Georgian parliament speaker quits after anti-Russian protests leave hundreds injured

The speaker of Georgia’s parliament has stepped down amid anti-Russia protests after a Russian lawmaker sat in his seat.

Irakli Kobakhidze resigned after demands from protesters, whose underlying anger at Moscow spilt on to the Tbilisi streets on Thursday evening.

Hundreds of protesters and police were injured as rubber bullets, tear gas, stun grenades and water cannon were used in a chaotic struggle when demonstrators stormed parliament.

According to local media, at least two people were seriously hurt. One TV cameraman reportedly lost an eye. As of Friday noon, 102 people remained in hospital.

The protest developed quickly following reports of the appearance of Russian Communist MP Sergei Gavrilov taking the speaker’s chair on Thursday.

The news that the speaker had resigned was relayed to journalists on Friday by Kakha Kaladze, one of the leaders of the ruling Georgian Dream party.

Relations between Russia and Georgia remain strained following a war in 2008 and Moscow’s recognition of breakaway Georgian territories.

Moscow has blamed the protests on opposition forces under the influence of exiled former president Mikheil Saakashvili. In his morning press conference, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described the events as a “Russophobic provocation”. Moscow’s Foreign Ministry meanwhile said it was “appalled” at the actions of “radical political forces in Georgia”.

It is unclear how Mr Gavrilov ended up in the speaker’s chair. Invited to open an inter-parliamentary religious assembly, he has now said it had not been his choice to sit there. But the scandal was as obvious as it was immediate. Mr Gavrilov, unable to finish his speech, was hurried out of parliament, with eggs flying.

A mid-ranking Communist deputy, Mr Gavrilov is not well known even in Russia. In Georgia, however, he is remembered for his support for Russian recognition of breakaway regions Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Both territories were recognised by Moscow following a bloody 2008 military incursion into Georgia.

Local anger at Russia continues to be partially reflected in tensions between the Europe-leaning opposition and the ruling Georgian Dream party, which is led by a businessman who made billions in Russia.

On Friday morning, leading lights of the ruling party were forced to issue a public apology. It had been an “error in protocol”, they said, that “allowed a representative of an occupying power ... to occupy the speaker’s chair”.

Violence between police and protesters, once common in Tbilisi, has not been seen in many years. In a statement issued following the protest, Human Rights Watch expressed concern at the use of rubber bullets and tear gas without warning. International law allowed only for “proportional force” in response to clear danger, it said. Rubber bullets were appropriate only in “exceptional circumstances”.

Opposition forces looked set to use the crisis to their advantage, and have called for a continuation of protests on Friday evening.

Aside from the resignation of the parliamentary speaker, they have made several key demands including a call for early parliamentary elections.