The 2024 Russian influence operation in Georgia was an intelligence operation conducted by the Russian government and pro-Russian political parties in the Republic of Georgia ahead of the country's 26 October 2024 presidential election. While some polls indicated that the opposition was expected to win the election, Armenian, Chechen, and Azeri-majority districts suspiciously voted overwhelmingly for Georgian Dream, and vote-buying was widespread.
While Georgian Dream was founded as a center-left pro-European party supportive of integration into NATO, the party evolved into an explicitly conservative, illiberal and pro-Russian party. Georgian Dream's tenure in power was marked by vote-bribing, democratic backsliding, authoritarianism, and autocratic governance, and the United States sanctioned Georgian Dream officials in June 2024 for undermining democracy with its Russian-influenced Foreign Agents Bill. Georgian Dream spread pro-Russian propaganda like the "Global War Party" conspiracy theory, accusing the American military-industrial complex, George Soros, and neoconservatives of prolonging the Russo-Ukrainian War and spreading it to other countries, assassinating sovereignist leaders, and orchestrating revolutions around the world.
On 6 October 2024, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) adopted a resolution condemning Georgia for its democratic regression, its political violence, and its persecution of opposition. On 9 October, the European Parliament voted 495-73 to urge the EU to freeze aid to the Georgian government, impose sanctions on Bidzina Ivanishvili and other individuals responsible for the erosion of democracy, and ensure that anti-democratic laws were aligned with the criteria for visa liberalization.
During the election season, Moscow's network of officials and state-owned outlets spread conspiracy theories, claiming that the US and Ukraine were secretly deploying snipers to shoot at protesters in Tbilisi to escalate the situation. President Salome Zourabichvili claimed that the FSB interfered with the election through falsifying the election results and spreading pro-Kremlin propaganda. After Georgian Dream won the election, opposition leader Tina Bokuchava refused to recognize the election results or enter parliament, declaring that Ivanishvili had orchestrated a Russian-style operation against the Georgian people, usurped their victory, and disregarded their choice for a European future. Other opposition parties also refused to use their parliamentary mandates, depriving the new parliament of a quorum.