying inflatable screens into villages to the threat of new restrictive laws on funding, the article explains why this award-winning industry currently fights for its survival at home.

Read the article in English with the link in the show notes.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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Nakhvamdis!