'You have a feeling of fear': In Georgia, people worry about ending up like Ukraine as government leans towards Russia

Levan is sitting successful his precise aged car smiling astatine america done the snow, his eyes twinkling, amused by our discomfort. Not galore radical travel to sojourn this country of Georgia, and contiguous the snowfall is billowing astir us.

It is biting acold and determination is simply a ample stray canine staring astatine america with a flimsy aerial of menace. Welcome to Brotsleti.

We are conscionable a fewer kilometres from 1 of the astir important borders successful continental Europe. Along the roadworthy is simply a heavy fortified checkpoint that protects the entranceway to South Ossetia, the Georgian portion that was annexed by Russia 16 years ago.

Russian tanks rolled done this tiny village; missiles landed; troops marched in.

Over the people of 5 days of one-sided conflict, the Russians took control, established borders and claimed that South Ossetia had go a recently autarkic republic.

Hardly anyone other really believes that, not slightest due to the fact that determination are inactive thousands of Russian troops stationed successful South Ossetia, softly intimidating the Georgians connected the different broadside of the frontier.

Levan has lived present for each his 67 years, and helium has the weather-beaten look to spell on with a pugnacious life. He calls himself a peasant and tells maine his car, a Volga, is 63 years old.

It was near to him by his begetter and Levan uses it each day. It should beryllium successful a museum; instead, present it is, pounding distant done the snowfall and potholes, inactive successful 1 magnolia piece.

"There utilized to beryllium 25 villages beyond here," helium says, waving successful the absorption of the border. "Now they're gone. The wealth from those 25 villages utilized to circulate here."

He looks astir astatine the meagre clump of shops astir america and shrugs. "You ever perceive gunshots. They clasp subject exercises successful what utilized to beryllium Georgian villages. There's a firing scope and they sprout there.

"There has not been an incidental wherever they fired from determination to here, but you inactive person a feeling of fear."

We thrust up to the borderline and spot the crossing point. It is simply a hefty postulation of fortified buildings and camouflage, but nary sooner person we approached than we are approached by a defender and told to crook around. A constabulary car past starts pursuing america around. Nerves are fraught successful this area.

So overmuch has changed successful the years since Russia invaded, but present Georgia finds itself backmost successful a authorities of flux.

For a agelong time, fearful of much Russian aggression, the state was pushed on by a question of enactment for joining the EU and NATO. Polling suggests that astir Georgians inactive privation to prosecute that.

But present the ruling enactment has gone acold connected the idea.

Georgian Dream was created and past bankrolled by a multi-billionaire called Bidzina Ivanishvili who made his wealth successful Russia and is, by a spectacularly wide margin, the richest antheral successful Georgia. His enactment has been successful complaint for the past 12 years and has decided that person ties with the West are nary longer a bully idea.

Instead, Georgian Dream archetypal introduced a "foreign agents" instrumentality that looks remarkably akin to oppressive authorities introduced successful Russia. The enactment past won a wide predetermination that was wide criticised arsenic rigged by planetary observers, European countries and Georgia's president. It has present postponed each negotiations implicit joining the EU.

"It's wide that the existent Georgian leadership, the rhetoric that they are using, the choices that they make, is leaning towards Russia," says Olesya Vartanyan, an adept connected information and conflicts successful the region.

"It became much evident with the commencement of the Ukraine warfare erstwhile Georgia took the determination not to articulation immoderate of the sanctions that the West imposed connected Russia.

"Even more, Georgia did everything imaginable to region itself from the West and, successful that way, it took the broadside of Russia. I deliberation that the interests of Russia and Georgian Dream bash coincide."

Protests person go a regular show extracurricular the Georgian parliament.

Anger, particularly among much wide voters successful Tbilisi, has boiled over. We saw galore anti-Russian slogans daubed connected galore walls and spoke to plentifulness of radical who thought that the caller authorities is taking orders from Moscow. Opposition parties person each boycotted the caller parliament.

But determination are others who deliberation it is simply a fool's errand to provoke Russia by flirting with person ties to the West.

Their logic was inflamed by posters created by Georgian Dream during the election, showing pictures of devastation successful Ukraine alongside the proposition that it could beryllium Georgia next.

"We determination towards Europe, and Russia threatens america with bombing; we determination towards Russia, and Europe threatens america with 'we won't provender you, we won't assistance you'," says Marina Bachia, who runs a marketplace stall successful the capital.

"We are conscionable a tiny nation," Marina adds. "Whoever tin assistance us, they should. But cipher cares."