“However much they try to hide this protest, protest cannot hide itself. The longer they endure all this, the more deeply and forcefully it will destroy them as individuals,” says former public servant Salome Macharashvili. She is one of hundreds of public servants who were dismissed from public service because of protest.
According to data from Article 78 of the Constitution of Independent Public Servants’ Trade Unions, between 800 and 1,200 public servants have been dismissed in the country due to pro‑European protests. About 20% of those dismissed managed to find employment in the private sector.
How realistic is it to express bold positions while working in public service in the hope of finding a job in business later? Batumelebi spoke with three people who were dismissed from public service and later found jobs in the private sector.
“A door to new opportunities will always open, but not at the cost of giving up your values and principles,” says Salome Macharashvili with confidence. She was dismissed from Tbilisi City Hall in March 2025. For the previous six years, she had held a managerial position at the Municipal Services Agency.
Salome Macharashvili was fired after she protested the suspension of Georgia’s European integration course by signing a petition. She expressed her protest openly.
“After being dismissed from the agency, I found a job in a private company as a project manager. It took me about five to six months to find a new job,” Macharashvili says.
She speaks about the difficulties that force public servants into silence and describes the path she had to take before finding work in the private sector:
“The public sector is not known for high salaries; people mostly work there out of motivation, and the country’s economic hardship is reflected in the lives of public servants as well. They have financial obligations and family responsibilities, which creates enormous pressure to remain silent.
After 18 years of uninterrupted service, moving to the private sector is very difficult. I am 38 years old. Eighteen conscious years of my life this entire phase is connected to Tbilisi City Hall. And then they question your competence: supposedly you failed an interview, and then they appoint someone in your place who has no knowledge of construction law at all, has just started familiarizing themselves with legislation, and is not yet fully involved in advising citizens.
The construction sector is quite specific. The specialized knowledge and experience I had were very important. I think I was lucky: I met an employer at a time when the company needed exactly the kind of resource I could offer, and I happened to be free and looking for work,” Macharashvili explains.
When asked about the difference in pay, she answers briefly:
“My salary is much higher in the company.”
Macharashvili says that pro‑European sentiment among public servants is quite high, but many choose silence. What is the solution if expressing protest leads to dismissal?
“The challenge is serious, even just finding a job, but there are values and principles that the Constitution and legislation obligate a public servant to uphold whom they serve and to whom they are accountable. These are fundamental principles, and defending them is important everywhere, especially in public service. It is impossible to be in conflict with these issues and not be destroyed internally. I would wish more courage, boldness, and freedom to such public servants. In my view, a solution always exists.
A door to new opportunities will always open, but not at the cost of giving up your values and principles,” she says.
Despite the country’s authoritarian tendencies, can a qualified public servant still find work are these fears unfounded?
“Signs of nepotism are generally much less common in the private sector, because business looks at its expenses: what benefit does spending on human resources bring to the company? A company’s well‑being is directly tied to this. Therefore, business physically cannot and will not keep resources that do not bring value.
Accordingly, qualifications are very important.
Public servants especially experienced ones who have completed numerous trainings have a much greater advantage in terms of discipline and responsibility compared to the private sector. Responsibility and discipline are crucial for any company,” says the former public servant.
She also shares her observation that even those public servants who remain silent today but are troubled by protest will eventually be confronted:
“However much they try to hide this protest, protest cannot hide itself. The longer they endure all this, the more deeply and forcefully it will destroy them as individuals. I believe that many conscientious people work in public institutions people with values, who understand the worth of their country and know what public service should stand for. They must truly realize the risks inherent in silence. I believe that at some point, at some specific threshold, the issue will erupt again.”
Asked about a comment by Georgian Dream MP Mariam Lashkhi “If someone feels they have a Russian government, then they should not take a salary from that Russian government” – Macharashvili responds sharply:
“I would advise Mariam Lashkhi to review the Law on Public Service and the Constitution, which have been trampled over the past months and year, and to read carefully who the real source of salaries is, whom public servants must serve, and to whom they are accountable especially those employed in local self‑government bodies.”
“If you submit to fear and pressure, you have already been subdued,” says Nodar Tsitsriashvili, a former employee of the Revenue Service.
Tsitsriashvili worked in the Audit Department of the Revenue Service from 2014. He left public service voluntarily in early June 2025.
“I no longer liked the situation, so I left. I saw how I was being sidelined my place disappeared from meetings, promotion opportunities were eliminated, I wasn’t allowed to take leave, my salary was reduced.
I participated and still participate in pro‑European protest rallies. No one ever told me anything directly, but it was connected to politics our European path.
I got up and left. I found a job as an accountant in a company. I earn 500 lari less, but it’s worth it.
It’s important to step out of your comfort zone. If you submit to illegality, you become obedient and that’s where everything ends. You must not allow fear to subdue you.
You need to show a fighting spirit at such times. You have to tell yourself that something will work out and it will. You have to take risks. If you submit to fear and pressure, you’ve already been subdued. This is a battle with yourself, with your fears, and those fears must be overcome,” Tsitsriashvili says.
Asked whether silent public servants might become active again, Tsitsriashvili says the Georgian Dream government has managed to push the public sector toward obedience, and those who remained silent at this critical moment will remain silent.
“Of course you can find a job, but it’s difficult especially if you have children to support. It’s hard to take risks in that situation, though one of my friends with children did take the risk, left, and found a job.
Not everyone takes risks; not everyone can.
If dignity wins in this difficult moment, you overcome fear. If fear subdues you, you adapt to obedience.
The fear is real that you won’t find another job because in today’s Georgia it is indeed very difficult to find decent work. I urge others not to fall into despair. Going to Rustaveli Avenue and talking to people helped me a lot.
Today I avoid contact with public servants. I know everyone experiences what’s happening in the country in their own way, but fear is the dominant factor. The government activated this fear deliberately.
When a person is frightened and a psychological shift occurs, in my view that person has already made a decision and submitted to pressure.
Unfortunately, we have already passed this critical stage. We should no longer have illusions. It is very painful,” Tsitsriashvili says.
Taia Makharashvili worked as a communications manager at Tbilisi City Hall. She was dismissed in December 2024. She recalls the moment of dismissal as an emotional relief and describes how the authorities’ response to protest evolved in the public sector:
“I spent the last 11 years in public service. The first time I joined a protest was probably in 2019, as a public sector employee after the Saralidze murder case. At that time, expressing protest at work had no consequences. They were aware, of course, but no one reacted.
Then came the 2020 protests and Gavrilov’s Night, when attitudes toward protest within City Hall changed, though no one said anything directly. I was told several times that this was being monitored and reported ‘upwards’ I don’t know whether to the party or to someone else.
Then came the Russian law and the 2023 protests. I was told my contract might not be renewed at the end of the year. Eventually it wasn’t terminated the law was withdrawn and we received EU candidate status, which created a sense of hope in public institutions.
In 2024 the Russian law returned, and our protest became much sharper. On November 30, 2024, we joined other public servants with a public statement. A few days later I was told to step away from my duties; I was banned from communicating with the media, which had been part of my routine work for years.
On December 27, I was dismissed. Emotionally, it was a relief. There may not have been open threats or harassment, but I always felt that my social media was monitored, that whatever I said would reach someone somewhere. That feeling disappeared,” Makharashvili says.
Alongside emotional relief, financial problems followed. For several months she received assistance from support funds, then found work in the private sector as a coordinator of an educational project.
“I am glad that I currently get to work alongside people who have the right civic position. This is decisive for me. I had offers that I declined simply because I knew that the company’s management had a civic position different from mine. After what we went through in public service, I think I should not put myself in that kind of discomfort again just for the sake of being employed,” says Taia Makharashvili.
Taia Makharashvili is a co-founder and board member of the Independent Professional Union of Public Servants, established under Article 78 of the Constitution.
We asked her how realistic the fear is among public servants that “I cannot protest because I will be dismissed and left unemployed.”
“It would be difficult for me to disagree. It would be hard to confidently tell anyone that this decision is easy to make. Personally, I was very lucky. Given the country’s economic situation and the job market, I cannot say that finding employment is easy. The job market is particularly limited for highly qualified professionals and offers few opportunities. As a result, for people with loan obligations, making this decision is very difficult.
Business, as far as I can observe, is also under significant pressure. I have heard, for example from former public servants, that many of them are blocked even in the private sector.
Still, I think that if they cannot leave public service, every public servant can maintain their civic position while working and express it. All of us have always managed to do this to some extent in the workplace, and I cannot say that it is impossible.
However, the background created by mass dismissals has, of course, had an impact on them. Because of this, people are holding back more,” Makharashvili told Batumelebi.
Asked under what circumstances the public sector could become active again, Makharashvili responded:
“There are things a person can tolerate to a certain degree and stay silent, not dare to speak out. But there is a condition, and for the past year we have been exactly in that condition, where if you have dignity, if you have a conscience, I honestly do not know how you can stay silent. Personally, I would probably submit my resignation and leave myself.
On November 28 last year, when we heard Irakli Kobakhidze’s statement, I expected that a very large part of public servants would not be able to tolerate it and would not let it pass unanswered. But we did not get the result we should have. As soon as the petition signing began and we reached around 240 people, serious pressure started to prevent others from signing.
There are many party activists and supporters of Georgian Dream in the public sector. In such situations, they tried to create what could be described as a hostile environment toward those who signed the petition. For example, people would stop greeting a signer in the same office. An extremely heavy atmosphere emerged. Those who observed this, even if they disagreed with it, reconsidered signing the petition.
Still, I think that a single decision, and by now we expect anything from Georgian Dream, could again trigger something and lead to a unified protest. This possibility always exists in the public sector.
There is also a possibility in the country that one decision could completely dismantle the system. It just has not happened yet,” Taia Makharashvili said.