Memory and Disinformation Studies

Forgotten Heroes of Georgian Anti-Soviet Resistance

The research examines eight lesser-known participants in anti-Soviet resistance in Soviet Georgia: Irodion Pachulia, Anridi Sanaia, Indiko and Zaur Kobalia, Vazha Zhghenti, Tariel Ghviniashvili, Enriko Tvaladze, and Tengiz Gudava. Placing their biographies within a shared historical framework shows that Georgian anti-Soviet resistance was not confined to a small number of well-known dissidents or to the mass national movement of the 1980s. From the mid-1950s onward, Georgia already had underground groups, clandestine printing facilities, coordinated networks for distributing proclamations, samizdat, and, later, channels for reaching international audiences

The Instrumentalization of History, Memory Politics, and Georgia

This article examines the interrelationship between historical revisionism, memory politics, and disinformation influence in the Georgian context. Its central finding is that Russia’s contemporary information strategy is not limited to disseminating individual false narratives; it seeks to reshape the very interpretive frameworks through which society evaluates sovereignty, occupation, Western integration, and democratic institutions. Protecting historical memory, ensuring open archives, and providing evidence-based education therefore extend beyond the bounds of general cultural policy and become foundations of national security, democratic resilience, and “mental de-occupation.”

Historical Revisionism, Russian Disinformation, and Georgia

the challenge in Georgia’s contemporary information environment is no longer limited to the existence of openly pro-Russian groups. A more significant concern is that the central constructs of Russian propaganda—“an opposition controlled from abroad,” “foreign agents,” “a Western-organized coup,” “the opening of a second front,” “war or peace,” and “the protection of traditional identity from the liberal West”—are being transformed into normalized elements of Georgian political language. As a result, narratives advantageous to the Kremlin can be disseminated without direct reference to Russia and without openly pro-Russian political self-identification.

Narratives as Borders: Assessing Russia’s Strategy of Psychological Occupation

Russian military strategists conceptualize information warfare as a comprehensive framework in which computer network operations, electronic warfare, psychological operations, and information operations work in-tandem, prior to or alongside conventional military forces. Information warfare preceding conventional use of force is integral to Russia’s post-Cold War military doctrine.

A New Phase of Russian Special Services Activities in Georgia

The Kremlin’s Special Information Operation in Georgia Continues

Lancaster, who is a Kremlin propagandist, is attempting to cover the ongoing processes in Georgia during his visit to Tbilisi through disinformation and false narratives. The videos he disseminates deliberately manipulate interviews with Georgian protesters and foreigners, creating a false impression about the ongoing protests in Georgia.

Patrick Lancaster - Another Kremlin Propagandist in Georgia

Russian propagandist television and journalists affiliated with it have been actively involved in the negative coverage of the pro-European protests that began in Georgia on 28 November 2024. Representatives of this kind of “media” freely enter the country and broadcast their propaganda, record vlogs and videos.

Active Measures by Russian Intelligence Agencies: Alexander Malkevich in Georgia

During the 2024 parliamentary elections in Georgia, Russian propagandist Aleksandr Malkevich, who has been sanctioned by the European Union, the United States, and other countries and is wanted by the U.S. (which has set a $10 million reward for information about him), was present in the country.

The Head of IDFI's Memory and Disinformation Studies Direction, Anton Vacharadze, participated in the international conference “Soviet and Russian Subversion Against Europe” held in the Czech Republic

Presentation of Liziko Abzianidze's Diary

On October 2, 2024, the Freedom of Information Development Institute (IDFI) held a presentation of the repressed "Memoirs of Liziko Abzianidze".