Among the former Soviet states that gained independence in the early 1990s, Georgia has long enjoyed a reputation as one of the most steadfastly pro-European. Polls have consistently found that up to 80% of its 3.7 million population support joining the European Union – an aspiration that is enshrined in the constitution. Sadly, following a pivotal election that will further polarise a deeply divided country, those ambitions now look likely to be put on indefinite hold.
The unexpectedly decisive victory of the anti-western Georgian Dream party (GD) on Saturday – amid reliable reports of intimidation, coercion and pressure on voters – will be a source of dismay in Brussels and satisfaction in Moscow. For Georgians fearful that their country is being bullied away from European values and into Russia’s authoritarian orbit, GD’s re-election is a calamity. It is also further evidence of the extent to which the fallout from Vladimir Putin’s brutal assault on Ukraine, and his wider revanchist aims, are affecting the wider politics of the region.
