However, he ultimately is a reactionary puppeteer who always lands on the side that lets him keep his grip on Georgian politics.

Well yeah, who wouldn't in that position? And so why exactly wouldn't such a person choose to realign back towards Russia, or at the very least hedge their bets and try to play both sides, considering that the West has been orchestrating protests and riots aimed at overthrowing this government and Russia has not? This is pretty elementary stuff.

Once a puppet outlives their usefulness for the US they usually discard and replace them. If that puppet is smart and has any self-preservation instinct they will see it coming and know when it's time to switch sides.

The fact that such a switch is even possible is what's interesting here. Twenty years ago the US was the only game in town. Now no longer.