The proposal to construct a deep-water port at Anaklia on Georgia’s Black Sea coastline has once again emerged as a principal target of pro-Kremlin disinformation related to Georgia, though the efforts to gin up anti-Western sentiment around the issue had a limited impact at best.

Moscow has been using Georgia as a testing lab for its disinformation campaigns since, at least, the 2008 August war when Russia invaded Georgia, using both military and information operations — or “hybrid warfare” — against the country. Russia sees Georgia, and its close relationship with the United States in particular, as another front in its campaign to diminish Western influence in its neighboring states.

Over the past two months, the port project has attracted renewed interest from pro-Kremlin actors. This interest may be linked to two recent developments with regard to the project, both of which are of considerable concern for Russia.

First, on January 9, 2019, the Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office launched a criminal investigation against TBC Bank, the Georgian bank in charge of the port project, over money laundering allegations, which TBC denied. Days later, one of the pro-Russian Georgian media platforms wrote an article indicating that, as TBC Bank is a part of the Georgian-American consortium financing Anaklia project, this partnership might lead to the United States’ employment of the Anaklia port as a naval base.

Second, on January 21, 2019, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook arrived in the coastal city of Batumi and began conducting joint training exercises with the Georgian Navy. On the same day, Sputnik published an article accusing the United States and NATO of militarizing Georgia.

The narratives put forth by pro-Kremlin actors likely represent a concerted effort to turn public opinion in Georgia against the project. The DFRLab found no indication that this latest wave of the influence campaign was successful, however. The outlets and pages disseminating pro-Kremlin narratives had limited reach and impact. Furthermore, when Georgian internet users engaged with the narratives online, they often identified them as belonging to a pro-Kremlin influence operation.

The Importance of the Anaklia Port for Georgia and the Euro-Atlantic

According to the Economist, the Anaklia port will serve as the largest port on the Black Sea once constructed. By allowing the docking of large container ships, the port will bolster Georgia’s role in the East-West transit route.

The construction of the port concerns Moscow for several political and economic reasons. First, the port would compete with Russia’s Black Sea ports. Second, it would be located uncomfortably close, especially should a U.S. presence materialize, to Russian-occupied territories such as Abkhazia. Third, it would improve Georgia’s geopolitical position in the Euro-Atlantic space and beyond. In the event of Russian aggression, this last development in particular could enable Georgia’s allies to come to its aid, as large ships would have docking ability at Anaklia, enabling them to provide efficient support to the country. All three developments would dilute Russia’s influence in the Black Sea region.