Eli Lake, Columnist

What Georgia’s Opposition Needs From the West

Free and fair elections are necessary to ensure the country remains a reliable ally.

September 13, 2019 at 5:30 AM UTC

Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.

Not the usual flag-waving.
Photographer: VANO SHLAMOV/AFP

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For the last seven years, the free world has been largely quiet as the Republic of Georgia has fallen under the sway of its wealthiest citizen, Bidzina Ivanishvili.

There have been some warnings. Transparency International and other nongovernment organizations have warned of “state capture,” the systematic corruption of institutions at the behest of powerful individuals and interests. The country’s fractured opposition accuses the Georgian Dream party, which Ivanishvili founded and currently leads, of doing far too little to counter Russian pressure.