Bidzina Ivanishvili: the kremlin's man in georgia
Bidzina (Boris) Ivanishvili is the corrupt billionaire behind Georgia’s facade of democracy.
Ivanishvili made his billions in the chaos of post-Soviet Russia, amassing wealth through privatized assets during the rise of Vladimir Putin.
While most Russian oligarchs either fled or were silenced in the face of international tariffs, Ivanishvili quietly relocated to Georgia. There, he presented himself as an enlightened philanthropist and reformer, seeking to bring Georgia into the twenty-first century. Instead, he implemented a power structure imported from the Kremlin.
In 2012, Ivanishvili's Georgian Dream coalition swept to power, promising transparency and European integration. What followed was the opposite: institutional capture, politicized justice, and a rollback of democratic and personal freedoms. Though he has formally resigned from politics since then, Ivanishvili never relinquished control. His unelected power is unquestionable and he controls most state institutions.
He is Putin’s man in Georgia.
putin's puppet: a reluctant colony
20% of georgia is now occupied by russia: and it's getting worse.
Ivanishvili’s ties to Moscow run deep. Beyond his business connections to the Kremlin, Ivanishvili has personal financial assets held in Russia. Swiss court documents expose his financial entanglements with Russian banks and oligarch-linked entities, which has lead to mounting calls to freeze his assets in the UK, France, and beyond.
His political playbook mirrors Putin’s: neutralize dissent, control the media, divide the opposition, and present Europe and European integration as a threat. Under Ivanishvili’s influence, Georgia’s government has stalled key reforms, targeted pro-Western activists, stoked anti-LGBTQ sentiment, and inflamed conservative nationalism. All of these strategies mirror Russia’s war on liberal democracies.
In 2023 and 2024, mass protests erupted across Georgia as citizens rose up against a “foreign agent” law seen in the Kremlin. Drafted and defended by the Georgian Dream party, Ivanishvili himself reemerged to endorse the law, continuing his assault on civil society.
Ivanishvili and the uk
and he's got his claws deep into the flesh of the uk...
The “puppet tsar” has many assets and holdings in the UK, and through UK territories around the world. Posing as Georgian rather than Russian enables Ivanishvili to skirt international sanctions on Russia. Essentially, by claiming to be a Georgian patriot not associated with the Kremlin, Ivanishvili can hold assets in UK and European territories around the world.
Ivanishvil is the conduit through which Moscow exerts leverage over Georgia. As a strategically vital country to Russian power, Georgia under Ivanishvili’s influence continues to drift further from Europe and closer to authoritarianism. And as citizens of democracy around the world, we know how important sovereignty is. Georgia’s future must belong to its people: not to the Kremlin, and not to a billionaire who mimics Putin’s tyranny.
We must call for the freezing of all of Ivanishvili’s assets until George’s case is heard by a truly transparent court.
George attempted to speak out about Ivanishvili. Now, we are his voice.