Thousands have fled to the neighbouring state, whose leaders’ soft stand on the Ukraine war has stirred domestic opposition and accusations of appeasement
Trucks, facing toward the Russian border, snake back into Georgian territory near the Larsi crossing.
Ksenia said that, back home, they were reminded every hour of every day that the war they oppose grinds on. “We hear the sounds over our houses of Russian military jets heading into Ukraine all the time,” she said. “I don’t want my husband to die in Ukraine.” Ukrainian flags hang at the Palace of Justice in Tbilisi, and at a ceremony outside the national legislature.
“We believe Georgian Dream is a Russian proxy,” said Nadar Rukhadze, the group’s pro-European co-founder. “Trying to be neutral automatically means being with a country that has colonized and occupied us.” After the 2008 war, Georgia ramped up its pro-Western strategy, to the point of adding its goal to join the EU and NATO to the constitution and hosting NATO exercises. On paper, at least, Georgia maintains that pro-Western stand, though it seems to have been diluted in recent years.
Georgian parliamentarian Nikoloz Samkharadze speaks with The Globe about his party's overtures to Russia and the West. Mr. Bokeria’s view is that the government is gambling its soft stand toward Mr. Putin may convince the Russian leader to leave Georgia alone. He thinks the government fears that a hardline approach, one that might include Georgia supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine, would convince Mr. Putin to complete his takeover of the country, an invasion that would probably overwhelm Georgia’s small military within days.
Giga Bokeria, leader of the European Georgia party, accuses the government of trying to appease Mr. Putin. “Many people here think the Russian arrivals pose a threat” because they carry a grudge, Prof. Nodia said. “The propaganda in Russia is that Russians are mistreated in Georgia. That has been a Russian narrative for a long time, as it was in eastern Ukraine.”
Russian exiles are also forming civil society groups, a few of them of the anti-Putin variety. A video by Russian anti-Putin band Megatonna was screened at a recent event in Tbilisi sponsored by Emigration for Action, which raises money for medical supplies and psychological care for the 35,000 Ukrainians who have fled to Georgia.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Early voters in Georgia show up in record numbers amid voting challengesWhile voters in Georgia are showing up in droves for the 2022 midterm elections, many citizens, especially Black voters, say they have had their ballots challenged at the polls in attempts of voter suppression.
Read more »
A Georgia County Extends Deadline for Over 1,036 Absentee Ballots Due to ‘Human Error’How is this not suspicious, especially happening the day before Election Day?
Read more »
Meta to Lay Off Thousands of Staff From This Week, WSJ Says(Bloomberg) -- Meta Platforms Inc. is planning to begin layoffs that will affect thousands of workers from this week, Wall Street Journal reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Most Read from BloombergTwitter Now Asks Some Fired Workers to Please Come BackHouston Mogul’s $75 Million Win on Astros Hits Caesars HardestUkraine Latest: US and Russia Discussed Containing War, WSJ SaysMethane Cloud Spotted by Satellite Near India Waste SitePutin’s Ukraine War Is Entering a Terrifying Ne
Read more »
Facebook parent Meta to lay off thousands of staff from this week, WSJ saysThe layoffs come as Meta Platforms struggles with growing losses and as it invests heavily in developing its metaverse business. Read more.
Read more »
Meta to lay off thousands of staff from this week, WSJ says - BNN BloombergMeta Platforms is planning to begin layoffs that will affect thousands of workers from this week, Wall Street Journal reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
Read more »