According to reports published on March 15, US-sanctioned former Prosecutor General of Georgia, Temur Partskhaladze, has been facilitating investments from BRICS countries in Georgia, offering opportunities for business acquisitions. Given the Georgian Dream (GD) party’s shifting stance away from the Euro-Atlantic trajectory, the increasing engagement of BRICS investors in Georgia raises significant concerns. This development fuels speculation that GD might be considering BRICS membership as part of its broader strategy.
On March 15, it was revealed that Russian citizen and US-sanctioned former Georgian Prosecutor General Otar Partskhaladze has been assisting investors from BRICS nations in acquiring businesses within Georgia. To facilitate this, he established the brokerage company BIZAVI, which connects investors with business opportunities in Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Georgia. Notably, since October 2024, Partskhaladze has led the investment platform BRICS International Business Broker.
BRICS, founded in 2009 by Russia, China, Brazil, and India, serves as an alternative to the Western-dominated global order. Currently comprising over ten member states—including nations openly hostile to the West, such as Iran—the bloc asserts that Western powers disproportionately influence international institutions, sidelining the interests of developing countries. Consequently, BRICS pursues objectives such as:
- Enhancing the role of the Global South in global governance;
- Coordinating economic policies among member states;
- Reducing reliance on the US dollar;
- Establishing an alternative financial system.
Russia and China, as the dominant forces within BRICS, consistently advocate for a multipolar world order that challenges Western, particularly American, hegemony. The bloc’s influence now extends beyond Asia, reaching the South Caucasus. Notably, Azerbaijan submitted an official application for BRICS membership in August 2024, a move that has fueled discussions within Georgian anti-Western circles regarding the prospect of Georgia joining the bloc.
An analysis of the Georgian media landscape reveals that Russian propaganda machinery has already been activated to promote Georgia’s potential BRICS membership. On October 27, 2024, Alexander Dugin, the Kremlin’s chief ideologue, congratulated Georgian Dream on its electoral victory and advised the ruling party:
“Georgian Dream needs a strategy… They can make Georgia great again… and join BRICS.”
Interestingly, discussions about BRICS within Georgia’s pro-government media, particularly Imedi, intensified in 2024. A notable propagandist in this regard is Temur Maisuradze, a former Georgian Dream MP (2012–2016), who has been particularly vocal. In a November 4, 2024, interview, Maisuradze argued that Article 78 of Georgia’s Constitution impedes the country’s ability to join BRICS. He asserted that BRICS represents a step forward for Georgia, stating, “Refusing to join would be a betrayal of the homeland… We must become members of this union.”
Imedi’s founder and owner, Irakli Rukhadze, a key propagandist for Georgian Dream, has long opposed the constitutional provision mandating Georgia’s integration with the EU and NATO. He has dismissed this commitment as an unnecessary constraint, remarking:
“The entire nation’s focus has been diverted to this… It has been elevated to a sacred, dogmatic status… Why is this written in the Constitution? This is nonsense. If you ask me, we should not have written such things in the Constitution, which is a permanent document.”
(Irakli Rukhadze, Imedi TV, July 14, 2024)
Another Imedi-affiliated commentator, David Chikhelidze, echoed similar sentiments on December 23, 2024, arguing that Georgia could secure a distinct position within BRICS, as it is “a purely economic union that does not interfere in the internal politics of its member states.” Notably, Georgian propagandists frequently emphasize BRICS’s purportedly economic focus, contrasting it with the European Union, which they depict as more politically intrusive.
Regarding BRICS itself, Georgia has drawn the bloc’s attention amid ongoing domestic protests. The only article concerning Georgia on BRICS’s official website was published on November 29, 2024—the day after the Georgian Dream Prime Minister announced the suspension of negotiations with the EU. The article, titled “West Again Tries to Stage Coup d’état in Georgia,” aligns closely with Russian narratives, predicting that the protests will ultimately fail:
“The West is trying to stage a coup d’état in Georgia by organizing a color revolution, inciting mass protests and internal conflicts in the former Soviet republic, but protests by the Georgian opposition against allegedly rigged parliamentary elections will ultimately fail.’
It is evident that BRICS, a bloc co-founded by Russia, is not a politically neutral entity focused solely on economic development. Consequently, it comes as no surprise that BRICS does not respect Georgia’s territorial integrity. In June 2024, during a BRICS Sports Games, the so-called “flags” of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali were displayed alongside the Georgian flag. Against this backdrop, given the increasingly anti-Western and pro-Russian/Chinese foreign policy inclinations of the Georgian Dream, it is plausible that Bidzina Ivanishvili’s government views BRICS as a viable alternative to EU integration.
