Will the regime in Georgia fall? With Madame President Salomé Zourabichvili

In this live special edition of «Ukrainapodden» recorded at Kronesalen, Sentralen in Oslo, co-hosts Tormod Malvin Sæther and Lasha Kavtaradze bring you an essential analysis of Georgia’s escalating domestic and geopolitical crisis. The episode format is split into two distinct acts, kicking off with an expert panel before reaching its grand finale with the headlining interview featuring Georgia's fifth president. The audio quality is not the best, but the best we could manage considering the venue we were recording in. The first half of the episode shines a light on the brutal human rights violations currently occurring under the ruling Georgian Dream government. Investigative journalist Irma Dimitradze from Gazeti Batumelebi shares a harrowing update on her imprisoned colleague Mzia Amaglobeli, who has suffered severe vision loss following a hunger strike. Alongside her, human rights experts Ane Tusvik Bonde from Amnesty International Norge and Gunnar Ekeløve-Slydal from Den norske Helsingforskomité unpack the terrifying reality of the «Russian law», the deployment of toxic chemical agents against student protesters, and the systemic freezing of NGO accounts. They issue a powerful call for Norway to step up and utilize the Council of Europe's legal toolbox to halt this authoritarian shift. The episode then builds to its main event: an exclusive, deeply personal conversation between Jørgen Watne Frydnes from PEN Norge and President Salome Zourabichvili. President Zourabichvili delivers a scathing indictment of oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, framing his administration as a direct executor of Kremlin priorities. She meticulously exposes how the 2024 elections were stolen through a high-tech Russian special operation using Venezuelan electronic voting systems. Concluding the episode, Zourabichvili explains why this pro-Russian regime is suffering from severe internal paranoia and system failure that will prevent it from lasting another five years. This live recording provides a critical roadmap for Western democracies to confront Russia’s hybrid strategies before they arrive at their own doorsteps. Timestamps [00:00:00] Intro: Live panel at Sentralen with Lasha Kavtaradze and Tormod Malvin Sæther. [00:02:28] Irma Dimitradze on the imprisonment and health of journalist Mzia Amaglobeli. [00:07:26] The direct impact of the «Russian law» on Georgia's independent media landscape. [00:11:45] Amnesty International Norge on police brutality and toxic chemical weapons. [00:15:56] Den norske Helsingforskomité on deploying the democratic legal toolbox. [00:21:39] Irma Dimitradze on public donations as a resilient form of political protest. [00:25:21] Transition to the headlining interview of the evening. [00:25:44] Jørgen Watne Frydnes (PEN Norge) introduces President Salome Zourabichvili. [00:28:17] Why the Georgian Dream broke its promises and aligned with Kremlin priorities. [00:33:40] Exposing the rigged 2024 elections and Russia's high-tech hybrid strategies. [00:43:52] President Zourabichvili on inner regime paranoia and why it won't last five years. [00:54:07] How Kremlin's diktat is turning Georgia into an unstable, sanction-circumventing «gray zone».