In the small georgian village of Odzisi activist David Katsarava watches russian military base lights shine across the valley: a stark reminder of Moscows presence since the 08 war. The nearby river marks a dangerous boundary where locals risk capture
Even going near the river is rather dangerous because they can cross it ambush you kidnap you and bring you to the occupied territory
Katsaravas monitoring group found disturbing facts about the occupation line: russian forces built 30-plus bases and took around 3‚600 georgians in the past 16 yrs
The recent oct-26 elections brought more worries when the pro-russian Georgian Dream party won amid wide-spread voting problems. The opposition-friendly president Salome Zourabichvili called the results stolen; causing huge street protests in Tbilisi
The ruling partys shift towards Moscow shows in many ways:
- New foreign-agent law targeting NGOs
- Limited LGBT rights
- Attacks on independent researchers
- No visa rules for russians
- Help with sanctions-dodging
Military readiness dropped under Georgian Dreams rule – a active lieutenant-colonel (who cant share his name) says the army isnt as strong as it was back in 08. The base near Odzisi got bigger with more troops and tanks; while georgias defense spending went down
The situation looks similar to what happened in Ukraine and Belarus: experts worry that unrest could bring russian forces to keep Georgian Dream in power. “We might be conquered without an invasion“ Katsarava warns – this could give Moscow control over important energy routes and block NATO from its southern border