“Under the Russian regime, I have rarely felt pride; shame and remorse are my constant companions. However, the so-called accusation from the prosecutor’s office is precisely one of those rare moments I will be proud of for the rest of my life,” writes Elene Khoshtaria, leader of the Droa party, on social media.

As Khoshtaria recounts, she is proud that she reached the Ukrainian border just weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine and that she was in Kyiv and Bucha numerous times throughout the war.

“I am proud that, alongside my comrades, I helped homeless elderly and children who fled Ukraine. I am proud that I have made a modest contribution to the dismantling of the ‘Russian Dream’. To me, this is, to some extent, a form of recompense for the shame that all decent people feel because of the treacherous politics of the Georgian Dream.

I believe that together, we will eliminate this shame and consign it to the nightmarish pages of history. We have witnessed how, at the expense of our own sacrifices, the Rustaveli protest has, in just three weeks, reduced the last repressive law to ashes. This is a momentous victory. It deprives the regime of its power, dismantles its repressive apparatus, and shows how strong, righteous, and united the people truly are. The deployment of police signifies the regime’s failure to uphold the law. Meanwhile, the marches present a new challenge for Georgian Dream. Until victory!” writes Elene Khoshtaria.