Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has designated the activities of the Georgian opposition party Droa as “undesirable” on Russian territory, accusing it of holding “strongly Russophobic views” and seeking to discredit Moscow’s policies towards Georgia. The decision was announced on 5 November. Founded in 2021 and led by imprisoned opposition politician Elene Khoshtaria, Droa is part of the Coalition for Change.

In its statement, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office Droa for exposing alleged links between Georgia’s ruling elite and Russia, advocating the dismantling of what it called Georgia’s “one-party system”, and promoting accelerated EU integration. It also accused the party of holding a strongly Russophobic stance and opposing the normalisation of political, economic and cultural relations between Moscow and Tbilisi, demanding the reinstatement of a visa regime for Russian citizens and the suspension of direct flights between the two countries. The statement specifically cited Droa’s position that Russia occupies Abkhazia and South Ossetia, violating international law and Georgia’s sovereignty. Moscow also criticised the party’s support for Ukraine and its advocacy of closer Georgian-Ukrainian cooperation and Georgia’s participation in the “Carpathian Eight”, a regional cooperation format involving seven Central and Eastern European countries.

Droa by saying that the reasons cited by Russian authorities were precisely the positions the party openly supports. Droa leader Giga Lemonjava called the designation a demonstrative move by the Kremlin ahead of an expected ruling by Georgia’s Constitutional Court on the Georgian Dream lawsuit seeking to ban opposition parties. He argued that the timing showed Moscow’s interest in the elimination of pro-Western political forces in Georgia. Lemonjava accused Georgian Dream lawmakers who signed the lawsuit and judges expected to rule on it of implementing what he framed as a Russian plan.

Khoshtaria has been in prison since September 2025, when she was detained after writing “Russian Dream” on an election campaign banner belonging to Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze. In March 2026, she was sentenced to 18 months in prison after being found guilty of property damage. Separately, she and seven other opposition figures face charges in a sabotage case.