I was a child during the brief war between Georgia and Russia in 2008. I remember seeing charred buildings in the eastern town of Gori and tanks on the Military Highway, a road that enters Georgia from Russia. When the elections in October ended in Georgian Dream’s favor amid allegations of vote rigging and after months of failed protests, nihilism and fatigue set in. integration talks would be suspended until 2028, in a country where public support for joining the bloc has polled around 80 percent. The mood suddenly shifted: People were no longer defeated; they were furious.

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Persons: Irakli Kobakhidze, Georgia’s Locations: Georgia, Russia, Gori, Russian