Prank and Propaganda: What Zourabishvili and Nanuashvili Really Said to Vovan and Lexus

Pro-Kremlin pranksters claim they’ve figured out whose money is “rocking the streets” of Tbilisi. They say they know who is racing to make Georgia another one of Russia’s enemies. Vovan and Lexus, a pair known for their pranks, called the fifth president of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, and former ombudsman Ucha Nanuashvili, posing as Petro Poroshenko and Garry Kasparov. Russian Channel One announced viewers could expect revealing confessions by the opposition leaders. SOVA analyzed both videos to discover what Zourabichvili and Nanuashvili were really saying. 

What Did Salome Zourabishvili Say

Russian pranksters Vovan (Vladimir Kuznetsov) and Lexus (Aleksei Stolyarov), who are known for their pranks on global politicians, have turned to Salome Zourabishvili, the fifth president of Georgia. They introduced themselves to her as Russian oppositionist Garry Kasparov, who is included on Russia’s list of terrorists and extremists. The conversation was posted on the pranksters’ Telegram channel as well as broadcast on segments of Antifake and The Vovan and Lexus Show. 

In the posted conversation, Zourabishvili spoke about the ongoing protests in Tbilisi and the role of civil society. She emphasized that protesting is the only effective method to influence the authorities, since the crisis is “so deep” it’s “impossible to solve any other stable manner, at least by peaceful means.” 

The pranksters then ask her what assistance the U.S. could provide and which organizations might need it. Zourabishvili responds that the most at risk are media outlets, especially regional and opposition ones, as well as trade unions and small NGOs that work with children with disabilities, single mothers, and other socially vulnerable groups of the population.

“They [funds for social projects] mainly came from USAID and some European foundations. But the Europeans were quite slow. They said they’d transfer money from government programs that were suspended due to sanctions and redirect it to civil society. But this still hasn’t happened,” says Zourabishvili. 

Russia’s Channel One used this quote by the fifth president of Georgia as evidence that the opposition and protests in the country are financed externally by organizations like USAID. On the Antifake program, it was worded to sound like “those who fuel the protestors’ spirits” and “are ready to drive the people to bloodshed.”

During the interview, the pranksters wonder if the political crisis in Georgia could be solved by a Ukrainian Maidan scenario. But Zourabishvili quite clearly answers that these two countries cannot be compared. According to her, similar processes aren’t possible in Tbilisi, since Georgia doesn’t have the same human resources that Ukraine does and has already experienced several tragedies.

At the end of the video, the fake interviewer asks Salome Zourabishvili to comment on the situation in Abkhazia. The politician pointed to her “disagreement with the way Russians have acted towards Abkhazia in recent years.”

“My view is that the only path for Abkhazia’s future is Europe. Only full integration into Europe can solve this. This won’t happen through direct negotiations, because there’ll still be antagonism. Even if they no longer like Russians, this doesn’t mean that they suddenly like Georgians. We need to overcome this. And the only way we can do this is with a common view. But the common view is Europe,” Zourabishvili said.

The Prank on Ucha Nanuashvili

In addition to the prank on Salome Zourabishvili, there was also one on the former Public Defender of Georgia and head of the nonprofit The Institute for the Study of Democracy, Ucha Nanuashvili.

On the pranksters’ Telegram channel, they call Nanuashvili a “classic grantee who heads big and small institutes studying democracy and human rights”.  According to them, the ex-ombudsman allegedly admitted that USAID and the American Embassy actively supported protests in Georgia, “financially, politically, and morally, especially near elections.”

Ucha Nanuashvili did actually talk about the U.S.’s support, however, he never said that USAID or the American embassy financed protests in Georgia.

“They [USAID] quite actively helped near the elections. We had financial, political, and moral support. Yes, we received it, especially from the U.S. The European Union also supported us,” Nanuashvili said.

The pranksters also claimed that the former ombudsman said that Georgia has unofficial divisions like Maidan in Ukraine. However, one carefully watching the video can notice that at the 7:26 second mark, Nanuashvili says, “the situation in Georgia is very unpredictable. We are preparing for all kinds of scenarios.”

Later at 7:31, there’s noticeable editing and gluing after the human rights activist says, “we also have unofficial units like with Maidan in Ukraine. There are people in masks, people from the ruling party, people from private security companies. And they’re armed.”

Ucha Nanuashvili was clearly referring to ‘titushky’ and the unidentified people in civilian clothes who periodically attack protesters. Journalists often connect these people to Georgian Dream.

Nanuashvili confirmed with Ekho Kavkaz that the conversation with the pranksters happened, but that his words were distorted.

“What they included in the clip–for example, about the people in masks and about Maidan–I’ve said that in the opposite sense. They were organized by the authorities in November and December 2024, not by protestors,” Nanuashvili explained.

Who’s Behind the Prank

Russian pranksters Vladimir Kuznetsov and Aleksy Stolyarov, better known as Vovan and Lexus, work in the ‘prank-journalism’ genre. They introduce themselves as others and seek out details about their victims’ lives and perspectives. They use the element of surprise rather than imitating others’ voices.

Famous for their individual YouTube channels, since 2014, the pranksters have united to focus on Ukrainian subjects. They repeatedly use the conflict in Ukraine, anti-Russian sanctions, and relations with “Western curators” in their pranks. They regularly call foreign politicians and figures posing as presidents and top Ukrainian officials, provoking them to disclose their perspective on the war and Russia.

In 2017, Vovan and Lexus were added to the Ukrainian Peacemaker site database. Under them, it says they “violated Ukrainian state borders attempting to infiltrate the Russian-occupied territory.” Later, the pranksters arrived in Donetsk for a presentation on their book entitled Who is the Phone Ringing for.

In 2016, The Guardian explained their success was possible because of Russian special services, however, the pranksters denied it. In 2023, their YouTube channel was deleted for ‘violating community guidelines.’

According to Georgian sources, the mastermind behind the prank was Mamuka Pipia, a Russian businessman originally from Georgia who is one of the leaders of the pro-Kremlin Solidarity for Peace party. Earlier in an Asaval Dasavali newspaper interview, Pipia stated that he helped the Russian pranksters trick Zourabishvili and Nanuashvili.

The Solidarity for Peace party was registered at the end of 2023 but didn’t participate in the fall 2024 parliamentary elections. Pipia has frequently appealed to Vladimir Putin, calling for the Georgian authorities to resume diplomatic relations with Russia and deliver humanitarian aid in the Kursk oblast in Russia.