At the onset of the protests, Georgian Dream (GD) had been the ruling party in Georgia since defeating Mikheil Saakashvili's United National Movement (UNM) in the 2012 parliamentary election.

The Georgian Dream government continued the policy of EU and NATO membership, signing an Association Agreement with the European Union in 2014.

However, the new government sought to change its approach towards Russia against the backdrop of Russian reset policy launched by the Obama administration.

In December 2012, Georgian and Russian diplomats met in Prague to discuss problematic relations between the countries first time since the end of the 2008 war.

In 2014, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili stated in the interview to BBC that he had information that unlike Ukraine's Crimea, Russia had no interest in annexing Georgia's South Ossetia.

The IAO is a transnational, inter-parliamentary institution founded in 1994 by the Greek Parliament to unite Orthodox Christian lawmakers around the globe.

[4] The opposition called for public protests and the resignation of the Chairman of Parliament Irakli Kobakhidze and the Georgian delegation leader of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy, MP Zakaria Kutsnashvili responsible for the event.

The special tasks division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Tbilisi police deployed rubber bullets and tear gas against the protesters.

At least two people experienced eye injuries and loss of vision due to rubber bullets, according to Giorgi Kordzakhiya, director of Tbilisi's New Hospital.

Protests continued on next days demanding the resignation of government officials responsible for police actions, including the MIA of Georgia Giorgi Gakharia, and introduction of fully proportional election system instead of the existing semi-proportional.

Protests calmed down after 24 June when the head of the ruling Georgian Dream Party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, announced a change to the electoral system.

[17] On 26 June, Nika Melia, an opposition leader and United National Movement MP was charged with organizing, managing or participating in group violence during the protests.

On 28 June, the court rejected prosecution motion for pre-trial detention and ordered Melia to post a bail, wear an electronic bracelet to be monitored and also to surrender his passport during the investigation.

[21] On 25 July, former Defence Minister of Georgia Irakli Okruashvili was arrested on charges of organizing, leading and participating in mass violence during the protests.

The release was demanded by the opposition, which considered Irakli Okruashvili a political prisoner, and vowed to not to back constitutional amendments for electoral reform as agreed in March 8 Agreement.

Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia suggested to postpone Melia's arrest, and after failing to reach the agreement with his party colleagues, subsequently announced his resignation, causing a government crisis.

Delegation of European Union in Georgia said in a statement on 8 May: "Today, a bail worth 40.000 GEL was posted to allow for Mr. Melia's release from pre-trial detention.

[4] Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze said that "an outrageous mistake has taken place" and that organizers of the IAO [Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy] meeting "will have to apologize and explain to the Georgian society what has happened and why".

[30] Chairman of Georgia Dream Bidzina Ivanishvili attributed the situation to the "error in protocol" and said that public concerns were fair, but he also elaborated that the initial peaceful protest was manipulated by the opposition United National Movement party into an attempt to storm the parliament building and seize the state power through force.

[33][34] Russia's Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-being increased quality controls on Georgian wine and mineral water, seen as linked to the escalation in tensions.

In an interview with Euronews, Zourabichvili called for a "de-escalation" in the situation while also blaming Russia for stirring up a "fifth column" in the country that is loyal to Moscow.

[41] In July 2019, Russia denounced an expletive-laden attack on Vladimir Putin by Georgian TV host Giorgi Gabunia during a broadcast on Rustavi 2.

On May 7, 2024, the European Court of Human Rights released a judgment, finding failure to properly investigate allegations regarding violations of prohibition of torture.