History is repeating itself—using “soft methods,” yet with striking parallels… The scenario is quite easy to read, but what can we do when we have become blind, deaf, and mute at the very edge of the abyss — Gia Khukhashvili

Analyst Gia Khukhashvili writes on social media:

“In recent days, Russia, its network of agents of influence, and those simply deluded by Russophilia have been actively touting the benefits of the ‘3+3’ format.

What is the Kremlin’s strategic objective in bringing this topic back to the forefront?

Moscow understands full well that the direct reintegration of Georgia into a modernized Soviet Union—based on a ‘Treaty 2’—is problematic, due to a number of internal and external factors. Therefore, drawing on historical experience, it has divided the task into two stages.

The first stage involves recreating the reality of the 18th century, a time when three regional empires—Persia, the Ottoman Empire, and Russia—dominated Georgia. This situation ultimately forced Erekle the Great—in an effort to preserve the country’s unity—to once again choose between the ‘bad’ and the ‘worse,’ leading him, in 1783, to turn toward his ‘co-religionist’ [ally]...” ...to conclude the Treaty of Georgievsk with Russia—a move that ultimately culminated in the abolition of statehood and integration into the Russian Empire.

History is repeating itself—following the same pattern, albeit through different, “softer” methods.

The first stage involves falling once again within the sphere of influence of regional empires; subsequently, with the assistance of the Georgian Church and other actors, a “forced” choice is made—opting for “co-religionist” Russia as the lesser of two evils.

This scenario is quite easy to discern—yet what can be done, now that we have become blind, deaf, and mute on the very edge of the abyss…"