“We have not declared a final battle; we have declared a battle to the end, until victory!” writes Nika Gvaramia, one of the leaders of the “Coalition for Change,” in a letter released from prison.

According to Nika Gvaramia, large-scale protests are also necessary.

Additionally, Nika Gvaramia discusses the October 4 elections, stating that “the boycott succeeded, but the elections did not.” However, he does not consider this a basis for attacking those who participated in the elections; on the contrary, he believes that “we must still find a way to reach each other.”

“I have no intention of preaching or allowing myself, under conditions of informational starvation, to fuel conspiracies.

Today, I wanted to say the main thing: the protest withstood the heaviest double blow in one day, and it took less than 24 hours to loudly declare, at the same time and from the same place, ‘We are still here! We continue! We will win!’

The worst words and attitudes now are ‘I told you so,’ ‘Who are these people?’ and the like. To my friends and those for whom my position is interesting and worth considering, I want to remind you: moral superiority does not need boasting; on the contrary, it will make you lose it. Endlessly talking about being right diminishes the truth. I understand that the last three months have been extremely tough for you. It was the most difficult situation because you were receiving blows from both sides. I understand all of this, but weren’t we doing this for applause or to score points? Weren’t we doing it for a common cause? So, this cause now needs not point-scoring but turning the page.

The logic of a revolution is cynical: it’s like the Olympic system—lose and go (to prison); if you win, ‘victors are not judged.’ I don’t think anyone was unaware of this. That’s why taking on this burden is the heaviest responsibility, and it is precisely for this self-sacrifice that the members of the revolutionary committee deserve respect, empathy, and support, of course. But society truly deserves the truth from them.

Now, what I think is ‘a lot of work ahead.’ What hurts Bidzina the most is clear, and it was evident in his appearance before his media on election day. It’s sanctions, and we have all together taken a crucial path toward these sanctions. This success has three pillars, and the double blow of October 4 aimed to dismantle all three. First, the opposition’s non-cooperation. The most important aspect here was and remains the opposition’s refusal to accept parliamentary mandates. Nothing we politicians have done is more significant in form or substance. This is the direct reason for the regime’s illegitimacy, which, in turn, is the main (though not sufficient) prerequisite for the international isolation of ‘Georgian Dream’ and sanctions. Revisiting this is simply unacceptable. The blow in the direction of legitimation was the involvement of mainstream parties in the elections. Fortunately, their participation did not make the ‘local elections’ results legitimate—100% results in many places, no real observers, the lowest turnout in Tbilisi’s history—less than a third (and if the opposition hadn’t participated, it would have been a quarter). All this led to the non-recognition of these elections, and now Kaladze’s status is also that of a ‘so-called mayor.’ There are no international congratulations; on the contrary, there are extremely negative responses. And anyone who thinks that the government is not congratulated on local election victories is mistaken. In short, the boycott succeeded, but the elections did not.

I absolutely do not consider any of this a basis for attacking those who participated in the elections. On the contrary, we must still find a way to reach each other. On the other hand, attacks from those who participated in the elections are extremely surprising. Everyone should know that our coalition’s decisions—whether refusing mandates or not participating in the elections—were not made top-down. On the contrary, the electorate demanded this from us, and we responded adequately to their demands.

Second—opposition’s work with foreign partners. This has been extremely successful so far, and I believe this is primarily why a large part of the political leadership is imprisoned, which significantly reduces the opposition’s effectiveness. And third, and most importantly—protest. Today, the protest combines the functions of the first and second: preventing the opposition from entering parliament and working on sanctions. Therefore, I believe large protests are needed: one Saturday with British and Georgian flags demanding ‘Sanction Bidzina,’ the next Saturday with EU and Georgian flags demanding ‘Sanction the regime,’ and the third Saturday with American and Georgian flags demanding the adoption of the ‘MEGOBARI Act.’ This will set a specific goal, bring the protest back onto the radar of international media and politics, and, most likely, achieve success, thus renewing the experience of necessary victories. This is how I see the development of the protest in the coming weeks, though it’s not my decision to make.

We have not declared a final battle; we have declared a battle to the end, until victory! Every day until Bidzina Ivanishvili’s defeat, we stand where we have stood for the past 313 days.

Finally, I congratulate you again on your victory over the toughest challenge, and I also congratulate myself on the honor of being a comrade-in-arms with unbreakable patriots like you.

The oligarchy must fall! Glory to Georgia!” writes Nika Gvaramia.