|
In March 1991, Georgians voted with great
majority for full independence and in April Georgia was
proclaimed an independent state. In May, Zviad
Gamsachurdia, the President of Parliament, was elected
president with more than 86 percent of the vote.
However, some elections were not held in Abkhazia and
South Ossetia. When the Soviet Union disbanded later
that year and the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS) was formed, Georgia declined to enter.
When the Old Communists in Moscow conducted a coup
attempt against USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev in
August 1991, Gamsachurdia failed to distance itself from
the coup. Criticism against him grew, and his position
weakened. The opposition dissolved around Tengiz Sigua
(who resigned as prime minister in August 1991) and
Tengiz Kitovani, head of the National Guard.
-
ABBREVIATIONFINDER:
List of most commonly used acronyms containing Georgia. Also includes historical, economical and political aspects of the country.
Gamsachurdia is overthrown
In December 1991, an armed conflict broke out in
Tbilisi between, on the one hand, Kitovani's National
Guard and the semi-military force Mchedrioni
(Riders), on the other, the president's
supporters, the so-called Zviadists. In the battles
around the presidential palace in Tbilisi, over 100
people are believed to have been killed. In January
1992, Gamsachurdia floated. Some of the Zviadists went
to the western province of Megrelien (Samegrelo). From
there, they resisted armed opposition to the new regime,
led by Kitovani and Mchedrioni's leader, Djaba Ioseliani.
In March, former Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard
Shevardnadze was called home from Moscow to lead a
civilian transitional government.
In the October 1992 elections, neither party received
a majority. Shevardnadze was elected President of
Parliament, in practice Head of State. The elections
were boycotted in Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Megrelien.
 Independence brought about an economic collapse for
Georgia when the subsidized exchange trade that
prevailed within the Soviet Union disappeared at one
time and the countries began to pay each other with
convertible currency and at world market prices. The
cost of energy imports went up while Georgian goods were
in many cases impossible to sell abroad. Production
collapsed in all sectors. In addition, the state's
inability to collect taxes resulted in large budget
deficits. Wages and pensions were frozen inside. The
situation was made worse by political unrest and civil
war see below. No other former communist state was
affected by an equally powerful economic race like
Georgia.
Civil war
A conflict with South Ossetia had begun in 1989, when
South Ossetian leaders, in response to the nationalist
sentiments among Georgians, demanded increased autonomy
and accession to North Ossetia in Russia (see also South
Ossetia). This led to clashes between Ossetians and
Georgians living in South Ossetia, and in September 1990
the Ossetes issued a Declaration of Independence.
Gamsachurdia's regime responded by lifting South
Ossetia's autonomous position, and civil war broke out.
After Shevardnadze's takeover of power in 1992, the
central government succeeded in concluding an agreement
with the South Ossetians on cessation of fire. By then,
around 1,500 people had been killed and thousands of
others had fled. A joint Russian, Georgian and South
Ossetian peacekeeping force was deployed in the region.
Shortly thereafter, a similar conflict arose in
Abkhazia (see also Abkhazia). In July 1992, the
Abkhazians issued a declaration of independence.
Shevardnadze replied by sending in the National Guard
which took the main town of Suchumi and drove away the
leaders of the uprising.
In September 1993, the Abkhazians went into
counter-offensive. The Georgian troops were expelled and
nearly 250,000 Georgians were forced to flee. Thousands
were stranded in the mountains, where many died of
starvation and cold. Georgia accused some groups in the
Russian army of helping the Abkhaz to weaken the
Georgian state. This created tensions in contact with
Russia.
In May 1994, the parties agreed on a ceasefire that
would be monitored by UN observers. In addition, 3,000
soldiers, most Russians, were deployed in a peacekeeping
squad at the border between Abkhazia and the rest of the
country.
Shevardnadze is saved by Russia
Meanwhile, Gamsachurdia seized the opportunity to try
to regain power. His zviadists succeeded in October 1993
in capturing the cities of Poti and Samtredia. As the
Zviadists advanced towards Tbilisi, Shevardnadze became
increasingly crowded. As a final attempt to "save the
country", he saw that on October 8 he had to accept
Georgia's accession to the CIS.
With the help of Russian soldiers, the government
forces were able to recapture the areas occupied by the
Zviadists. In return, Shevardnadze was forced to accept
four Russian military bases in Georgia. By November
1993, a large proportion of the Zviadists had been
expelled from the country. A few months later, it was
reported that Gamsachurdia had committed suicide.
After the defeat in Abkhazia, Georgia was in a deep
political, social and economic crisis. Contributing to
the instability was the growing crime rate and
semi-military forces over which the government had no
control. The collapse of law and order meant that
organized crime managed to gain a dominant influence
over the gasoline trade and the privatization of state
property. Corruption was widespread within the state
administration and fighting was going on between
different clans.
The violence culminated in connection with the
adoption of the new constitution in August 1995. When
Shevardnadze was on his way to the ceremony, an
explosive charge detonated near his car. He escaped with
minor injuries. Security Minister Igor Giorgadze was
charged with the attack together with Mchedrioni's
leader Ioseliani. The minister and his followers managed
to escape to Russia, but Ioseliani was imprisoned.
In November 1995, parliamentary and presidential
elections were held. The biggest was Shevardnadze's
middle party of the Citizens' Union. In the presidential
election, Shevardnadze won by almost three-quarters of
the votes. His main challenger was former Communist
leader Djumber Patiasjvili.
The October 1999 parliamentary elections were
preceded by an aggressive electoral movement and
accusations of cheating were tight. Only three parties
managed to cross the seven percent barrier. The largest
was the Citizens' Union with 42 percent, followed by the
Georgian Union for democracy and renewal. The main
opposition to the ruling party had thus been eliminated.
The presidential election in April 2000 stood between
the same men as five years earlier. Shevardnadze won a
clear victory with about 80 percent of the vote against
17 percent of former Communist leader Patiasjvili.
The revolution of the roses
In the following years, Shevardnadze's popularity
declined sharply as the economy deteriorated and the
standard of living fell. His government was charged with
misconduct and corruption, and former employees
abandoned him. The 10th anniversary of independence on
May 26, 2001 became a messy event. Zviadists fought with
police in the streets of Tbilisi and hundreds of
soldiers mutated in protest that they had not been paid.
The unrest continued during the summer and autumn.
In November 2001, Shevardnadze dismissed the entire
government. At the same time, his former guard Zurab
Zhvania resigned from the post of President of
Parliament and was succeeded by the young female lawyer
Nino Burdjanadze. She, like Zhvania, was counted among
the reform friends in the Citizens' Union. Zhvania and
another reform friend within the ruling party, Micheil
Saakashvili, later formed during the autumn the
National Movement, which soon developed into a
new opposition party.
The November 2003 parliamentary elections were
conducted under chaotic forms and were sharply
criticized by foreign election observers from, among
others, the European Cooperation and Security
Organization, the OSCE and the Council of Europe. The
vote was repeatedly interrupted by fierce protests from
the opposition. Three weeks after the election, it was
officially announced that the Shevardnadze faithful
party of New Georgia had won by 21
percent of the vote. The other mandates were distributed
to a large number of parties.
The announcement of the official result triggered new
fierce protests from the opposition. Saakashvili
explained that he and his party comrades did not intend
to sit in the new parliament because Shevardnadze and
his colleagues had "stolen" the victory. After several
days of increasingly protests in Tbilisi, protesters
stormed Parliament and forced Shevardnadze to flee.
Neither police nor military intervention to stop the
protesters.
A day later, Shevardnadze announced that he was
resigning to avoid bloodshed. What came to be called the
Roses Revolution had prevailed. Former President Nino
Burdjanadze, President of the Parliament, took office in
accordance with the constitution as acting president
pending a new presidential election. At the end of
November, the Supreme Court annulled the election to 150
of the 235 seats in Parliament. The old parliament was
allowed to remain for the time being. Saakashvili,
Zhvania and Burdjanadze took over the lead while waiting
for new elections.
In January 2004, Saakashvili was elected president
with just over 96 percent of the vote. The new
parliamentary elections in March 2004 became another big
victory for him and the National Movement. The party
received 67 percent of the vote and thus took home most
of the 150 seats that were at stake. The only opposition
party that managed the seven percent barrier
was the Right Opposition, which
received 15 seats. Eighty-five seats had already been
held by majority vote in one-man constituencies at the
disputed elections in November 2003.
New politician generation
With Saakashvili's election victory, a new generation
of politicians took over, with no roots in the old
Soviet system. But the country was politically
fragmented and economically downtrodden. However, the
economy grew, thanks in part to the oil pipeline opened
in 2005 from Azerbaijan to Turkey via Georgia. Tax
revenues increased, pensions and salaries could be paid,
and educational and social reforms were implemented. In
the long run, however, the gap grew between the many who
remained poor and a small group of newly rich.
Gradually, the criticism of the government over media
governance, corruption and police brutality increased.
President Saakashvili was accused of authoritarian
tendencies. When one of his political opponents was
arrested in the fall of 2007, more than 50,000 people
gathered outside Parliament every day demanding the
president's resignation. The police brutally turned down
the protests, the government temporarily declared a
state of emergency and government-critical TV channels
were closed.
As a remission, Saakashvili announced election to the
presidential post. The January 2008 election was a
victory for Saakashvili with 53.5 percent of the vote
against 25.7 percent for Levan Gatjetsjiladze of the
United Opposition / National Council.
The opposition accused the government of electoral
fraud. In an advisory referendum at the same time as the
presidential election, 77 percent voted for Georgia to
join NATO.
In the May elections, Saakashvili's party, the
National Movement, won 59.2 percent of
the vote against 17.7 percent for the United Opposition.
The news of the result triggered anger at the
opposition, which called for a boycott of the work in
Parliament.
Saakashvili had placed the autonomous province of
Adzjaria under his presidential rule, but he had failed
to take back the breakaway provinces of South Ossetia
and Abkhazia as he promised. There was concern and
violence between separatists and the Georgian military
(see South Ossetia and Abkhazia), and according to
Georgia, Russia's peacekeeping troops supported the
separatists. Moscow also distributed Russian passports
to the residents of the provinces. In March 2008,
shortly after Kosovo proclaimed independence from
Serbia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia renewed their demands
to be recognized as independent states themselves, and
Moscow strengthened its ties with the breakers.
War on Russia
In the spring, the tone escalated between Moscow and
Tbilisi, in the summer, fires occurred along the border
between South Ossetia and Georgia, and in early August,
war broke out between Russian and Georgian troops since
Georgia attacked South Ossetia's capital Tschinvali.
Russian forces pushed back Georgians, and fighting broke
out even in Abkhazia where Georgian military was
deployed. Russian flights and Russian forces also
attacked Georgia. After five days of fighting, the war
ended, and the parties agreed on a peace plan that the
European Union has presented. Hundreds of people were
killed or injured in the war.
Both sides accused each other of starting the war,
and according to human rights organizations, both were
guilty of indiscriminate violence against civilians.
Moscow recognized the independence of the breakaway
states, and Georgia stood as the loser of the war. In
Tbilisi, Saakashvili was blamed for the failure and
several of his allies turned against him. During the
autumn, large demonstrations were held with demands for
new elections to Parliament and the presidential post.
Saakashvili responded by dismissing the highest military
leader, foreign minister and defense minister. The
reformed government was faced with a difficult task in
the aftermath of the global financial crisis and war,
with tens of thousands of homeless refugees and severe
material losses.
In the spring of 2009, he became concerned with giant
demonstrations in Tbilisi and demands for Saakashvili's
departure. The regime claimed that there were coup
attempts with assassination plans against the president,
and new riots followed as riot police went hard on
protesters. The government canceled Georgia's
Independence Day celebrations in fear of trouble.
In September 2009 came the EU report on the war
between Georgia and Russia in 2008. According to the
Review Commission, it was Georgia that started the war
by attacking South Ossetia after a long period of
provocation from Russia. All parties were accused of
abuse, and South Ossetia and Abkhazia's exit from
Georgia was condemned. The report was a hardship for
Saakashvili, but it could not be exploited by the
opposition which appeared severely fragmented and
powerless.
In November 2010, thousands of people in Tbilisi
again demonstrated in protest against Saakashvili and
his government. The opposition claimed that it was the
beginning of a new movement, and that the protests would
continue until Saakashvili resigned. A multi-day
government-hostile demonstration in May 2011 demanded
two casualties when police on the fifth day shot into
the crowds with rubber-coated bullets.
New opposition
Resistance to Saakashvili continued, but the
protests, and the government's response, took on new
forms. The country's richest man, Bidzina Ivanishvili,
formed in December 2011 a political movement he called
the Georgian dream. A few months later, the movement was
transformed into a party called Georgian Dream -
Democratic Georgia with the goal of running in
the upcoming parliamentary elections. His party also
formed an alliance with several other liberal and
conservative parties to jointly challenge Saakashvili.
Ivanishvili was deprived of his Georgian citizenship
after the authorities, who began to expose him to the
close examination, found that he also had citizenship in
France and Russia. Both he and his company were
sentenced to billion in fines for what was said to have
been a breach of party financing rules. Other prominent
figures who joined the party of Ivanishvili were also
fined for the same alleged crimes. Bank accounts
belonging to the partner parties were reported to have
been frozen.
The Council of Europe criticized the government for
sabotaging the opposition's ability to campaign for the
parliamentary elections, which was announced until
October 1, 2012. The US government also expressed
concern that the Georgian authorities would break their
own laws in an eagerness to secure a continued majority
for the National Movement.
The electoral movement developed into a hot war of
words between the camps of President Saakashvili and
billionaire Ivanishvili. Both sides were reported to
have spent many millions on hiring foreign PR companies
and lobbyists to convey their messages. The campaigns
were targeted almost as much to the outside world,
especially the US and the EU, as to the country's own
voters, all with the aim of gaining international
support for their own side. Ivanishvili was accused,
among other things, of secretly funding seemingly
neutral individual organizations that disseminated
information about the government's violation of human
rights.
The government was shaken by a scandal surrounding
abuse of prisoners that less than two weeks before the
election forced two ministers to resign (see further
Calendar).
However, Election Day ended without incidents and
when it emerged that the opposition had won, Saakashvili
acknowledged that his party had lost. After
Saakashvili's time in power, his political movement has
thinned and the direct presidential elections have even
been abolished.
|