Upon my arrival in the capital city of Tbilisi, the impact that the war in Ukraine has had on the conscience of Georgians became immediately apparent. Throughout the city, the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag hang proudly along with the red crosses of the Georgian flag. The war burns hundreds of miles away across the Black Sea, far enough to reasonably believe that it would be an afterthought in Georgian discourse. But that is not the case. There are constant reminders of Ukraine, from flags to pins to news coverage. How has it come to be that Ukraine is now at the center of civic life in Georgia?
There is the link to the legacy of former Soviet states. But this would be too simple of a link and would not explain the lack of camaraderie in places such as Armenia and Azerbaijan. Rather, Georgians’ commitment is rooted in events from 2008 and 2014.
The 2008 Russo-Georgian War essentially kicked off Russian rebellion toward the Europeanization of countries that sit on the outskirts of Europe. Originally pegged as support for the ethnic minority rights of Ossetians and Abkhazians by Russia, in reality it was a territorial grab by Vladimir Putin, one that mirrors the situation in Ukraine. During the events that led to the war, the president of Georgia at the time, Mikheil Saakashvili, sought to push the country westward with an effort to join NATO, which Putin saw as an existential threat to Russia. In effect, it gave Russia the rationale for the invasion, which resulted in about 20% of Georgian territory being occupied to this day.
Six years later, a very similar set of events unfolded in Ukraine. Rumors of ethnic dissatisfaction of Russian-speaking Ukrainians living in Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk gave Putin the grounds for intervention. The “Revolution of Dignity” resulted in pro-Russia leader Viktor Yanukovych being ousted by protesters for not signing a free-trade agreement with the European Union. Headed by younger Ukrainians, the protests emphasized a shift in Ukrainians’ perceptions of where they wished to be, and that was to be a member of Europe rather than in Russia’s sphere of influence.
The combination of these two events, shared marginalization, and parallels in ideology and recent history culminated in Georgians feeling like they are a part of the war in Ukraine. The West sees it as a fight for democracy against tyranny, and Georgians share this sentiment and feel it to a sharper degree because the war is on their doorstep. As Russians continue to occupy territory in Georgia, Ukraine is perceived as an embodiment of defiance and resilience against a larger power that both countries have been at odds with for more than a decade. But interestingly, the flag of Ukraine represents something more as it flies next to the European Union flag throughout Tbilisi: It symbolizes Europe.
This touches on who gets to be European. As Ukraine has recently been put on a track to become part of the European Union, albeit through a process that could take nearly 10 years, Georgians are still waiting for the opportunity to join the bloc. Throughout Georgia, members of the next generation see themselves as a liberal democratic state, one that involves EU citizenship, which is seen as the path to prosperity and opportunity.
Those who see themselves as European Georgians are aware that EU membership is years away and will take development, economic progress and leadership to achieve.
As Ukrainians continue to fight for their freedom and the ability to decide if they also do in fact see themselves as European, Georgians see it as their fight too. As the Ukrainian flag continues to be displayed proudly around Georgia, it is not just the flag of a friend, or ally, but rather a symbol of the choice to be European: a symbol of freedom.
