Russian Disinformation Campaign Targeting Salome Zurabishvili
Georgia is one of the primary targets of Russian information operations. The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) has been monitoring Russian networks operating in Georgia for years. However, in addition to its internal operations, Russia actively disseminates propaganda about Georgia on the international stage. Recently, such campaigns have aimed1 at supporting the Georgian Dream party, with propagandist messages spreading across various social media platforms. At the start of 2025, Georgia's fifth president, Salome Zurabishvili, became a specific target of Russian information operations.
On January 7, 2025, the McCain Institute at Arizona State University nominated Georgia's fifth president, Salome Zurabishvili, as a recipient of the Kissinger Scholarship. According to the institution, President Zurabishvili will leverage her extensive diplomatic, leadership, and political experience to oversee new elections and uphold the democratic trajectory of her country. Much like McCain and Kissinger, she serves as a symbol of assertive state governance and a staunch defender of democratic values in Georgia. Senator McCain previously demonstrated solidarity with the Georgian people in 2008 during Russia's intervention in the country. As a Kissinger Scholarship recipient, Zurabishvili will continue the legacy of principled and strategic leadership in one of the world’s pivotal democratic strongholds.
On January 9, during her briefing, Salome Zurabishvili discussed her plans regarding the program. According to her, "This is not a scholarship; this is an award. On the other hand, it is a funding opportunity to initiate a project about Georgia, which is already in progress."
The McCain Institute’s announcement was widely broadcast by Russian propagandist media and circulated across social networks. These outlets attempted to depict Salome Zurabishvili as being controlled or influenced by the United States, claiming this was the reason she received the award. In addition to this narrative, disinformation spread suggesting that Salome Zurabishvili had left Georgia and taken up employment in the United States. Notably, all these articles and posts were published on January 8, prior to Zurabishvili’s briefing.
Identical texts were disseminated across 11 Telegram channels, claiming that Salome Zurabishvili was out of touch with reality and asserting that the West could not support Georgia. These messages garnered a total of 325,000 views.
Translation:
The former President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, has reportedly secured a position at the McCain Institute in the USA.
According to the institution's website, she was named the holder of the 2025 Kissinger Scholarship. As part of this program, it is stated, "President Zurabishvili will leverage her extensive diplomatic, leadership, and political experience to oversee new elections and uphold the democratic trajectory of her country."
There are claims that she left Georgia without acknowledging the realities on the ground.
Even on November 29, during the protests, we speculated that such developments would occur: that the West could not destabilize Georgia and we explained reasons for this stance. As a result, we opted out not to overwhelm the audience of Telegram with daily updates on the protest dynamics, as everything was clear anyway."
"Have you noticed?", "Globalists tried to destabilize Georgia but failed, and now they are retreating quietly."
There is a global emphasis on the "rule of effective control," as seen in contexts like Georgia and Syria. According to this principle, whoever establishes control becomes the entity with which others are compelled.
The propagandist outlet “Комсомольская Правда” accused Salome Zurabishvili of abandoning her supporters and disseminated false information, claiming that Georgia’s fifth president fled the country. The article framed this alleged event as a failure of French President Macron’s policies. According to the piece, the Georgian Dream party resisted Macron’s attempts to intervene in Georgia's internal affairs, mocking him with sarcastic remarks. The Russian propagandist narrative asserted that "the fact that Zurabishvili fled the country confirms that Western-installed puppets are powerless when the West fails to support them." This article was republished without alteration on the Russian-language website of the newspaper “Georgia and the World,” which is linked to the Eurasian Institute.
Translation:
Georgia’s former president, Salome Zurabishvili, left the country for the USA, where she has been nominated as a scholarship holder at the McCain Institute. What happened to her promises to stand with her protesters? Nothing. She could easily claim that this was the inevitable outcome, and now it has come to pass. As a result, the protesters who set up a New Year’s feast right on Rustaveli Avenue, can continue enjoying Georgian “mstvadi”, singing georgian songs, and dancing , as they can no longer change anything.
Vladimir Jabarov, Russia’s Federation International Affairs Committee First Deputy and Senator, was involved in a discrediting campaign against Salome Zurabishvili. In a Telegram post, he compared Zurabishvili to Mikheil Saakashvili, claiming that neither of these presidents served the interests of their country. According to Jabarov's update, which was widely circulated in Russian media, "Salome Zurabishvili revealed her true stance toward Georgia by fleeing the country to take up a position at the McCain Institute in the USA."
Roman Alekhin, a Russian blogger and military volunteer, also spread disinformation about Salome Zurabishvili’s departure from the country.
Translation:
The former President, Salome Zurabishvili, accomplished her mission and returned to the American McCain Institute, from where she had been sent to Georgia to undermine the national state and intensify conflict with Russia—an agenda they term as spreading democracy and freedom.
The McCain Institute is not much different from the International Republican Institute, which is considered an undesirable entity in Russia. Both are American non-profit organizations established with the goal of expanding American influence worldwide. When nations and states oppose them, these non-governmental organizations transform into instruments of soft power and coordinators of hybrid warfare against any state.
Zurabishvili’s case could serve as a chapter in the book on the U.S. hybrid warfare against Georgia, with Russia being the main target. Georgia, like other countries such as Ukraine, is simply used by the U.S. in this broader conflict.
Disinformation about the departure of Georgia's fifth president was also spread through outlets and Telegram channels operating in the occupied territories of Ukraine. Ukrainian political reviewer, propagandist, and blogger Alexander Semchenko claimed on his Telegram channel that Salome Zurabishvili fled the country because the government threatened her with legal persecution.
Oleg Tsarev, a former RADA member and supporter of Russia since 2014, was also involved in the discrediting campaign against Zurabishvili. In a post on X, he wrote, "Georgia's former president Zurabishvili left the country to take a position at the American McCain Institute. This marks the end of an unnamed Georgian Maidan."
Translation:
Americans employ their agents.
The former President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, a French citizen who fled Georgia, became a recipient of the Kissinger Scholarship at the McCain Institute. The institution was established by U.S. government entities to spread propaganda promoting American imperialism.
Before this event, the Georgian government announced plans for legal action against Zurabishvili, who had been carrying out Washington's directives to transform Georgia into a part of America's sphere of influence. However, she fled in time. It remains possible that she may return to take a seat next to Saakashvili—in prison.
Russian-language Telegram channels operating in Armenia also covered Salome Zurabishvili’s departure from the country. These channels are linked to actors involved in propagandist operations. They claimed that Salome Zurabishvili had given up on continuing her “battle” and instead found a job in the USA. Notably, all the texts circulated across three channels were identical.
Disinformation regarding Salome Zurabishvili’s departure from the country was also spread by Belarusian propagandist Telegram channel CTB and the Azeri pro-governmental agency TNS.
Kremlin propagandist outlet Pravda spread disinformation about Georgia’s fifth president on websites operating in Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic, and France. The articles, based on journalist Aleksey Venediktov’s claims, were identical in all languages and referred to the fifth president of Georgia as the "main agent of foreign influence."
Translation:
Georgia’s former president, Salome Zurabishvili, left the country and assumed a position at the McCain Institute in the United States.
Zurabishvili, former president of Georgia, labeled as "one of the main agents of foreign influence" took her new role at the McCain Institute which casts doubt on her ties with the West.
The McCain Institute announced with pride that Zurabishvili would become a recipient of the Kissinger Scholarship in 2025, emphasizing that she would "use her vast diplomatic experience to lead the process of organizing new elections under foreign influence and promoting Western-style democracy."
Russian opposition journalist Aleksey Venediktov also claimed that Zurabishvili fled the country and sought refuge abroad. Propagandist outlets described this development as the "shameful end of the Georgian Maidan."
Pravda’s article was disseminated without alterations by the outlet DD Geopolitics on X and various Telegram channels. This outlet is actively involved in propagandist operations, spreading pro-Russian, anti-Ukraine, and anti-Western disinformation narratives. According to official information on their web pages, DD Geopolitics is featured on several propagandist platforms, including Russia Today and Sputnik.
DD Geopolitics' Telegram post was published on January 8 at 13:39. At the same time, identical messages were spread by Telegram channels involved in propagandist operations in Finland, Serbia, and Brazil. Later, the posts were circulated in Telegram channels operating in Italian, Czech, and French languages.
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