Author: Elene Zakashvili
Lack of education, misinformation, fear of the unknown — these are the main factors that contribute to the creation and maintenance of myths. This is what strengthens the myth that the West is “taking Georgianness away from us”. The main reason for the relevance of this lie is propaganda, more precisely, Russian propaganda.
In Georgia, Russian narratives and disinformation are mainly spread in the Georgian language, which gives it credibility for specific groups. At the same time, they are focused on the most sensitive topics, which allows emotions to be manipulated and spread widely. From the research of the Media Development Fund, we learn that the spreaders of Russian disinformation are political parties and politicians, public organizations, media, far-right groups and clergy. Fake pages and accounts in social networks also contribute to the strengthening of Kremlin sentiments and, therefore, to the incitement of anti-Western messages.
The goal of disinformation and propaganda spread by pro-Russian actors is to create a feeling of fear and hopelessness in society, and to present Russia as an alternative to the West, therefore they talk about the danger of losing identity (ethnic, sexual, religious identity) and values.
Messages and delivery methods have evolved over the years, but the core themes remain the same. For example, at the time of the signing of the association agreement in 2014, there were almost identical myths about the European Union that exist today. If not many things have changed in these ten years, one thing has definitely changed — whoever signed the association agreement, today that political team appears to spread a more or less similar narrative.
Here, for example, is the statement of Bidzina Ivanishvili on September 8: “We promise that in the conditions of a convincing victory in the elections, the violent attempts of foreign countries to impose pseudo-liberal values on our people will end forever in Georgia, we will not allow anyone to insult our beliefs, culture, history and values.”
Georgian Dream manipulated similar topics when the Russian law was passed and when the homophobic law was discussed.
If you need proof that this narrative is really Russian, look at the response of the Russian Foreign Minister to the question of who is destroying Georgian values: “What the Georgian government is doing right now is realizing its national identity and realizing that the Georgian people have the values of Orthodoxy and national culture, which will be washed away, erased and trampled by the “rules” that the West bends to everyone, first of all, in the context of the values of liberal democracy or even democratic liberalism”.
Instead of confronting the disinformation coming from the occupying country, the government often becomes the disseminator itself. In the 2023 study of Transparency International (TI), it is noted that the fight against disinformation is not being effectively carried out by the Georgian authorities — there is no political will to solve this problem.
When propagandistic and false messages are spread even from official tribunes, it is especially important to know what is the truth: the European Union does not fight the traditions and culture of the member or partner countries, on the contrary, it protects and strengthens them.
“Unity in diversity” is the slogan of the European Union, which sounds differently in 24 official languages.
The European Union is obliged to respect the national identity of its member states, which includes their cultural, religious and linguistic traditions. Article 3 of the Treaty (TEU) also indicates this — “The European Union respects its rich cultural and linguistic diversity. ensures the protection and development of European cultural heritage”.
The European Union manages to preserve what makes each country unique. In cooperation with UNESCO, there are more than 400 World Heritage sites in the Union. Also, examples of intangible cultural heritage are: Flamenco (Spain), Falconry (Belgium, Czech Republic and others), Midsummer celebrations (Sweden and Finland), Neapolitan pizza making (Italy). At the same time, Georgian wrestling, the tradition of making Kvevri wine, Georgian polyphony and three types of the alphabet are included in the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage.
“In the European Union, we are proud of our cultural diversity. We are a unique combination of languages, music, art, traditions, crafts and cuisine. We are also a continent of unique biological diversity”, — excerpt from Ursula von der Leyen’s speech in the European Parliament in 2023.
In the European Union, religious diversity is also protected by the policy of tolerance, anti-discrimination and promoting dialogue between religions. The most common religion in the member states is Christianity (about 72% of the population). The population of several countries (Greece, Romania, Bulgaria) is mainly Orthodox.
The European Union respects the language of each member state. In addition to 24 official languages, the European Union protects more than 60 regional and minority languages. For example, despite being an English-speaking country, Ireland has retained the Gaelic language (Irish), which is one of the official languages of the European Union.
Despite this, Russian propaganda deceives us, as if they are fighting and destroying religion and language in the European Union. In fact, when was the Georgian language in danger of disappearing and who canceled the autocephaly of the Church? This evil is in the name of imperialist Russia and the Soviet Union. Against this background, you should definitely know that in 2016, three types of the Georgian alphabet were included in the list of intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.
Another value, which the propaganda accuses the EU of trying to take away and degrade, are traditions. Georgia is really rich in culture and traditions and history has taught us that their real enemy has always been Russia, both imperialist and Soviet.
The European Union, based on its diversity with non-member states, pursues a policy of respect for national traditions. Their stated message is that they respect the unique culture of Georgia and promote its development.
“This is the approach we implement towards Georgia through support. All members of the European Union have a unique culture, history and experience that this union values.
The Georgian people declared very loudly and clearly that their future lies in this united and diverse union. The European Union will do everything to help Georgia achieve this goal and see it as an integral part of the European Union in the near future. After Georgia joins the European Union, it will bring its own unique perspective and culture, which will enrich the European Union even more,” Nicholas Sendrovich, Head of the Development and Cooperation Department of the EU Representation in Georgia, told Aprili Media.
The European Union recognizes more than 60 cultural regions, each with its own distinct traditions, food, music and art. For example, in Spain, Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque regions are developing under EU-supportive policies, and they are preserving their languages and traditions.
2.44 billion Euros have been allocated for the “Creative Europe Program” (2021-2027), which was created to support representatives of culture and arts. Creative Europe aims to increase their role, economic progress and job creation. The main objective of the program is to protect, develop and promote the cultural and linguistic diversity and heritage of Europe. This program is also implemented in Georgia .
So, “Georgianness”, more precisely, what is meant by this word – the Georgian language, culture, traditions, faith – is not taken away from us by the European Union, and it has no interest in doing so. Moreover, the organization founded on diversity and mutual cooperation is interested in and needs Georgia, which is strong in its history, past and present, whether it is in terms of economy or democratic values.