Georgia goes to the polls on Saturday for crucial parliamentary elections as the country tries to move closer to the West under Russian President Vladimir Putin’s watch.

The risks could not be greater for the small nation in the troubled Caucasus region. Georgia, was once part of the Soviet UnionSince declaring independence in 1991, it has been caught between heavy Russian influence and efforts to join the European Union and move closer to the West.

“It is in Russia’s interest to stop Georgia’s alienation from its allies and the EU integration process,” Natia Seskuria, an associate researcher at the Royal United Services Institute, told Fox News Digital.

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Supporters of the ruling Georgian Dream Party attend a rally in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Wednesday, October 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Shah Ayvazov)

For Russia, the upcoming elections offer Putin the opportunity to keep Georgia in his orbit. Seskuria says that if Georgia manages to hold free and fair elections and restore relations with the European Union (EU), this would be a defeat for Russia.

A bipartisan group of senators led by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Jim Risch (R-Idaho) has proposed legislation that would hold Georgia government officials and individuals accountable for corruption. human rights violations and efforts to develop or facilitate the passage of foreign influence legislation.

“The United States stands with the Georgian people and their quest for a Euro-Atlantic future. The Georgian government’s recent efforts to align with Russia frustrate Georgians’ aspirations and pose a significant threat,” the bipartisan group of senators said in a press release. he said. .

Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen at the Navy Day Parade on July 31, 2022 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. (Contributor/Getty Images)

Many observers in the region believe the parliamentary elections will be one of the closest and most important since independence. For Putin, this will be his country’s first opportunity since the election to increase Russia’s influence in Georgia’s elections. invasion of Ukraine In 2022.

“What we see now is that the Georgian government made this election as a choice between war and peace. They tried to say that voting for the opposition would mean voting for war with Russia,” Ani Chkhikvadze said. A journalist from Tbilisi-based Voice of America told Fox News Digital.

Ivana Stradner, an expert on Russian disinformation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that Putin is waging an ideological war against the West.

“He is trying to reshape the world order and does not need to send tanks and jets to the West to achieve his goals. He uses proxies like the Georgian Dream Party to disrupt Georgia’s path to the EU and challenge the West,” Stradner said.

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Fox News Digital also spoke with opposition politician and former secretary of the national security council Giga Bokeria of Georgia. pro-European Federalist Party. Bokeria said Russia’s strategic interest is to keep the current Georgian Dream government, led by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, in power.

Campaign billboards of the ruling Georgian Dream Party depicting leaders and activists of opposition parties and reading “No to War, No to Agents” in Georgian stand in Tbilisi on October 22, 2024, ahead of the October 26 parliamentary elections. (GIORGI ARJEVANIDZE/AFP via Getty Images)

“Ivanishvili’s government adopted the Russian propaganda line that the United States is an ‘imperialist power’ and provoked the war in Ukraine.”

Bokeria also alleged that Ivanishvili facilitated the infiltration of Russia sympathizers into Georgia’s political system, economy and security structures.

Russia plans to use these close contacts to influence politics and society in Georgia. Russian security services’ statements regarding Georgia closely match the narratives of Georgian Dream politicians. These organizations praise the Georgian government and accuse the West and Europe of trying to drag Georgia into war with Ukraine.

While Georgia’s elite political class in the Georgian Dream Party wants close relations with Russia, ordinary Georgians know where they stand in the EU.

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Georgians have a strong desire to join the EU, with polls showing that 83% of Georgians support it. The Georgian Dream Party has halted efforts to join the EU since Georgia became a candidate member in 2023. The EU subsequently suspended Georgia’s process following a controversial decision. “foreign agent” law It required citizens, nongovernmental organizations, media organizations, and other nongovernmental organizations that receive more than 20 percent of funding from abroad to register as foreign agents with the Department of Justice.

Demonstrators gather at the Parliament building during an opposition protest against the foreign influence bill on May 28, 2024 in Tbilisi, Georgia. The Georgian parliament overruled the “foreign agents” law with a presidential veto, fueling Western concerns and sparking mass protests. for weeks. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

If the Georgian Dream Party consolidates its power, it could be disastrous for EU hopes. FDD’s Stradner says a Georgian Dream victory would be a victory for Putin.

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Civic IDEA, a pro-Western nonprofit organization in Georgia, published a report outlining the Georgia Dream party’s dependence on Russian money, including money from people linked to sanctioned businesses. Many of the party’s major donors are backed by Russian funds and individuals whose interests are closely aligned with the Kremlin, the report said.

Civic IDEA also reveals that individuals have socio-political ties to Russia, while some are also listed as “international sponsors of the war.”