Georgia, Russia and the EU - From European dream to nightmare? | DW Documentary

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Georgia stands at a crossroads. Will pro-Russian political forces assume power over the country for good - leaving hopes of joining the EU shattered? With growing fears of the country descending into a dictatorship, young people are taking to the streets - to protest.

Much of Tbilisi's famed nightclub scene is on pause, with ravers being urged to spend their nights on demonstrations instead of the dancefloor. Among their various demands: a rerun of the parliamentary elections held in October 2024, when the ruling Georgian Dream party won a majority - while the opposition says they were rigged. In late November the government then announced it would be suspending negotiations for EU membership until 2028. Photographer and heavy metal musician Hitori Ni refuses to accept this new situation and has been joining the nightly protests. Normally bastions of freedom and self-expression, the city's clubs have in any case shut their doors to send out a signal: that fighting for democracy and human rights takes priority over partying.
On the other side of the debate is Temur Maisuradze. The management professor says that the EU is turning its back on Georgia, not vice versa, and sees the country's future closely aligned with Russia. That's a view shared by the man often called Georgia's unofficial leader: Bidzina Ivanishvili, who has been playing a key role in recent developments. An investigative journalist reveals her findings about the secretive billionaire.

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