"I am overwhelmed with solidarity, rage and sorrow"

Together with thousands of Georgians, dozens of emigrating Russians entered the shares against the law on “foreign agents”.

Paper Kartuli talked with two protests in Tbilisi about their experience and motivation to join the action.

Daniil, artist:

- This year, like everyone, I was very offended by the second attempt to adopt the law. I have many friends and acquaintances who have become “foreign agents” in Russia who lives out of place because of this. I am very worried that in Georgia everything will follow just this scenario.

As soon as I came here, I immediately began to plunge into a political, social, cultural context. More than a year ago, it was my fifth or sixth month in Tbilisi, during the March protests against the first attempt to adopt the law on “foreign agents”, I firmly decided that I would go. And it was easier for me that my Georgian friend was then with me. All the days we stood with him, fell into tough kneads, gas swallowed, cried from pepper cans.

Then, a year ago, I came up with a slogan for the poster of I Want My Country to Fuck Off From Georgia, which I came out this year, but changed the country's name for Sakartvo. I received a lot of words of sheds from very cool Georgians from the spheres close to me - culture, art and politicians. I did not feel any condemnation by Georgian society due to the fact that I am not in my business.

On the first day, the news appeared [that the law on “foreign agents” will be submitted again for consideration], I went to the parliament. Then there were very few people. April 15 was the first major rally. I went out with my poster, again received a lot of gratitude, everyone took a picture of me. It was simultaneously pleasant and scary, because there were many cases when people were not allowed into Georgia without explanation. And there are assumptions that these reasons can be associated with participation in the domestic policy of Georgia.

I was politically active and participated in everything that I could, still living in Russia. But we didn’t succeed. When I emigrated, I already knew exactly where I was leaving, he knew that this was a country that had suffered a lot from Russia's actions. I understood that I could and want to help Georgia in the desire for independence and European integration. Especially given that the current actions of the Georgian authorities simply copy Russian practices.

I would like to turn to all the experts living in Georgia: let's, please, we will be attentive to the place and to the people who surround us. If we are imagining ourselves by fighters with the regime who left, because they do not want to be part of it, then let's not stop there, but to understand that there is politics not only in Russia, but in the place where we now live and are one way or another part of society. I really ask everyone to at least follow what is happening, at least talk about it with friends, with acquaintances.

Eugene, activist:

- After Russia and Belarus, where the protests crushed, I would like to support progressive citizens of Georgia by an elementary physical presence. The more people are uniformly expressed in an active position, the more difficult it is to disperse them, disconnect, put them in autozaks, digest to death or expel them from the country.

I honestly tell my story - about how I left only after the initiation of a criminal case, and that the volunteer here is Foulai. Over and over again, I get from Georgian citizens only support, sympathy and proposal of help. I have never encountered open Russophobia in personal communication. I was glad that for many hours at the rally no one asked us to leave, although others heard our Russian speech. We chased together, and the locals willingly talked with us.

I always talk about our charity initiatives: about Tbilisi's volunteers, Emigration for Action, Choose to Help, that we always need volunteers. Personally, I am part of the Tbilisi Volunteers, and we help not only Ukrainians: monthly we send a ton of humanitarian aid to the occupation line. We have a social dining room where we feed the elderly people from a local nursing home every day. I sincerely tell people that Georgia and its citizens are complete delight, that I am overwhelmed with solidarity, rage and sorrow, that we have a common enemy. And they hear me.

Photo on the cover: Personal archive Daniel

What else to read:

• "I want one day we could be the same bold." Why did the Russians go to the Georgian rally - five stories from the center of Tbilisi from Paper Kartuli
• Georgia is against the law on "foreign regents". Protest chronology, whose participants were not frightened by gas, water interference and shooting