Huge protests signal a showdown between Tbilisi and Moscow

Thousands of Georgians have been protesting for two weeks against a Russian-style draft law that will target civil society, accusing their government of sabotaging their country's prospects of EU membership. Western governments have spent billions supporting Georgian democracy and development since the1990s. But this week Georgia's leadership made a very public break with Brussels and Washington, accusing the West of trying to lure Georgia into war with Russia. With the governing Georgian Dream (GD) Party hoping to secure a constitutional majority in an October general election, the decision to introduce this authoritarian legislation was a surprise: mass demonstrations last year forced the government to withdraw a similar bill. This second attempt has handed the opposition renewed energy and purpose.