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Period: to
Georgia After the Cold War
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Russian intervention of peaceful protest
Russian troops were used to break up a peaceful demonstration at the government building in Tbilisi, Geprgoa. Twenty Georgian's were killed and hundreds wounded and poisoned. The event radicalized Georgian politics and prompted many--even some Georgian communists--to conclude that independence was preferable to continued Soviet rule.
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Georgia Civil War
In 1996, Georgia and its breakaway region of South Ossetia agreed to a cessation of hostilities in their six-year conflict. -
Georgia gains independence
Formal independence from the Soviet Union was declared and took some time before it was widely recognized by outside powers such as the United States and European countries. Given that the Soviet Union relied heavily on secondary economies, Georgia's newly acquired independence would deal a crippling blow to the Soviet Union's stagnant economy. This crippling blow further worsened civilian life and exacerbate the already existing social and political cynicism the populous held.
https://www.cia. -
Zviad Gamsakhurdia becomes President
On May 26, 1991, Zviad Gamsakhurdia was elected the president. Gamsakhurdia was an advocate for Georgian independence and called for the removal of USSR troops within Georgian borders. In addition, Gamsakhurdia was a human rights activist as his acts of protest are often met with arrests.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1102575.stm -
Second President of Georgia
The new government invited Eduard Shevardnadze to become the head of a State Council - in effect, president - in March 1992, putting a moderate face on the somewhat unsavoury regime that had been established following Gamsakhurdia's ouster. -
Georgia civil War begains
In 1992, the government engaged in armed conflict with separatists in the breakaway province of Abkhazia. USSR supports the government in order to quell the separatists.
http://www.aboutgeorgia.ge/history/index.html?page=12 -
Fighting in Abkhazia escalates
In August 1992, a separatist dispute in the Georgian autonomous republic of Abkhazia escalated when government forces and paramilitaries were sent into the area to quell separatist activities. The Abkhaz fought back with help from paramilitaries from Russia's North Caucasus regions and alleged covert support from Russian military stationed in a base in Gudauta and Abkhazia
http://www.aboutgeorgia.ge/history/index.html?page=12 -
Abkhaz Disaster
In September 1993 the government forces suffered a catastrophic defeat which led to them being driven out and the entire Georgian population of the region being expelled. Around 14,000 people died and another 300,000 were forced to flee. Ethnic violence also flared in South Ossetia but was eventually quelled, although at the cost of several hundred casualties and 100,000 refugees fleeing into Russian-controlled North Ossetia.
http://www.aboutgeorgia.ge/history/index.html?page=11 -
Gamsakhurdia returns to start an uprising
On September 24, 1993, in the wake of the Abkhaz disaster, Zviad Gamsakhurdia returned from exile to organise an uprising against the government. His supporters were able to capitalise on the disarray of the government forces and quickly overran much of western Georgia. This alarmed Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and units of the Russian Army were sent into Georgia to assist the government.
http://www.aboutgeorgia.ge/history/index.html?page=12 -
Death of Gamsakhuridia's
Gamsakhurdia's rebellion quickly collapsed and he died on December 31, 1993, apparently after being cornered by his enemies. In a highly controversial agreement, Shevardnadze's government agreed that it would join the CIS as part of the price for military and political support. The organization effectively marked the end of the Soviet Union.
http://www.aboutgeorgia.ge/history/index.html?page=12 -
Russia and Georgia cooperation treaty
In 1994, Russia and Georgia signed a cooperation treaty that authorized Russia to keep three military bases in Georgia and allowed Russians to train and equip the Georgian army.
http://www.aboutgeorgia.ge/history/index.html?page=12 -
Georgia and Russia relations begain to fall apart
In 1997, Parliament voted overwhelmingly to threaten Russia with loss of its military bases, should it fail to extend Russian military control over the separatist region.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1102575.stm
