1.
Colour revolution
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The term has also been applied to a number of revolutions elsewhere, including in the Middle East. Some observers have called the events a revolutionary wave, the origins of which can be traced back to the 1986 People Power Revolution in the Philippines, participants in the colour revolutions have mostly used nonviolent resistance, also called civil resistance. These movements generally adopted a colour or flower as their symbol. The colour revolutions are notable for the important role of non-governmental organisations, such movements have had a measure of success, as for example in the former Yugoslavias Bulldozer Revolution, in Georgias Rose Revolution, and in Ukraines Orange Revolution. Some events have been called color revolutions but are different from the cases in certain basic characteristics. Examples include Lebanons Cedar Revolution, and Kuwaits Blue Revolution, government figures in Russia, such as Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, have stated that colour revolutions are a new form of warfare. President Putin said that Russia must prevent colour revolutions, We see what tragic consequences the wave of so-called color revolutions led to, for us this is a lesson and a warning. We should do everything necessary so that nothing ever happens in Russia. A peaceful demonstration by students was attacked by the police –, the first of these was Otpor. in Serbia, which was founded at Belgrade University in October 1998 and began protesting against Miloševic during the Kosovo War. Most of them were veterans of anti-Milošević demonstrations such as the 1996-97 protests. Many of its members were arrested or beaten by the police, despite this, during the presidential campaign in September 2000, Otpor launched its Gotov je campaign that galvanised Serbian discontent with Miloševic and resulted in his defeat. Members of Otpor have inspired and trained members of related student movements including Kmara in Georgia, Pora in Ukraine, Zubr in Belarus and these groups have been explicit and scrupulous in their practice of non-violent resistance as advocated and explained in Gene Sharps writings. An article published 2016-5-8 claims, A variation of containment seeks to press China on human rights and he added that the Armenian revolution will be peaceful but not have a colour. A number of movements were created in Azerbaijan in mid-2005, inspired by the examples of both Georgia and Ukraine, a youth group, calling itself Yox. declared its opposition to governmental corruption. The leader of Yox. said that unlike Pora or Kmara, he wants to not just the leadership. The Yox movement chose green as its colour, the spearhead of Azerbaijans attempted colour revolution was Yeni Fekir, a youth group closely aligned with the Azadlig Bloc of opposition political parties. In November 2005 protesters took to the streets, waving flags and banners. On that day, the International Crimes Tribunal had sentenced Mollah to life in prison after he was convicted on five of six counts of war crimes, later demands included banning the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party from politics including election and a boycott of institutions supporting the party
2.
Parliament of Georgia
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The Parliament of Georgia is the supreme legislature of Georgia. All members of the Parliament are elected for four years on the basis of universal human suffrage, since May 2012 the Parliament meets at the new Parliament Building in Kutaisi. The Constitution of Georgia grants Parliament of Georgia central legislative power, the confrontation ended in the victory of the supporters of unlimited royal power. Qutlu Arslan was arrested on the Queen’s order, subsequently, it was only in 1906 that the Georgians were afforded the opportunity of sending their representatives to a Parliamentary body of Government, to the Second State Duma. Georgian deputies to the Duma were Noe Zhordania, Ilia Chavchavadze, Irakli Tsereteli, Karlo Chkheidze, in 1918 the first Georgian National Parliament was founded in the already independent Georgia. In 1921 the Parliament adopted the first Georgian Constitution, however, shortly after the adoption of the Constitution, Georgia was occupied by the Bolshevik Red Army. This was followed by a gap of 69 years in the Parliamentary Government in Georgian history, the construction of the parliament building started in 1938 and completed in 1953, when Georgia was still a part of Soviet Union. It was designed by architects Victor Kokorin and Giorgi Lezhava, the first multiparty Elections in the Soviet Union were held in Georgia on October 28,1990. The elected Supreme Soviet proclaimed the independence of Georgia, on May 26,1991 Georgia’s population elected the Chairman of the Supreme Council Zviad Gamsakhurdia as President of the country. The tension between the ruling and opposition parties gradually intensified, which in 1991-92 developed into an armed conflict, the President left the country, the Supreme Soviet ceased to function and power was taken over by the Military Council. The State Council restored Georgia’s Constitution of 1921, announcing August 4,1992 as the day of parliamentary elections, in 1995, the newly elected Parliament adopted a new Constitution. Georgia now has a system with a unicameral parliament. In 2011 Mikheil Saakashvili the president of Georgia signed the amendment of constitution which located the parliament in the city of Kutaisi. On 26 May 2012, Saakashvili inaugurated the new Parliament building in Kutaisi, the Parliament is chaired by its speaker. Zurab Zhvania held the post of speaker from November 1995 until he broke with then-President Eduard Shevardnadze, at the close of a marathon session, Nino Burjanadze was elected speaker on November 10,2001. She was the speaker until the parliament elected in 2008 convened, davit Bakradze, who headed the ruling National Movements party list in the 2008 parliamentary elections, was elected Speaker of the 2008 parliament. After 2016 parliamentary election, David Usupashvili was replaced by Irakli Kobakhidze, Parliamentary committees and the President are the chief initiators of legislative proposals in Georgia. A draft law, prepared on the committee or received through legislative initiative, is discussed at a meeting of the relevant committee, the draft, with the view of the committee or explanatory note attached, is passed on to other Parliamentary committees and factions
3.
Tbilisi
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Tbilisi, commonly known by its former name Tiflis, is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of roughly 1.5 million inhabitants. Founded in the 5th century by the monarch of Georgias ancient precursor the Kingdom of Iberia, Tbilisi has since served, with intermissions, as the capital of various Georgian kingdoms and republics. Under Russian rule, from 1801 to 1917 Tiflis was the seat of the Imperial Viceroy governing both sides of the entire Caucasus. Tbilisis varied history is reflected in its architecture, which is a mix of medieval, classical, Middle Eastern, Art Nouveau, historically, Tbilisi has been home to people of diverse cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds, though it is overwhelmingly Eastern Orthodox Christian. Archaeological studies of the region have indicated human settlement in the territory of Tbilisi as early as the 4th millennium BC, according to an old legend, the present-day territory of Tbilisi was covered by forests as late as 458. One widely accepted variant of the legend of Tbilisis founding states that King Vakhtang I Gorgasali of Georgia went hunting in the wooded region with a falcon. The Kings falcon allegedly caught or injured a pheasant during the hunt, King Vakhtang became so impressed with the hot springs that he decided to cut down the forest and build a city on the location. The name Tbilisi derives from Old Georgian Tbilisi, and further from Tpili, the name Tbili or Tbilisi was therefore given to the city because of the areas numerous sulphuric hot springs that came out of the ground. King Dachi I Ujarmeli, who was the successor of Vakhtang I Gorgasali, Tbilisi was not the capital of a unified Georgian state at that time and did not include the territory of Colchis. It was, however, the city of Eastern Georgia/Iberia. During his reign, King Dachi I oversaw the construction of the wall that lined the citys new boundaries. From the 6th century, Tbilisi grew at a steady pace due to the favourable and strategic location which placed the city along important trade. Tbilisis favourable and strategic location did not necessarily bode well for its existence as Eastern Georgias/Iberias capital, in the year 627, Tbilisi was sacked by the Byzantine/Khazar armies and later, in 736–738, Arab armies entered the town under Marwan II Ibn-Muhammad. After this point, the Arabs established an emirate centered in Tbilisi, in 764, Tbilisi, still under Arab control was once again sacked by the Khazars. In 853, the armies of Arab leader Bugha Al-Turki invaded Tbilisi in order to enforce its return to Abbasid allegiance, the Arab domination of Tbilisi continued until about 1050. In 1068, the city was again sacked, only this time by the Seljuk Turks under Sultan Alp Arslan. In 1122, after fighting with the Seljuks that involved at least 60,000 Georgians and up to 300,000 Turks. After the battles for Tbilisi concluded, David moved his residence from Kutaisi to Tbilisi, making it the capital of a unified Georgian State, from 12–13th centuries, Tbilisi became a dominant regional power with a thriving economy and a well-established social system/structure
4.
Georgia (country)
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Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. The capital and largest city is Tbilisi, Georgia covers a territory of 69,700 square kilometres, and its 2016 population is about 3.72 million. Georgia is a unitary, semi-presidential republic, with the government elected through a representative democracy, during the classical era, several independent kingdoms became established in what is now Georgia. The kingdoms of Colchis and Iberia adopted Christianity in the early 4th century, a unified Kingdom of Georgia reached the peak of its political and economic strength during the reign of King David IV and Queen Tamar in the 12th and early 13th centuries. Thereafter the kingdom declined and eventually disintegrated under hegemony of various powers, including the Mongols, the Ottoman Empire. Russian rule over Georgia was eventually acknowledged in various treaties with Iran. Since the establishment of the modern Georgian republic in April 1991, post-communist Georgia suffered from civil, the countrys Western orientation soon led to the worsening of relations with Russia, culminating in the brief Russo-Georgian War in August 2008. Georgia is a member of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and it contains two de facto independent regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which gained limited international recognition after the 2008 Russo-Georgian War. Georgia and a part of the international community consider the regions to be part of Georgias sovereign territory under Russian military occupation. Georgia probably stems from the Persian designation of the Georgians – gurğān, in the 11th and 12th centuries adapted via Syriac gurz-ān/gurz-iyān, starting with the Persian word gurğ/gurğān, the word was later adopted in numerous other languages, including Slavic and West European languages. This term itself might have established through the ancient Iranian appellation of the near-Caspian region. The self-designation used by ethnic Georgians is Kartvelebi, the medieval Georgian Chronicles present an eponymous ancestor of the Kartvelians, Kartlos, a great-grandson of Japheth. However, scholars agree that the word is derived from the Karts, the name Sakartvelo consists of two parts. Its root, kartvel-i, specifies an inhabitant of the core central-eastern Georgian region of Kartli, ancient Greeks and Romans referred to early western Georgians as Colchians and eastern Georgians as Iberians. Today the full, official name of the country is Georgia, before the 1995 constitution came into force the countrys name was the Republic of Georgia. The territory of modern-day Georgia was inhabited by Homo erectus since the Paleolithic Era, the proto-Georgian tribes first appear in written history in the 12th century BC. The earliest evidence of wine to date has found in Georgia. In fact, early metallurgy started in Georgia during the 6th millennium BC, the classical period saw the rise of a number of early Georgian states, the principal of which was Colchis in the west and Iberia in the east
5.
Electoral fraud
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Electoral fraud, election manipulation, or vote rigging is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about a result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates. What constitutes electoral fraud under law varies from country to country, many kinds of election fraud are outlawed in electoral legislation, but others are in violation of general laws, such as those banning assault, harassment or libel. Show elections, in only one candidate can win, are sometimes classified as electoral fraud. In national elections, successful electoral fraud can have the effect of a coup détat or corruption of democracy, in a narrow election, a small amount of fraud may be enough to change the result. Even if the outcome is not affected, revelation of fraud can have an effect, if not punished. A list of threats to voting systems, or electoral fraud methods considered as sabotage, is kept by the National Institute of Standards, Electoral fraud can occur in advance of voting if the composition of the electorate is altered. The legality of this type of manipulation varies across jurisdictions, deliberate manipulation of election outcomes is widely considered a violation of the principles of democracy. In many cases it is possible for authorities to control the composition of an electorate in order to produce a foregone result. One way of doing this is to move a number of voters into the electorate prior to an election. Many countries prevent this with rules stipulating that a voter must have lived in a district for a minimum period in order to be eligible to vote there. However, such laws can also be used for demographic manipulation as they tend to disenfranchise those with no fixed address, such as the homeless, travelers, Roma, students, another strategy is to permanently move people into an electoral district, usually through public housing. One notable example of this occurred in the City of Westminster in England under Shirley Porter, immigration law may also be used to manipulate electoral demography. A method of manipulating primary contests and other elections of party leaders is related to this, people who support one party may temporarily join another party in order to elect a weak candidate for that partys leadership. The goal ultimately is defeat of the candidate in the general election by the leader of the party that the voter truly supports. The composition of an electorate may also be altered by disenfranchising some classes of people, from the turn of the century into the late 1960s, most African Americans in the southern states of the former Confederacy were disenfranchised by such measures. Compared to most European nations, many states in the US have much more severe laws that prevent convicted felons who have served their sentences from ever voting again, groups may also be disenfranchised by rules which make it impractical or impossible for them to cast a vote. Communities may also be effectively disenfranchised if polling places are situated in areas perceived by voters as unsafe, in some cases voters may be invalidly disenfranchised, which is true electoral fraud
6.
Political corruption
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Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. An illegal act by an officeholder constitutes political corruption only if the act is related to their official duties, is done under color of law or involves trading in influence. Forms of corruption vary, but include bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, influence peddling, graft, Corruption may facilitate criminal enterprise such as drug trafficking, money laundering, and human trafficking, though is not restricted to these activities. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents, the activities that constitute illegal corruption differ depending on the country or jurisdiction. For instance, some political funding practices that are legal in one place may be illegal in another, in some cases, government officials have broad or ill-defined powers, which make it difficult to distinguish between legal and illegal actions. Worldwide, bribery alone is estimated to involve over 1 trillion US dollars annually, a state of unrestrained political corruption is known as a kleptocracy, literally meaning rule by thieves. Some forms of corruption – now called institutional corruption – are distinguished from bribery, a similar problem of corruption arises in any institution that depends on financial support from people who have interests that may conflict with the primary purpose of the institution. In politics, corruption undermines democracy and good governance by flouting or even subverting formal processes and it violates a basic principle of republicanism regarding the centrality of civic virtue. More generally, corruption erodes the institutional capacity of government if procedures are disregarded, resources are siphoned off, Corruption undermines the legitimacy of government and such democratic values as trust and tolerance. Recent evidence suggests that variation in the levels of corruption amongst high-income democracies can vary depending on the level of accountability of decision-makers. Evidence from fragile states also shows that corruption and bribery can adversely impact trust in institutions, although some claim corruption reduces costs by cutting bureaucracy, the availability of bribes can also induce officials to contrive new rules and delays. Openly removing costly and lengthy regulations are better than allowing them to be bypassed by using bribes. Where corruption inflates the cost of business, it distorts the playing field, shielding firms with connections from competition. Corruption also generates economic distortion in the sector by diverting public investment into capital projects where bribes. Officials may increase the complexity of public sector projects to conceal or pave the way for such dealings. In Nigeria, for example, more than $400 billion was stolen from the treasury by Nigerias leaders between 1960 and 1999, University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers estimated that from 1970 to 1996, capital flight from 30 Sub-Saharan countries totaled $187bn, exceeding those nations external debts. In the case of Africa, one of the factors for this behavior was political instability, and this encouraged officials to stash their wealth abroad, out of reach of any future expropriation. In contrast, Asian administrations such as Suhartos New Order often took a cut on business transactions or provided conditions for development, through investment, law and order
7.
Poverty
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Poverty is general scarcity or the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money. It is a concept, which includes social, economic. Absolute poverty or destitution refers to the lack of necessary to meet basic needs such as food, clothing. Absolute poverty is meant to be about the independent of location. After the industrial revolution, mass production in factories made producing goods increasingly less expensive, of more importance is the modernization of agriculture, such as fertilizers, to provide enough yield to feed the population. Strategies of increasing income to make basic needs more affordable typically include welfare, economic freedoms, Poverty reduction is a major goal and issue for many international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank. The World Bank forecasts that 702.1 million people, down from 1.75 billion in 1990, of these, about 347.1 million people lived in Sub-Saharan Africa and 231.3 million lived in South Asia. According to the World Bank, between 1990 and 2015, the percentage of the population living in extreme poverty fell from 37. 1% to 9. 6%. Nevertheless, given the current economic model, built on GDP, extreme poverty is a global challenge, it is observed in all parts of the world, including developed economies. UNICEF estimates half the children live in poverty. It has been argued by some academics that the policies promoted by global financial institutions such as the IMF. Another estimate places the true scale of poverty much higher than the World Bank, with an estimated 4.3 billion people living with less than $5 a day and unable to meet basic needs adequately. In 2012 it is estimated that, given a poverty line of $1.25 a day 1.2 billion people lived in poverty, the word poverty comes from old French poverté, from Latin paupertās from pauper. The English word poverty via Anglo-Norman povert, there are several definitions of poverty depending on the context of the situation it is placed in, and the views of the person giving the definition. Income Poverty, a familys income fails to meet a federally established threshold that differs across countries, United Nations, Fundamentally, poverty is the inability of having choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity. It means lack of capacity to participate effectively in society. It means insecurity, powerlessness and exclusion of individuals, households and it means susceptibility to violence, and it often implies living in marginal or fragile environments, without access to clean water or sanitation. World Bank, Poverty is pronounced deprivation in well-being, and comprises many dimensions and it includes low incomes and the inability to acquire the basic goods and services necessary for survival with dignity
8.
Failed state
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A failed state is a political body that has disintegrated to a point where basic conditions and responsibilities of a sovereign government no longer function properly. Likewise, when a nation weakens and its standard of living declines, the level of government control required to avoid being considered a failed state varies considerably amongst authorities. Furthermore, the declaration that a state has failed is generally controversial and, according to the political theories of Max Weber, a state could be said to succeed if it maintains a monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force within its borders. When this is broken, the existence of the state becomes dubious. The problem of legitimacy can be solved by understanding what Weber intended by it, Weber clearly explains that only the state has the means of production necessary for physical violence. This means that the state does not require legitimacy for achieving monopoly on having the means of violence, other factors of perception may be involved. Certain areas or cities may even fall outside state control, becoming a de facto ungoverned part of the state. There is no consensus on the definition of a failed state. Some scholars focus on the capacity and effectiveness of the government to determine if a state is failed or not, other indices such as the Fund for Peace’s Fragile States Index underline the democratic character of state institutions in order to determine its level of failure. Robert H. Bates refers to state failure as the implosion of the state, where the state transforms into an instrument of predation, as part of the debate about the state failure definition, Charles T. Call attempts to abandon the concept of state failure altogether, as, he argues, indeed, one of the main contributions to the theorization of the failed-state is the gap framework developed by Call. The gap framework seems to be more useful than other definitions, a relevant contribution to the field of failed states and its attributes was made by J. Goldstone in his paper Pathways to State Failure. What differs him from other definitions is the fact that to him, effectiveness means the capability to carry out state functions such as providing security or levying taxes. Legitimacy means the support of important groups of the population, it is dissociated from democracy as a government/leader can be legitimate in the eyes of his people without being elected, Goldstone coupled pathways to state failure to his conception of a lack of both effectiveness and legitimacy. A state that one of the two aspects is not failed as such, however it is in great danger of failing soon if nothing is being done. Five possible pathways to state failure are,1, examples, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Philippines, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Zimbabwe, South Africa, North Korea, Saudi Arabia 3. Examples, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Turkey, Congo, Colombia, succession or reform crisis in authoritarian states. Examples, Indonesia under Suharto, Iran under the Shah, the Soviet Union under Gorbachev Although Goldstone identifies pathways to state failure he is quick to warn about simplifying the issue, often -building either legitimacy or effectiveness implies a trade off with the other aspect of the state
9.
European integration
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European integration is the process of industrial, political, legal, economic, social and cultural integration of states wholly or partially in Europe. European integration has primarily come about through the European Union and its policies, one of the first to conceive of a union of European nations was Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi, who wrote the Pan-Europa manifesto in 1923. In a speech delivered on 19 September 1946 at the University of Zürich, Switzerland, France and Germany must take the lead together. The question of how to avoid wars between the nation-states was essential for the first theories, federalism and Functionalism proposed the containment of the nation-state, while Transactionalism sought to theorise the conditions for the stabilisation of the nation-state system. One of the most influential theories of European integration is neofunctionalism, haas and further investigated by Leon Lindberg. The important debate between neofunctionalism and intergovernmentalism still remains central in understanding the development and setbacks of the European Union, but as the empirical world has changed, so have the theories and thus the understanding of European Integration. Today there is a new focus on the complex policy-making in the EU and multi-level governance trying to produce a theory of the workings. Various federalist organisations have created over time supporting the idea of a federal Europe. These include the Union of European Federalists, the European Movement International, the Union of European Federalists is a European non-governmental organisation, campaigning for a Federal Europe. It consists of 20 constituent organisations and it has been active at the European, the European Federalist Party is the pro-European, pan-European and federalist political party which advocates further integration of the EU and the establishment of a Federal Europe. Its aim is to gather all Europeans to promote European federalism and it has national sections in 15 countries. There are various agreements with overlapping membership, several countries take part in a larger number of agreements than others. e. The German-speaking Community of Belgium is not included and these are Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia are not part of European Organization for Nuclear Research, Slovenia has formally confirmed its wish to become a member. Some agreements that are related to countries of the European continent, are also valid in territories outside the continent. g. Other initiatives have removed barriers to trade in European regions, and increased the free movement of people, labour, goods. It includes the states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, the Nordic Passport Union, created in 1954 but implemented on 1 May 1958, establishes free movement across borders without passports for the countries citizens. The organisation was planned in Vilnius on 1 December 1990, the Baltic Free Trade Area was a trade agreement between Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia
10.
Election
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An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated since the 17th century, Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the executive and judiciary, and for regional and local government. This process is used in many other private and business organizations. Electoral reform describes the process of introducing fair electoral systems where they are not in place, psephology is the study of results and other statistics relating to elections. To elect means to choose or make a decision, and so other forms of ballot such as referendums are referred to as elections. Elections were used as early in history as ancient Greece and ancient Rome, and throughout the Medieval period to select rulers such as the Holy Roman Emperor, in Vedic period of India, the raja of a gana was apparently elected by the gana. The raja belonged to the noble Kshatriya varna, and was typically a son of the previous raja, however, the gana members had the final say in his elections. The Pala king Gopala in early medieval Bengal was elected by a group of feudal chieftains, such elections were quite common in contemporary societies of the region. In Chola Empire, around 920 CE, in Uthiramerur, palm leaves were used for selecting the village committee members, the leaves, with candidate names written on them, were put inside a mud pot. To select the members, a young boy was asked to take out as many leaves as the number of positions available. This was known as the Kudavolai system, ancient Arabs also used election to choose their caliph, Uthman and Ali, in the early medieval Rashidun Caliphate. Questions of suffrage, especially suffrage for minority groups, have dominated the history of elections, males, the dominate cultural group in North America and Europe, often dominated the electorate and continue to do so in many countries. Early elections in such as the United Kingdom and the United States were dominated by landed or ruling class males. However, by 1920 all Western European and North American democracies had universal male suffrage. Despite legally mandated universal suffrage for males, political barriers were sometimes erected to prevent fair access to elections. The question of who may vote is an issue in elections. In Australia Aboriginal people were not given the right to vote until 1962, suffrage is typically only for citizens of the country, though further limits may be imposed. However, in the European Union, one can vote in municipal elections if one lives in the municipality and is an EU citizen, the nationality of the country of residence is not required
11.
Abkhazia
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Abkhazia is a partially recognised state on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus Mountains, south of Russia and northwest of Georgia proper. It covers 8,660 square kilometres and has a population of around 240,000, the separatist Abkhazian polity, formally the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny, is recognised only by Russia and a small number of other countries. The status of Abkhazia is an issue of the Georgian–Abkhazian conflict. The region enjoyed autonomy within Soviet Georgia at the time when the Soviet Union began to disintegrate in the late 1980s, despite the 1994 ceasefire agreement and years of negotiations, the dispute remained unresolved. The long-term presence of a United Nations Observer Mission and a Russian-led Commonwealth of Independent States peacekeeping force failed to prevent the flare-up of violence on several occasions. On 28 August 2008, the Parliament of Georgia declared Abkhazia a Russian-occupied territory, the Abkhazians call their homeland Аҧсны, popularly etymologised as a land/country of the soul, yet literally meaning a country of mortals. It possibly first appeared in the century in an Armenian text as Psin. The state is designated as the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny. The Russian Абхазия is adapted from the Georgian აფხაზეთი, in Mingrelian, Abkhazia is known as აბჟუა or სააფხაზო. Between the 9th and 6th centuries BC, the territory of modern Abkhazia was part of the ancient Georgian kingdom of Colchis and this kingdom was subsequently absorbed in 63 BC into the Kingdom of Egrisi, known to Byzantine Roman sources as Lazica. Classical authors described various peoples living in the region and the multitude of languages they spoke. Arrian, Pliny and Strabo have given accounts of the Abasgoi and Moschoi peoples somewhere in modern Abkhazia on the shore of the Black Sea. Around the mid 6th century AD, the Byzantines and the neighbouring Sassanid Persia fought for supremacy over Abkhazia for 20 years, Abkhazia, or Abasgia in classic sources, formerly part of Colchis and later of Egrisi until the late 690s, was a princedom under Byzantine authority. The country was mostly Christian, with the seat in Pityus. An Arab incursion into Abkhazia led by Marwan II, was repelled by Leon I jointly with his Egrisian and Kartlian allies in 736, after acquiring Egrisi via a dynastic union in the 780s the Kingdom of Abkhazia was established and became a dominant power in western Caucasus. During this period the Georgian language replaced Greek as the language of literacy, the western Georgian kingdom flourished between 850 and 950 when it annexed significant parts of central Georgia. In the 16th century, after the break-up of the Georgian Kingdom into small kingdoms and principalities, since the 1570s, when the Ottoman navy occupied the fort of Tskhumi, Abkhazia came under the influence of the Ottoman Empire and Islam. Under Ottoman rule, the majority of Abkhaz elite converted to Islam, the principality retained a degree of autonomy
12.
Adjara
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Adjara, officially known as the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, is a historical, geographic and political-administrative region of Georgia. Located in the southwestern corner, Adjara lies on the coast of the Black Sea near the foot of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains. It is an important tourism destination and includes Georgias second-largest city of Batumi as its capital, about 350,000 people live on its 2,880 km2. Adjara is home to the Adjarians, a subgroup of Georgians. Adjaras name can be spelled in a number of ways, including Ajara, Ajaria, Adjaria, Adzharia, under the Soviet Union, Adjara was part of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic as the Adjarian ASSR. Adjara has been part of Colchis and Caucasian Iberia since ancient times, colonized by Greeks in the 5th century BC, the region fell under Rome in the 2nd century BC. It became part of the region of Egrisi before being incorporated into the unified Georgian Kingdom in the 9th century AD, the Ottomans conquered the area in 1614. The people of Adjara converted to Islam in this period, the Ottomans were forced to cede Adjara to the expanding Russian Empire in 1878. After a temporary occupation by Turkish and British troops in 1918–1920, the Soviet Union established the Adjar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1921 in accord with this clause. Thus, Adjara was still a component part of Georgia, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Adjara became part of a newly independent but politically divided Republic of Georgia. It avoided being dragged into the chaos and civil war that afflicted the rest of the country between 1991 and 1993 due largely to the rule of its leader Aslan Abashidze. The central government in Tbilisi had very little say in what went on in Adjara during the presidency of Eduard Shevardnadze, in the spring of 2004, a major crisis in Adjara erupted as the central government sought to reimpose its authority on the region. It threatened to develop into an armed confrontation, however, Saakashvilis ultimatums and mass protests against Abashidzes autocratic rule forced the Adjaran leader to resign in May 2004, following which he went into exile in Russia. After Abashidzes ousting, a new law was introduced to redefine the terms of Adjaras autonomy, levan Varshalomidze succeeded Abashidze as the chairman of the government. In July 2007, the seat of the Georgian Constitutional Court was moved from Tbilisi to Batumi, in November 2007 Russia ended its two century military presence in Georgia by withdrawing from the 12th Military Base in Batumi. Since mid-2000s Turkey has expanded its influence over Adjara, Turkish influence can be seen in the regions economy and in the religious life—through the regions Muslim population. The status of the Adjaran Autonomous Republic is defined by Georgias law on Adjara, the local legislative body is the Parliament. Zurab Pataridze is the current head of the Adjaran government, Adjara is subdivided into six administrative units, Adjara is located on the south-eastern coast of the Black Sea and extends into the wooded foothills and mountains of the Lesser Caucasus
13.
South Ossetia
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It has a population of 53,000 people which live in an area of 3,900 km2, south of the Russian Caucasus, with 30,000 living in its capital city of Tskhinvali. South Ossetia declared independence from the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, the Georgian government responded by abolishing South Ossetias autonomy and trying to re-establish its control over the region by force. The crisis escalation led to the 1991–92 South Ossetia War, Georgian fighting against those controlling South Ossetia occurred on two other occasions, in 2004 and 2008. The latter conflict led to the Russo–Georgian War, during which Ossetian and Russian forces gained full de facto control of the territory of the former South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast. In the wake of the 2008 war, Russia, followed by Nicaragua, Venezuela, Georgia and a significant part of the international community consider South Ossetia to be occupied by the Russian military. South Ossetia relies heavily on military, political and financial aid from Russia, Russia does not allow European Union Monitoring Mission monitors to enter South Ossetia. South Ossetia, Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Abkhazia are sometimes referred to as post-Soviet frozen conflict zones, the Ossetians are believed to originate from the Alans, a Sarmatian Iranian tribe. In the 17th century, Ossetians started migration from the North Caucasus to Georgia, Ossetian peasants, who were migrating to the mountainous areas of the South Caucasus, often settled in the lands of Georgian feudal lords. The Georgian King of the Kingdom of Kartli permitted Ossetians to immigrate, in the 1770s there were more Ossetians living in Kartli than ever before. This period has been documented in the diaries of Johann Anton Güldenstädt who visited Georgia in 1772. The Baltic German explorer called modern North Ossetia simply Ossetia, while he wrote that Kartli was populated by Georgians, Güldenstädt also wrote that the northernmost border of Kartli is the Major Caucasus Ridge. The Georgian Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti, part of which was the territory of modern South Ossetia, was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1801. Following the Russian revolution, the area of modern South Ossetia became part of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, although the Ossetians were initially discontented with the economic policies of the central government, the tension soon transformed into ethnic conflict. The first Ossetian rebellion began in February 1918, when three Georgian princes were killed and their land was seized by the Ossetians, the central government of Tiflis retaliated by sending the National Guard to the area. However, the Georgian unit retreated after they had engaged the Ossetians, Ossetian rebels then proceeded to occupy the town of Tskhinvali and began attacking ethnic Georgian civilian population. During uprisings in 1919 and 1920, the Ossetians were covertly supported by Soviet Russia, but even so, were defeated. Between 3,000 and 7,000 Ossetians were killed during the crushing of the 1920 uprising, according to Ossetian sources ensuing hunger, the drawing of administrative boundaries of the South Ossetian AO was quite a complicated process. Many Georgian villages were included within the South Ossetian AO despite numerous protests by the Georgian population, while the city of Tskhinvali did not have a majority Ossetian population, it was made the capital of the South Ossetian AO
14.
Eduard Shevardnadze
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Eduard Ambrosiyevich Shevardnadze was a Georgian politician and diplomat. He served as First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party, the de facto leader of Soviet Georgia from 1972 to 1985, Shevardnadze was responsible for many key decisions in Soviet foreign policy during the Gorbachev Era. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, he was President of Georgia from 1992 to 2003 and he was forced to retire in 2003 as a consequence of the bloodless Rose Revolution. Shevardnadze started his career in the late 1940s as a leading member of his local Komsomol organisation. He was later appointed its Second Secretary, then its First Secretary and his rise in the Georgian Soviet hierarchy continued until 1961 when he was demoted after he insulted a senior official. After spending two years in obscurity, Shevardnadze returned as a First Secretary of a Tbilisi city district and his anti-corruption work quickly garnered the interest of the Soviet government and Shevardnadze was appointed as First Deputy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Georgian SSR. He would later become the head of the internal affairs ministry and was able to charge First Secretary Vasil Mzhavanadze with corruption, Shevardnadzes anti-corruption campaign continued until he resigned from his office as First Secretary. Mikhail Gorbachev appointed Shevardnadze to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs, from then on, with the exception of a brief period between 1990 and 1991, only Gorbachev would outrank Shevardnadze in importance in Soviet foreign policy. In the aftermath of the Soviet Unions collapse in 1991, Shevardnadze returned to the newly independent Georgia and he became the countrys head of state following the removal of the countrys first president, Zviad Gamsakhurdia. Shevardnadze was formally elected president in 1995 and his presidency was marked by rampant corruption and accusations of nepotism. He later lived in obscurity and published his memoirs. Eduard Shevardnadze was born in Mamati in the Transcaucasian SFSR, Soviet Union, on 25 January 1928 and his father Ambrose was a teacher and a devoted communist and party official. His mother had little respect for the communist government and opposed both Shevardnadzes and his fathers party careers, eduard was a cousin of the Georgian painter and intellectual Dimitri Shevardnadze, who was purged during Stalinist repressions. In 1948 at the age of twenty, Shevardnadze joined the Georgian Communist Party and he rose steadily through the ranks of the Georgian Komsomol and after serving a term as Second Secretary, he became its First Secretary. During his Komsomol First Secretaryship, Shevardnadze met Mikhail Gorbachev for his first time, Shevardnadze said he grew disillusioned with the Soviet political system following Nikita Khrushchevs Secret Speech to the 20th CPSU Congress. Like many Soviet people, the crimes perpetrated by Joseph Stalin horrified Shevardnadze, and he was demoted in 1961 by the Politburo of the Georgian Communist Party after offending a senior official. After his demotion Shevardnadze endured several years of obscurity before returning to attention as a First Secretary of a city district in Tbilisi, Shevardnadze challenged Tbilisi First Secretary Otari Lolashvili, and later charged him for corruption. Shevardnadze left party work after his appointment as First Deputy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Georgian SSR in 1964 and it was his successful attempt at gaoling Lolashvili, which got him promoted to the post of First Deputyship
15.
Demonstration (protest)
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Actions such as blockades and sit-ins may also be referred to as demonstrations. Demonstrations can be nonviolent or violent, or can begin as nonviolent, sometimes riot police or other forms of law enforcement become involved. In some cases this may be in order to try to prevent the protest from taking place at all, in other cases it may be to prevent clashes between rival groups, or to prevent a demonstration from spreading and turning into a riot. Demonstrations are a form of activism, usually taking the form of a gathering of people in a rally or walking in a march. Thus, the opinion is demonstrated to be significant by gathering in a associated with that opinion. Demonstrations can be used to show a viewpoint regarding a public issue, a demonstration is usually considered more successful if more people participate. There are many types of demonstrations, including a variety of elements and these may include, Marches, in which a parade demonstrate while moving along a set route. Rallies, in which people gather to listen to speakers or musicians, picketing, in which people surround an area. Nudity, in which they protest naked - here the antagonist may give in before the demonstration happens to avoid embarrassment, Demonstrations are sometimes spontaneous gatherings, but are also utilized as a tactical choice by movements. They often form part of a campaign of nonviolent resistance. Demonstrations are usually physical gatherings, but virtual or online demonstrations are certainly possible, topics of demonstrations often deal with political, economic, and social issues. Clashes between demonstrators and counter-demonstrators may turn violent, government-organized demonstrations are demonstrations which are organized by a government. The Islamic Republic of Iran, the Peoples Republic of China, Republic of Cuba, sometimes the date or location chosen for the demonstration is of historical or cultural significance, such as the anniversary of some event that is relevant to the topic of the demonstration. Locations are also chosen because of some relevance to the issue at hand. Protest marches and demonstrations are a nonviolent tactic. They are thus one tactic available to proponents of strategic nonviolence, some demonstrations and protests can turn, at least partially, into riots or mob violence against objects such as automobiles and businesses, bystanders and the police. Police and military authorities often use force or less-lethal weapons, such as tasers, rubber bullets, pepper spray. Sometimes violent situations are caused by the preemptive or offensive use of weapons which can provoke, destabilize
16.
United National Movement (Georgia)
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United National Movement was the main center-right party and the largest opposition party in Georgia. UNM was founded in October 2001 by Mikheil Saakashvili, originally a center-left party, it has moved its position to center-right since the Rose Revolution, and combines political, economic and cultural liberalism with civic nationalism. Its main political priorities also include improving social services to the poor, leaders of UNM label themselves as liberal-conservative and in September 2007, the party became an observer member of the center-right European Peoples Party. The United National Movement and its partners in the played a central role in the November 2003 political crisis that ended in the forced resignation of President Shevardnadze. The opposition parties contested the outcome of the November 2,2003 parliamentary elections. The United National Movement and the United Democrats amalgamated on February 5,2004, in the 2008 parliamentary election, the UNM won 59. 1% of the votes. However, in the 2012 election they fell to 40. 3%, since the 2012 elections the UNM has suffered several defections of its parliament members to new parties. Most notably the creation of the libertarian New Political Center — Girchi by former UNM member of parliament Zurab Japaridze, ghia Nodia, Álvaro Pinto Scholtbach, The Political Landscape of Georgia, Political Parties, Achievements, Challenges and Prospects. Eburon, Delft 2006, ISBN 90-5972-113-6 Lincoln A. Mitchell, Uncertain Democracy, foreign Policy and Georgias Rose Revolution. University of Pennsylvania Press 2008, ISBN 0-8122-4127-4 Rose Revolution Politics of Georgia Official website Official website in English
17.
Kmara
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Kmara was a civic youth resistance movement in Georgia, active in the protests prior to and during the November 2003 Rose Revolution, which toppled down the government of Eduard Shevardnadze. Consciously modeled on the Serbian nongovernmental organization Otpor, the movement was a hybrid of social movement and virtual NGO, which was highly successful in mobilizing the young Georgians, mostly students, against Shevardnadzes rule. The Kmara movement emerged in April 2003 and it was formed by the Georgian student activists which received training by the Serbian Otpor. through the funding of the OSI. The training was focused on sharing the Serbian experience of nonviolent action, Kmara organized a loose, decentralized network of the regional cells and employed simple, but effective methods to create a large-scale social movement against the government of Eduard Shevardnadze. Members spray-painted the word kmara on walls, buildings, streets, the slogan was quickly upheld by those who saw the Shevardnadze regime increasingly corrupt and failing. This effort was supplemented by noisy protest marches and aggressive media campaign, according to one of the co-founders of Kmara, Giorgi Kandelaki, Kmara succeeded in breaking through the public’s political apathy, particularly among young people. The scale of Kmaras actions grew as the November 2003 parliamentary election was approaching, since then, Kmara conducted several anti-government actions, drawing criticism from Shevardnadzes allies, who, initially suggested that the movement was financed by the Russian special services. On August 6,2003, police force was used to disperse the Kmara rally, Kmara remained at the forefront of the mass rallies following the November 2003 parliamentary election, which was criticized by the opposition, NGOs and international observers. After the demonstrations brought about the resignation of Shevradnadze, Kmara shifted its focus in Adjara, the movement was continuously harassed by the Adjarian regime, which, in its turn, fell to the increasing pressure from the new Georgian government of Mikheil Saakashvili. In 2005, Kmara worked with their counterparts in Belarus, named Zubr, in August 2005, two activists of the Georgian youth movement Kmara, Giorgi Kandelaki and Luka Tsuladze, were arrested in Minsk and held in prison for 15 days on charges of hooliganism. The human rights NGO Amnesty International condemned the arrest and said that it considers Luka Tsuladze and Giorgi Kandelaki to be prisoners of conscience
18.
Cabinet of Georgia
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The Cabinet of Georgia is an executive council of government ministers in Georgia. It is headed by the Prime Minister of Georgia, in the cases of utmost importance, the meetings may be led by the President of Georgia. The first Cabinet of Georgia was formed by Noe Zhordania in the Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1918, however, the first head of government was Noe Ramishvili, Zhordania succeeding him. Until 24 January 2008, the cabinet consisted of four State Ministers, after the re-election of President Mikheil Saakashvili, significant changes were made to the structure of the cabinet by the then head of the Georgian Government Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze. As a result, currently there are five State Ministers and thirteen Ministers, in Georgian politics, a State Minister enjoys seniority over a Minister as opposed to the British Cabinet where a State Minister is below a Minister by rank. The position State Minister for Reforms was abolished, the Ministers of Defense and Internal Affairs as well as the Prosecutor General were not members of the cabinet as such and were subordinated to the President of Georgia. But they are now considered to be the members of the cabinet, Cabinet of Irakli Garibashvili Cabinet of Bidzina Ivanishvili Cabinet of Zurab Zhvania Parliament of Georgia President of Georgia
19.
Law enforcement in Georgia (country)
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Law enforcement in Georgia is conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. Currently, there are more than 42,000 registered police officers, the Georgian police introduced an 022 emergency dispatch service in 2004. In the mid-2000s the Patrol Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia underwent a radical transformation, in 2005 Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili fired the entire traffic police force of the Georgian National Police due to corruption, numbering around 30,000 police officers. A new force was built around new recruits, the United States State Departments Bureau of International Narcotics and Law-Enforcement Affairs has provided assistance to the training efforts. Patruli was first introduced in the summer of 2005 replacing the traffic police, report on the Current Situation with the Recommendations for Reform. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia
20.
Mikheil Saakashvili
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Mikheil Saakashvili is a Ukrainian and former Georgian politician. He was the Governor of Ukraines Odessa Oblast from May 2015 until November 2016, Saakashvili is the founder and former chairman of the United National Movement Party. He was re-elected in the Georgian presidential election on 5 January 2008 and he was widely regarded as a pro-NATO and pro-West leader who spearheaded a series of political and economic reforms. In 2010, he had a 67% approval rating despite being criticized by the opposition for his authoritarian tendencies. On 2 October 2012, Saakashvili admitted his partys defeat in Georgias parliamentary election against the Georgian Dream coalition led by the tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili. He was barred by the constitution of Georgia from seeking a term in the 2013 presidential election. Shortly after the election, Saakashvili left Georgia, Saakashvili is wanted by Georgias new government on multiple criminal charges, which he denies as politically motivated. Saakashvili energetically supported Ukraines Euromaidan movement and the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, on 30 May 2015 Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko appointed Saakashvili Governor of Odessa Oblast. He was also granted Ukrainian citizenship, on 7 November 2016 Saakashvili resigned as Governor while blaming President Poroshenko personally for enabling corruption in Odessa and in Ukraine overall. Four days later he announced his goal to create a new party called Movement of New Forces. Some non-Georgian sources spell Saakashvilis first name via the Russian version of the name Mikhail, in Georgia, he is commonly known as Misha, a hypocorism for Mikheil. Mikheil Saakashvili was born in Tbilisi on 21 December 1967, capital of the then Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic in the Soviet Union and his father, Nikoloz Saakashvili, is a physician who practices medicine in Tbilisi and directs a local Balneological Center. His mother, Giuli Alasania, is a historian who lectures at Tbilisi State University, during university, he served his shortened military service in 1989–1990 with the Soviet Border Troops checkpoint unit in the Boryspil Airport in Ukraine. Saakashvili graduated from the Institute of International Relations of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv in 1992, at this university he was friends with later President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko. He received an LL. M. from Columbia Law School in 1994, in 1995, he also received a diploma from the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. He interned at the United Nations and he stood in the December 1995 elections along with Zhvania, and both men won seats in parliament, standing for the Union of Citizens of Georgia, Shevardnadzes party. Saakashvili was chairman of the committee which was in charge of creating a new electoral system, an independent judiciary. Opinion surveys recognised him to be the second most popular person in Georgia and he was named man of the year by a panel of journalists and human rights advocates in 1997
21.
Nino Burjanadze
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Nino Burjanadze is a Georgian politician and lawyer who served as Chairperson of the Parliament of Georgia from November 2001 to June 2008. She withdrew into opposition to Saakashvili as the leader of the Democratic Movement-United Georgia party in 2008, in October 2013, she ran for president in the October 2013 election. She ran against 22 candidates and ended third with 10 percent of the vote, nino Burjanadze was born in Kutaisi, then-Soviet Georgia. In 1991, she became an docent of the Faculty of International Law at the Tbilisi State University, at the same time, she worked as an expert-consultant in international law for the Parliament of Georgia and the Ministry for Environment Protection and Natural Resources. She first chaired the Parliamentary Committee for Constitutional Law from 1998 to 1999, during the years, she became known as a supporter of pro-Western values and proponent of Georgias integration with NATO and the European Union. She left the UCG in 2002, forming a party called the Burjanadze-Democrats to fight the November 2003 parliamentary elections. After the rigged elections of 2 November 2003, she joined other opposition leaders in denouncing the election results. The terms of the Georgian constitution automatically made her the acting president when Shevardnadze resigned on 23 November. She was a candidate for the post, as she is widely respected by her compatriots - opinion polling in 2003 showed her to be one of s three most popular political figures. On 4 January 2004, Mikhail Saakashvili won the presidential elections in with an overwhelming majority. He was inaugurated on 25 January, a new was elected on 28 March, with Burjanadze resuming her old post as Speaker on 22 April. Following a political crisis in late 2007, Saakashvili called new parliamentary, in order to contest the presidential election, Saakashvili announced his resignation effective 25 November 2007, with Burjanadze becoming acting president for a second time. Burjanadzes term as a parliamentary chairperson expired with the new legislatures inaugural session on 7 June 2008, in June 2008, Burjanadze announced she would set up a think tank that would serve as a new form of being in politics. The organization — the Foundation for Democracy and Development — was inaugurated in Tbilisi on 7 July 2008, on March 23,2009, the Georgian interior ministry confirmed, that 10 of the activists from Burdzhanadzes party, Democratic Movement–United Georgia had been arrested. Burdzhanadze accused Mikheil Saakashvili of arranging the arrests to intimidate the opposition, burdzhanadze said the arrests marked the start of a punitive campaign by the government against the opposition, ahead of the mass protest planned for April 9 to demand Saakashvilis resignation. The protests led by Burzhanadze began on May 21,2011 when over 10,000 Georgians attended a demonstration in Tbilisi demanding Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvilis resignation, in the southwestern town of Batumi some demonstrations also occurred with some protesters attempting to break into the television building. Nino Burjanadze has been a figure in the demonstrations. The protesters in Batumi briefly clashed with police
22.
Georgian Civil War
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While the Gamsakhurdia rebellion was eventually defeated, the South Ossetia and Abkhazia conflicts resulted in the de facto secession of both regions from Georgia. As a result, both conflicts have lingered on, with occasional flare-ups, ethnic minority separatist movements – primarily on the part of the Ossetians and the Abkhaz, demanded fuller recognition in the new order of the early 1990s. Asserting its newly gained national prerogatives, Georgia responded with military attempts to restrain separatism forcibly, on January 5,1991 Georgias National Guard entered Tskhinvali, South Ossetian capital and fighting broke out in and around the city. The Georgian-Ossetian Conflict was the first major crisis faced by Gamsakhurdias government, at the time of the dissolution of the USSR, the United States government recognized as legitimate the pre-Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact 1933 borders of the country. Because of this, the George H. W. Activity of the opposition against the Government of Zviad Gamsakhurdia caused a political dispute. Following the police dispersion of an opposition demonstration in Tbilisi on September 2, several oppositionists were arrested and their offices raided. The National Guard of Georgia, the paramilitary force in the country split into two, pro- and anti-Gamsakhurdia factions. Another powerful paramilitary organization, the Mkhedrioni led by Jaba Ioseliani also sided with the opposition, demonstrations and barricade-building marked the next three months. On 22 September, there were the first fatalities in Tbilisi, on September 24, state of emergency was declared in Tbilisi. On October 4 anti-Gamsakhurdia groups attacked the supporters of Gamsakhurdia, one supporter of the President was killed, by late October 1991, most of the leadership of the oppositional National Democratic Party, headed by Giorgi Chanturia, had been arrested. On 20 December 1991, Kitovanis fighters returned in force to begin the final onslaught against Gamsakhurdia, the armed oppositionists released Jaba Ioseliani, the leader of Mkhedrioni and mounted barricades in central Tbilisi. On December 22, the rebels seized several official buildings, and attacked the Parliament building where Gamsakhurdia, simultaneously, the rebels already controlling most of the city, brutally suppressed pro-Gamsakhurdia protests in and around Tbilisi. They fired on the crowds, killing and wounding several people, within several days of the fighting the main boulevard in the city, Rustaveli Avenue, had been destroyed and at least 113 people were killed. After the successful coup, a government, the Military Council, was formed in Georgia. The 1992 elections established Shevardnadze as the Chairman of Parliament and the Head of State, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, despite his absence, continued to enjoy substantial support within Georgia, especially in rural areas and in his home region of Samegrelo in western Georgia. The supporters of the president, the Zviadists, responded to the coup with spontaneous street demonstrations. One of the most serious occurred in Tbilisi on June 24,1992. However, they were out within a few hours by the National Guard
23.
2004 Adjara crisis
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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, Abashidze left the region in exile in May 2004 and was succeeded by Levan Varshalomidze. Adjaran leader Aslan Abashidze, being in opposition to the Rose Revolution. Following the negotiations with central authorities, the state of emergency was canceled on January 3,2004 just day before the presidential elections in Georgia. The renewal of the state of emergency on January 7 was followed by the crackdown of an oppositional demonstration, on January 19, dozens were injured as a result of the clash between the protesters and the police in the southern Adjarn village of Gonio. The protesters demanded resignation of Aslan Abashidze, the head of Adjara Autonomous Republic. ”In late January, Georgian officials, including Acting President Nino Burjanadze, on February 20, the opposition movement’s offices were again raided after the opposition had staged a protest rally in Batumi. The clashes between the supporters and opposition of the Adjaran leader also took place in Kobuleti, disorders coincided with the visit of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Walter Schwimmer in Batumi, who held talks with Aslan Abashidze. President Saakashvili demanded from Adjaran leadership to abolish Autonomous Republic’s Security Ministry which was Abashidze’s main weapon of repression, the Adjaran authorities claimed Saakashvili was going to take control over the region by force. In retaliation, Georgia’s central authorities imposed partial economic sanctions against its defiant region in a bid to exhaust Adjaran regimes resources. Tensions defused between Tbilisi and Batumi on March 16 after President Saakashvili and Aslan Abashidze met and struck a deal that allowed for economic sanctions on Adjara to be lifted, however, Abashidze refused to disarm his paramilitary forces in April. On April 19-April 21, Batumi-based military commanders Major General Roman Dumbadze, on April 24, Adjaran Senate approved Aslan Abashidze’s proposal to impose a curfew in the region. However, dozens of soldiers of Adjaran leader Aslan Abashidze’s elite special purpose unit began to leave the region, several Adjaran officials also did so. Local opposition resumed series of protests in Batumi, being broken up severely on April 30, at the end of April, Georgia launched its largest ever military exercises at the Kulevi training ground, near the Black Sea town of Poti. The Large-scale war games, some 30 km away from Adjara’s administrative border, was a show of strength, on May 3, the U. S. Department of State condemned Abashidze’s activities and accused him of “trying to provoke military crisis”. On May 4, an opposition protest rally was attacked by the local security forces in Batumi. Dozens of protesters were reportedly injured, however, the violent break up of peaceful demonstration proved a catalyst for even larger protests later on the same day. Tens of thousands from all Adjara headed to Batumi demanding Abashidze’s resignation, Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania and Interior Minister Giorgi Baramidze crossed the Choloki River on May 5 and held talks with Adjaran Interior Minister Jemal Gogitidze. The latter agreed to withdraw his forces and paramilitary groups from the border provided he would be guaranteed with security
24.
2006 Russian ban of Moldovan and Georgian wines
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Wine trade with Russia is responsible for 80-90% of the total wine exports in both countries. The Russian Consumer Agency claimed that it had examined 21 sorts of Georgian wine sold in Moscow, pesticides were discovered in 60% samples of Moldovan and 44% samples of Georgian wine. However, the Moldovans claimed that no proof was provided by the Russians, Moldova argued that the ban amounted to economic blackmail. Seven Georgian wineries were closed down after the government revision revealed that they had produced falsified wine. In May 2005, Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili stated that many wine producers exported falsified wine to Russia, Okruashvili thought that Russia’s decision to ban the import of Georgian wines was not a surprise for Tbilisi. Russia accounted for 80% of Georgian wine sales, and the ban became a big blow to the industry, Georgian producers swiftly admitted that wines were regularly faked. Prior to the ban, the Georgian government closed down several testing laboratories in Georgia, seven Georgian wineries were closed down after the government revision revealed that they had produced falsified wine. Production of falsified wine in Georgia for the rapidly expanding Russian market had been big business for the last decade according to the Western press, the ban on wine imports came at a time of worsening relations between the countries. The differences involved the Rose Revolution and pro-NATO/pro-EU moves in Georgia, a year earlier, the Russian Duma had demanded a ban on Moldovan wine imports, because Moldova was considered to pursue anti-Russian policies. The president of NATO Parliamentary Assembly Pierre Lellouche also said, on May 5, from 5 May to 6 May 2006, the Russian government also banned the import of Borjomi and Nabeglavi, two popular brands of Georgian mineral water. The government claimed that it was a hazard since it failed to meet water purity standards. Neither the Georgian or Moldovan wines, nor the Borjomi or Nabeglavi mineral waters had been banned nor restricted in any other country besides Russia, one Russian expert has also criticized the Russian ban on Borjomi. The drink ban appeared to exacerbate tensions between Russia and the Government of Georgia, the 2008 South Ossetia war would occur later that year. Following the conflict, Georgia also withdrew from the Commonwealth of Independent States, Georgian wines are currently sold in over 50 countries, including Ukraine, which became the key market after the Russian ban. However, sales fell sharply, to one third of what Georgia exported prior to the ban. In early 2013, negotiations between Russian and Georgian authorities and wineries were held in Moscow, Russia agreed to send inspectors to about 60 wine producing facilities in Georgia. However, wine experts in Russia expect Georgian wines will enjoy limited interest in Russia, at about 1% market share. The main reason is that the market much more competitive since 2006, with many stronger local, Western European and South American wine brands
25.
2006 Kodori crisis
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The upper part of the Kodori Gorge was at that time the only portion of Abkhazia, Georgias breakaway republic, not controlled by the Abkhaz authorities. The Kodori Gorge, with its landscapes and rocky hills, lies in the Greater Caucasus mountains. After the ouster of Shevardnadze in the bloodless Rose Revolution in 2003, there have also been strong suspicions about Kvitsianis involvement in smuggling and other criminal activities like providing shelter to several criminal authorities, wanted by Georgian police. Attempts to negotiate a surrender went in vain and the militiamen declined an ultimatum sent by the Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili, the government of Georgia dispatched, on July 25, a strong detachment of police and security forces to disarm the defiant paramilitary leader. Information coming from the gorge had largely been scarce and unconfirmed as the officials refused to make any comment. Later on July 25, Alexandre Lomaia, the Minister of Education and Science, confirmed, according to a Georgian Rustavi 2 television, the rebels have allegedly been supplied with food and munitions by the Abkhaz military and the Russian peacekeeper forces stationed in Abkhazia. According to official accounts, governmental forces controlled most of the gorge as of late July 26, others, including Kvitsiani, hide out in the surrounding forests, several wounded and injured were reported on both sides. The death of a civilian in a shootout between the rebels and police was also confirmed and he also said, that the revolt was a provocation planned in a foreign country. As of late July 28, all villages in the gorge are controlled by the government forces, a huge amount of weapons and munitions have also been discovered in the gorge. Kvitsiani, according to Georgian claims, managed to escape to Sukhumi, both Russian and Abkhaz officials warned on July 25 and July 26, that the use of force in Kodori might lead to a new conflict in the region. The Georgian authorities deny the accusations, saying, that the only operating in the gorge are police and security services
26.
2007 Georgia helicopter incident
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The attack was at the village of Chkhalta and damaged a school and the government headquarters of the Georgian-backed Abkhaz government-in-exile. Russia denied any attacks and said all its aircraft near the area were grounded over the weekend and he said that he didnt want to make accusations against one particular side. The foreign minister has received instructions to contact his Russian counterpart and he further said that the helicopters, preliminarily identified as Mi-24 attack gunships, flew from Russian territory or, to be precise, from the territory of Kabardino-Balkaria. They made a circle above the villages of Upper Abkhazia, and as they were making a circle they dropped about 20 unguided rockets. Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Eka Sguladze made similar allegations in remarks to foreign diplomats that day, the deputy commander of Russias ground forces, Lieutenant General Valery Yevnevich responded that helicopters could not have flown over the Caucasus mountain range. From the Russian side, it is impossible for helicopters to find a passage to fly through because of the high mountains, mount Elbrus is over 5,000 meters high. Helicopters cannot fly over the Caucasus mountain range for technical reasons, abkhazia’s separatist leader Sergei Bagapsh denied any incident. A quadripartite Joint Fact-Finding Group was convened to investigate the incident, the JFFG, headed by the UN Observer Mission in Georgia, also involved representatives of Russian peacekeepers, and both the Georgian and Abkhaz sides. The interim report was released on April 2,2007, followed by a report on June 13. The report was inconclusive, but it confirmed that helicopters used multiple approaches from the north to reach the upper Kodori Gorge and it also ruled out the possibility of Georgias involvement in the incident. Georgia accused Russia of a incident in August 2007 when a missile was allegedly fired upon Georgian soil. Georgia pressed the UN Security Council to look into both the helicopter and the missile incident
27.
2007 Georgian demonstrations
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In 2007, a series of anti-government protests took place across Georgia. The demonstrations peaked on 2 November 2007, when 50, 000–100,000 rallied in downtown Tbilisi, people protested against the allegedly corrupt government of president Mikheil Saakashvili. Demonstrations occurred both in September and November 2007 and were largely peaceful. The government accused the Russian secret services of being involved in an attempted coup détat, on 8 November 2007, President Saakashvili announced a compromise solution to hold an early presidential election for 5 January 2008. He also proposed to hold a referendum in parallel to snap presidential elections about when to hold parliamentary polls – in spring as pushed for by the opposition parties, or in late 2008. It is said to have been the worst political crisis in Georgia since the Rose Revolution in 2003 that brought Saakashvilis government to power in the first place, Georgia in 2003 underwent a change of leadership that saw the coming to power of Mikheil Saakashvili in 2004. In 2006, the World Bank named Georgia as the top reformer in the world, despite the progress, a significant portion of Georgias population still live below the poverty line and Georgia is one of the poorest countries in the CIS. The opponents say the authorities use selective application of the law to political opponents. Saakashvili also inherited the issues of the Russian-backed unrecognized breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as of the time of the demonstrations, they were de facto independent but de jure part of Georgia. Saakashvili had made it part of his agenda to reincorporate them through peaceful means, others within Saakashvilis government, such as the defence minister Irakli Okruashvili had been pushing for a military solution for these de facto republics. Saaskashvili reassigned the portfolio of Okruashvili from defence to Minister of the Economy in November 2006 and it was believed that the reassignment came due to Okruashvili’s aggressive stance on the secessionist conflicts. Protests started on 28 September 2007, demonstrators were demanding early elections, more accountability and honesty in politics. Previously, former Georgian Minister of Defense and long-time critic of Moscows policy towards Georgia Irakly Okruashvili has lashed out at his former associate President Mikheil Saakashvili. Okruashvili had been sacked by the president, in November 2006, Okruashvili also claimed that the Georgian government had intentionally obscured the true reasons behind the death of former Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania. Zhvania had died while Prime Minister in February 2005, Okruashvili said that Zhvanias corpse had been taken to the apartment where he was found dead. Okruashvili retracted his statements and admitted to the charges raised against him on 8 October 2007 on television, Okruashvili left Georgia around 1 November 2007. He subsequently said he was forced into exile, the government said he left to seek medical treatment, the following April he was granted political asylum by the government of France. In September 2008, a French court rejected Georgias extradition request, Okruashvili has been described as a likely candidate to replace Saakashvili, if and when Georgian public opinion turns against the president
28.
Russo-Georgian War
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The Russo-Georgian War was a war between Georgia, Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The war took place in August 2008 following a period of worsening relations between Russia and Georgia, both constituent republics of the Soviet Union. The fighting took place in the strategically important Transcaucasia region, which borders the Middle East and it was regarded as the first European war of the 21st century. The Republic of Georgia declared its independence in early 1991 as the Soviet Union began to fall apart, following the war, a joint peacekeeping force of Georgian, Russian, and Ossetian troops was stationed in the territory. Meanwhile, a stalemate developed in the region of Abkhazia. By August 1,2008, Ossetian separatists began shelling Georgian villages, to put an end to these deadly attacks and restore order, the Georgian Army was sent to the South Ossetian conflict zone on 7 August. Georgians took control of most of Tskhinvali, a separatist stronghold, Georgia later stated it was also responding to Russia moving non-peacekeeping units into the country. Russia accused Georgia of aggression against South Ossetia, and launched a land, air. Russian and Ossetian forces battled Georgian forces in and around South Ossetia for several days, Russian and Abkhaz forces opened a second front by attacking the Kodori Gorge held by Georgia. Russian naval forces blockaded part of the Georgian coast and this was the first war in history in which cyber warfare coincided with military action. An active information war was waged during and after the conflict. President of France Nicolas Sarkozy negotiated an agreement on 12 August. Russian forces temporarily occupied the Georgian cities of Zugdidi, Senaki, Poti, the South Ossetians destroyed most ethnic Georgian villages in South Ossetia and were responsible for an ethnic cleansing of Georgians. Russia recognised Abkhazia and South Ossetia as separate republics on 26 August, in response, Russia mostly completed its withdrawal of troops from Georgia proper on 8 October. In the aftermath, Russias international relations were largely unharmed, the war displaced 192,000 people and while many returned to their homes after the war,20,272 people remained displaced as of 2014. Russia has, since the war, occupied Abkhazia and South Ossetia in violation of the agreement of August 2008. In the tenth century AD, Georgia for the first time emerged as a concept in the territories where the Georgian language was used to perform Christian rituals. After the Mongol invasions of the region, the Kingdom of Georgia eventually was broken up into several kingdoms, in the nineteenth century, the Russian Empire gradually annexed the Georgian lands
29.
2011 Georgian protests
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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 Saakashvilis resignation, in the southwestern town of Batumi some demonstrations also occurred with some protesters attempting to break into television building. Nino Burjanadze, a speaker and leader of the Democratic Movement-United Georgia party, has been a lead figure in the demonstrations. The protesters in Batumi briefly clashed with police, Burjanadze stated that one of the aims of the protesters was to prevent a parade commemorating Independence Day on 26 May 1918 from taking place in Freedom Square in Tbilisi. On 26 May at about 00,15, Georgian police began to suppress the protests with tear gas and rubber bullets, Burjanadze apparently fled in a motorcade which ran over one protester and one policeman. On the 28 May, a demonstration was held with thousands of participants. There have been 105 other arrests of protesters, Mikheil Saakashvilli stated that he believed the protestors were backed by Russia, and that they provoked the violence
30.
Western world
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The Western world or the West is a term usually referring to different nations, depending on the context, most often including at least part of Europe. There are many accepted definitions about what they all have in common, the Western world is also known as the Occident. The concept of the Western part of the earth has its roots in Greco-Roman civilization in Europe, before the Cold War era, the traditional Western viewpoint identified Western Civilization with the Western Christian countries and culture. Its political usage was changed by the antagonism during the Cold War in the mid-to-late 20th Century. The term originally had a literal geographic meaning, Western culture was influenced by many older great civilizations of the ancient Near East, such as Phoenicia, Minoan Crete, Sumer, Babylonia, and also Ancient Egypt. It originated in the Mediterranean basin and its vicinity, Greece, over time, their associated empires grew first to the east and west to include the rest of Mediterranean and Black Sea coastal areas, conquering and absorbing. Later, they expanded to the north of the Mediterranean Sea to include Western, Central, numerous times, this expansion was accompanied by Christian missionaries, who attempted to proselytize Christianity. There is debate among some as to whether Latin America is in a category of its own, specifically, Western culture may imply, a Biblical Christian cultural influence in spiritual thinking, customs and either ethic or moral traditions, around the Post-Classical Era and after. European cultural influences concerning artistic, musical, folkloric, ethic and oral traditions, the concept of Western culture is generally linked to the classical definition of the Western world. In this definition, Western culture is the set of literary, scientific, political, artistic, much of this set of traditions and knowledge is collected in the Western canon. The term has come to apply to countries whose history is marked by European immigration or settlement, such as the Americas, and Oceania. The geopolitical divisions in Europe that created a concept of East and West originated in the Roman Empire, Roman Catholic Western and Central Europe, as such, maintained a distinct identity particularly as it began to redevelop during the Renaissance. Even following the Protestant Reformation, Protestant Europe continued to see itself as more tied to Roman Catholic Europe than other parts of the civilized world. Use of the term West as a cultural and geopolitical term developed over the course of the Age of Exploration as Europe spread its culture to other parts of the world. Additionally, closer contacts between the West and Asia and other parts of the world in recent times have continued to cloud the use, herodotus considered the Persian Wars of the early 5th century BC a conflict of Europa versus Asia. The terms West and East were not used by any Greek author to describe that conflict, the Great Schism and the Fourth Crusade confirmed this deviation. The Renaissance in the West emerged partly from currents within the Roman Empire, Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a city-state founded on the Italian Peninsula about the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. In its 12-century existence, Roman civilization shifted from a monarchy, to a republic, nonetheless, despite its great legacy, a number of factors led to the eventual decline of the Roman Empire
31.
President of Georgia
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The President of Georgia is the head of state, supreme commander-in-chief, and holder of the highest office within the Government of Georgia. Executive power is split between the President and the Prime Minister, who is the head of government, the office was first introduced by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia on 14 April 1991, five days after Georgias declaration of independence from the Soviet Union. The President serves a five-year term, the incumbent is Giorgi Margvelashvili, who was sworn in on 17 November 2013. The President of Georgia is Head of State, the President is a guarantor of national independence and unity of the country. He/she ensures the functioning of state bodies in accordance with the Constitution, the President is the representative of Georgia in foreign relations. The President of Georgia is elected on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot, the President may not be elected for more than two consecutive terms. Appoints and dismisses military commanders in agreement with the government, the president of Georgia issue decrees, edicts, and ordinances, also orders as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Georgia, to exercise constitutional powers. The President of Georgia also exercises other powers defined in the Constitution, legal acts of the president require countersignature from the Prime Minister. Any legal act of the President that requires countersigning shall be promulgated, in the case of countersignature, the responsibility for legal acts shall rest with the Government. During his/her period in office, he/she may not be arrested, in the event that the President violates the Constitution, betrays the state or commits other crimes, Parliament may remove him/her from office with the approval of the Constitutional Court. Security of the President of Georgia is provided by the Special State Protection Service, copies of the standard are used inside the Presidents office, at the Chancellery Building, other state agencies, and as a car flag on vehicles bearing the President within Georgian territory. In the nationwide elections to this post, on 26 May 1991, Gamsakhurdia won a landslide victory, Gamsakhurdia was ousted in a military coup détat in January 1992. He continued to function as a president-in-exile until his death in a attempt to regain power in December 1993. In the post-coup absence of power, a position of the Head of State was introduced for Georgias new leader Eduard Shevardnadze on 10 March 1992. After the adoption of a new Constitution on 24 August 1995, Shevardnadze was elected to presidency on 5 November 1995, and reelected on 9 April 2000. He resigned under pressure of mass known as Rose Revolution on 23 November 2003. After Nino Burjanadzes brief tenure as an Acting President, Mikheil Saakashvili was elected on 4 January 2004 and he was reelected on 5 January 2008. For leaders before independence, see List of leaders of Georgia Presidential Administration of Georgia Official Site of the President of Georgia
32.
Soviet Union
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The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states
33.
Georgian presidential election, 2004
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A presidential election was held in the Republic of Georgia on January 4,2004. The election followed the resignation of former President Eduard Shevardnadze, as expected, the main opposition leader, Mikhail Saakashvili, was soon shown by exit polls to be heading for an overwhelming victory. According to preliminary results issued on January 6 by Georgias Central Election Commission, the other candidates received less than 2% each. Georgian law requires a 50% turnout for elections to be valid, early on January 5 Saakashvili claimed victory, although no official figures had been released at that time. He thanked his supporters, who were gathered in the Philharmonic Hall in Tbilisi, the whole of Georgia has won, he said. Saakashvili was inaugurated as President in Tbilisi on January 25,2004
34.
Georgian parliamentary election, 2004
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Legislative elections were held in the Georgia on March 28,2004. The elections followed the annulment of the November 2003 legislative elections, new elections were ordered following the resignation of Shevardnadze and the election of President Mikhail Saakashvili in January 2004. The elections were won by the National Movement - Democrats, the party supporting President Mikhail Saakashvili, the NMD won 67% of the vote, while no other party won more than 7. 6%. As a result, the NMD won most of the 130 seats elected by proportional representation in the Georgian Parliament, of the 20 parties contesting the elections, only the NMD and the Right Opposition bloc polled more than 7% of the vote, the threshold necessary to gain representation. These voting figures come from German Wikipedia and Civil. ge, the new Georgian Parliament will also include 85 members elected from single-member constituencies, who were elected in the November 2003 elections and have not been required to face re-election. The Right Opposition is a center-right pro-business alliance led by David Gamkrelidze, at a press conference, Saakashvili said, I think the people have given their verdict. I am not pleased that there is not more opposition representation, but that is the reality, the post-revolutionary reality. A preliminary report by observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe praised the conduct of the elections, the 28 March 2004 repeat parliamentary election in Georgia demonstrated commendable progress in relation to previous elections. However, in the wake of the events of November 2003, the consolidation of the democratic election process will only be fully tested in a more competitive environment, once a genuine level of political pluralism is re-established. This was called the vote tabulation. Figures released by ISFED on March 31 showed results almost identical to those released by the CEC
35.
Enlargement of NATO
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Enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is the process of including new member states in NATO. NATO is an alliance of twenty-six European and two North American countries that constitutes a system of collective defense. The process of joining the alliance is governed by Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which allows only for the invitation of other European States, countries wishing to join have to meet certain requirements and complete a multi-step process involving political dialogue and military integration. The accession process is overseen by the North Atlantic Council, NATOs governing body, after its formation in 1949 with twelve founding members, NATO grew by including Greece and Turkey in 1952 and West Germany in 1955, and then later Spain in 1982. After the Cold War ended, and Germany reunited in 1990, in 1999, Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic joined the organization, amid much debate within the organization and Russian opposition. Another expansion came with the accession of seven Central and Eastern European countries, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and these nations were first invited to start talks of membership during the 2002 Prague summit, and joined NATO shortly before the 2004 Istanbul summit. The most recent new members, Albania and Croatia, joined on 1 April 2009, in 2011, NATO officially recognized four aspiring members, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Macedonia, and Montenegro. Macedonia has been prevented from joining the alliance by Greece, one effect of the Macedonian naming dispute, the incorporation of countries formerly in the Eastern Bloc has been a cause of increased tension between NATO countries and Russia. NATO has added new members six times since its founding in 1949 to include twenty-eight members. Twelve countries were part of the founding of NATO, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The early years of the Cold War saw a stark divide between Capitalist ideologies, backed by NATO, and Communist satellite states of the Soviet Union and this divide encouraged the anti-Communist governments of Greece and Turkey to join NATO in 1952. Greece would suspend its membership in 1974, over the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the Bonn–Paris conventions ended the allies occupation of West Germany, and were ratified in part on the basis that West Germany join NATO, which it did in 1955. Though initially isolationist, Spain under Francisco Franco was heavily anti-Communist, after its transition to democracy, Spain came under pressure to normalize its European relations, including joining NATO, which it did in 1982. A referendum in 1986 confirmed popular support for this, the first post-Cold War expansion of NATO came with German reunification on 3 October 1990, when the former East Germany became part of the Federal Republic of Germany and the alliance. This had been agreed in the Two Plus Four Treaty earlier in the year, other authors, such as Mark Kramer, have also highlighted that in 1990 neither side imagined that countries still technically in the Warsaw Pact or the Soviet Union could one day join NATO. In subsequent years, wider forums for regional cooperation between NATO and its neighbors were set up, including the North Atlantic Cooperation Council. Hungarys interest in joining was confirmed by a November 1997 referendum that returned 85.3 percent in favor of membership, russias actions in the First Chechen War were also a motivating factor for several countries that had memories of similar Soviet offensives. Russia was particularly upset with the addition of the three Baltic states, the first countries that were part of the Soviet Union to join NATO
36.
Union of Citizens of Georgia
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It was established in the mid-1990s as a vehicle for modernising politicians. It became the majority grouping in the Georgian parliament following the elections of November 1995. The controversy eventually led to the Citizens Union splitting into three opposing factions, with alleged corruption among senior party members at the centre of the dispute, in June 2002, Zurab Zhvania left the Citizens Union to set up his own party. Parliamentary Speaker Nino Burjanadze also left the Citizens Union to join forces with Zhvania and, eventually, by June 2003, five opposition parties had established a United National Movement to provide a focus for opposition to the Citizens Union. The Citizens Union was at the centre of the crisis of November 2003. On November 23, massive popular demonstrations forced Shevardnadze to resign, the election results were subsequently annulled and fresh elections were scheduled for 2004. The party was member of the Socialist International
37.
New Rights
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The New Rights Party, also translated as New Conservative Party, is a liberal conservative party in Georgia. It is a member of the International Democrat Union and applicant of the European Peoples Party. On December 8,2008, the New Rights Party joined the Republican Party of Georgia in a new opposition alliance, both parties united in The Alliance for Georgia led by Irakli Alasania, Georgias ex-envoy to the United Nations in February 2009. After formation, despite small membership, the New Faction managed to change the situation in the Parliament. On June 15,2001, on the basis of the New Faction, New Movement, and Neo-Conservative Union, levan Gachechiladze was elected as NRP chairman and David Gamkrelidze as co-chairman. In only a year from its formation, the New Rights Party achieved considerable results, in the local elections held on June 2,2002, NRP came out first nationwide and third in Tbilisi. After the victory in the elections, the party set itself preparing for the parliamentary elections. A few months prior to the November 2,2003 parliamentary elections, the New Conservatives managed to successfully overcome the established seven percent threshold. A number of parties boycotted the November 2,2003 election results accusing the authorities of fraud and this triggered fierce public discontent nationwide, which eventually resulted in the toppling of Shevardnadze’s regime in the Rose Revolution. Despite the just outrage of the people, the NRP considered it unacceptable that the government should be changed by means of street demonstrations, participating in the repeat elections of 2004, the New Conservatives passed the seven percent threshold once again. The NRP united with another center-right party – Industry will Save Georgia – and formed a Coalition Right Opposition
38.
Non-governmental organization
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A non-governmental organization is a not-for-profit organization that is independent from states and international governmental organizations. They are usually funded by donations but some avoid formal funding altogether and are run primarily by volunteers, NGOs are highly diverse groups of organizations engaged in a wide range of activities, and take different forms in different parts of the world. Some may have charitable status, while others may be registered for tax exemption based on recognition of social purposes, others may be fronts for political, religious, or other interests. The number of NGOs worldwide is estimated to be 3.7 million, India is estimated to have had around 2 million NGOs in 2009, just over one NGO per 600 Indians, and many times the number of primary schools and primary health centres in India. China is estimated to have approximately 440,000 officially registered NGOs, NGOs are difficult to define, and the term NGO is not always used consistently. In some countries the term NGO is applied to an organization that in another country would be called an NPO, there are many different classifications of NGO in use. The most common focus is on orientation and level of operation, an NGOs orientation refers to the type of activities it takes on. These activities might include human rights, environmental, improving health, an NGOs level of operation indicates the scale at which an organization works, such as local, regional, national, or international. The term non-governmental organization was first coined in 1945, when the United Nations was created, later the term became used more widely. One characteristic these diverse organizations share is that their non-profit status means they are not hindered by short-term financial objectives. Accordingly, they are able to devote themselves to issues which occur across longer time horizons, such as change, malaria prevention. Public surveys reveal that NGOs often enjoy a degree of public trust. NGO/GRO types can be understood by their orientation and level of how they operate, charitable orientation often involves a top-down paternalistic effort with little participation by the beneficiaries. It includes NGOs with activities directed toward meeting the needs of the poor people, in the classical community development project, participation begins with the need definition and continues into the planning and implementation stages. There is maximum involvement of the beneficiaries with NGOs acting as facilitators, community-based organizations arise out of peoples own initiatives. They can be responsible for raising the consciousness of the poor, helping them to understand their rights in accessing needed services. City-wide organizations include organizations such as chambers of commerce and industry, coalitions of business, ethnic or educational groups, national NGOs include national organizations such as the YMCAs/YWCAs, professional associations and similar groups. Some have state and city branches and assist local NGOs and they can be responsible for funding local NGOs, institutions and projects and implementing projects
39.
George Soros
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George Soros is a Hungarian-American investor, business magnate, and philanthropist. Soros is considered by some to be one of the most successful investors in the world, as of February 2017, Soros has a net worth of $25.2 billion making him one of the 30 richest people in the world. Born in Budapest, he escaped Nazi Germany-occupied Hungary and emigrated to England in 1947 and he attended the London School of Economics graduating with a bachelors and eventually a masters in philosophy. He began his business career by taking jobs at merchant banks before starting his first hedge fund, Double Eagle. Profits from his first fund furnished the money to start Soros Fund Management, his second hedge fund. Double Eagle was renamed the Quantum Fund and was the principal firm Soros advised, at its founding, the Quantum Fund had $12 million in assets under management, and as of 2011 it had $25 billion, the majority of his overall net worth. He is a supporter of American progressive and American liberal political causes and dispenses his donations through his foundation. Between 1979 and 2011 Soros donated more than $11 billion to philanthropic causes. Soros was born in Budapest in the Kingdom of Hungary to a well-to-do non-observant Jewish family, Soros has described his home as anti-Semitic. His mother Elizabeth came from a family owned a thriving silk shop. His father Tivadar was a lawyer and had been a prisoner of war during and after World War I until he escaped from Russia, Tivadar was an Esperantist writer and taught Soros to speak Esperanto in his childhood. In 1936 Soross family changed their name from the German-Jewish Schwartz to Soros, Tivadar liked the new name because it is a palindrome and because of its meaning. In Hungarian, soros means next in line, or designated successor, Soros was 13 years old in March 1944 when Nazi Germany occupied Hungary. Jewish children were barred from attending school by the Nazis, and Soros, Soros later described this time to writer Michael Lewis, The Jewish Council asked the little kids to hand out the deportation notices. I was told to go to the Jewish Council, and there I was given these small slips of paper. I took this piece of paper to my father and this was a list of Hungarian Jewish lawyers. He said, You deliver the slips of paper and tell the people if they report they will be deported. Soros did not return to that job, his family purchased documents to say that they were Christians, thereby allowing them to survive the war
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