Georgian streets fill with protesters after government's shocking EU decision

Massive street protests rock Georgia as thousands gather in Tbilisi and other cities this winter (with police using tear-gas and water-cannons against the crowds). The demonstrations started after the government made a shocking move to stop EU membership process until 2028

The ruling partyʼs decision hit hard because polls show that more than 80% of georgians want to join EU. This choice plus the controversial october elections and the new foreign-agents law made people very angry

The protests are different now — they include regular citizens diplomats and even some pro-government voters. Many state workers quit their jobs to support the movement. Salome Zourabichvili the current president whose term ends soon joined protesters on the streets; she says shell stay in office “until a real parliament is chosen“

There are four ways this could end up:
* The government might step back and change its mind
* A belarus-style police crackdown could happen
* They might use fear of russian invasion like poland did in 1981
* A full revolution might start with fireworks (which protesters use now)

The situation looks dangerous because russia has a history of stepping in when nearby countries try to move away from its control. They did it in ukraine belarus and kazakhstan not long ago. Even with their army busy in ukraine moscow might still try to keep georgia under its influence

The protesters wave EU and georgian flags together showing they want to pick their own path. Its not just about georgia anymore — its about whether a country can choose its future without pressure from its big neighbor