Russia’s army waged a five-day conflict in August 2008, several years before to its invasion of Ukraine. Gori was bombed and taken over, and Shindisi, farther north, saw a bloody conflict that demolished the station and left the railway in ruins.
The goal of the nation’s four opposition parties, who refer to Saturday’s crucial election as a “choice between Russia and Europe,” is to overthrow the ruling Georgian Dream party, which has ruled the country for 12 years and is accused of reverting to Russian influence.
Their goal is to bring Georgia’s stalled EU application back to life.
“In these streets we had Russians,” explains Mindia Goderdzishvili, who is in charge of the Coalition for Change campaign in Gori.
Because they want to maintain their hold on power, the government plays on people’s emotions and exploits the memories they have of this place.
