Rose Revolution Totally Explained

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The "Revolution of Roses" (often translated into English as the Rose Revolution) (- vardebis revolucia) was a bloodless revolution in the country of Georgia in 2003 that displaced President Eduard Shevardnadze.

Political background

Georgia had been governed by Eduard Shevardnadze since 1992 (President of Georgia since 1995). His government – and his own family – became increasingly associated with pervasive corruption that hampered Georgia's economic growth. The country remained very poor by European standards. Two Russian-supported breakaway regions (Abkhazia and South Ossetia) remained outside the control of the Tbilisi government, and the autonomous republic of Adjara was ruled by semi-separatist leader Aslan Abashidze. The political and socioeconomic crisis was close to reaching its peak just before the parliamentary elections appointed on November 2 2003. Shevardnadze’s political alliance "For New Georgia" and Abashidze's "Union of Democratic Revival of Georgia" were opposed by popular opposition parties: Mikheil Saakashvili's "United National Movement" and "Burjanadze-Democrats" led by Parliamentary speaker Nino Burjanadze and Zurab Zhvania.

Elections and protests

Georgia held parliamentary elections on November 2 2003 which were denounced by local and international observers as being grossly rigged in favor of Shevarnadze. Mikheil Saakashvilli claimed that he'd won the elections (a claim supported by independent exit polls). This was confirmed by an independent parallel vote tabulation (PVT) conducted by the ISFED (International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, local election monitoring group). Saakashvilli and the united opposition accepted ISFED's PVT as "official" results, and urged Georgians to demonstrate against Shevardnadze's government and engage in nonviolent civil disobedience against the authorities. The main democratic opposition parties united to demand the ouster of Shevardnadze and the rerun of the elections.
In mid-November, massive anti-governmental demonstrations started in the central streets of Tbilisi, soon involving almost all major cities and towns of Georgia. The "Kmara" ("Enough!") youth organization (a Georgian counterpart of the Serbian "Otpor") and several NGOs, like the Liberty Institute, were active in all protest activities. Shevardnadze’s government was backed by Aslan Abashidze, the semi-separatist leader of autonomous Ajara region, who sent thousands of his supporters to hold a pro-governmental counter-demonstration in Tbilisi.

Change of power

The opposition protest reached its peak on November 22, the day of an opening session of a new parliament, which was considered illegitimate. The same day, opposition supporters led by Saakashvili with roses in their hands (hence the name Rose Revolution) seized the parliament building interrupting a speech of President Eduard Shevardnadze and forcing him to escape with his bodyguards. He later declared a state of emergency and began to mobilize troops and police near his residence in Tbilisi. However, the elite military units refused to support the government. In the evening of November 23 (St George's Day in Georgia), Shevardnadze met with the opposition leaders Saakashvili and Zurab Zhvania to discuss the situation, in a meeting arranged by Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov. After the meeting, the president announced his resignation. That prompted euphoria in the streets of Tbilisi. More than 100,000 protesters celebrated the victory all night long, accompanied by fireworks and rock concerts. The outgoing speaker of parliament, Nino Burjanadze, assumed the presidency until new elections could be held. The Supreme Court of Georgia annulled the results of the parliamentary elections. In the January 4 2004 presidential election Mikheil Saakashvili won an overwhelming victory and was inaugurated as the new President of Georgia on January 25. On March 28 2004, new parliamentary elections were held, with a large majority won by the Saakashvili-supporting National Movement - Democrats, and a minority representation of the Rightist Opposition.

In Ajaria

In May 2004, the so-called "Second Rose Revolution" took place in Batumi, Ajaria. After months of extreme tension between Saakashvili's government and Aslan Abashidze, the virtual dictator of the autonomous region, thousands of Ajarians, mobilized by the United National Movement and Kmara, protested against Abashidze’s policy of separatism and militarization. Abashidze used security forces and paramilitary groups to break up the demonstrations in the streets of Batumi and Kobuleti. However, he failed to suppress the protests, and they grew in size and scope. On May 6 2004 (again St George's Day), protesters from all Ajara gathered in Batumi despite being dispersed by force the day before. Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania and Interior Minister Giorgi Baramidze negotiated with Ajarian Interior Minister Jemal Gogitidze to withdraw his forces from the administrative border at the Choloki River and led Georgian Special Forces into the region. Abashidze bowed to the inevitable, resigned in the same evening and left for Moscow. President Saakashvili visited Batumi the next day and was met by celebrating Ajarians.

International effects

The Orange Revolution, which followed the disputed November 2004 Ukrainian presidential election, is said to have been partly inspired by the Georgian Rose Revolution. Georgian flags were seen being waved by supporters of Viktor Yushchenko, who held up a rose while greeting the crowds. The chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Defense and Security, Givi Targamadze, former member of the Liberty Institute, was consulted by Ukrainian opposition leaders on techniques of nonviolent struggle. Later he also advised leaders of the Kyrgyz opposition during the 2005 Pink Revolution.
Russia's President Putin commented in a news conference (23 December 2004) during the Orange Revolution: "It’s extremely dangerous trying to resolve political problems outside the framework of the law — first the ‘Rose Revolution’, then they’ll think up of something like blue."

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