Had Georgia shown some initiative to curb inbound arrivals from Russia, much less implement a visa ban as Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have done, it would be on an entirely different trajectory with respect to EU integration.
For starters, a reciprocal visa-waiver agreement will help quash growing calls by civil society and prominent opposition figures in Georgia to rescind the year-long, uninterrupted stay Russian nationals enjoy on their territory. As the carnage in Ukraine intensifies and risks spilling over into the Russian Federation proper, Vladimir Putin should presumptively be looking to disincentivise overseas trips by able-bodied reservists and ensure that an adequate pool of fighting-age, combat-ready men are at his beck and call when push comes to shove.
While measures have been taken to this effect โ namely freezing the bank accounts and invalidating the travel documents of draft dodgers in extreme cases โ an erstwhile Soviet republic imposing stricter mobility protocols on his citizenry risks triggering a chain reaction by fellow neighbouring states that can equally ill-afford to harbour displaced and cash-strapped Russians indefinitely.
Much like the Persian Gulf monarchs, the ex-KGB agent banks on a social contract of sorts to keep the public at large politically agnostic and stifle independent thinking. Admittedly, he has not bought their silence with no-show, thumb-twiddling government jobs or by using hydrocarbon proceeds as a slush fund to command unwavering loyalty. One such perk the younger generation will fight tooth and nail to safeguard is the ability to venture abroad at will.
There is now an unprecedented sense of desperation on the part of middle-class millennials to pack up and flee Russia, not just for fear of enlistment but also owing to the financial distress wrought by Western-led sanctions. The ruling Georgian Dream party continues to peddle the fallacy that incoming Russians oppose the war when the bulk of them are simply anti-conscription sell-outs who will do or say just about anything to avoid being thrown into the meat grinder.
