The Take: What’s behind Georgia’s ‘foreign agents’ protests?

Police in Tbilisi crack down on protesters as tens of thousands rally to oppose a controversial ‘foreign influence’ bill.

Protesters are calling it the “Russian law” – a bill in Georgia’s parliament that, if passed, would label any organisation with more than 20 percent foreign funding as a foreign agent. The bill has sparked widespread protests. Supporters say it protects Georgian sovereignty. How will it affect whether this small former Soviet republic leans towards Russia or towards the EU?

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Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Khaled Soltan and Sarí el-Khalili with our host Kevin Hirten, in for Malika Bilal. Tabish Talib and Manahil Naveed fact-checked this episode.