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00:00 With Georgian and EU flags in hand, these demonstrators resemble those around them outside
00:05 the Tbilisi parliament. But they have a point of difference. They are Russians exiled in
00:11 the country, standing alongside Georgians.
00:14 "All those horrors happening in Russia might happen here if the law is enacted. As a Russian
00:20 citizen I think it is important to show my solidarity."
00:24 They are protesting the foreign influence law passed by parliament this week, which
00:28 would require organisations financed from abroad to register with the authorities.
00:34 For many Russians in Georgia, it reminds them of a similar law passed in their home country
00:39 in 2012 that led to the closure of non-government organisations and independent media.
00:45 "I saw how my country slowly slipped into dictatorship, how the screws were gradually
00:51 tightened. And when I read the government's words and realised its motives, I understood
00:59 that the Russian scenario is repeating. The worst thing is that the motives are the same."
01:07 But their solidarity doesn't prevent tensions arising. In Tbilisi, there is graffiti calling
01:12 on Russians to go home. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Georgia has seen an influx of
01:17 refugees fleeing military mobilisation. Now, more than 100,000 Russians are currently in
01:24 the country.