In 2008, Gori was one of the places Moscow bombed and occupied during a short and deadly war that left 20% of the country - though not the city - under de facto Russian control.
"When Russia invaded Ukraine, we began to worry they might come here again," said Levan, speaking in the main square of this city, the birthplace of Joseph Stalin, where a museum dedicated to the Soviet dictator attracts thousands of tourists each week.
About 1,200 miles to the west, Sergiu, 62, has his own experiences of Russian aggression. In 1991 he was drafted in the Moldovan capital, Chisinau, and sent to Transnistria to fight Russian forces after the restive region had broken away from Moldova. The brief conflict ended in a 1992 ceasefire that left more than a thousand Russian troops in Transnistria, which was granted autonomy.
Levan and Sergiu, who requested their last names be omitted to allow them to speak freely, said the wars had left deep wounds in their communities.
Each saw their nation's future in Europe, not Russia.
Yet during their respective elections last month - widely seen as tests of whether the future of the two former Soviet republics lay with Europe - they voted for parties that favoured closer ties with Moscow, fearing a pro-western government might provoke the Kremlin into a new war.
The election results in these two small but politically significant nations have underscored the challenge the EU faces in expanding into territories Moscow views as part of its sphere of influence.
In Georgia, a ruling party seen as increasingly pro-Russia and anti-liberal won a parliamentary election last Saturday that was marred by reports of irregularities and voter intimidation.
This story is from the November 02, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the November 02, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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