| 2011 Georgian protests | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 21–26 May 2011 | ||
| Location | |||
| Goals | Resignation of President Mikheil Saakashvili, political reforms | ||
| Methods | Demonstrations, civil disobedience | ||
| Resulted in | Protests suppressed by Georgian authorities, Badri Bitsadze arrested and charged for orchestrating the protests. | ||
| Parties | |||
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| Lead figures | |||
Mikheil Saakashvili Contents | |||
| Number | |||
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| Casualties and losses | |||
The 2011 Georgian protests were a series of anti-government protests in Georgia against President Mikheil Saakashvili.
The protests began on 21 May 2011 when over 10,000 Georgians attended a demonstration in Tbilisi demanding Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's resignation. In the southwestern city of Batumi some demonstrations also occurred with some protesters attempting to break into television building. [4] Nino Burjanadze, an ex-parliamentary speaker and leader of the Democratic Movement-United Georgia party, has been a lead figure in the demonstrations. [5] The protesters in Batumi briefly clashed with police. [6]
On 26 May at about 00:15, Georgian police began to suppress the protests with tear gas and rubber bullets, and the protests soon ended. [2]
On 28 May, a separate demonstration was held with thousands of participants, protesting against violence both by the protesters and by the police. [2]
In early June, Georgian authorities arrested and charged Badri Bitsadze, husband of former parliament speaker Nino Burdzhanadze, with attempting to orchestrate the government takeover using paramilitary groups during the violent anti-government protests. [7] There have been 105 other arrests of protesters. [3]
Mikheil Saakashvilli alleged that the protestors were backed by Russia and had provoked the violence. [3] Likewise John R. Bass, the American ambassador to Georgia, stated that "here were clearly a number of people included in that protest who were not interested in peacefully protesting, but were looking to spark a violent confrontation." [3] The Georgian Interior Ministry released video recordings that it claims show opposition members discussing how to instigate clashes with police [3] [8] The Economist, meanwhile, spoke of an attempt by Burjanadze to "claw her way back to power". [2]
Irakli Alasania (an opposition leader who disassociated himself from the protests early on) opined that the protests were doomed to failure because:
The era when politicians can just call people on the streets is over. Georgia is building a new political culture. People want to determine Georgia’s future through elections. [2]
After the change of power in Georgia in 2012, the new government opened investigation into dispersal of the 2011 protests. On February 27, 2014, former Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili was found guilty by the Tbilisi City Court of exceeding official powers during the protests by ordering break up of rally in Tbilisi with the use of excessive force. He was sentenced to six years in prison, which was reduced to 4 years and 6 months due to amnesty. [9] On September 20, 2016, the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia charged four former Constitutional Security Department officials for their handling of the protests. [10]
Mikheil Saakashvili is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist. He was the third president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from 25 January 2004 to 17 November 2013. From May 2015 until November 2016, Saakashvili was the governor of Ukraine's Odesa Oblast. He is the founder and former chairman of the United National Movement party. Saakashvili heads the executive committee of Ukraine's National Reform Council since 7 May 2020. In 2021 he began serving a six-year prison sentence in Georgia on charges of abuse of power and organization of an assault occasioning grievous bodily harm against an opposition lawmaker Valery Gelashvili.
Nino Burjanadze is a Georgian politician and lawyer who served as Chairperson of the Parliament of Georgia from November 2001 to June 2008. As the first woman, she has served as the acting head of state of Georgia twice; the first time from 23 November 2003 to 25 January 2004 in the wake of Eduard Shevardnadze's resignation during the Rose Revolution, and again from 25 November 2007 to 20 January 2008, when Mikheil Saakashvili stepped down to rerun in the early presidential elections. She withdrew into opposition to Saakashvili as the leader of the Democratic Movement-United Georgia party in 2008. In October 2013, she ran in the presidential election, competing against 22 candidates. She ended third with 10 percent of the vote.
Zurab Zhvania was a Georgian politician, who served as Prime Minister of Georgia and Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia.
United National Movement is a liberal and pro-Western political party in Georgia founded by Mikheil Saakashvili, which rose to power following the Rose Revolution. Since the 2012 parliamentary election, it has been the main opposition party.
The Rose Revolution or Revolution of Roses was a nonviolent change of power that occurred in Georgia in November 2003. The event was brought about by widespread protests over the disputed parliamentary elections and culminated in the resignation of President Eduard Shevardnadze, which marked the end of the Soviet era leadership in the country. The revolution derives its name from the climactic moment, when demonstrators led by Mikheil Saakashvili stormed the Parliament session with red roses in hand.
Ivane "Vano" Merabishvili is a Georgian politician and 9th Prime Minister of Georgia from 4 July to 25 October 2012. A former NGO activist, he became directly involved in Georgia's politics in 1999 and emerged as one of the government's most influential members after the 2003 Rose Revolution, especially as Georgia's Minister of Internal Affairs.
The Adjara crisis, also known as the Adjarian revolution or the Second Rose Revolution, was a political crisis in Georgia's Adjaran Autonomous Republic, then led by Aslan Abashidze, who refused to obey the central authorities after President Eduard Shevardnadze's ouster during the Rose Revolution of November 2003. The crisis threatened to develop into military confrontation as both sides mobilized their forces at the internal border. However, Georgia's post-revolutionary government of President Mikheil Saakashvili managed to avoid bloodshed and with the help of Adjaran opposition reasserted its supremacy. Abashidze left the region in exile in May 2004 and was succeeded by Levan Varshalomidze.
The Sandro Girgvliani murder case is one of the most notorious criminal cases in the modern history of Georgia. The killing, and the events that followed, generated heavy criticism of the former government, particularly the interior minister, and debate about the extent to which then President Mikheil Saakashvili had truly introduced judicial independence and a democratic culture into Georgian society.
Imedi Media Holding is a private television and radio company in Georgia. The stations were founded by the Georgian media tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili. The station mainly concentrates on news and analytical coverage, but broadcasts pop music as well, particularly at nighttime. Imedi means "hope" in Georgian.
In 2007, a series of anti-government protests took place across Georgia. The demonstrations peaked on 2 November 2007, when 40,000–50,000 rallied in downtown Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. People protested against the allegedly corrupt government of president Mikheil Saakashvili. Protests triggered by detention of Georgian politician Irakli Okruashvili on charges of extortion, money laundering, and abuse of office during his tenure as defense minister of the country were organized by the National Council, an ad hoc coalition of ten opposition parties, and financed by the media tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili. Demonstrations occurred both in September and November 2007 and were initially largely peaceful. The protests went downhill by 6 November 2007, but turned violent the next day when the police, using heavy-handed tactics, including tear gas and water cannon, unblocked Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi's main boulevard, dislodged the protesters from the territory adjoining to the House of Parliament, and prevented the demonstrators from resuming the protests. The government accused the Russian secret services of being involved in an attempted coup d'état and declared a nationwide state of emergency later that day which lasted until 16 November 2007.
2007 in Georgia saw a number of military incidents involving Georgia and Russia over the Abkhazia area. Abkhazia is a partially recognised state within Georgia's territory. In March, Georgia accused Russia of attacking the Kodori Valley in Upper Abkhazia, which was the only area in Abkhazia that Georgia controlled. Russia denied the claims, saying that their aircraft in the area were grounded at the time. In August, Georgia claimed that Russia fired a missile into Georgia. This claim was confirmed by 2 investigation teams but challenged by a Russian investigation team. Also in August, Georgia claimed it shot down Russian aircraft that were in Georgia's airspace over the Georgia-controlled Upper Abkhazia area. Russia denied this claim and Abkhazia said that it was an American or Georgian aircraft that crashed in Abkhazia. Abkhazia also held elections that were not recognised by any countries. The president was Mikheil Saakashvili, who stepped down in November to run in the 2008 elections, which he won, again becoming president and replacing Nino Burjanadze who had been acting president since he stepped down.
Democratic Movement – United Georgia is a political party in Georgia chaired by Nino Burjanadze; it was founded on 24 November 2008. The secretary-general of the party is Vakhtang Kolbaia.
In 2009, a mass rally by a coalition of opposition parties took place in Georgia against the government of President Mikheil Saakashvili. Thousands of people demonstrated, mainly in the capital, Tbilisi, starting on 9 April 2009, demanding Saakashvili's resignation. On the first day of demonstrations, up to 40,000 people gathered in Tbilisi. Protests continued for over three months, although fewer people participated as time passed than during the first days. On 26 May 2009, the Georgian Independence Day, 60,000 protesters took part. Although peaceful at first, there were incidents of fighting between the Georgian police and protesters. The daily rallies gradually dwindled and ended, without achieving any tangible results, on 24 July –107 days after they kicked off.
The 2009 Georgian mutiny was a mutiny by a Georgian Army tank battalion based in Mukhrovani, 30 kilometres (19 mi) east of the capital Tbilisi on 5 May 2009. It is not yet known how many soldiers took part. Later that day, the Georgian Ministry of Interior announced that the mutineers had surrendered. Some of its leaders, including the battalion's commander, were arrested; others managed to escape. The mutiny broke out after the government announced that it had uncovered what it claimed was a Russian-backed plot to destabilize Georgia and assassinate President Mikheil Saakashvili. Later, Georgian authorities retracted their accusations of an assassination plot and allegations of Russian support.
Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia on 1 October 2012. The opposition Georgian Dream coalition of billionaire businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili won a majority of the seats. President Mikheil Saakashvili conceded his party's defeat.
Events in the year 2012 in Georgia.
Events in the year 2014 in Georgia.
Levan Bezhashvili is a Georgian lawyer and politician who has served as a Member of Parliament from the United National Movement since 2020, with previous stints in 2004–2008 and 2012–2016. A former official during the presidency of Mikheil Saakashvili, he joined the government following the Rose Revolution of 2003, becoming Deputy Minister of Justice and an influential chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee in Parliament, spearheading the Saakashvili administration's structural and legal reforms. After a brief term as Governor of Kakheti in 2008, he became chairman of the Chamber of Control, leading the audit agency as it saw its powers increase to oversee political campaign funding ahead of the 2012 parliamentary elections.
Davit Kirkitadze is a Georgian politician who has served as a Member of Parliament in 2004–2008 and since 2020, as well as Governor of Kvemo Kartli in 2008–2013.
