The Russian Federation has long used propaganda as a tool for advancing its strategic interests in various countries. Georgia is no exception. In Georgia, the primary target of Russian propaganda is the country’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration course, and accordingly, all state and non-governmental institutions, political forces, and individual political leaders who support and implement this foreign policy direction.

Within this context, Georgia’s Western partners and institutions are also frequent targets of Russian disinformation efforts, including the European Union, NATO, European nations, and notably, the United States — Georgia’s strategic partner. Russian propaganda is deliberately engaged in the discrediting of Western democratic values, including human rights, the rule of law, and free-market principles.

Through various media platforms and interest groups, one of the core activities of anti-Western and/or pro-Russian propaganda actors is to run campaigns aimed at discrediting the United States. Their objective is to portray U.S.–Georgia strategic cooperation in an extremely negative light, ultimately paving the way for openly pro-Russian (or at minimum, anti-Western) political forces to gain power in Georgia and return the country to Russia’s sphere of influence.

One of the central Russian disinformation narratives claims the following: “Georgia, serving U.S. interests, fails to recognize that it gains nothing in return — on the contrary, the United States exploits Georgia for its own agenda to the detriment of the country.”

To counter this false narrative, Accent presents concrete data — expressed in figures — demonstrating the true scale of U.S. financial assistance to Georgia, which Russia (the occupying power controlling 20% of Georgia’s territory) attempts to discredit. Accent obtained official information from the U.S. Embassy in Georgia regarding financial assistance allocated to Georgia since 1992.

In the 2000s, Georgia became the largest per-capita recipient of U.S. assistance in Europe and Eurasia. From 2001 to 2007, U.S. aid to Georgia exceeded $945 million (an annual average of $135 million).

In 2005, Georgia received a five-year, $295 million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant, used for road, pipeline, and municipal infrastructure rehabilitation, as well as agribusiness development.

Following Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008, U.S. assistance increased significantly. The United States immediately provided $38 million in humanitarian and emergency relief, delivered by U.S. air and naval forces.

In September 2008, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced a U.S. assistance package worth at least $1 billion. In 2008–2009, U.S. aid to Georgia totaled $1.04 billion, including $634 million from supplemental funding sources. Additionally, Georgia received a further $100 million from the MCC program.

After the 2008 war, Georgia continued to be the top recipient of U.S. foreign assistance in Europe and Eurasia.

Total U.S. government aid to Georgia from 1992 through 2009 amounted to $3.2 billion.

USAID assistance is included within the total U.S. government aid figures referenced above.

Additionally, Georgia received a second MCC grant of $140 million (2014–2019) for education sector infrastructure, training programs, and STEM advancement.

Since 2017, annual U.S. assistance provided by the State Department and USAID has increased to approximately $123 million (Georgia received $131 million in 2020, including $40 million in FMF).

For 2021, the U.S. Congress allocated $132 million in bilateral assistance to Georgia, including $35 million in FMF.

Total U.S. assistance provided to Georgia from 2010 through 2021 amounts to $1.134 billion.

For 2022, the U.S. State Department and USAID requested $120.6 million in funding for Georgia.

Overall, total U.S. government financial assistance to Georgia from 1992 to the present now amounts to $4.334 billion.

Gvantsa Pipia

Accent News Agency