Putin appears to be putting a stop to neighboring Georgia’s Western ambitions in crucial elections

Georgians will go to the polls on Saturday in crucial parliamentary elections as the country struggles to move closer to the West, all under the watchful eye of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The stakes could not be higher for the small country in the restive Caucasus. Georgia, once part of the Soviet Unionhas been caught between heavy Russian influence since the country declared independence in 1991 and efforts to join the European Union and move closer to the West.

“It is in Russia’s interest to ensure the alienation of Georgia from its allies and the halt to the EU integration process,” Natia Seskuria, associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, told Fox News Digital.

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Supporters of the ruling Georgian Dream Party attend a rally in central Tbilisi, Georgia, on Wednesday, October 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)

For Russia, the upcoming elections offer an opportunity for Putin to keep Georgia in his grip. If Georgia manages to hold free and fair elections and restore relations with the European Union (EU), Seskuria says, it will be a defeat for Russia.

A bipartisan group of senators, led by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Jim Risch, R-Idaho, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, have proposed legislation that would hold Georgia government officials and individuals accountable for corruption. human rights violations and attempts to promote or facilitate the passage of the Foreign Influence Act.

“The United States stands with the Georgian people and their pursuit of a Euro-Atlantic future. The Georgian government’s recent efforts to align with Russia reject the wishes of Georgians and pose a significant threat,” the bipartisan group of senators said in a news release. .

Russian President Vladimir Putin seen during the Navy Day Parade on July 31, 2022 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. (Contributor/Getty Images)

Many observers in the region believe that the parliamentary elections will be one of the closest and most important elections since independence. For Putin, it will be Russia’s first chance to influence a Georgian election since his country invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“What we see now is that the Georgian government has made these elections a choice between war and peace. They tried to say that casting a vote for the opposition would be tantamount to casting a vote for the war with Russia,” said Ani Chkhikvadze. a Voice of America journalist based in Tbilisi, told Fox News Digital.

Ivana Stradner, an expert on Russian disinformation at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that Putin is waging an ideological war against the West.

“He is trying to reform the world order and to achieve his goals he does not need to send tanks and fighter jets to the West. He uses proxies, such as the Georgian Dream Party, to spoil Georgia’s EU path and challenge the West. ‘, Stradner said.

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Fox News Digital also spoke with opposition politician and former Secretary of the National Security Council, Giga Bokeria of Georgia pro-European Federalist Party. Bokeria said Russia’s strategic interest is to keep the current Georgian Dream government led by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili in power.

Campaign billboards of the ruling Georgian Dream Party depicting opposition party leaders and activists and reading “No to war, no to cops” in Georgian stand in Tbilisi on October 22, 2024, ahead of the October 26 parliamentary elections. (GIORGI ARJEVANIDZE/AFP via Getty Images)

“Ivanishvili’s government has embraced the Russian propaganda line that the US is an ‘imperialist power’ and has caused the war in Ukraine.”

Bokeria also alleged that Ivanishvili had facilitated the infiltration of Georgia’s political system, economy and security structures by Russia’s sympathizers.

Russia plans to use these close contacts to influence politics and society in Georgia. Statements by the Russian security services about Georgia closely match the stories of Georgian Dream politicians. These entities praise the Georgian government and accuse the West and Europe of dragging Georgia into a war with Ukraine.

While Georgia’s political elite class in the Georgian Dream Party wants close ties with Russia, ordinary Georgians know where they stand: firmly with the EU.

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Georgians have strong ambitions to join the EU, with polls showing 83% of Georgians supporting this. The Georgian Dream Party has stalled Georgia’s attempts to join the EU since the country became a candidate member in 2023. The EU subsequently suspended the Georgian process after a controversial conflict. “foreign agents” law. prior to this, citizens, non-governmental organizations, media outlets and other civil society organizations receiving more than 20% of funding from abroad were required to register as foreign agents with the Ministry of Justice.

Protesters gather at the Parliament Building during an opposition protest against the Foreign Influence Law in Tbilisi, Georgia, on May 28, 2024. The Georgian parliament has overridden a presidential veto on ‘foreign agents’ legislation that has sparked Western concerns fueled and led to mass protests. for weeks. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

If the Georgian Dream Party consolidates its grip on power, it could be catastrophic for its EU prospects. A Georgian Dream victory, says FDD’s Stradner, would be a victory for Putin.

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Civic IDEA, a pro-Western nonprofit in Georgia, released a report outlining the Georgia Dream party’s dependence on Russian money, including money coming from people linked to sanctioned companies. The report notes that most of the party’s major donors are backed by Russian funds and individuals whose interests are closely aligned with those of the Kremlin.

Civic IDEA also reveals that individuals not only have sociopolitical ties to Russia, but some are listed as “international sponsors of war.”