In Georgia, both the government and the opposition declared victory in the parliamentary elections. While the official results speak of the fourth consecutive victory of the ruling party "Georgian Dream", the country's president Salome Zourabichvili considers the elections falsified and calls on citizens to revolt.
International democratic election monitoring organizations record numerous irregularities, rigging, vote buying and voter intimidation.
At the beginning of the week, the opposition started protests in front of the Georgian Parliament. These elections are a kind of referendum, and the country is at the crossroads between two scenarios - the Russian governorate or the Georgian Maidan.
The drama of the Georgian elections is not only the collapse of democratic institutions, but also the return of Tbilisi to Russia's orbit. The West - Russia is a geopolitical relationship of more than three decades and a transitional karma of wars and a special Caucasian republic, with a hub for the transit of energy products and access to the Black Sea.
The first war was in the early 90s, the second "five-day" in 2008 as a hint of everything that will happen to Ukraine. It was the fear of a new war that was the main card played by the "Georgian Dream" led by the pro-Russian tycoon Bidzin Ivanishvili in the elections. The paradox of Georgia is that about 80 percent of the population supports integration into the EU, and that the pro-Russian government is in cohabitation with the pro-Western president Zourabichvili.
At the same time, it is a duality - a guarantee that Georgia will not completely end up under the boots of an enraged Putin, but also the risk that Tbilisi still faces the danger of the Ukrainian scenario. And the question is, does Georgia with such a neighbor even have a sovereign choice?
Of course, war is always an option for Russia, and it is a sure geopolitical advantage before which everyone retreats, including the West.
If on the Ukrainian front Russia's progress is currently limited by the capture of devastated villages and regional cities, Putin has more success in the field of hybrid war of former communist states.
Just a week ago, the referendum in Moldova regarding the constitutional category of entry into the EU passed with only a handful of votes, and the pro-European presidential candidate Maja Sandu won far fewer votes than expected. The case of Moldova is a cold shower for Brussels and Euroenthusiasts who consider the generous offer of Moldovan EU membership a collective salvation from Russian imperialism.
It would be wrong to believe that only fear of Putin and the desire for any kind of peace is the only reason why half of the electorate in Georgia and Moldova support the Kremlin.
We are yet to see the analysis of that special Russian hybrid war, as a well-developed polytechnology for years to win the soul of disoriented voters, whose fathers and grandfathers once rotted, through the medium of national populist politicians and propaganda media, and with the support of promises of cheap energy and "free sausage". Soviet goulash.
One of such phenomena is Hungary, with the most vocal fighter against the dictatorship of Brussels, while sitting at the head of the EU - Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Immediately after the election, the Hungarian Prime Minister arrived in Tbilisi to congratulate the new Russian international team on their victory.
Hungary's pro-Russian sentiments are followed by the colleague of neighboring Slovakia, also the long-time prime minister, Robert Fico.
Former Czech prime minister and billionaire Andrej Babiš, who welcomes Putin's peace plans to end the war in Ukraine, also made a convincing political comeback in September in local elections, winning 10 of 13 regions.
Poland, as the historical arch-enemy of imperial Russia, is in a slightly different position, because after Ukraine it will certainly be the first to be hit by the Russian suicide cavalry.
Of the former socialist republics, Serbia is the most Russophile among the EU candidates, although Vučić traded loyalty to Putin for openly turning Serbia into an authoritarian colony of the West.
And every mention of the destabilization and disintegration of Bosnia and Herzegovina - is an anomaly in the plans of Putin's second European front in the Western Balkans.
The situation on the Ukrainian front is undoubtedly a new curtain in Europe, the movement of which will depend on the fate of the former "communist brothers" from the Adriatic to the Caucasus. The image of the front will dictate the level of adrenaline in the media and fear among voters.
However, the indecisive EU itself is largely to blame for having received disloyal candidates, with whom Moscow is now cynically destroying the illusion of a rich, reliable and superior West one by one. Instead of the fact that after the successful Ukrainian first counterattack, NATO firmly stood behind Kiev and provided weapons to the brave Ukrainians, the hot-cold game created mistrust and calculation among the former Russian satellites. What you see in Zelenski, expect from yourself.
Of course, it is already a platitude that the outcome of the American presidential elections is to be waited for in order to end the war in Ukraine.
The EU has turned the safe house for its candidates Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia into a well-known saying - "just don't defend us". Behind Putin's army are burnt and completely destroyed cities, and everyone is waiting for the end of the war, whose current message is - to the detriment of Ukraine.
Georgia's choice is exactly what the EU, USA and NATO are avoiding, which is a direct war with Russia. However, it is already there and the question is whether it is possible to avoid its escalation in the long term.
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