Former soccer player Mikheil Kavelashvili has been inaugurated as president of Georgia in what the opposition calls a blow to the country’s EU aspirations and a victory for former imperial ruler Russia.

Kavelashvili is a critic of the United States and the West. The country’s outgoing pro-EU president has declared the incoming president "illegitimate."

Georgia is gearing up for Sunday's inauguration of a ruling party loyalist as president, after his election was declared "illegitimate" by the outgoing leader and the pro-Western opposition. Mikheil Kavelashvili's inauguration is expected to further escalate the political crisis which has seen mass pro-EU demonstrations.