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November 16, 2009

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Georgian Political History at a Glance

AP

Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2007 | 10:56 a.m.

- POST-SOVIET BLUES: Peaceful demonstrations in 1989 turned violent, with Soviet troops killing protesters. Shortly before official Soviet breakup in 1991, Zviad Gamsakhurdia was elected as first post-Soviet president but was deposed in 1992, prompting years of government infighting. The regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke away from government control.

- ROSE REVOLUTION: Years of dissatisfaction with Gamsakhurdia's successor, former Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze, came to a head in late 2003 amid allegations of vote fraud. Protesters led by Mikhail Saakashvili stormed parliament and forced Shevardnadze to resign. Saakashvili was later elected president.

- ROSE REVOLUTION REDUX?: Impatience with Saakashvili bolstered opposition groups, and sensational accusations leveled by a former defense minister in September roiled the country. Anti-government protests stretching into their sixth day were violently broken up by riot police, and Saakashvili declared a state of emergency.

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