Georgia is on the brink - Trump can save young democracy from Russia. The Wall Street Journal publishes an article under this headline on current events in Georgia. The article says that thousands of Georgians have taken to the streets in recent months to protest the rise of authoritarianism in the post-Soviet country. It is about the failure of the promised changes in the electoral system.

“The U.S. can’t always prevent such regression, but President Trump has an opportunity to push Tbilisi in a democratic direction at little cost.

For seven years the country effectively has been ruled by Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia’s wealthiest citizen and chairman of the Georgian Dream party. Since winning parliamentary elections in 2012, Mr. Ivanishvili and his allies have undermined the country’s independent institutions and violently broken up protests.

There’s more the U.S. can do. Mr. Ivanishvili made his nearly $5 billion fortune in Russia during the chaotic 1990s, and he has extensive securities and real estate holdings in the West. The threat of targeted sanctions against this wealth, as well as limits on travel for him and his cronies, would focus minds more effectively than a public statement.

The U.S. can’t dictate events in Georgia. But it can nudge the ruling party to act in ways that match its democratic words—and give new life to Georgian political movements that prefer Washington and Brussels over Moscow”, - wrote the author.