Irakli Garibashvili is a Georgian politician and an ex-business executive who served as the prime minister of Georgia between 22 February 2021 and 29 January 2024. He had formerly served as prime minister from 20 November 2013 until his resignation on 30 December 2015.
Garibashvili is a member of the Georgian Dream party and has performed as the party’s chairman since 1 February 2024. Garibashvili argued in 2023 that sanctioning Russia would hurt Georgia more than Russia, due to its dependence on Russian trade rather than vice versa. He also blamed the West for double standards, as it did not set sanctions in 2008 when Russia invaded Georgia, and continued “business as usual”.
Georgian Dream’s approach towards Russia is subject to debate among political pundits with some describing their approach as alert. At the same time, several analysts notice the party moving Georgia into the “Russian orbit”. In recent years, the Georgian Dream has been widely portrayed as pro-Russian. Georgian Dream staged a so-called “Russian march” in the centre of Tbilisi. The march was organized to support the law on foreign agents, which was reintroduced to formalize the country’s movement from a pro-Western political course toward Moscow.
Georgian Dream has been defined by all major pro-Western opposition parties as pro-Russian. In the 2012 parliamentary election, it was painted by the government as a “Russian stooge” and some analysts described the party as a “Russian project”. The critics argued that the party’s lax stance on Russia was proof of the government’s pro-Russian politics.
The party’s political and economic rapprochement with Russia, its increasing anti-western oratory, and the passing of the “foreign agents” bill are considered by many analysts and the opposition, including President Salome Zourabichvili, as further proof of the party being pro-Russian and under the power of Russia. Georgian Dream ruled out setting economic sanctions on Russia and supplying military aid to Ukraine but vowed to support Ukraine in the diplomatic arena.
