Former Georgian Prosecutor General Otar Partskhaladze has claimed that what he described as the “rational segment” of Georgian society has resisted Western efforts to incite hostility toward Russia.
Speaking to Russian state news agency TASS, Partskhaladze alleged that Western countries were attempting to foster anti-Russian sentiment among Georgians.
“Russia has always stood by Georgia during its most difficult times, when the preservation of its statehood was in jeopardy,” Partskhaladze said.
“No matter how hard Western handlers try today to stoke hatred toward Russia among Georgians, rational people—of whom there are many in Georgia—will always stand on the side of historical truth rather than false Western narratives,” he added.
Partskhaladze, who also uses the name Otar Romanov, has reportedly formed a volunteer unit in Russia named “Georgievsky.” He said the name refers to the 1783 Treaty of Georgievsk, which, in his words, “played a major role in the history of the Georgian people.”
Under the treaty, the eastern Georgian Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti became a protectorate of the Russian Empire, which pledged to guarantee its territorial integrity and preserve the rule of the Bagrationi dynasty. Russia subsequently failed to assist Georgia during the devastating Persian invasion of 1795 and formally annexed Kartli-Kakheti in 1801, abolishing the Georgian monarchy.
Partskhaladze briefly served as Georgia’s prosecutor general from November to December 2013. He later obtained Russian citizenship and was sanctioned by the United States in September 2023. The [US Treasury](https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1731) described him as a Georgian-Russian oligarch and said Russia’s Federal Security Service had helped him obtain Russian citizenship in exchange for his agreement to influence Georgian politics and society in Russia’s interests. Partskhaladze has denied acting as a Russian agent.