At stake is Georgia’s future path. Or might political turmoil, rigged elections, and the barely hidden hand of Russia, bring Georgia back into Moscow’s authoritarian orbit, like Belarus? “It kills Georgia’s European future,” warned Salome Samadashvili, an opposition MP and former ambassador to the EU. Standing against the protest movement is Georgia’s government, its many supporters, and the state’s increasingly forceful police and security forces. But like so many countries on Russia’s fringes, Georgia is finding it increasingly difficult to chart a stable path towards a democratic future.

Source: Daily Nation May 19, 2024 16:37 UTC