When Europe fell silent, the Kremlin whispered – Georgia’s story as a warning to the entire continent

Seeing a deeply sad person is arresting. Usually people hide their sadness in public places and that’s why the sight is touching.

Some time ago I saw a sad woman in the corridor of the European Parliament. Later, I saw her on the rostrum of the parliament and realized that the woman is the president of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili.

Zourabichvili said that after Ukraine, Russia will no longer wage a traditional war in Europe, because it will take over the countries it wants anyway. According to the president, this is proven by the fate of Georgia: the former pro-EU and NATO country has become a vassal of Russia in a couple of years.

Previously, the situation was different

A few years ago, the situation was different. In 2013, the Georgian parliament unanimously approved the country’s goal of joining the EU and NATO. Georgia submitted an official application for EU membership in the spring of 2022.

Since then, Georgia has seen political arrests, silencing of independent media, allegations of electoral fraud, weakening of democracy and pressure on the judiciary.

In the summer of 2024, the European Council announced that Georgia’s EU membership process has been practically stopped. The reasons were the serious decline of democracy, the weakening of the rule of law and the restriction of civil liberties.

Chairman and prime minister of the country’s leading Georgian Dream party Irakli Kobakhidze announced in November 2024 that Georgia would suspend the EU membership process, leading to widespread public protests.

The background of Georgia’s change is influenced by Russia. According to experts, the Kremlin uses information influence, corruption, and political, economic, and military pressure in Georgia to shape Georgia’s politics to its liking.

Georgia has been abandoned to Russia

Russia especially influences the Georgian Dream ruling party. Nowadays, the party uses the Kremlin’s narratives and has pushed legislation familiar from Russia, such as the “Foreign Agents Law” and the LGBT Propaganda Law.

With the help of the electoral college assembled under the leadership of the Georgian Dream party, the pro-EU president Zourabichvili was removed from office in 2024. The EU does not recognize this removal, but still considers Zourabichvili to be the president of Georgia.

The president of Georgia, who visited Brussels, accused the EU of abandoning the country that applied for membership in the hands of Russia.

When I asked a few Finnish MEPs if the Georgian president’s accusation was true, the answer was yes: the EU has forgotten the lessons of the Cold War about how to support the opposition living under the pressure of Russia.

The sadness of the Georgian president is easy to understand.