“This election cannot be recognized, because it is the recognition of Russia’s intrusion here, Georgia’s subordination to Russia,” Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said after the ruling party, Georgian Dream, won 54.8 percent of the vote on October 26.

Zourabichvili urged Georgians to protest in the country’s capital, Tbilisi, against a “total falsification” and “stealing of your votes.” Former President Mikheil Saakashvili—who has been imprisoned since 2021 while suffering poisoning by Russian agents—also called for protests.

European election observers said the election was marred by intimidation, vote buying, double voting and physical violence.

At many polling stations, the ruling party stationed titushki—hired thugs or provocateurs—to intimidate and exert psychological pressure on voters, Kyiv Post journalist Khatia Khasia reported. Videos circulating on social media show individuals with Georgian Dream attacking opposition voters, journalists and election observers.

Besides intimidation, Russia’s biggest tools for election fraud were bribery and manipulation of the voting system.

In Georgia, identification devices that issue ballots are not connected between different polling stations. Therefore, one ID card can be used multiple times. “The authorities collected people’s cards for a day or two so they could vote repeatedly at different polling stations,” said Gia Japaridze, a leader of the Georgian opposition National Movement.

It looks like a Russian special operation. From what we know, governmental personnel were required to hand over their ID cards, and several thousand IDs were urgently printed without being distributed to owners. We can imagine how these cards were used to vote.
—Nadim Khmaladze, Georgian activist

At one station where Georgian Dream failed to gain victory, video footage shows how the ballot box was stuffed with multiple ballots so the station would get canceled.

Pro-Russia forces also bribed poor people, offering $30 to $100 per vote, into voting for Georgian Dream. This explains why the party won such extraordinarily huge margins of up to 90 percent in some of the poorer rural areas, while losing in Tbilisi and other large cities where it cannot exert strong pressure on voters or rely on bribery.

“Everyone was certain that ‘Georgian Dream’ would resort to fraud to retain power, but no one anticipated the scale,” the Kyiv Post wrote.

Georgia’s Tug-of-war

Georgia was part of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union for almost 200 years. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, it gained its independence. But Russian President Vladimir Putin has worked hard to bring Georgia back under Russian control. In 2008, he violently invaded and occupied about a fifth of Georgia’s internationally recognized territory.

Because of this, many Georgians feel deep hostility toward Russia. More than 80 percent of Georgians want to integrate into the European Union in the hope Russia will give up plans to conquer the rest of the nation. In March 2022, right after Russia invaded Ukraine, the people celebrated as Georgia officially applied for EU membership. However, in recent months Georgian Dream has driven the country away from the West and toward Russia.

Six months ago, the pro-Russia policymakers managed to pass the “foreign agents” law through Parliament. This law is patterned after a law Russia enacted in 2012 to shut down political opposition, requiring West-leaning organizations to register with the government as “foreign agents.” Because of these anti-Western policies, Brussels has shut down Georgia’s EU membership process.

The rigged elections mark yet another success for Putin. Despite widespread protests and a partial vote recount, Georgian Dream will probably maintain most, if not all, of its power as the divided country continues to morph into a Russian satellite state.

Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has long warned of Putin’s plan to resurrect the Soviet empire. In his booklet The Prophesied ‘Prince of Russia,’ he writes: “Putin is doing everything he can to prevent Georgia, Ukraine and all other former Soviet countries from developing closer ties with Europe. … Under his rule, Russia has become the world’s most dangerous superpower at this time.”

Besides Georgia, Putin has reestablished Russia’s influence in nations such as Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Ukraine and many more.

Bible prophecy reveals that Putin will continue to use his evil, corrupt policies to hammer former Soviet territories deeper into his control and push mankind into a dangerous era of worldwide trouble.

To learn about this coming era and Putin’s role in it, read “Putin and the ‘Greatest Catastrophe.’”