Georgians Vote in Municipal Elections

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he meets parliament factions leaders in Moscow, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2006. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Georgia Wednesday that no country should get away with threatening Russia, setting the stage for passage of a toughly worded parliamentary motion fiercely condemning Tbilisi's pro-Western leadership. (AP Photo/ ITAR-TASS, Dmitry Astakhov, Presidential Press Service ) (Dmitry Astakhov - AP)

Growing U.S. influence in Georgia has contributed to the strain.

Russia suspended air, sea, road, rail and postal links with Georgia on Tuesday, angry over the arrest of the four Russian officers on spying charges in Georgia last week.

Tightening the squeeze, Moscow on Thursday abolished a program allowing a certain number of Georgians each year to obtain Russian residency and work permits, Mikhail Tyurkin, deputy head of the Federal Migration Service, said on NTV television. Moscow has stopped issuing visas to Georgian citizens since the dispute, so the new measure affects those already in Russia.

Russian officials say about 300,000 Georgians live in Russia; some estimates put the number far higher _ at about 1 million of Georgia's 4.4 million population.

Russia's lower house speaker said Monday that Georgians living in Russia send home an estimated $1 billion a year. In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin put the amount at $1.5 billion to $2 billion annually _ an amount comparable to Georgia's state budget.

The closest-fought race in Thursday's election was in the capital, Tbilisi, whose mayor is Georgia's second most prominent political official. The head of the left opposition Labor party hopes to unseat Saakashvili ally Gigi Ugulava in the race.

Goderdzi Kimeridze, a 30-year-old office worker voting in Tbilisi, said he agreed with Saakashvili's foreign policy but that he had voted for the Conservatives.

"They are also for joining NATO, they're pro-Western. But they're calmer and they don't make such harsh statements," he said. "Politicians should be more diplomatic."