Putin looks to halt neighboring Georgia's Western ambitions in vital election

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

The stakes could not be higher for the small nation that sits in the troubled Caucasus region. Georgia, once part of the Soviet Union, has been caught between heavy Russian influence since it declared independence in 1991 and trying to join the European Union and move closer to the West.

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

HISTORIC RUSSIAN ALLY SNUBS PUTIN IN GROWING SHIFT TO EUROPEAN UNION

For Russia, the upcoming elections present an opportunity for Putin to keep Georgia in its orbit. If Georgia manages to conduct free and fair elections and restore relations with the European Union (EU), Seskuria says, this will be a defeat for Russia.

A group of bipartisan senators, led by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Jim Risch, R-Idaho, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, put forth legislation that would hold Georgian government officials and individuals responsible for corruption, human rights abuses and efforts to advance the foreign influence law or facilitate its passage. 

"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 desires of Georgians and pose a significant threat," the bipartisan group of senators said in a press release.

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

"What we see right now is that the Georgian government has made this election as a choice between war and peace. They have tried to say that casting a vote for the opposition would be casting a vote for the war with Russia," Ani Chkhikvadze, a journalist with Voice of America based in Tbilisi, told Fox News Digital.

Ivana Stradner, an expert on Russian disinformation with 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 reshape the world order and in order to accomplish his goals he does not need to send tanks and jets in the West. He is using proxies, such as the Georgian Dream Party, to spoil Georgia's EU path and challenge the West," Stradner said.

ZELENSKYY WARNS RUSSIA WANTS TO CAUSE 'EXPLOSION' IN THE BALKANS

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

"Ivanishvili’s government has embraced the Russian propaganda line that the U.S. is an ‘imperialist power’ and has instigated the war in Ukraine."

Bokeria also alleged that Ivanishvili facilitated the infiltration of Georgia's political system, economy and security structures by those sympathetic to Russia. 

Russia plans to use these close contacts to influence politics and society in Georgia. Statements from the Russian security services about Georgia are closely aligned with the narratives coming from Georgian Dream politicians. These entities praise the Georgian government and accuse the West and Europe of trying to drag Georgia into war with Ukraine.

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

RUSSIAN INFLUENCE PEDDLING ADDS TO FEARS AFTER ELECTION OF UNTESTED PRESIDENT IN EUROPEAN NATION

Georgians have strong aspirations to join the EU, with polls showing up to 83% of Georgians in support. The Georgian Dream Party stalled Georgia’s efforts of joining the EU since it became a candidate member in 2023. The EU subsequently put Georgia’s process on hold after a controversial "foreign agent" law that required citizens, non-governmental organizations, media outlets and other civil society organizations that receive over 20% in funding from abroad to register as a foreign agent with the Justice Ministry.

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

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

Civic IDEA also reveals that not only do individuals have socio-political ties with Russia, but some are listed as "international sponsors of war."