A Nation’s Bellwether: Georgia’s Assault on Free Expression

April 9 is a pivotal date in Georgia’s history. A day when we remember our fellow citizens who died for our freedom in 1989, when Soviet forces killed peaceful protesters during a pro-independence demonstration.[1] We also reflect on how we maintain this freedom and how our activism contributes to Georgia’s free and prosperous future. This reflection encouraged me to begin promoting Ayn Rand’s philosophy in Georgia in 2020. I saw it as a way to overcome the Soviet legacy that hinders Georgia’s development and European integration. In 2022, with my colleagues, I founded a non-profit, Ayn Rand Center Georgia. Since then, we have been actively organizing various projects and building a community of thoughtful individuals who are willing to study philosophy, debate ideas, think and live rationally, and care about their individual happiness.

This year’s April 9 has been even more pivotal for me, as my organization received a letter from the government stating that our activities do not align with Georgia’s national interests. As a result, our access to the foreign grants we received in 2024 has been blocked. This decision concerns Georgia’s new law requiring government permission for foreign grants. [2] In the past, civil society organizations were free to receive legal foreign grants and use them in accordance with agreements made with donors. Such a free environment created many opportunities in Georgia, contributing to the country’s development and fostering more educated and freer generations.

Our programs are not merely educational; they are an intellectual challenge to the direction Georgia is drifting in today. Through public lectures, essay discussions (essays from Ayn Rand and Dr. Leonard Peikoff), informal gatherings (called RANDezvous), weekly seminars (Ayn Rand School), book clubs, seasonal educational camps and video content,  we promote a philosophy of reason, individual rights, and individual happiness, values that stand in direct contrast to the growing influence of collectivist and anti-Western narratives in today’s political climate.

What truly defined us was our informal space where people could connect, think freely, and enjoy life together. A space where a lot of friendships were formed around shared values, and individuals felt both intellectually challenged and personally supported. In a free society, our ideas would be met with counterarguments, not constraints, but the government has chosen to replace debate with coercion.  “When men abandon reason, physical force becomes their only means of dealing with one another and of settling disagreements,” wrote Ayn Rand.[3] This is our reality now.

This new grant law is a continuation of the government’s fight against the free press and civil society. It began in 2024, when the parliament of Georgia voted in favor of the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence (the so-called Russian Law). This law required organizations to register in a state registry if they received more than 20% of their annual income from foreign sources. It was often framed as a “Foreign Agent Law,” and in doing so, the government used the term “agent,” which in the Georgian context is often associated with a foreign spy. This controversial law sparked massive protests in Tbilisi, but the government did not revoke it.[4]

In 2025, the parliament voted in favor of two new legislative acts: the FARA law (Foreign Agents Registration Act, FARA) and changes to the grants law (requiring the government’s permission for foreign funds). Both laws further deteriorated the situation for civil society organizations, as they reinforced the perception of NGOs as “foreign agents” acting on behalf of external interests, despite many of their programs focusing on improving Georgian society in areas such as governance, education, healthcare, individual rights, justice, and others. In March 2026, the parliament voted in favor of amendments to the grants law, broadening the definition of what is considered a grant, introducing a requirement for prior approval of grants, including those received before the earlier legislative changes, and introducing criminal penalties for violations.[5] This final amendment also applied to the Ayn Rand Center Georgia grant we received previously.

As the government denied our right to free speech and our right to property, we are unable to implement what we were doing for years fully, but we are not going to give up. Ayn Rand Center Georgia will continue the legal fight against this decision. We believe that every individual has the right to live by their own mind, to act freely, so long as they do not violate the rights of others. We will still continue our activities voluntarily by dedicating our personal resources and time.

As Ayn Rand wrote, “Anyone who fights for the future lives in it today”. We hold this conviction firmly, and it strengthens us and fuels our hope for our organization and for a free future for Georgia.

Endnotes

[1] “Tragic Events of April 9 in Georgia.” JAMnews, https://jam-news.net/28-years-since-april-9-tragedy/. Accessed 16 Apr. 2026.
[2] “GD Adopts Package Restricting Grants, Political Activity, Lobbying, Government Non-Recognition.” Civil.ge, https://civil.ge/archives/723348. Accessed 16 Apr. 2026.
[3] Rand, Ayn. “The Comprachicos.” Return of the Primitive: The Anti-Industrial Revolution, edited by Peter Schwartz, Meridian, 1999, p. 90.
[4] “Georgia approves controversial ‘foreign agent’ law, sparking more protests.” BBC News, 14 May 2024, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-69007465. Accessed 16 Apr. 2026.
[5] “Georgia’s Foreign Agent Law Sparks Protests and Criticism.” Civil.ge, https://civil.ge/archives/723348. Accessed 16 Apr. 2026.