Georgia History

Independence proclaimed on April 9, 1991, Georgia effectively became autonomous with the definitive dissolution of the USSR (December 1991). The new state was, however, soon hit by a bloody civil war between the opposition and the supporters of President Zviad Gamsakurdia forced to flee (January 1992), while the South Ossetians proclaimed the secession to join the Russian Federation. Apparently resolved the internal crisis with the appointment of EA Ševardnadze, former foreign minister of MS Gorbačëv, as president of the State Council, Georgia obtained its first international recognition and was admitted to the CSCE. An agreement between Ševardnadze and BN Elcin (June 1992) favored a truce in South Ossetia, but the following month a new secessionist front was opened by the Abkhazians. In this way a new phase of instability was inaugurated, also characterized by the resumption of activity of the partisans of Gamsakurdia. In the impossibility of resolving the intricate situation and despite Russia having played a precise role in the secessionist events that had upset the life of Georgia, Ševardnadze, in the meantime elected president of the Parliament (October 1992), was forced to come to terms with Elcin and to sign Georgia’s membership of the CIS (October 1993). A new agreement in early 1994 sealed a sort of Russian protectorate over Georgia with the granting of military bases and border control without, however, the situation could really return to normal. In addition, a peace treaty was signed with the Abkhaz rebels. At the end of 1993 mriva Gamsakurdia and in October 1995 a new constitution came into force (approved by a large majority by the Parliament) which made Georgia a presidential republic by recognizing the head of state, elected by universal suffrage, broad powers, including the to appoint the head of government. The presidential elections of November 1995 were won by Ševardnadze, supported by the Union of Citizens party, which established himself as the first political force in the contemporary elections of the Legislative assembly.

According  to globalsciencellc, the Abkhazians, however, did not recognize the legitimacy of the consultations, like the South Ossetians, who on November 10, 1996 elected Ljudvig Chibirovcon as their president. The stipulation of a military cooperation agreement between Georgia and Russia was worth nothing to resolve the issue of secessionisms, stemming mainly from the latter’s intention to restore its authority in the region. Likewise, the negotiations started in 1997 with the South Ossetians and the Abkhazians were resolved in a failure. Adžaristan and the Samtskhe-Djavakhei, located along the delicate Turkish and Armenian border marks. Moreover, the undeniable economic progress of the country did not contribute to solving its structural problems, linked to the shortage of electricity and massive unemployment, nor to undermining its endemic mafia corruption. Ševardnadze had to foil in 1998 an uprising of troops loyal to the late president Gamsakurdia, suffer the downsizing of his party in local elections and escape, after the one in 1995, a second attack behind which the Moscow director was suspected, interested in maintaining control of the very rich energy reserves (gas and oil) of the Caucasian region, while Georgia, supported by the United States and Europe, Caspian to the West. The serious tensions with the Kremlin worsened between the end of 1999 and 2001, on the occasion of the Russian offensive against the rebels of neighboring Chechnya, which the Moscow government believed protected by the Georgians.

To this was added the setback suffered by Western investment projects for the exploitation of Caspian energy resources, due to the high costs necessary to carry them out. This penalized Ševardnadze’s pro-Western foreign policy, which nevertheless obtained Georgia’s entry into the Council of Europe (1999) and the World Trade Organization (2000), negotiating with good prospects that of NATO.. Between 1999 and 2000, Ševardnadze saw a decline in popularity but managed to win the elections again by defeating former Communist Dzhumber Patiashvili. In 2003 there was a violent protest against the government and the president resigned in order not to drag the country into a civil war (Revolution of the Roses); in his place was designated Nino Burdzhanadze with the task of calling new elections (2004); they saw a landslide victory by Mikheil Saakašvili, leader of the opposition in Ševardnadze. In the same year, elections were held in South Ossetia not recognized by the government and followed by several armed clashes. In early 2005, Prime Minister Zurab Jvania died under unclear circumstances. In November 2007, a popular protest against the president erupted, declaring a state of emergency and resigning. Parliament spokesman Nino Burdzhanadze was recalled to take over the country until January 2008, the year in which Saakašvili was reconfirmed as president. In the next elections, in May 2008, the president’s party the United National Movement (UNM) won with over 50% of the votes. In August 2008, riots in South Ossetia provoked the advance of Georgian military forces into the region. The Russian army reacted by causing the conflict to widen, siding with the secessionists in Ossetia and in August 2008 Riots in South Ossetia provoked the advance of Georgian military forces in the region. The Russian army reacted by causing the conflict to widen, siding with the secessionists in Ossetia and in August 2008 Riots in South Ossetia provoked the advance of Georgian military forces in the region. The Russian army reacted by causing the conflict to widen, siding with the secessionists in Ossetia and in Abkhazia, formally recognized by the Moscow government. In October 2012 the political elections took place which saw the victory of the political group Sogno Georgiano, led by the magnate Bidzina Ivanishvili and the defeat of the UNM, linked to President Saakašvili; in the following days, Parliament approved the birth of a new government headed by Ivanishvili himself. Presidential elections were held in October 2013, won by Giorgi Margvelashvili.