Tbilisi is a city marred by conflict, razed to the ground almost 30 times, and rebuilt on the ashes of its past. Every building holds the story of a richly complex past.

And the soundscape, too, is inspiring, from the polyphonicMusic with two or more voices or parts, each with an independent melody, but all harmonising. singing and liturgicalRelated to a public religious service or ritual. chanting, to rhythmic cries of street vendors and the techno coming from underground bars.

I notice on the short walk from my apartment in the mountains to Rustaveli Avenue, home to the country's Parliament, that the cold does not seem to have held back the thousands of protesters streaming into the centre with EU and Georgian flags warming their shoulders.

For many years, commentators have seen Georgia as being at a crossroads between the West and the Kremlin. Many optimistic Georgians hoped that Saturday's election would lead to the country joining the EU.

But the results, which many believed were rigged, saw the authoritarianEnforcing strict obedience to authority. Georgian Dream party return to power.

I expected an explosive reaction from the country with everything at stake, like the deadly clashes between state and people in Ukrainian capital Kyiv in 2014, which led to the ousting of Russia-aligned President Viktor Yanukovych.

But Monday's protests were comparatively tame.

Could Georgia be the next Ukraine?

Yes! Both have suffered from Russian aggression and war, and both have overwhelming support for a European future.

No! The Georgian people's resistance to what some are calling a "stolen election" is a little underwhelming.

Polyphonic - Music with two or more voices or parts, each with an independent melody, but all harmonising.

Liturgical - Related to a public religious service or ritual.

Authoritarian - Enforcing strict obedience to authority.