TBILISI “Choose peace, not war”. This is how the election advertisement of the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party, which rules Georgia, declares.
The poster juxtaposes war ruins from Ukraine and a color image of flourishing, idyllic Georgia.
You can’t avoid advertisements, because they are at almost every bus stop and subway station.
The poster’s message seems to be: If you vote for the Georgian Dream party, you will get peace, but if you vote for the opposition, you may be destined for war.
The country’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, therefore effectively uses war as a deterrent in its election advertising.
For some of the people, the message may sink in, because Georgians still have a fresh memory of the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008. And Russia still occupies a fifth of Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
However, the twenty-somethings handing out opposition election ads on the street do not seem very belligerent.
– The whole of Europe has seen how we try to fight for European values. This is our chance to live and study freely. We don’t want to go to Moscow, says the 19-year-old Ani Kuprava.
The youth group belongs to the Muutos coalition formed by the opposition parties. They show off their nearby office. The young people sitting on the beanbags say hello, but otherwise they focus on tapping their cell phones.
Most of the election work is done on social media.
– We understand that politics is important. We want our own future, not Russia’s, says the twentysomething Luka Tetradze.
Ex-intelligence boss: “Like straight out of Putin’s playbook”
Russia is trying to influence the election result by all means, says the former boss of the Georgian intelligence service Batu Kutelia To .
He currently works at the American Atlantic Council think tank. The military alliance, a think tank close to NATO, has an office in Tbilisi.
– The ruling party’s Georgian dream propaganda is straight from Russia and Putin’s playbook, says Kutelia.
– The party claims that the opposition would drag the country into a war with Russia, and that the opposition is an agent of the West.
The Georgian dream came to power 12 years ago. The party was founded by a pro-Russian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili. He is The richest person in Georgiawho made his fortune after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the Moscow mafia world.
According to Kutelia, even then Ivanišvili was accused of being pro-Russian.
The turn of the Georgian dream towards Russia happened first little by little and then suddenly, describes Kutelia.
According to him, however, the pro-Russian ruling party wants to appear pro-EU, because it knows that around 80 percent of Georgians supports EU membership.
– The Georgian dream talks about Europe and western democracy, but in reality it drives something completely different, says Kutelia.
Last summer, the Georgian government passed the so-called agent law, which is almost a copy of the corresponding law in Russia. According to the law, media and organizations that receive more than a fifth of their funding from abroad are classified as foreign agents.
The people of Georgia went against the law. Last spring, more than 200,000 people demonstrated against it. President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili called the law unconstitutional and tried to prevent it from taking effect with its right of veto.
The ruling party of Georgia labels the representatives of the opposition as agents of a foreign power.
The entry into force of the Agents Act stopped Georgia’s EU membership process.
– The development is similar to that in Russia, when the state attacked independent journalists and non-governmental organizations and defeated the opposition parties, says Kutelia.
The Georgian Dream party has recently announced that it will ban all opposition groups if it wins the election.
– If this happens, I believe there will be demonstrations and people will protest, says Kutelia.
Georgian Dream has denied accusations that it is seeking closer ties with Putin’s Russia. Despite our request, we did not receive an interview from the party representatives.
The house searches started during the election week
In recent years, the Georgian dream has rewarmed trade relations with Russia, and air traffic between the two countries has been restored.
Kutelia also talks about the house searches that the police have carried out in the homes of those cooperating with the West, which were reported during the election week. Last Thursday, the police raided the homes of Kutelia’s colleagues who work at the think tank Atlantic Council. Kutelia avoided the raid.
Kutelia does not trust the integrity of the elections. He believes that the Georgian dream will do everything it can to stay in power, and Russia will help it here.
– There are many Russians in Georgia, not only those who left because of the war, but also those who work for the Russian state. Russia can paralyze Georgia’s infrastructure or attack in other ways, says Kutelia.
Kutelia does not believe in an armed attack, at least as long as Russia is at war in Ukraine.
There are also many people in Georgia who are ready to sell their votes for money, Kutelia states.
According to Kutelia, for Russia it’s not just about Georgia, but the entire Caucasus. Georgia started the color revolutions, which were followed, for example, by the uprising in Ukraine.
– The stakes are much higher than just a small piece of land with Western people, good wine and good food, says Kutelia.
According to Kutelia, Russia is trying the same thing in Georgia as in Ukraine.
– First, it sought to seize the Ukrainian state through oligarchs and corruption. When that didn’t work, they attacked with weapons, Kutelia states.
Russia also wants to keep Georgia in its grip because of Central Asian trade. Georgia has refused to support the sanctions against Russia imposed by Western countries, and therefore Russia is able to circumvent the sanctions through Georgia.
According to Kutelia, Russian money is also laundered in Georgia.
– Several Russian companies are registered in Georgia, through which money flows, says Kutelia.
“Last Chance”
Thousands of supporters have arrived in the center of Tbilisi for the joint event of the opposition parties. There are not enough seats for everyone.
Leader of the Opposition Irakli Kupradze stands on stage and shouts to the audience.
– Our future is Europe, the crowd shouts in chorus.
The crowd cheers and waves flags of the European Union and Georgia. After the Georgian national anthem, the participants echo the European anthem.
The opposition has the last moments to convince the people that Georgia should change its direction towards the west. There are young people there, but also older people.
Before the event, the leader of the Freedom Square opposition party Levan Tsutskiridze tells that it may be Georgia’s last chance to change direction.
– This is a choice between democracy and autocracy. Between European Georgia or Russian dictatorship, says Tsutskiridze.