On April 24, 2025, a show by so-called “pranksters” Vovany and Lexus was aired on the Kremlin’s main propaganda channel (OPT). The show was dedicated to the protests that have been ongoing in Georgia since November 2024. These “pranksters” have lured celebrities into traps for a number of years. These include Elton John, John McCain, J.K. Rowling, Lukashenko, and many others. Following the start of the war by Russia, they have firmly positioned themselves on the side of “Z” and, against the backdrop of the disappearance of many a journalist or show from Russian television, the pranksters have received airtime on Channel One. There is a strong possibility and reasonable suspicion that they are directly connected to Russian special services, although they themselves vehemently deny this idea.

The activities of Russian special services have taken multiple forms in Georgia in recent times. During the 2024 parliamentary elections, Russian propagandist Alexander Malkevich, who has been sanctioned by the European Union, the United States, and other countries and is wanted by the United States, was present in Georgia. Pro-Russian blogger and influencer Patrick Lancaster was actively involved in the negative coverage of pro-European demonstrations that began on November 28, 2024. Analysis of the facts leads us to believe that Georgia is one of the information targets for Russia and its special services, with activities aimed at weakening the country's information security and preparing the ground for the Kremlin's influence to grow.

The pranksters, supposedly acting on behalf of Russian opposition figure Garry Kasparov, contacted the 5th President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili, former Public Defender of Georgia, and the head of the non-governmental organization Democracy Research Institute, Ucha Nanuashvili, with an assistance offer. The legend was that Kasparov, who is based in the US, was planning to support the Georgian opposition and was ready to fund critics of the government. On air, they were heard promising help on behalf of Kasparov: "We are looking for ways to get funding in the post-Soviet space. We are ready to cooperate if you tell us what kind of help you really need from the US. I can even talk to the current administration about this." They also contacted Senator Joe Wilson on behalf of Petro Poroshenko, although the conversation was brief and the videocall was cut short when the senator’s aid Paul Massaro joined the call (they may even have suspected the prank).

It should be noted that neither Kasparov nor Poroshenko were seen in the videos, and it is possible that the so-called Deep Fake technology was used for the pranks. During the television show, only short clips were shown—ones that suited the Russian propagandists. Moreover, one of the episodes (during the conversation with Ucha Nanuashvili) was clearly and unequivocally faked, and as such, it is impossible to speak about the authenticity of other clips. Usually, the pranksters show the full recordings of the conversations, and therefore in this specific case, the clips taken out of context and the clearly faked episodes point to the fact that the aforementioned broadcast was used as part of the Russian information campaign against Georgia.

In the videos, both Georgian respondents openly talk about the ongoing events in Georgia, the steps their partners need to take to strengthen democracy in the country, etc. In other words, topics that these and other actors already publicly discuss in Georgian opposition and critical spaces. It is clear that the Russian propagandists were attempting to provoke the respondents. For example, when Fake Kasparov during the conversation with Salome Zourabichvili speculated that the crisis in Georgia could be resolved through a process analogous to the events of Ukrainian “Maidan Uprising”, Zourabichvili categorically denied such a possibility. She stated that drawing comparisons between the two countries was inaccurate. “Ukraine has a different kind of resilience, territory, and human resources. We are a small country that has already endured many tragic events”, she noted.

After the show was aired, Ucha Nanuashvili stated that it was faked and represented a falsehood. The following statement from him was heard during the show: “I would like to note that we have unofficial units, just like during Maidan, in Ukraine. There are civilians in masks, there are people from the ruling party, as well as people from private security companies, and they are armed.” According to Ucha Nanuashvili, the original statement was about the participation of the so-called Titushky—informal, armed groups—in the attacks on citizens during the protests of November-December of the previous year, which was translated into the opposite on air.

The so-called pranksters also dedicated several minutes in each conversation to the topic of Abkhazia. They asked about the attitudes of their conversation partners with regard to Abkhazia. On this topic, according to the translation, Zourabichvili spoke about the treatment of Abkhazia by Russians: “In my opinion, Europe is the only path to the future for Abkhazia. Only in Europe will mutual integration become a possibility. This should not happen via direct negotiations, as there is still antagonism. Even if they do not like Russians anymore, this does not mean that they will suddenly start to like us, Georgians. But we must overcome this barrier as well, and this is only possible through a common perspective. And the common perspective is Europe.” Ucha Nanuashvili underscored maintaining professional, personal contacts and the involvement of international organizations.

The show presenters and their invited guests, including the international chair of the pro-Russian party “Solidarity for Peace”, Mamuka Pipia, discussed the conversations with Zourabichvili and Nanuashvili with classic examples of well-trodden Russian propaganda and narratives. Pipia, who has been discussed by IDFI in the past and whose party was involved in the activities of Russian special services, when the visit of propagandist Aleksandr Malkevich was planned and executed, has been a frequent guest of Russian Z-television channels in recent times. He does not waste any chance to thank Putin and, at the same time, has clear sympathies for “Georgian Dream” and personally, Bidzina Ivanishvili. Mamuka Pipia is often found in the company of Russian officials like Sergey Naryshkin, Director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (СВР), often invites the pro-Putin biker group “Night Wolves” to Georgia, etc.

Mamuka Pipia and Sergey Naryshkin

"For greater credibility," the program also included a street poll, where "random passersby" were asked about their attitudes toward the protests, Salome Zourabichvili, and Russia. Our research revealed that the “plain citizens” were specifically selected to voice opinions acceptable to the Russian audience of the program. It should be noted that all of them spoke well in Russian, which is difficult to believe when conducting a poll of random passersby in Tbilisi. We looked for information about the “random respondents” chosen for the program.

In order to save time on editing and selecting the “correct answers” ​​among the interviewees, the program featured, for example, Giorgi Iremadze, a pro-Russian party member of Mamuka Pipia, as one of the “passersby.”

Giorgi Iremadze, member of the political council of the “Solidarity for Peace” party

“The prosecution and harsh punishment of the Mikheil Saakashvili regime by the investigative commission will have a positive influence on Georgian-Russian relations!”

Political commentator Ilia Lobzhanidze also participated in the “Vovany and Lexus” show as a “passerby”. He is the co-author of the TikTok channel “Fucos Kankara”, a channel whose owner and author, Luka Ekhvaia,  was appointed as a foreign affairs advisor by Georgian Dream’s president Mikheil Kavelashvili. Ilia Lobzhanidze participates in “Imedi’s” programs as an expert.

Political scientist and journalist Vaso Kapanadze, who was another “passerby” for the show, was an “observer” of the Russian presidential elections in 2024. According to him, the process took place in a calm environment, without any violations. He is a frequent guest of “Solidarity for Peace”, “Alt-Info”, “Sputnik”, and other similar platforms.

The film crew also happened to run into Tamar Kiknadze, a political scientist and a regular correspondent for “POSTV”, Alt-Info, and Sputnik, on the street.

The participation of all of the aforementioned people in the program speaks to the staged, biased nature of the Russian propagandist show.

Other guests of the “Vovany and Lexus” show itself, including State Duma representative Zhuravlev, spoke regretfully about the Georgians’ foolishness and the fact that nobody in the “collective West” needs Georgian sulguni and wine. By doing so, intentionally or unintentionally, he showed the real reasons Russia needs Georgia. The conversation touched on cultural “identity”, “thriving Georgia” during the Soviet epoch, 5 million tourists annually and the opportunities Georgia is losing because of several hundred protesters and "agents funded by foreign interests”.

Assessment

The Russian information campaign continued after the airing of the “show” as well. The pro-Russian party “Solidarity for Peace” appealed to the Prosecutor’s Office against Zourabichvili and Nanuashvili. While the content of their appeal is unknown, the foreign chair of the party Mikhail Zhgenti stated: “We asked the government, the Prosecutor’s Office, to react, as we believe that … there are instances of violations of criminal law”. Zhgenti also stated that he assisted the Russian “pranksters” in “making fools” of Salome Zourabichvili and Ucha Nanuashvili.

“Imedi” dedicated a segment to the topic—“Troubles of the Pranked”—where it repeated in full the propaganda of the Russian channel, including the points regarding the repeat of the “Maidan” scenario and participation of armed persons in the protests. POSTV also responded by publishing cards and discussing it on a program. Anonymous accounts from social networks, unknown websites, and platforms were active around the topic.

Within the framework of the ФСБ's aforementioned information operation, the main messages of the Russian television channel differ utterly from reality:

According to the Kremlin’s propagandist media, the “prankster’s” conversation with Zourabichvili and Nanuashvili allegedly showed that the ongoing protests in Georgia are being secretly and unlawfully financed by “Western forces”.

In reality, both Zourabichvili and Nanuashvili spoke about the need for the West to support democratic forces and the media in the country;

The story mentioned unofficial units. Civilians in masks, as well as armed people from private security companies.

In reality, Ucha Nanuashvili was talking about the participation of the so-called Titushky, i.e. informal, armed groups, in the attacks on citizens during the protests of November-December of the previous year;

Russian media and pro-state Georgian channels claimed that Zourabichvili and Nanuashvili were requesting “dark money”.

In reality, even the selectively edited story shows that they were openly talking about funding opportunities by international donors for non-governmental organizations and especially regional media;

The show contained other clips taken out of context and staged episodes.

The uncritical repetition of the above by Imedi and POSTV is an indication of coordinated activities, or at least a convergence of interests, between Russian propaganda channels and the Georgian Dream.