Georgia’s government recently decided to spend money on fresh black ‘Robocop’ uniforms for their riot police, with shiny new helmets to match. After parliamentary elections in October, they might have been forgiven for thinking the kit would go back on the precinct shelves with barely a scuff – a little shopsoiled at worst.
Protests immediately after the vote were predicted, but turned out to be sporadic and rudderless. The lacklustre opposition figures were hopelessly divided, little known and incapable of inspiring a following. And while there were credible allegations of vote-rigging, enough voters were fearful of losing their meagre state incomes – or fearful of rattling observers in the Kremlin, for whom the country is still ‘their’ backyard – that victory for the ruling ‘Georgian Dream’ party could be presented as a fait accompli.
The Soviet generation, many of whom are still nostalgic for ‘the good old days’, has lost patience with the government, too.
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