Mass demonstrations on the streets of Chisinau and Tbilisi, the capitals of Moldova and Georgia, provided a sharp reminder this week that the borderlands of the former Soviet Union are still in a state of upheaval. Their plight calls into question Russia’s behaviour in what it regards as a “privileged sphere of influence”, and exposes the dangers of their becoming pawns in a post-Soviet beauty contest.

In Chisinau, youthful demonstrators smashed up the parliament in fury at the election victory of the ruling Communist party. In Tbilisi, thousands of opposition supporters rallied peacefully – in spite of dire warnings to the contrary – to demand the resignation of Mikheil Saakashvili, the president who lost last year’s war with Russia.