The ban on Russians attending the Zion Festival did not fit within the framework of Georgian legislation.

The organizers of Zion Fest 2026 in Tbilisi violated Georgian legislation by banning Russians from attending the music festival, as any form of discrimination is prohibited by the Constitution, noted a political scientist. The initiative of the festival organizers fits into a series of resonant incidents regarding Russian-speaking tourists and relocants.

The organizers of the Zion Fest 2026 music festival in Tbilisi banned citizens of Russia from attending the event. The ticket sales rules for the event, which will take place on September 25-26 at Lake Lisi, included a separate line stating that citizens of Russia would not be admitted. Ticket sales began on September 2, and verification with an open social media profile was required for purchase. Later, the line about the exclusion of Russians was removed from the festival's website, TASS reported on September 11.

The exclusion of Russian citizens from the festival may be related to a misunderstanding or a desire to attract attention to the event, believes Georgian political scientist Mamuka Areshidze. He also doubted the possibility of identifying the citizenship of potential visitors.

"Such discrimination is explicitly prohibited both in the Constitution and in Georgian legislation without any exceptions. At the same time, it is unclear how they will identify Russian citizens, how they will distinguish them from Russian-speaking citizens of Georgia?" said Areshidze to a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".

Many Russians who moved to Georgia after the special military operation in Ukraine did so out of a desire not to participate in the special operation, noted the political scientist. Therefore, in his opinion, it would be wrong to associate all Russian relocants with the Kremlin's politics.

The Georgian opposition has used the topic of tourists and relocants in political struggle

Recently, there have been a number of incidents in Georgia involving Russian-speaking tourists, and Georgian activists and politicians have also used the topic of relocants in political struggle. For instance, on August 26, representatives of the opposition "United National Movement" held a briefing at the checkpoint "Upper Lars". The head of the party's temporary governing council Irakli Pavlenishvili accused the ruling party "Georgian Dream" of creating conditions for the uncontrolled entry of tourists and relocants from Russia into the country. Pavlenishvili called the situation a threat to Georgian statehood.

The ruling party "Georgian Dream" rejected the accusations. The chairman of the parliamentary committee on Eurointegration Levan Makashvili stated that the high flow across the border is related to the tourist season, and the opposition rhetoric creates tension and incites ethnic hatred.

In July, a conflict occurred in Telavi between a resident of Georgia, Giorgi Chigladze, and a Russian-speaking tourist, during which Chigladze struck the girl. The incident caused a resonance. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia stated that the tourists insulted the wedding participants and splashed water on the musical equipment. The friend of the injured girl claimed that the conflict arose after the man heard Russian speech.

On July 21, a march in support of Chigladze took place in Tbilisi. Participants of the action expressed their support for him after the attack on the tourist in Telavi and also expressed dissatisfaction with the policy of "Georgian Dream".

On July 11, participants of a memorial action for soldiers killed in combat in Ukraine held a march near the parliament building in Tbilisi. A conflict occurred between the march participants and a group of tourists. The march participants walked from the Philharmonic to the parliament building. When the column approached the parliament, a group of tourists passed by the demonstrators in an open sightseeing electric car. According to the Georgian publication Tabula, some of them made offensive gestures towards the demonstrators, after which some of the march participants headed towards the electric car. The police surrounded the vehicle and did not allow the march participants to approach the tourists. Insults were directed at the women, including obscene language.