Marcus Andreopoulos
As 2025 begins, the end of last year saw two significant results in Georgia and Moldova, demonstrating both the strengths and limitations of Russian interference operations. Both former Soviet Republics are high up on Vladimir Putin’s priority list, so much so that following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the pair, alongside Bosnia and Herzegovina, were identified as ‘partners at risk’ by the NATO alliance. Expectedly, the Kremlin’s obsession with the two countries was on full display with allegations of interference rife in both elections.
Despite the Kremlin’s efforts, the pro-Russian party was only victorious in Georgia, with Georgian Dream securing a parliamentary majority. In Moldova, on the other hand, the pro-EU candidate, and incumbent, Maia Sandu won re-election as president. Limited success notwithstanding, both elections provide an example of the methodology employed by Russia to interfere with democratic elections, as well as providing ominous warnings of Europe’s future should Ukraine be defeated.
Russia’s pleasure was on full display following Georgian Dream’s victory on 26 October, as the head of the Russian state-controlled broadcaster RT, Margarita Simonyan, triumphantly declared that ‘Georgians have won.’ Despite having held power since 2012, Georgian Dream was not widely projected to win; protests against the party had been strong throughout 2024, and turnout on election day was high. Change was expected. However, existential arguments about saving Georgian democracy did not appear to resonate when pitted against Georgian Dream’s assertions that the opposition would take the country to war with Russia.
No comments:
Post a Comment