GEORGIA: REVOLUTION IN THE REGIONS

2007

Ready Or Not, Georgia's Election Season Kicks Off: November 26, 2007
Central Election Commission Chairman Levan Tarkhnishvili is guaranteeing that Georgia will hold a fair and transparent presidential election on January 5. Even so, several election monitoring groups are already voicing concerns about potential problems with voter lists and with the improper use of administrative resources.
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Georgia Gets New Prime Minister : November 16, 2007
In an apparent bid to reduce potential support for opposition candidates in Georgia's upcoming special presidential election, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is reshuffling his government. On November 16, the president named a new prime minister and charged him with putting greater emphasis on job growth, a key complaint of many opposition supporters.
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Georgia: Government Uses Force to Restore Order, Pulls Plug on TV Broadcaster: November 7, 2007
The Georgian government forcibly broke up protests in Tbilisi on November 7 after five days of anti-government demonstrations. While there are no known casualties, over 200 people have sought medical treatment after Special Forces fired tear gas and used water cannons on crowds in downtown Tbilisi and at an impromptu alternative protest site. Amid government appeals for calm, officials also moved to take a pro-opposition television station off the air.
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Georgia-Russia Row Heats Up Over Fresh Mystery Aircraft: August 30, 2007
Now you see it, now you don't. Only days after a second international team of investigators submitted their findings about an alleged violation of Georgian airspace by Russian aircraft, tensions between the two countries are intensifying over conflicting reports of an aircraft violating Georgian airspace and crashing somewhere in a strip of Georgian-controlled territory in the breakaway region of Abkhazia. The remains of the aircraft have yet to be found, leaving more questions than answers.
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Military Base Construction Fuels Georgian-South Ossetian Tension: March 27, 2007
The construction of a Georgian military base less than 20 miles from Tskhinvali, the capital of separatist South Ossetia, is stoking tension. Ossetian leaders contend the base construction is a sign that Tbilisi aims to use force in an attempt to reestablish its authority over the independence-minded territory. Georgian officials deny any belligerent intentions.
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Georgia: NATO Membership by 2009?: February 27, 2007
President Mikheil Saakashvili and members of his administration are now optimistic that Georgia could gain membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization by 2009. But some local political analysts warn it is still too early to establish a timeline for the country's accession.
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Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey: Building a Transportation Triumvirate?: February 7, 2007
First, it was energy; now, transportation. The Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku railway project, run by Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, is strengthening a sense of regional cooperation in the South Caucasus.
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Georgia: Despite Russian Ambassador's Return, No Fresh Start for Ties With Moscow: January 23, 2007
Moscow has hailed the return of its ambassador to Georgia as a sign of Russian commitment to improving soured relations with the South Caucasus state, but many Georgian observers question whether the envoy's return will have any lasting effects.
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2006

Saakashvili Attempts to Restore Sense of Political Calm in Tbilisi: November 20, 2006
After a week of cabinet reassignments and resignations in Georgia, President Mikheil Saakashvili on November 20 sought to restore a sense of political calm in Tbilisi.
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Georgia's South Ossetia: One Unrecognized State, Two Unrecognized Governments: November 13, 2006
Two separate presidential elections and two separate referenda on the future of the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia were held on November 12, but the outcome depends on your point of view. No agreement exists about which candidate is now the legitimate leader of this separatist territory.
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Georgia: National Movement Coasts to Victory: October 6, 2006
The ruling National Movement Party coasted to a widely expected victory in Georgia's October 5 local elections, seen as a referendum on the performance of President Mikheil Saakashvili's government.
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Moscow Warily Tracks Tbilisi's Moves in the Kodori Gorge: August 1, 2006
As Georgia tries to re-establish control over the upper Kodori Gorge in the breakaway territory of Abkhazia, Moscow is warning that Tbilisi's "police operation" could lead to a an armed clash in the region.
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Moscow Unperturbed By Georgia's Peacekeeper Resolution: July 25, 2006
While officials in Tbilisi have touted as decisive the Georgian parliament's call for the removal of Russian peacekeepers from the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the Kremlin sees the decision as inconsequential.
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BTC Security Questions Persist: July 11, 2006
Touted as the biggest official event in Turkey's history, the July 13 launch of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline marks the long-awaited completion of a project that is as much about geopolitics as energy. But amid the celebrations, questions persist about pipeline security.
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Page Six to Georgia: Ready or Not, Here We Come: May 12, 2006
Media baron Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. appears set to enter Georgia's media market after agreeing in principle to take a stake in a Tbilisi television channel. Georgian media observers have voiced hope that the move will help improve journalism standards and the overall media climate in the Caucasus nation.
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To Georgia, Wine War with Russia a Question of National Security: April 13, 2006
Three weeks into Russia's embargo on Georgian wine, the Georgian government is scrambling to find new markets for one of the country's most lucrative export commodities.
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Gas Crisis Over, Georgia Vows to Diversify Energy Supplies: January 31, 2006
Georgia's gas crisis has come to an end, with the government vowing to diversify energy supplies away from Russia and calling for fresh investments in the energy sector to help the country realize that goal.
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2005

Georgia Names New Foreign Minister: October 20, 2005
Gela Bezhuashvili was tapped October 20 to serve as Georgia's foreign minister amid growing controversy surrounding the dismissal of his predecessor, Salome Zourabichvili.
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Governing Party Sweeps By-Elections in Georgia: October 3, 2005
President Mikheil Saakashvili's administration appeared to receive an endorsement for its policy course, as the governing National Movement Party swept all five seats at stake in by-elections held October 1.
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Russia's Troop Withdrawal from Georgia: The Start of a New Friendship? : August 10, 2005
Russia's military withdrawal from its two bases in Georgia is being heralded as a "new stage in Russian-Georgian relations."
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Caspian Basin Leaders Hail Opening of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline: May 25, 2005
The presidents of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Turkey gathered in Baku on May 25 to celebrate the formal opening of a pipeline that will break Russia's energy-transport monopoly in the Caspian Basin.
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In Georgia, Bush Emphasizes Freedom, Conflict Resolution May 10, 2005
Calling Georgia "a beacon of liberty for this region and the world," US President George W. Bush emphasized Washington's support for Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili's reform process during a speech on May 10 in central Tbilisi. Later, during a joint news conference, Bush raised the possibility of a larger American role in resolving this South Caucasus state's long-standing conflicts with Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
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Authorities Declare Georgian Prime Minister's Death an Accident: February 3, 2005
Zurab Zhvania, Georgia's prime minister and a member of the triumvirate that led the country's 2003 Rose Revolution, was found dead in a Tbilisi apartment February 3, the apparent victim of carbon-monoxide poisoning. An initial investigation indicated that Zhvania's death was accidental. The tragedy comes at a particularly sensitive time for the Georgian government, and deprives the country of its most experienced reformist politician.
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Saakashvili: Gori Blast Is Terrorist Attack: February 2, 2005
Georgia's government is characterizing the February 1 car explosion that left at least three dead and more than two dozen injured as a terrorist attack designed to disrupt plans for returning South Ossetia and Abkhazia to Georgian control. Foreign Minister Salmoe Zourabichvili suggested "foreign forces" likely had a hand in carrying out the car bombing.
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Georgian President Unveils South Ossetia Peace Plan: January 27, 2005
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has unveiled his much-touted peace plan for South Ossetia, but analysts in Tbilisi say that expectations are low that the proposal will reverse more than 13 years of hostilities between Georgia and the breakaway region.
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Privatizing Georgia: Dollars Are the Guide: January 12, 2005
The Georgian government is betting on privatization to keep the state treasury balance in the black, but transparency issues could muddy the process with the public.
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2004

Presidential Candidates Strike Deal in Abkhazia: December 6, 2004
A last-minute deal between opposition leader Sergei Bagapsh and former Prime Minister Raul Khajimba appears to have ended a two-month stalemate over the outcome of Abkhazia's presidential elections. Yet the pact's consequences for Abkhazia's relations with Georgia remain unknown. While mutual congratulations have flowed from Sukhumi and Moscow, Tbilisi has maintained a tight-lipped silence about the compromise.
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Fresh Crisis Threatens Peace in South Ossetia: July 8, 2004
After an alleged attack by South Ossetian forces on Georgian peacekeepers, hopes are rapidly dying in Tbilisi and Moscow for a peaceful reconciliation over the status of the breakaway territory. The clash comes less than a week after a summit between President Mikhail Saakashvili and President Vladimir Putin that was heralded by both sides as a sign of the new understanding between Georgia and Russia.
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Popular Protest Topples Ajarian Leader: May 5, 2004
The mass protest strategy seems to have worked again for Mikheil Saakashvili. The Georgian president rode to power on the back of popular outrage against Georgia's former leader Eduard Shevardnadze. Now, rallies in the recalcitrant region of Ajaria have pushed Saakashvili's arch-nemesis, Ajarian leader Aslan Abashidze, from power.
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Saakashvili Cheered, Opponents Disgruntled by Georgia's Parliamentary Election Results: March 29, 2004
Supporters of President Mikheil Saakashvili claimed an overwhelming victory in Georgia's March 28 parliamentary election - a vote that international observers viewed as the fairest in the country's post-Soviet history. Nevertheless, the vote left opposition parties disgruntled, and it appears likely to lead to more tension between the central government and the renegade province of Ajaria.
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In Troublesome Georgian Province, Fears Grow Amdist Deep Discord: January 20, 2004
Ajarian strongman Aslan Abashidze's reintroduction of a "state of emergency" shortly after the January 4 election has raised fears that his regime will not end as peacefully as Shevardnadze's did.
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2003 Rose Revolution

Final Parliamentary Election Results Fuel Confrontational Mood in Georgia: November 20, 2003
Georgia's Central Election Commission declared November 20 that the pro-presidential electoral bloc won the country's parliamentary vote. The commission's announcement injects an additional element of confusion to Georgia's ongoing political crisis, which is being driven by allegations of government vote-rigging.
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Pressure Builds on Shevardnadze as Georgian Crisis Boils: November 21, 2003
Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze, after two weeks of unsuccessfully trying to quell protests over the parliamentary elections on November 2, is now attempting to sidestep protestors by convening a new parliament, with or without key opposition parties that have threatened to boycott.
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Tbilisi Revels After Shevardnadze's Resignation: November 24, 2003
From the streets of Tbilisi during the evening of November 23 one could see the lights of a plane heading west. At that time, only one aircraft had clearance above the capital. It carried Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and, according to some reports, former Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze, to Batumi, the Ajarian capital. Shevardnadze had resigned only a few minutes earlier -- an event that prompted euphoria in Tbilisi.
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Daunting Challenges Await Georgia's New Leaders: November 24, 2003
Georgian President Eduard Shevarnadze's resignation has averted the immediate threat of violence in Georgia. Yet the possibility of confrontation and disorder over the medium term remains significant. Georgia's stabilization hopes now depend on the ability of an inexperienced leadership team to negotiate a wide variety of economic and political challenges in the coming weeks.
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Provisional Authorities Struggle with Centrifugal Forces: November 25, 2003
The United States, apparently impressed that Georgia's new plans to fight corruption and indict corrupt officials before 2004, has agreed to provide unprecedented aid to Georgia's Ministry of Internal Affairs.
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Georgians Make Perilous Promise to Fight Corruption: December 18, 2003
In a surprise move, Georgia's leader has announced plans to open a local branch of the now defunct Rhinoceros Party of Canada. Saakashvili described himself as quite taken by the party's pledge to provide higher education by building taller smarter schools.
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In Georgia's Rose Revolution, Red Ink Remains: December 12, 2003
In a surprise move, Georgia's leader has announced plans to open a local branch of the now defunct Rhinoceros Party of Canada. Saakashvili described himself as quite taken by the party's pledge to provide higher education by building taller smarter schools.
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Georgia's Peaceful "Revolution" May Not Translate Easily: December 16, 2003
Eduard Shevardnadze's peaceful departure from the Georgian presidency marked a triumph for civil society. Non-governmental organizations, many of which receive funding from Western donors, played a prominent role in Georgian events following the rigged November 2 elections. NGO success in Georgia, however, may not be easily transferable to other states in the former Soviet Union, some experts contend.
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