How is Russia secretly winning in Georgia?

However, Georgians continue to resist, and the more Georgia’s Western partners support the Georgian people and perceive what is happening as a Russian gray zone operation in which the Kremlin is currently winning, the more likely they will be able to prevent a fatal outcome for democracy and the stability of Georgia and the entire region.

As Georgia was one of the first victims of Russian aggression, Russia’s threat to Georgian democracy is nothing new. Russia invaded Georgia in 2008, revealing that Putin is willing to do anything to prevent democracies from flourishing in Russia’s immediate vicinity.

The passivity of the Western world after the 2008 war convinced Putin that he could repeat the same in Ukraine in 2014 and 2022.

However, Russian aggression in Georgia today has a different name and form. In parallel with the covert occupation of Georgia, the Kremlin is now using its trusted oligarch, Bidzin Ivanishvili, to ensure that Georgia is permanently derailed from its democratic path.

Bidzina Ivanishvili, founder of “Georgian Dream”, is a billionaire who made his fortune in Russia. Taking office after Georgia’s first peaceful change of power in 2012, he has repeatedly advocated the restoration of relations with Russia and blamed Georgia for the 2008 war.

“I do not think and cannot believe that Russia’s strategy is to occupy the territories of neighboring countries,” Ivanishvili said in an interview a couple of months after taking office.

Despite claims that he sold his business in Russia after becoming involved in Georgian politics, a new report by Transparency International Georgia shows that Ivanishvili still owns companies in Russia through offshore entities.