DISINFO: The West intended to open a “second front” in Georgia
SUMMARY
It is no longer a secret that the West intended to open a "second front" against Russia in Georgia; fortunately, this failed, and the country was able to maintain its balance.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about an allegedly aggressive West playing a destructive role in the Caucasus, attempting to destabilise post-Soviet countries, encircle and isolate Russia.
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.
These claims are groundless. Western countries are not party to the conflict in Ukraine and they are not interested in an escalation of the war. Neither the US nor the EU, nor Ukraine are pushing Georgia to open a second front against Moscow.
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 “Twists and turns: Georgian Dream rhetoric on the EU”, “Georgia: Resilience in action” and “Georgia: The next colour revolution?”.
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that The EU plans to use Georgia as cannon fodder in the war against Russia, that West is attempting to force Georgia into a war against Russia, that The West aims to incite a conflict between Russia and the Caucasus, that NATO is creating military and political tension in South Caucasus, that The Georgian government has been forced to open a “second front”, that Ukraine and the West bet on Georgia regime change to open a second front against Russia, that The collective West intends to launch a “Kursk-2” against Russia from the Caucasus, or that The West wants to start a war in Georgia.