In Georgia, “despite the repression there is a form of liberation for citizens”, testifies a geopolitician from Tbilisi

Protests are becoming increasingly violent in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, as the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party announced the postponement of the country’s application for membership in the European Union until 2028. “Russian troops are 60 minutes away of the capital”, nevertheless notes Sébastien Couderc, Franco-Georgian and independent geopolitical analyst.

In Georgia, in the Caucasus, pro-European mobilization is not weakening. Again on Wednesday evening, December 3, rallies in Tbilisi, the capital, pitted police and demonstrators against one another. The police notably used water cannons and tear gas on the demonstrators.

At the origin of the mobilization, President Salomé Nino Zourabichvili, pro-European, contested the validity of the legislative elections of October 26, 2024, which led to the victory of the pro-Russian party. Georgian dreamreporting irregularities on voting day. The announcement of postponement of the country’s ambitions to integrate the European Union to 2028, has reignited the anger of opponents.

“There is a concern that is shared, but at the same time a form of liberation, too, for many Georgian citizens” testifies Sébastien Couderc, Franco-Georgian and independent geopolitical analyst, from Tbilisi. Under the yoke of intimidation from its Russian neighbor, the country is today torn between its European ambitions and its past loyalty to Russia. As the protests are growing, some citizens are happy to see that the opposition is not weakening and that the streets are mobilizing.There is also a form of gathering, of return to a form of communion“, enthuses Sébastien Couderc.

An enthusiasm shared by many Georgians, but which takes nothing away from the violence of the repression. “I am out almost every night, with the Georgian citizens. Some were arrested last night. A close acquaintance, who is a journalist, was notably arrested. This is the daily life of many people“, insists the geopolitical analysis.

“They take the risk of exposing themselves every night, whether as a student, a young woman, a civil servant or even an entrepreneur.”

Sébastien Couderc

franceinfo

For many, the Georgian protest resonates with Ukrainian resistance to Moscow. “The Georgians were precursors, so to speak, unfortunately, with the invasion of 2008“, he recalls, however. Even today, “20% of the country is occupied by the Russians“although”Russian troops are 60 minutes from the capital“, he continues. A trying situation for the country, and stifling for most Georgians. Worried, Sébastien Couderc questions Moscow’s capacity to intervene, while the country is already well engaged in Ukraine. However, the analyst calls for vigilance: “I have no doubt about the determination, preparation and means implemented to implement a possible Russian strategy. How far can they go? That’s another question“.