Draft:Conservatives for Georgia
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Conservatives for Georgia კონსერვატორები საქართველოსთვის | |
|---|---|
| Founder | Zurab Makharadze Giorgi Kardava Irakli Martinenko Shota Martinenko Konstantine Morgoshia |
| Registered | 22 April 2025 |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Far-right |
Conservatives for Georgia (Georgian: კონსერვატორები საქართველოსთვის, romanized: k'onservat'orebi sakartvelostvis) is an anti-Western political party in Georgia.
History
[edit]On 22 April 2025, the Public Registry of Georgia registered a new political party founded by members of the pro-Russian, far-right group formerly operating the now-defunct TV channel Alt Info. Their previous party was dissolved in 2024 amid growing tensions with the ruling Georgian Dream party. Alt Info had submitted an application to register the new party on 27 February, but the Public Registry delayed approval twice, on 27 March and 8 April, citing technical issues.
Since founding its political wing in 2021, Alt Info appeared to enjoy tacit support from authorities, who refrained from prosecuting the group’s leaders despite their involvement in violent attacks on journalists and activists. However, signs of a split began to emerge in late 2023, culminating in the de-registration of Alt Info’s Conservative Movement in April 2024, effectively barring the group from participating in the 2024 parliamentary elections.
Following the ban, Alt Info attempted to remain in the race by partnering with another far-right group, Georgian Idea, but that party was also dissolved by the Public Registry. Alt Info then joined forces with the pro-Russian, ultra-conservative Alliance of Patriots, which received 2.4% of the vote in the disputed October elections, according to the Central Election Commission.
Alt Info gained notoriety for its role in violent anti-LGBT demonstrations in Tbilisi. In July 2021, the group orchestrated homophobic riots and attacks on media workers, injuring over 50 journalists—one of whom died six days later. Police made little effort to intervene, and no charges were brought against the leaders, who had publicly coordinated the violence. In 2023, members of the group attacked and destroyed the Tbilisi Pride festival site, looting supplies as police stationed nearby failed to act.
Between these incidents, in 2022, Alt Info leaders traveled to Russia to attend the Eurasian Union forum and held a joint event with members of the Russian State Duma focused on Georgian–Russian relations. The group’s messaging has frequently echoed that of Georgian Dream, especially in portraying the West as a destabilizing force and a threat to Georgia’s sovereignty. In September 2023, Georgia’s State Security Service claimed to be investigating an alleged coup plot involving Ukrainian intelligence officials and Georgian volunteers fighting in Ukraine. In response, Alt Info announced the formation of an "Anti-Maidan Movement", aimed at preventing what it called a Western-backed revolution in Georgia.
Amid rising tensions, Georgian Dream itself adopted increasingly conservative, anti-Western, and homophobic rhetoric. Alt Info accused the ruling party of co-opting its nationalist narrative to draw in conservative voters while sidelining its rivals. “They [Georgian Dream] are gradually tightening the noose here to steer reality into authoritarianism and become the only political force in Georgia,” Makharadze wrote in March, after the group’s application was flagged once again.
In September 2024, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Alt Info’s co-founders, including Zura Makharadze and Konstantine Morgoshia, citing their role in undermining democratic processes and inciting political violence.