They should be left in do doubt that we consider
Shevardnadze's remarks a pretty blatant propaganda ploy."
Gorbachev was one of the first to comment on
Shevardnadze's passing.
Nazarbayev conveyed his condolences to the family and relatives of
Shevardnadze saying he was an outstanding son of the Georgian nation and a far-sighted politician whose contribution to the development of his country is vast.
Charm and quick wit set
Shevardnadze apart from his predecessors as the Soviet Union's face to the world.
Both, ex-President, Eduard
Shevardnadze and incumbent President, Mikheil Saakashvili, were invited to the inaugural
Shevardnadze pointed to the age-old relations between Iran and Georgia, and reiterated the necessity for Tehran and Tbilisi to further increase their mutual cooperation.
For our story, however, the big event was the "Rose Revolution" of 2003, which deposed President Eduard
Shevardnadze after parliamentary elections that independent observers found riddled with fraud.
BIRTHDAYS: Eduard
Shevardnadze, former leader of Georgia, 84; Angela Thorne, actress, 73; Tom Paulin, poet and critic, 63; Emma Freud, broadcaster, 50; David Ginola, former footballer, 45; Ana Ortiz, actress, 41; Alicia Keys (pictured), singer, 31; Francis Jeffers, footballer, 31.
Yet when a new government led by former Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard
Shevardnadze came to power in 1995, it quickly canceled all previous energy contracts in order to make deals with larger, multinational companies.
As a result, President Eduard
Shevardnadze was forced to resign on November 23, 2003, after he had attempted to open a new session of parliament.
Stefes: Let me first state that my research on corruption in Georgia focused primarily on the
Shevardnadze era.
He focuses mostly on the
Shevardnadze period, and especially on the unnecessary and tragic disaster of the war in Abkhazia, which he says continues to haunt the country even now.