Updated: 19:09.2025
Igor Giorgadze worked in various positions in the Soviet Security Service from 1973 to 1995, and from 1980 to 1981, he participated in combat operations in Afghanistan with the special forces unit “Cascade” of the KGB, USSR. From 1993 to 1995, He was the Minister of Security of Georgia, and left the country after the 1995 attack on President Eduard Shevardnadze. Igor Giorgadze was wanted by Interpol in 1995 on charges of planning a terrorist attack against the president. Interpol discontinued the search for Giorgadze in 2016 after he was granted refugee status by Russia.
While in exile, Giorgadze founded the political party “Justice” and the anti-Western movement “Anti-Soros”. He attempted to run in the 2000 and 2004 Georgian presidential elections, but the Central Election Commission refused to register him because he had not lived in Georgia for the past two years. In 2006, about 30 members of his party were arrested on charges of attempting a coup.
Igor Giorgadze is actively involved in the Kremlin’s anti-Western propaganda campaigns. One of the most high-profile information operations he was involved in is related to the Lugar Laboratory and the Hepatitis C program implemented in Georgia with American assistance.
Russian President Putin and other high-ranking Russian officials expressed concern about his claims that Americans were testing biological weapons in Georgia.
Although Igor Giorgadze later admitted in an interview with the BBC that he had no evidence to back up his claims, concerns about the Lugar Laboratory have been used to manipulate public opinion in Georgia for years. Igor Giorgadze’s statements are frequently covered in Russian propaganda media (1, 2, 3).
