In the late '80s, my grandmother joined a peace group which had a "sister town" in the USSR 2 1/2 hours up in the Caucasus Mountains - and she invited me to go with her on their initial visit. The last place I wanted to go was Russia, but I couldn't say no to my Nana. And it really did turn out to be the trip of a lifetime, most of the group were decades older than me, experienced travelers and dedicated to peace, and I came to love them.
And one place we visited was then Soviet Georgia. It was a much different place, different language, different culture, but they were even required to use the Russian language. And their hatred of occupying Russia was palpable. There were a lot of statues of Stalin which confused me since I thought he was out of favor, so I asked, And I was told that Stalin was Georgian, not Russian, and he was honored in Georgia since "he killed so many Russians." The Russians still have a presence there and I have no doubt that Georgia is also on Putin's schedule. 
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