It's not exactly clear what the links are. I can base it only on what the people I interviewed said: that they're not entirely clear whether the de facto leader, Ivanishvili, has coinciding interests with Russia, as I mentioned, or is being controlled by Russia, and that's something that different people have speculated on—to what extent?
In many ways, Russia does not see the countries in the post-Soviet sphere as independent. It doesn't respect their sovereignty. There is an aggressive propaganda campaign—obviously in countries like Ukraine, but also in countries such as Georgia—to try to polarize, to try to provide this idea that western values are trying to infiltrate traditional values and also that western forces are destabilizing Georgia. Russian influence and propaganda, which we sometimes refer to as “sharp power”, because it's sort of perforating and undermining regimes, is extensive, to the degree that I can go into more detail if needed.