The Democracy Research Institute considers that the calls of the leaders of the openly pro-Russian Conservative Movement/Alt-Info to set up a violent organizational union - Anti-Maidan - contain elements of crime, and urges the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Security Service to respond to the case immediately.

On September 18, 2023, the openly pro-Russian far-right groups immediately responded to the official statement released by the State Security Service about the coup attempt by destructive forces funded by a foreign country in Georgia.

Following the statement, the radical, openly pro-Russian group Conservative Movement/Alt-Info announced the so-called anti-Maidan. On September 25, 2023, party leaders - Zura Makharadze, Giorgi Kardava, Shota and Irakli Martinenkos held a briefing where they spoke about the need to mobilize "like-minded forces" against the coup attempt in Georgia. "We need to mobilize organized, cohesive groups throughout Georgia, in order to be able to transport tens of thousands of people from the regions in a few hours," said Shota Martinenko.

Makharadze noted: "There will be a confrontation between two groups of people in Georgia." He called his supporters to fight, noting that "the choice will be reduced to two options - either you want the fate of Ukraine for Georgia or you will fight against it. If you don't want to watch Tbilisi in a fire, if you don't want Georgia to lose territories, you will have to fight and this fight will not be easy. Maidan is a coup attempt through violence. Only force can oppose force".

The founder of the Conservative Movement/Alt-Info, Konstantine Morgoshia, also responded to the statement of the State Security Service with a Facebook post: "It seems that the fate of our country will be decided in the streets of Tbilisi instead of offices or administrative buildings, and it is strategically important for a healthy, conservative part of this country to be ready for this scenario."

In order to mobilize supporters, information was posted on the Alterinfo Facebook page as well, where one of the photo posts reads: "Join Anti-Maidan! Be ready to fight! Let's save Georgia from war and coup!"

"Anti-Maidan has been actively discussed on the personal telegram channels of the Conservative Movement/Alt Info leaders: Shota Martinenko, Zura Makharadze, Giorgi Kardava and Irakli Martinenko, which is often followed by the violent calls in the subscribers' comments.

The leaders of the violent group call their supporters to be active and try to instill fear in the society by talking about the coup attempt. It is for this purpose that the leaders of the Conservative Movement/Alt-Info posted a video address on the Telegram channel, where they call on their supporters to "join the anti-Maidan movement to protect the country from Western revenge."

 

It should be noted that the radical and pro-Russian group plans to mobilize forces on a regional scale. According to Shota Martinenko, the anti-Maidan movement will unite hundreds of thousands of people, whose goal is to prevent the Maidan scenario. "We will have a sufficiently large organizational unity to prevent resistance with all the necessary methods that the opposing side will offer us." The leaders of the Conservative Movement/Alt-Info also started mobilizing funds for the anti-Maidan movement, although the relevant accounts, according to Shota Martinenko, have been blocked by TBC Bank and Bank of Georgia.

On September 27, Giorgi Kardava, Secretary General of the Conservative Movement/Alt Info, officially announced the start of the anti-Maidan movement in the Alt-Analytics programme: "The anti-Maidan movement received an unprecedented feedback from the public, and we will act accordingly. We are not going to explain anything to the liberals, we will do everything and we will not let them implement the Maidan."

According to the legislation of Georgia, making public calls for violent actions, organizing, leading or participating in group violence, as well as setting up, leading, joining/participating in illegal groups are punishable by criminal law. Accordingly, the Democracy Research Institute calls on the Ministry of Internal Affairs/State Security Service to launch a timely and effective investigation into the anti-Maidan movement announced by the violent group, the goals of which are emphatically violent.

The Democracy Research Institute calls on the authorities to: