The future of Georgia directly depends on how the war in Ukraine ends, says a 25-minute story about the connection between the Caucasian country and the Russian invasion by the Al Jazeera TV channel. On the one hand, the example of the Ukrainian people inspires that part of the Georgian population that considers the Soviet era an occupation and seeks to return Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which were conquered by Russia in 2008. On the other hand, in fact, the pro-Russian Georgian government didnʼt join the sanctions against the aggressor country, and uses the war and the troubles brought by the Russians to seed fear among for the local population. "The rhetoric of the current government is this: if we leave, the Russians will attack Georgia just like they did in 2008. And the country itself should behave quietly, modestly ― then thereʼs a chance to survive," says the head of the opposition party "European Georgia ― Movement for Freedom" Giga Bokeria in the story. The situation is complicated by hundreds of thousands of Russians who, fleeing mobilization, settled in Georgia. The authors of the video note that Russian language is now heard on the streets of Tbilisi as often as Georgian. Local activists regularly create large graffiti with slogans such as "Russian people, go fuck yourself" or "Russians, go home!" ― and they are almost immediately wiped out by utility workers. Maybe, after losing in Ukraine, Putin will turn his attention to Georgia and send his troops to "protect" the local Russian speakers, video authors suggest. Or maybe, on the contrary, after the weakening of the metropolis, local pro-Putin politicians will also lose their influence. "Ukraine is fighting for us as well," says Eka Gugauri, head of the local branch of Transparency International. The main thing for Georgia in the event of a weakening of Russia will be not to lose a chance, as it happened in the early 90s, the story summarizes. At that time, Georgians were also ready to build a modern democratic state ― however, 30 years have passed, and "the country is still littered with communist symbols."
Small Estonia has become one of the main helpers of Ukraine in the fight against cyber threats, writes Politico. It is thanks to the active participation of Estonian specialists and departments that many cyber attacks by Russians, in particular on infrastructure facilities, can be repelled. Despite its size, Estonia has perhaps the worldʼs greatest experience in countering such attacks. Back in 2007, due to the decision of the Tallinn authorities to move the Soviet monument from the city center to the outskirts, Russian hackers attacked dozens of Estonian websites and services. After that, the government paid a lot of attention to digital security ― and this yearʼs decision to remove a monument to a Soviet tank from the center of Narva city, which was accompanied by a hundred times stronger cyber attack than in 2007, went unnoticed by Estonian citizens. Recently, when the Estonian parliament recognized Russia as a terrorist state, cybercriminals sent as many requests to the parliamentʼs website in one day as it had handled in the previous seven years. But Estonia was able to nullify their efforts and the site was unscathed. Ukraine skillfully used Estonian advice, and now Estonia is trying to adopt some of Kyivʼs know-how regarding digital citizenship. As Estonian State Secretary for Digital Transformation Lucas Ilves says with a smile, sometimes the student is better than the teacher.
Ukraine is calling for a boycott of any artwork with Russian roots, but even Ukraineʼs allies are hesitant to do so, NPR writes. This is especially felt in the run-up to Christmas, when dozens of theaters stage the Nutcracker ballet to the music of Pyotr Tchaikovsky. This ballet often makes theaters a box office during this period, sometimes the share of tickets sold for it reaches half of the total revenue of the theater in December. The Ukrainian Ministry of Culture called on the world to do without the Russianʼs music ― however, as the publication writes, it did so too late. Most of the theaters and opera houses showing Nutcracker this season left journalistsʼ inquiries about their decision on Tchaikovsky unanswered, the publication writes. And those who answered explained why Tchaikovskyʼs music will not be removed from the posters. "The demonstration of works of such mastery should send a powerful message that Tchaikovsky ― himself is of Ukrainian origin ― and his works speak to all of humanity, contrary to the narrow and nationalistic vision of culture that is pedaled by the Kremlin," Londonʼs Royal Ballet responded. In general, in the West, they decided not to abandon the demonstration of works of Russian art ― however, if it was created long before the start of the war. To contemporary artists, the West, out of solidarity with Ukraine, usually refuses to provide its venues for performances. Moreover, this applies not only to artists or artists who support Putin, but also to Russian "liberals".
The Wall Street Journal devoted an extensive article to the fierce battles surrounding Bakhmut. The report contains numerous comments from the Ukrainian military, and a description of the streets of a once green and cozy city, many of whose cafes and residential buildings have now become piles of bricks and iron. There is even an analysis of the landscape of Bakhmut, which shows that the ravine behind the southeastern edge of the city gives the Russians the opportunity to hide from shelling, and the hills in its western part allow the Ukrainians to equip convenient positions for defense. There is simply no answer to the question why the Russians are fighting so hard for this settlement. In the current military situation, it is of the third rank, and the Russians lose only 50-70 people killed here every day, the publication writes, however, they quickly replace the newly killed soldiers with new ones. The only version offered by the authors of the material is that after numerous failures on the battlefield, Putin needs at least some kind of military victory. But whether it will even happen is not clear, because Ukraine is also bringing new forces here. The correspondent of the publication describes how a convoy of Ukrainian tanks is entering the city, which means that the battles for the city will continue with renewed vigor.