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Soviet-Era Psychiatric Repression Returns to Georgia’s Political Landscape
Sanity is not statistical, George Orwell once wrote. Yet in totalitarian systems, dissent becomes synonymous with mental illness—a convenient tool to discredit critics. This chilling practice, which found brutal expression in the Soviet Union through punitive psychiatry, is experiencing a troubling revival in modern Georgia.
In 1982, Nazi Shamanauri, a young Georgian woman, was arrested for criticizing the Soviet government. She and her mother were forcibly confined to a psychiatric hospital, where Shamanauri endured inhumane conditions, physical torture, and repeated beatings. Her personal diaries document horrific details: broken teeth, torment with instruments like lancets and spoons, and attempted suicide under unbearable pressure. Though eventually discharged on January 12, 1983, she died just eight days later in a severely debilitated state.
Four decades later, activist Nino Datashvili finds herself entangled in a disturbing echo of this history. Detained in June 2025 for allegedly assaulting a public servant, Datashvili was subjected to psychiatric evaluation after prosecutors seized on medical records originally submitted by her defense. These records, which documented her severe spinal conditions and related psycho-emotional symptoms, quickly became ammunition in what her lawyers describe as a “targeted campaign against activists.”
Government-affiliated media outlets immediately began questioning Datashvili’s mental stability. Then, in August, it was revealed that psychiatric evaluations had been quietly conducted without her lawyer’s knowledge. Among the examining experts was David Maghradze—the same doctor who participated in Nazi Shamanauri’s case in 1982.
While Datashvili has since been released on bail, the decision came only after her spinal condition dramatically worsened, requiring two surgeries including one on her cervical spine.
“This is a typical manifestation of a regime that has its moral, value-based, and historical roots exactly in Russia and the Soviet Union,” explains political scientist Lasha Dzebisashvili. “During totalitarian regimes, politically unreliable individuals were systematically filtered out from society and then isolated.”
Datashvili’s case is not isolated. Similar tactics have been deployed against other civic activists, including Nino Kalandia, whose advocacy began in 2015 while fighting bureaucratic barriers to care for her adopted daughter with Down syndrome. By 2019, Kalandia had become a prominent voice for social justice and accountability within Georgia’s institutions.
Just days after speaking with reporters about the resurgence of “madness” rhetoric in political discourse, pro-government channel PosTV aired a segment targeting Kalandia personally. Rather than addressing her activism, the broadcast focused on her appearance—her bright hair and expressive style presented as supposed evidence of mental instability.
“With this, they’re now trying to discredit the protests,” Kalandia says. “They’ve already tried many different ways to smear them, and most attempts failed. Now they’re using this dirty tactic.”
The current wave of anti-government protests erupted in November 2024 after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced the government would halt Georgia’s EU membership bid. As demonstrations persist, authorities have intensified both physical repression and psychological warfare.
“Everywhere I can reach, I develop this idea—about lunatics,” declared Shalva Ramishvili, described as the country’s chief propagandist, on PosTV in early October. Following particularly large protests on October 4, 2025, coinciding with municipal elections, pro-government media doubled down on mental health stigmatization, openly labeling demonstrators as “crazy” and dismissing the event as a “madmen’s failed revolution.”
This rhetoric has reached the highest levels of government. After clashes near the President’s Palace, Parliamentary Speaker Shalva Papuashvili adopted similar language: “What can the opposition or their media say? ‘We know ourselves that we are crazy, and if we are crazy, why didn’t you stop us with mines or machine guns?'”
The targeting appears particularly intense toward women activists. Anuki Chrdileli, detained on September 2, 2025 while filming arrests during a protest, quickly found herself the subject of mental health smears. Political experts aligned with the ruling Georgian Dream party spread distorted claims about her psychological state, with MP Tamta Megrelishvili publicly claiming Chrdileli’s father only “covered her psychiatric treatment abroad.”
“If they call you crazy, they try to make you as unbelievable as possible,” Chrdileli explains. “Like vulnerable people not even worthy of being listened to.”
Dzebisashvili notes that while Soviet repression was ideologically driven, today’s Georgian regime “operates more like a mafia-style structure, where security institutions merely serve as loyal enforcers.” Nevertheless, the psychological tactics remain disturbingly effective at undermining legitimate dissent.
As Georgia’s civil society confronts this resurgent form of repression, activists worry that prolonged stigmatization could become normalized. “I hope they won’t be able to continue this for so long that it settles in people’s minds,” Chrdileli warns. “If this process drags on, then the settling of this propaganda would work very well.”
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14 Comments
Punitive psychiatry was a hallmark of Soviet totalitarianism, and it’s extremely concerning to see it resurfacing in modern Georgia. This practice undermines the basic human rights of citizens and turns the healthcare system into a weapon of political repression.
I hope international bodies like the UN and EU are closely monitoring this situation and putting strong pressure on Georgia to end these abuses. Allowing such blatant violations to go unchecked sets a dangerous precedent.
This resurgence of political psychiatry in Georgia is a grave concern. Weaponizing the healthcare system to silence critics is a blatant abuse of power that undermines democracy and the rule of law. The international community must act swiftly to condemn these actions.
Agreed. The Georgian government must be held accountable for these human rights violations. Allowing such practices to persist will only embolden other authoritarian regimes to follow suit, eroding hard-won freedoms around the world.
This is a troubling resurgence of Soviet-era psychiatric repression tactics. Attempting to discredit dissidents by labeling them mentally ill is a despicable abuse of power. I hope the international community strongly condemns these actions and holds the Georgian government accountable.
Agreed, the use of psychiatric facilities to silence critics is a clear violation of human rights. Georgia must urgently reform its practices to align with international standards of due process and individual liberty.
The case of activist Nino Datashvili is deeply disturbing. Forcibly detaining someone for alleged assault and then subjecting them to psychiatric evaluation reeks of political persecution. This tactic erodes the rule of law and democratic freedoms.
Datashvili’s reported experience of inhumane conditions, physical torture, and attempted suicide under pressure is horrific. The Georgian authorities must be held to account for this egregious abuse of power.
It’s deeply disturbing to see the Soviet-era tactic of using psychiatry as a tool of political repression resurfacing in Georgia. This is a blatant violation of fundamental human rights and democratic principles. Decisive action is needed to end these abuses.
Absolutely right. The international community must exert strong pressure on Georgia to reform its practices and bring an end to the misuse of psychiatric institutions for political purposes. Upholding human rights and the rule of law should be the priority.
It’s disturbing to see how easily authoritarian tendencies can re-emerge, even decades after the fall of the Soviet Union. Georgia must urgently reform its legal and medical systems to prevent the weaponization of psychiatry against political dissidents.
Exactly. Dissent should never be equated with mental illness. The Georgian government must respect the basic rights and freedoms of its citizens, not abuse them through coercive psychiatric practices.
The parallels between the case of Nazi Shamanauri in 1982 and Nino Datashvili today are deeply troubling. It’s a chilling reminder that the scars of past totalitarian regimes can take a long time to heal, and vigilance is required to prevent their resurgence.
Absolutely. Georgia must learn from its own history and ensure that such egregious violations of human rights never happen again. Meaningful reform and accountability are essential to prevent the return of these abhorrent practices.