All the while neighbouring Russia trains a close eye, comparing events to Ukraine’s “Maidan”, when its unpopular president was ousted by pro-EU protesters in February 2014 and Russian troops and their proxies moved in to seize parts of the country.

If brutish local police were Georgia’s only threat, pro-European protesters might be on solid ground. Speaking to your columnist from Tbilisi, demonstrators described a city in a febrile, daring mood since the ruling Georgian Dream party,

Police clashed with protesters in the Georgian capital Tbilisi early on Friday, after the country’s ruling party said the government would suspend talks on European Union accession and refuse budgetary grants until 2028.

The protests come amid a greater, global power struggle over the country’s place in the world order. The protesters — as well as the European Union and the United States — are pushing for a more democratic society that’s aligned with the West.

Thousands protested outside of the Georgian parliament in Tbilisi for a fifth straight night after the government suspended plans to join the European Union.

The confrontation between the pro-Russian government and the opposition in Georgia could further escalate following declarations by commanders of the "Caucasian Union" fighting on the side of Ukraine,