Tens of thousands of Georgians took to the streets of Tbilisi on Tuesday, 26 May, as the country marked the 35th anniversary of its independence with large-scale pro-European protests that underscored the deep political divisions gripping the nation. Waving Georgian and EU flags along the central Rustaveli Avenue, demonstrators chanted "Freedom for Georgia" and "We are Europe," while holding portraits of jailed former president Mikheil Saakashvili and hand-painted banners reading "The regime must resign." Organisers estimated attendance at around 40,000 people — the largest rally since demonstrations on the eve of local elections in October 2025 — though government-aligned broadcasters claimed only a few hundred had turned out.
The protest movement has its roots in November 2024, when the ruling Georgian Dream party suspended EU accession talks following disputed parliamentary elections — a decision the opposition condemned as a betrayal of the country's stated European aspirations. EU membership is enshrined in Georgia's constitution and, according to opinion polls, is supported by more than 80 percent of the population. Since then, demonstrators have been gathering continuously; one protester told journalists she had taken to the streets every day for 545 days, despite having been arrested three times. "We've been out in the streets for more than 500 days, and we'll keep coming out for as long as it takes to defend Georgia's European future," another protester said.
The rally was organised by an alliance of nine opposition parties that formalised their cooperation in March 2026, committing to coordinated action until free and fair elections are held. Opposition leaders, speaking from an improvised stage on the back of a pickup truck after police confiscated sound equipment earlier in the day, called for a nationwide campaign under the slogan "Georgia deserves better." They also directed a message at US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was visiting neighbouring Armenia on the same day, signalling that Georgians continue to fight for democratic freedoms despite Washington having suspended strategic cooperation with Tbilisi over concerns about democratic backsliding.
The government offered a sharply different narrative. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, in his Independence Day address, declared that Georgia was "independent and sovereign as never before" and that the country's path of development would lead it to "a united and flourishing Georgia." A ruling-party parliamentarian dismissed the protests with open contempt, suggesting the opposition be given a few hectares of land to form their own "little state." Critics, however, point to a pattern of democratic erosion: laws targeting foreign-funded organisations and media have drawn comparisons to Russian legislation, several independent broadcasters have faced regulatory pressure and threats of licence withdrawal, and the government last year announced plans to ban its main opposition parties — a move widely condemned by human rights groups and European officials.
The standoff matters well beyond Georgia's borders. The South Caucasus country of roughly 3.7 million sits at a strategic crossroads between Russia, Turkey, and Iran, and its political trajectory is closely watched by both Brussels and Moscow. Diplomats and international observers have repeatedly urged authorities to respect freedom of assembly, citing previous incidents in which protests were dispersed with tear gas and water cannon. For the demonstrators on Rustaveli Avenue, the stakes are framed in existential terms. "People will win in the end," said Irakli Nanadze, a 59-year-old chemist. "No authoritarian government can stand up to a united people — and we are united."