“We learn our practices and standards from the EU,” he said. “If that bond breaks, we will stop learning. It’s not like we have anything to learn from Russia.”
Pivot to Moscow
Hundreds of thousands of Georgians took to the streets of the capital, Tbilisi, and other major cities in previous weeks to demonstrate against the proposed “foreign agents” law.
But the changes in civil society are only part of what many protesters, opposition politicians and Western officials fear will be a diversion of Georgia’s European path toward Moscow. Since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Tbilisi has refused to impose sanctions on neighboring Russia and has even strengthened trade ties.
With national elections scheduled for October, the Georgian Dream’s rhetoric is beginning to resemble that of the Kremlin, whose leaders are spreading conspiracy theories about a “World War Party” that wants to drag Georgia, as well as Ukraine, into the fold. in a conflict with Russia. The ruling faction presented a “LGBT propaganda” bill presenting itself as the sole defender of Georgian values against a degenerate West and accused the United States of supporting NGOs that want to organize a revolution.
From her street corner kiosk in Ambrolauri, Lia, 64, explains that of all the books, shoes and trinkets on offer, her bestseller is the far-right newspaper Asaval Dasavali, a tabloid that its critics accuse to spread anti-Western conspiracy theories. .
“I support the government and its law,” she said. “For me, things like homosexuality are unacceptable. We must get rid of all this harmful influence from abroad, whether it comes from Russia or Europe. We are Georgians, nothing else.”
Politices
