On Wednesday, Georgia’s government came one step closer to realising its desire to embed the country deeper within Russia’s sphere of influence. A year after mass protests forced them to pull the plug on a controversial ‘foreign agents’ law, the Kremlin-sympathetic ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party is once again trying to force this ‘Russian-style’ legislation through parliament.

While the bill was undergoing its first reading in parliament, 20,000 Georgians turned out onto the streets to demonstrate. Several thousands protested in Tbilisi alone. Shouts of ‘No to the Russian law’ rang out alongside renditions of the Georgian national anthem and ‘Ode to Joy’, the EU’s official song. Once again, like last year, riot police were deployed. They chased and beat protestors and made numerous arrests.

In recent decades, Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova and others have welcomed the progressive and liberal benefits offered to them by closer ties to Europe.

This time, unlike last year, when the sheer numbers and anger of the protestors forced legislators to withdraw the bill, the GD were determined to persevere. The bill was reintroduced to parliament at the beginning of April in a move that surprised MPs. It passed its first reading despite being boycotted by opposition MPs. The votes of 83 GD MPs were enough to push it through Tbilisi’s 150-seat parliament.

The bill, dubbed by its critics as the........

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