DISINFO: October 4 coup attempt in Georgia was planned from abroad
SUMMARY
It is clear that the October 4 coup was planned, financed, and organised from abroad. It was carried out by local radicals and their instructors were given the opportunity to deny their involvement in the crime - they created conditions for the foreign organizers to avoid responsibility and to be able to deny their participation in what happened.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative falsely portraying popular protests as foreign-led colour revolution and accusing the West of attempting a coup in Georgia.
This claim is an attempt to discredit Georgia protests and justify intensified repressive measures against them in the aftermath of 2025 Georgian local elections.
The 4 October local elections in Georgia took place amid a partial opposition boycott, scant credible observation, continued repression by Georgian Dream authorities, the jailing of protesters and opposition members, and a crackdown on independent media and watchdogs. The vote came approximately a year after the disputed parliamentary elections, and just 10 months into the non-stop protests that erupted in response to Georgian Dream’s announcement to halt EU integration.
More protests took place in parallel with the vote with the demonstrators clashing with the extensive police force. Following the dispersal of the rally, the ruling party announced multiple times further crackdown on protests and the opposition, while several dozen people have already been sent to pre-trial detention over 4 October events.
Since the launch of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, pro-Kremlin outlets actively deployed groundless disinformation narratives that the US, the EU, or even Ukraine are aiming to change power in Georgia and drag the country into the war with Russia, to open a ‘second front’ against Moscow and to ease the situation for Kyiv on the Ukrainian front. See our article Russian scripts, Georgian voices: How disinformation targets the country’s Western allies: the US, EU, and UK in Georgia.
Moreover, pro-Kremlin outlets have long been warning of an upcoming ‘colour revolution’ in Georgia in order to pre-emptively shape the information space ahead of what were foreseeable and likely protests against the ruling party, already shaken by previous massive demonstrations against the so-called ‘Foreign Agents Law’. The topic was covered in detail in our analysis.
Pro-Kremlin outlets frequently falsely portray popular protests around the world as "colour revolutions" instigated from abroad, often by the US and the West. The disinformation narrative has been applied, among others, to reports about protests in Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Belarus, Venezuela, Slovakia, Hong Kong, with the aim of portraying protest movements as aggressive actors who constantly prepare new coups.
Read also EUvsDisinfo's articles on “Georgia: Resilience in action” and “Georgia: The next colour revolution?”.
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that The UK is preparing another revolution in Georgia, that Artificial protests in Georgia cost the “Deep State” $1 million, that Events in Georgia are a provocation by the US and European political circles, that PACE deputies are striving for a change of government in Georgia, that EU wants to provoke new protests in Georgia, that The EU plans to pay Georgian youth 120 euros per day for anti-government demonstrations, that The Georgian government has been forced to open a “second front”, or that The West wants to force a coup in Georgia.