Eduard Shevardnadze: biography, political career, photo, causes of death. Eduard Shevardnadze - biography, information, personal life
Shevardnadze's overseas eyes and ears
As the leader of Georgia, Shevardnadze makes political decisions, the drafts of which are prepared by his inner circle. However, it is obvious that his entourage does not represent any close-knit group of like-minded people, although it is formed mainly on the principle of personal devotion to the leader and professional competence.
It is noted that after moving to Georgia in 1991 and several assassination attempts, Shevardnadze does not trust local personnel and is very scrupulous about the persons who are recommended to him for work in his personal administration. Therefore, constant rotation of personnel is the norm for the presidential entourage.
According to intelligence services, the only channel of influence on Shevardnadze in recent years is the Tbilisi station of the US CIA, operating under the “roof” of the American embassy. This body is operationally subordinate to the recently recreated Caspian Department of the CIA Operations Directorate. The area of responsibility of this unit includes the territories of states (including the former “USSR”) adjacent to the Caspian Sea.
Taking into account the openly pro-American foreign policy course that Shevardnadze has been pursuing for many years, this unit has stable operational positions in Georgia, which are constantly expanding and extending to the entire area of responsibility of the Caspian Department.
In addition, a group of American advisers on political and economic issues, which is mainly staffed by specialists from American intelligence agencies, is actively working in the Shevardnadze administration.
It is through this group, with the participation of the Tbilisi CIA station, that Shevardnadze’s constant interaction with the top US leadership is carried out, including informal contacts with President Clinton and Secretary of State M. Albright.
According to diplomats in the United States and Georgia, Shevardnadze, not only in words, but also in deeds, seeks to turn Georgia into a stronghold of American national interests in the Caucasus. There is confirmed confidential information about Georgia’s readiness to provide its territory for the deployment of US and NATO military bases, including the creation of infrastructure for the emergency transfer (by air and sea) of American rapid deployment forces to the Caucasus.
CIA special program - to keep Shevardnadze in power
In August 1993, 45-year-old American Fred Woodroffe, a foreign adviser to the head of Georgia, was killed with a single shot near Tbilisi. It was then that it turned out that the American was a career officer of the US Central Intelligence Agency. The Canadian newspaper “Toronto Star” on August 16, 1993, under the headline “Death of Agent Reveals Exotic Intelligence Connections,” reported the details of this sensation: for the first time, the US government does not deny the fact that the murdered man is indeed an intelligence agent and that he was on a mission while in a foreign country CIA. Thus, Woodroffe’s death, the Toronto Star stated, confirms the press report that US President Bill Clinton, by secret order, instructed the CIA and special armed forces - commandos - to carry out a special program implying the intention to keep Eduard SHEVARDNADZE in power.
What kind of policy should Shevardnaday, known in the West as a “particularly reliable politician” who played a very important role “in the death of the eastern empire”, pursue under the protection of American commandos? To answer this question, I would like to quote an excerpt from a secret message from a foreign source of the Russian intelligence services:
“The United States is currently paying special attention to strengthening its influence on government circles in Georgia and Armenia. For this purpose, various kinds of advisers and specialists are sent to the region, usually with family ties here. Some of them undergo preliminary training at secret “points” of the CIA. The activities of such individuals are aimed primarily at destabilizing the situation in Georgia and Armenia, instigating conflicts on their borders in order to introduce American troops into the region under the guise of “blue helmets”, and then deploy tactical troops there. nuclear weapon. As for Russia, the United States is seeking to bring under its control the issues of reducing and destroying its strategic nuclear forces in order to subsequently dictate its terms, having tactical potential in the Caucasus. There is an opinion in the United States that such a strategic line was developed by the Bush administration and will be imposed on Clinton, since large financial “bosses” and the military-industrial complex behind them are interested in this.”
KGB Major General Vyacheslav Shironin,
"KGB-CIA secret springs of perestroika",
Moscow, 1997
Not remembering his kinship
E. Shevardnadze is a Gurian by origin (a native of Western Georgia). He does not maintain ties with his historical homeland or relatives and avoids attempts by fellow countrymen to establish any kind of contact with him. This line of behavior is very unusual for this ethnic group, which is traditionally distinguished by stable clan-compatriot ties both in Georgia and abroad.
Shevardnadze does not have any stable kinship or family ties. There are no contacts with childhood friends, fellow students at the institute, or work together while holding responsible positions. In this regard, there is an opinion that Shevardnadze has no friends in principle, for him there are only people who are profitable or not profitable from a political point of view.
A person who has known the Shevardnadze family for a long time notes that Shevardnadze himself never sought to revive long-forgotten friendly ties or help any of his old friends.
There is a known case when one of his comrades at the institute, who found himself involved in a banal criminal story, turned to Shevardnadze (at that time a member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee) for help. Shevardnadze's reaction turned out to be peculiar - he authorized the criminal prosecution of his friend and his severe punishment in court.
The only person whose opinion and advice Shevardnadze listens to is the State Minister (Prime Minister) of Georgia V. Lordkipanidze. However, their relationship cannot be called close and trusting.
Money is not gods, but it helps you live
According to circles opposed to the Shevardnadze regime, he is directly related to the development and implementation of the concept of pumping Russian money to Georgia. For this purpose, various levers of influence are used - from “democratic” and “reform” forces in Russia to nationally oriented Georgian organized crime communities active on its territory.
According to various estimates, the volume of these operations is several times higher than the revenue side of the Georgian budget. And this process, actually elevated to the rank of national policy, has in recent years become the most important source of financing for Georgia.
Daughter of Manana
Shevardnadze's daughter - Manana - oversees the work of Georgian national television, including its political direction and financing. Her personal life is unsettled. Has a tendency to abuse alcohol and drugs. Periodically goes on sprees, often changing partners.
"President - 2000"
At the presidential elections in April 2000, he will again deceive everyone and again declare himself the president of Georgia. To achieve this goal, he goes to any lengths - violence, blackmail, provocations, use of military force, threat to start civil war. He and his people declare that they “will not give up power, even if they have to shed blood.” Of the 2,587 thousand voters, there are currently up to one million voters in Georgia. The same amount is located on the territory Russian Federation. But Shevardnadze did not allow Georgian citizens located outside its borders to participate in voting. He plans to steal the votes of non-participating and non-Georgian voters. And there are one and a half million of them. Shevardnadze seized power with blood and destruction of the country, and he will never give it up. If there are observers from the Russian Federation at the elections in Georgia, they will be in the minority, and what observers can decide.
Boris Kakubava,
member of the Georgian parliament
Inconvenient question
I want to ask the Russians: is it true that the “perestroikaists” are responsible for the collapse Soviet Union received huge monetary “rewards” from the West? That part of Shevardnadze’s money is kept in German banks, part of the money was allegedly spent on the acquisition of two oil fields in Kazakhstan, and the main amount is in his son’s accounts in Swiss banks?
Boris Kakubava,
member of the Georgian parliament
Clan money
There is a lot of talk about the reasons for Shevardnadze's pro-Western orientation. According to operational data from Russian intelligence services, for example, the Austrian company ABV, which has former USSR Six high-class hotels were built (in particular, the Palace Hotel and Marco Polo Presnya in Moscow), financed by the clan of the President of Georgia under the guise of profit distribution. The president’s ill-wishers also claim that the Shevardnadze clan is trying to infiltrate the sphere of oil and gas transit from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan through Georgia.
The opposition accuses
The opposition accuses Shevardnadze of intensifying contacts with Chechen separatists who are seeking communication with the leaders of the Transcaucasian republics to develop joint actions aimed at weakening Russia's role in the Caucasus
Now the Chechens are creating many joint ventures with the Turks on Georgian territory. According to Russian intelligence services, contacts of Wahhabis in Georgia are provided by a certain Nukhaev, the initiator of the Caucasian common market. Since 1985, Nukhaev has been one of the leaders of the Chechen group in Moscow. In 1995, through a major Georgian authority, N. Lekishvili, he met the Shevardnadze family.
No rules without exceptions
A small touch to the question of E. Shevardnadze’s integrity and integrity. It is known that for Soviet diplomats who worked as officials international organizations, including the UN, for many years there was a strict rule: they were obliged to hand over to the state that part of their salary in foreign currency that exceeded a certain established level, for example the foreign currency salary of a counselor at the USSR Embassy in Washington. As soon as the son of USSR Foreign Minister E. Shevardnadze Paata began to apply for a job at the UN, this rule was canceled. The Shevardnadze children literally got an apartment in Paris for next to nothing. Who paid for it and how?
Very strange logic
For the current leadership of Georgia, everything is an object of bargaining, if, of course, it fits into their personal interests. The center is unable to subordinate the customs office located on the territory of Adjara in Sarpi, on the border with Turkey, to its narrow selfish interests. We thought for a long time and finally came up with an idea - they announced a tender for control of Georgian customs. The commission for assessing foreign participants in the tender included ministers and chairmen of some parliamentary committees, who are completely subordinate to Shevardnadze. Three foreign companies became finalists of the competition, and the winner was an English company, which took only third place in the semi-finals. Three questions immediately arose:
1) Why should a foreign company control the flow of goods at Georgian customs?
2) How did it happen that the company that took third place in the semi-finals turned out to be the winner?
3) If the services of such companies are so important, then why does the UK itself, where this company is registered, not use its services?
Similar questions were raised by deputies in parliament itself. However, there are still no clear answers from those who organized the sale of sections of state borders.
The government of the country began to trade the state border. You see, the presence of Russian border guards guarding the Georgian border was considered by Tbilisi as a fact incompatible with the independence of Georgia, and control of the customs border by some foreign company was a normal phenomenon for them, completely compatible with the independence of the country. Very strange logic.
OH. Abashidze,
Doctor of Law,
Professor
Shevardnadze: “Caucasian House” - like Uncle Sam
As tensions around Chechnya grow, the Georgian leadership, led by E. Shevardnadze, takes an increasingly pronounced anti-Russian position and actually turns into the main conductor of US and NATO interests in the Caucasus. This is evidenced by the following facts.
1. Shevardnadze has repeatedly stated Georgia’s desire to become a NATO member if he retains his post following the results of the future presidential elections (scheduled for April 2000). The task of securing accession to NATO has been elevated to the rank of the country's highest national interests. In the interests of its implementation, the Georgian leadership began to implement a number of measures aimed at creating an appropriate political and material base.
In addition, the two-day visit of the Pope to Georgia on November 8-9 of this year, organized personally by Shevardnadze, is intended to promote the rapprochement of Georgia with NATO.
2. There has been a steady tendency to curtail military and military-technical cooperation between Georgia and Russia and reorient it towards cooperation with the West. Now this trend is manifested in the form of sending Georgian military personnel to study in the United States and countries Western Europe, in increasing the number and scale of joint exercises of the Georgian Armed Forces and NATO, in the active invitation by the Georgian side of various kinds of Western military experts, specialists, observers, etc., who are involved in reforming the Georgian armed forces according to “Western” standards.
Only during the current year, Georgia signed closed agreements on cooperation of its intelligence services with similar structures of the United States, Turkey and a number of other NATO member countries. The content of these documents shows that almost all agreements are anti-Russian in nature.
At the same time, the attempts of the Russian side, taking into account the situation in Chechnya, to conclude agreements on interaction with the Georgian special services do not find an adequate response. The latest example is Tbilisi’s refusal to assist the Russian border department and the Ministry of Defense in covering the Chechen section of the Russian-Georgian border, and the Georgian side’s outright disruption of the visits of Russian Defense Minister Sergeev and Russian Federal Border Guard Director Totsky to Tbilisi in early November of this year.
3. The political intentions of the Georgian leadership are manifested in the persistent “squeezing out” of the Russian peacekeeping contingent from the zone of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. An agreement has already been reached between the Georgian government and the military-political leadership of NATO that the resolution of the “Abkhazian” problem will be carried out through their joint efforts according to the “Bosnian” option, with the gradual minimization of Russia’s participation in this process.
In parallel, the Georgian leadership, in favor of the interests of the United States and NATO, advocates the elimination of the Russian military and border presence in Georgia. Under any circumstances, Shevardnadze intends to liquidate within a year all military bases of the Russian Armed Forces on Georgian territory, the presence of which is stipulated by a number of bilateral agreements in 1992-96. Currently, the situation around these facilities is such that, on instructions from Tbilisi, they have actually become blocked.
4. Georgia refused the services of the Russian Federal Border Guard Service to protect its external borders. At the same time, Shevardnadze “with satisfaction” accepted the US-initiated program of assistance in creating a customs and border control system in Georgia (the amount of investment from the US is $17 million).
5. While verbally supporting Russia's actions to combat terrorist groups in Chechnya, Shevardnadze provides covert support to the leaders of the Chechen separatists. According to available reliable data, the main caravan routes pass through the mountain passes on the Chechen section of the Russian-Georgian border, along which weapons, ammunition, equipment arrive in Chechnya, and wounded militants return, who are sent for treatment to Turkey through Georgia and Azerbaijan. United Arab Emirates and other countries in the Middle East.
It has been reliably established that with the beginning of the air blockade of Chechnya, groups of foreign mercenaries who were trained in Afghan Mujahideen camps in Peshawar (Pakistan), Afghanistan and other countries arrive in Chechnya along these same routes. It has been established that Chechen militants on Georgian territory in the immediate vicinity of Chechnya are taking measures to create bases and warehouses in the event of bandit formations leaving Chechnya.
Repeated notifications from the Russian Federation to the President of Georgia about the inadmissibility of such actions did not have an adequate response. Shevardnadze states that he does not intend to stop contacts with Maskhadov.
Moreover, Shevardnadze’s political position on the Chechen problem is evidenced by confirmed information about confidential negotiations between Shevardnadze’s representatives and Maskhadov about Georgia’s intention to provide the latter with “political asylum” and to assist in establishing the work of the “Chechen government in exile.” On November 10, the Georgian State Minister called this information provocative, but the Russian special services have documentary evidence.
Shevardnadze carries out all this under the slogans of “universal human values” and the creation of a “Common Caucasian Home.”
1. Shevardnadze, as the leader of Georgia, is pursuing a political course that is hostile towards Russia.
2 Shevardnadze is banking on a comprehensive rapprochement with the United States and leading NATO countries in order to enlist their support for the implementation of his own political goals. These goals include: strengthening personal power in Georgia, spreading influence over the entire Caucasus region, creating conditions for building some kind of political Caucasian center, through which influence will be exercised on solving key problems of the region in a manner beneficial to Tbilisi.
Z. Brzezinski was shocked
In Georgia, the personality cult of E. Shevardnadze is being implanted everywhere. All central newspapers daily without fail publish on the front pages materials about the “fruitful” activities of the president with his photographs. For example, in one of the October issues of the newspaper “Free Georgia” there was a large article dedicated to E. Shevardnadze, under the heading “The world is in an unpaid debt to E. Shevardnadze.”
Z. Brzezinski, present at the international conference on the Eurasian transport corridor in September this year. in Tbilisi, stated on this occasion that “it is necessary to see whether this phenomenon is normal in a democratic society.”
Journalists who try to publish critical articles about the president in local media are persecuted.
The people voted with eggs
At the beginning of October this year. In Tbilisi, posters appeared calling on the population to vote in the upcoming parliamentary elections (October 31 this year) for representatives of the ruling party Union of Citizens of Georgia, chaired by E. Shevardnadze. It is noteworthy that such a poster with the image of the president, installed in the central market of the capital, was pelted with rotten eggs and tomatoes.
From the legend of the "gold of the party"
Another legend associated with Shevardnadze is the legend about his connection with the “gold of the party.” The accusations began with the newspaper Politika. She published, citing “reliable sources,” that Volsky, Shevardnadze and Yakovlev in June 1990 allegedly transferred $200 billion of party money to Switzerland and then to the United States.
"Policy"
According to information circulating in the Western media, there are several main flows of weapons, ammunition, means of terror and sabotage, communications, and logistics.
For example, by land from some Eastern European and Baltic countries in transit through Russian territory. Suffice it to recall the detention in the Dagestan city of Derbent on the eve of the invasion of the Botlikh district by militants of a carriage with military special equipment and camouflage uniforms, sent with false accompanying documents from Lithuania to some Chechen combat group, which, judging by the transported equipment, specializes in conducting guerrilla warfare in mountain conditions.
Another stream begins, in fact, from Russian factories. Given the corruption that reigns in the country, this is not surprising. Another flow, according to Western journalists, is established by sea through the Georgian port of Poti, which, according to some sources, is under the control of one of Eduard Shevardnadze’s closest relatives. The scheme is as follows: criminal groups in Ukraine sell ammunition to representatives of the Chechen diaspora in Turkey. From there, the cargo arrives in Poti under the guise of humanitarian aid. Further through the Russian-Georgian section of the border. passing within Chechnya, it ends up with militants. Judging by Vakha Arsanov’s voyages, it is possible that wounded militants are transported abroad for treatment and foreign mercenaries are transported to Chechnya via the same route. In addition, light aircraft of the Sesna type are also used in this direction. Information about their use has been leaked to the press more than once.
Recent statements by President Shevardnadze about Georgia's non-involvement in arms supplies and the alleged detention of a large caravan with weapons have further strengthened journalists' confidence that such facts really take place. Those who know Mr. Shevardnadze know that he may say one thing, but in reality sometimes everything is completely different.
Shevardnadze may become homeless
Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze once said with a laugh that if, God forbid, he did not win the 2000 elections, he would have to live in the house of the sculptor Zurab Tsereteli. But what about his luxurious residence in Krtsanisi? ( A. Pelivanidos, Poti )
As Eduard Amvrosievich himself told the agency "Arguments and Facts - News", the housing problem is very acute in his family. Indeed, the beautiful estate where the presidential couple now lives is intended for the residence of current heads of state. Only the son of the Georgian leader Paat Shevardnadze, who now works at UNESCO headquarters in Strasbourg, has housing in a prestigious area of Tbilisi. Daughter Manana lives with her current husband in the house of her first husband. The only apartment of his own, which Shevardnadze received while still the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, was located in Moscow. But the influential couple gave it to a family friend - now the president of the Russian Academy of Arts, Zurab Tsereteli.
Ramil Manzullin, Vyacheslav Nechaev,
Elena Nikulina, Gennady Usoev
Shevardnadze Eduard Amvrosievich
Biographical information: Eduard Amvrosievich Shevardnadze was born on January 25, 1928 in the village of Mamati, Lanchkhuti region of Georgia. Higher education, in 1951 he graduated from the party school under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia, in 1959 he graduated from Kutaisi State pedagogical institute them. A. Tsulukidze.
Marital status: wife - Shevardnadze Nanuli Razhdenovna, daughter Manana, son Paata.
Member of the CPSU since 1948. Since 1946, in Komsomol work: instructor, head of department of the Ordzhonikidze district committee of the Komsomol of Tbilisi, instructor of the Central Committee of the Komsomol of Georgia, secretary, second secretary of the Kutaisi regional committee of the Komsomol. In 1953, he became an instructor at the Kutaisi City Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia, then first secretary of the Kutaisi City Committee of the Komsomol. In 1956 - second and since 1957 - first secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee of Georgia, at the same time - member of the bureau of the Komsomol Central Committee.
In 1961, he became the first secretary of the Mtskheta district committee, then the first secretary of the Pervomaisky district committee of the Communist Party of Georgia in Tbilisi.
Since 1964 - First Deputy Minister, since 1968 - Minister of Public Order of the Georgian SSR (Minister of Internal Affairs of the Georgian SSR).
In 1972, he was elected first secretary of the Tbilisi City Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia. In 1972–1985 - First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia.
In July 1985 he became Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR. In 1985 he was transferred from candidate to member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee.
In 1991 - member of the Political Advisory Council under the President of the USSR, Minister of Foreign Relations of the USSR (November-December 1991).
F.D. called him an unsurpassed master of conjuncture. Bobkov (Bobkov F.D., “KGB and power”, M., “Veteran MP”, 1995, p. 369).
In 1992, he became Chairman of the State Council of the Republic of Georgia, then Head of State, Chairman of Parliament and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, since 1993, simultaneously the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, and since February 1994, simultaneously the Temporary Minister of Defense of Georgia.
Hero of Socialist Labor was awarded five Orders of Lenin, orders October revolution, Red Banner of Labor and medals.
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Eduard Shevardnadze
ედუარდ შევარდნაძე
Eduard Shevardnadze President of Georgia
November 26, 1995 - November 22, 2003
Predecessor: position restored; (1991-1993: Zviad Konstantinovich Gamsakhurdia
Successor: Nino Anzorovna Burjanadze (acting)
Mikhail Nikolozovich Saakashvili
Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia
November 6, 1992 - November 26, 1995
Predecessor: Position established;
Akaki Tornikovich Asatiani as Chairman of the Supreme Council
Successor: Zurab Vissarionovich Zhvania
Chairman of the State Council of Georgia
March 10, 1992 - November 6, 1992
Predecessor: position created
Successor: position abolished
Minister of Foreign Relations of the USSR
November 19, 1991 - December 26, 1991
July 2, 1985 - December 20, 1990
Prime Minister: Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov
Predecessor: Andrey Andreevich Gromyko
Successor: Alexander Alexandrovich Bessmertnykh
Member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee (July 1, 1985 - July 13, 1990)
Candidate member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee
November 27, 1978 - July 1, 1985
First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia
September 29, 1972 – July 6, 1985
Party: CPSU (1948-1991)
Education: Kutaisi Pedagogical Institute named after. A. Tsulukidze
Religion: Orthodoxy, Georgian Church
Birth: January 25, 1928
Mamati, Lanchkhutsky district, Georgian SSR, TSFSR, USSR
Father: Ambrose Georgievich Shevardnadze
Spouse: Nanuli Rajenovna Tsagareishvili-Shevardnadze
Children: son: Paata
daughter: Manana
Eduard Amvrosievich Shevardnadze(Georgian ედუარდ ამბროსის ძე შევარდნაძე; January 25, 1928, Mamati, TSFSR, USSR) - Soviet and Georgian political and statesman, minister protection of public order (1964-1968), Minister of Internal Affairs (1968-1972), first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party Georgian SSR (1972-1985), Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR (1985-1990), Minister of Foreign Relations of the USSR (1991), President of Georgia (1995-2003). From 1985 to 1990 - member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. Hero of Socialist Labor, Major General of Internal Service.
Shevardnadze returned to Georgia after the overthrow of the regime of Zviad Gamsakhurdia and took the post of Chairman of the State Council, and then Chairman of the Parliament. However, he faced serious economic problems, the growing influence of the mafia and military operations in Abkhazia. Having become president of Georgia, he was unable to achieve the return of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and the solution to the country’s political and economic problems. Forced to resign during the Rose Revolution.
Eduard Shevardnadze born on January 25, 1928 in the village of Mamati, Lanchkhuti region (Guria), Georgian SSR, in the family of a teacher. Labor activity He started in 1946 as an instructor and then as head of the personnel department and organizational work of the Ordzhonikidze district Komsomol committee in Tbilisi. In the period from 1949 to 1951, Eduard Amvrosievich was a student at the two-year party school at the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia (Bolsheviks), after which he became an instructor at the Central Committee of the Komsomol of Georgia. In 1952, Shevardnadze became secretary, then second secretary of the Kutaisi regional committee of the Komsomol of the Georgian SSR, and the following year - first secretary of the Kutaisi regional committee of the Komsomol of the Georgian SSR.
Graduated from Tbilisi Medical College. In 1959 he graduated from Kutaisi Pedagogical Institute. A. Tsulukidze.
1956-1957 - second, in 1957-1961. First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Komsomol of Georgia, during these years he met Mikhail Gorbachev.
From 1961 to 1963 he was the first secretary of the Mtskheta district committee of the Communist Party, and then from 1963 the first secretary of the Pervomaisky district party committee of Tbilisi. In the period from 1964 to 1965 - First Deputy Minister for the Protection of Public Order, from 1965 to 1972 - Minister of the Protection of Public Order, then - Minister of Internal Affairs of the Georgian SSR.
In 1972 - first secretary of the Tbilisi City Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia.
Leader of Soviet Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze
September 29, 1972 Eduard Shevardnadze was appointed First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia. Shevardnadze announced the launch of a campaign to combat corruption and the shadow economy. During the first year and a half of the personnel purge, he dismissed from their posts 20 ministers, 44 secretaries of district committees, 3 secretaries of city committees, 10 chairmen of district executive committees and their deputies, appointing KGB, Ministry of Internal Affairs and young technocrats in their places. According to V. Solovyov and E. Klepikova, in the first five years at the new post, more than 30 thousand people were arrested, half of whom were members of the CPSU; another 40 thousand were released from their posts.
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated February 26, 1981, Eduard Amvrosievich was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor with the Order of Lenin and the Hammer and Sickle gold medal.
USSR Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze
In 1985-1990 - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, from 1985 to 1990 - member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, from 1976 to 1991 - member of the CPSU Central Committee. Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR 9-11 convocations.
Appointment of Eduard Shevardnadze to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR was unexpected. Shevardnadze created the image of a modern, democratic minister in contrast to the party functionary Gromyko. Gained great popularity in the West. He often gave lectures at foreign universities.
In January 1986, during a visit to Pyongyang, Shevardnadze signed the Treaty between the USSR and the DPRK on the delimitation of economic zone and continental shelf, as well as the Agreement on mutual travel of citizens of the USSR and the DPRK. In September of the following year, he made a visit to the United States, during which the parties managed to agree to begin full-scale bilateral negotiations on limiting and then stopping nuclear tests. During the visit, he signed an agreement on the creation of centers to reduce nuclear dangers. While on a working visit to Germany in January 1988, Shevardnadze reached an agreement to extend for five years the Agreement on the development and deepening of long-term cooperation in the field of economics and industry, and also signed a Protocol on consultations and a Protocol on negotiations related to the establishment of the Consulates General of the USSR in Munich and the Federal Republic of Germany in Kiev. In April of the same year, with US Secretary of State George Shultz, he signed a Declaration of International Assurances and a Liaison Agreement to resolve the situation regarding Afghanistan.
Shevardnadze visited Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, as well as other countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
After the Tbilisi events of April 1989, he condemned the actions of the army.
On June 1, 1990, in Washington, together with US Secretary of State James Baker, he signed an agreement on the transfer to the United States of the Bering Sea waters along the dividing line Shevardnadze- Baker.
On December 20, 1990, from the rostrum of the IV Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, he announced his resignation “in protest against the impending dictatorship” and in the same year he left the ranks of the CPSU. According to Gorbachev, after his resignation, he offered Shevardnadze the post of vice president of the USSR, which he refused.
In November 1991, at the invitation of Gorbachev, he again headed the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs (called at that time the Ministry of Foreign Relations), but after the collapse of the USSR a month later this position was abolished.
In December 1991 E. A. Shevardnadze one of the first among the leaders of the USSR to recognize the Belovezhsky Accords and the upcoming demise of the USSR.
E. A. Shevardnadze was one of M. S. Gorbachev’s associates in pursuing the policy of perestroika, glasnost and détente.
The wife of Gennady Yanaev in an interview in 1996 (New Look newspaper) claimed that E. A. Shevardnadze abused the privileges of the party leader:
Gorbachev miscalculated with Gena... Gena is different, he did not care about his personal welfare. Not like, for example, our neighbor Shevardnadze, who managed to privatize a Moscow apartment before leaving for Tbilisi.
Eduard Shevardnadze Leader of independent Georgia
Eduard Shevardnadze Chairman of the State Council
Just weeks after leaving his leadership position in Moscow, Shevardnadze returns to power in his native Georgia. In December-January 1991-1992, Shevardnadze was the main organizer of the military coup in the Republic of Georgia, which removed President Zviad Gamsakhurdia and effectively stopped the civil war. She played a major role in Shevardnadze’s coming to power combat group"Mkhedrioni", led by Jaba Ioseliani.
Presidents of Georgia, Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan: Eduard Shevardnadze, Robert Kocharyan, Vladimir Putin and Heydar Aliyev. Moscow, 2000.
Eduard Shevardnadze, Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister of Abkhazia Gennady Gagulia. Sochi, 2003.
In 1992 - Chairman of an illegitimate body - the State Council of the Republic of Georgia. On June 24, 1992, in Sochi, he signed an Agreement with Russian President Boris Yeltsin on the principles of a peaceful settlement of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict, which put an end to the Georgian-Ossetian military conflict. In 1992-1995. - Chairman of the Parliament of the Republic of Georgia, Chairman of the State Defense Council of Georgia. One of the initiators [source not specified 329 days] of the Georgian-Abkhaz war, which ended with the defeat of the Georgian army and the expulsion of the b.ch. Georgian population from Abkhazia.
In November 1992, Shevardnadze underwent the rite of holy baptism in the Cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church, having received church name Georgy.
In the summer-autumn of 1993, a party of Shevardnadze’s supporters, the Union of Citizens of Georgia (UCG), was created. At the founding congress of the USG, held on November 21, Shevardnadze was elected chairman of the party. Meanwhile, Shevardnadze's rating gradually began to fall. One of the opposition leaders, leader Republican Party Georgian Ivlian Khaindrava, in February 1994, gave an interview in which he expressed his opinion about Shevardnadze’s rule:
“As a realist, he cannot help but understand that as a politician in Georgia he has failed on all fronts. And now he sets himself a local goal: to preserve the external attributes of statehood, because he failed to preserve the internal ones, and he understands this. Do not bring the people to such a state where people die right on the streets. Maybe bring the country to some level of stability. Maybe after this he will consider his mission accomplished. This is a way out of the real situation. It is unlikely that he sees anything more. He sees the implementation of this, unfortunately, not in the direction of a market economy, strengthening the democratic process, but in a rollback to the times when all this existed. Perhaps, on a subconscious level, this craving for this manifests itself more and more, because in that situation it is simply easier for him, it is familiar to him, while others are unknown to him from his practice. Pressure from the opposition irritates him. It seems to me that he has already made his choice."
A completely different opinion in the same period was shared by the leader of the National Democratic Party of Georgia, Giorgi Chanturia:
“I am surprised by his inability to be the first person. The only thing I blame myself for is that I didn't think so. I thought he could build a state. He doesn't have a system. His opposition is right in one thing - give me your program. He doesn't have his own program. He is a victim of accidents, of some individual facts, and he plays on these facts, wants to balance. The Minister of Foreign Affairs can do this, but the head of state will not achieve results this way. A statesman must have at least a bad program of his own. And he must know why he is fighting, what he is going towards. And he just goes with the flow. Unlike Gamsakhurdia, he knows this trend. But I wouldn’t say that he feels comfortable in this current. It is almost impossible to predict the outcome of events today. He himself doesn't know what he wants. He is always waiting for some events. Regional or global scale. He gives private acts national significance, without having a state program."
Eduard Shevardnadze President of Georgia
On November 5, 1995, presidential elections were held in Georgia, which was won by Eduard Shevardnadze, gaining 72.9% of the vote.
On February 9, 1998, the president survived an assassination attempt. In the center of Tbilisi, his motorcade was fired from a grenade launcher and automatic weapons. However, an armored Mercedes saved his life.
In October 1998, the rebellion of Akaki Eliava broke out and was suppressed by government troops.
On April 9, 2000, he was re-elected President of the Republic of Georgia, receiving more than 82% of the votes of voters who took part in the elections.
In September 2002, Shevardnadze announced that after completing his presidential term in 2005, he intended to retire and begin writing memoirs.
On October 8, 2002, Shevardnadze said that his meeting with Putin in Chisinau was “the beginning of a turning point in Georgian-Russian relations” (the leaders of the countries announced their readiness to jointly fight terrorism).
The inscription on the Georgian parliament building reads: “Georgia without Shevardnadze.”
The Rose Revolution in the life of Eduard Shevardnadze
On November 2, 2003, parliamentary elections were held in Georgia. The opposition called on its supporters to engage in civil disobedience. They insisted that the authorities declare the elections invalid.
On November 20, the Georgian Central Election Commission announced the official results of the parliamentary elections. The pro-Shevardnadze bloc “For a New Georgia” received 21.32% of the votes, the “Union for Democratic Revival” - 18.84%. Shevardnadze's opponents considered this a “mockery” and an open, total falsification. The dubiousness of the election result led to the Rose Revolution on November 21-23. The opposition put forward an ultimatum to Shevardnadze - to resign as president, or the opposition will occupy the Krtsanisi residence. On November 23, 2003, Shevardnadze resigned.
Family of Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Shevardnadze was married to Nanuli Shevardnadze (maiden name - Tsagareishvili), he has two children and four grandchildren. Paat's son is a lawyer and works at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. Daughter Manana works on Georgian television. The granddaughter of Sofiko Shevardnadze works in Russia at the Ekho Moskvy radio.
Awards of Eduard Shevardnadze
* Hero of Socialist Labor (1981)
* Five Orders of Lenin
* Order of the October Revolution
* Order Patriotic War 1st degree (03/11/1985)
* Order of the Red Banner of Labor
* Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st class. (Ukraine, October 1, 1999) - for outstanding personal contribution to the development of cooperation between Ukraine and Georgia, strengthening friendship between the Ukrainian and Georgian peoples.
Books by Eduard Shevardnadze
* Als der Eiserne Vorhang zerriss - Begegnungen und Erinnerungen. Metzler, Peter W., Duisburg 2007, Die deutsche Ausgabe ist Grundlage für alle Übersetzungen und Ausgaben außerhalb der georgischen Sprache. ISBN 978-3-936283-10-5
* When the Iron Curtain collapsed. Meetings and memories. Eduard Shevardnadze, ex-president of Georgia, former minister of foreign affairs of the USSR. Foreword by Alexander Bessmertnykh. Übersetzung aus der deutschen in die russische Sprache. Russische Lizenzausgabe von “Als der Eiserne Vorhang zerriss”; Grundlage der russischen Ausgabe ist die deutsche Ausgabe. M.: Publishing house "Europe", 2009, 428 p. ISBN 978-5-9739-0188-2
* Kui raudne eesriie rebenes. Übersetzung aus der deutschen in die estnische Sprache. Estnische Lizenzausgabe von “Als der Eiserne Vorhang zerriss”; Grundlage der estnischen Ausgabe ist die deutsche Ausgabe. Olion, Tallinn, 2009. ISBN 978-9985-66-606-7
In 1985-1990 - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, from 1985 to 1990 - member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR 9-11 convocations. In 1990-1991 - People's Deputy of the USSR. Former President of Georgia, Eduard Shevardnadze died on July 7 at the age of 86 in Tbilisi...
In 1985-1990, Eduard Shevardnadze served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union. In the West he was perceived as a reform-oriented politician; he was one of the architects of the “New Thinking” - perestroika.
Shevardnadze cannot be assessed in terms of “good or bad”. Most people remember him as the president who rigged the Georgian elections in 2003, which sparked public and opposition protests known as the Rose Revolution. 
On the other hand, he was a politician who took on the burden of transforming the system, which in all the former Soviet republics was a difficult and painful process.
Political youth
Already at the age of 18, Eduard Shevardnadze took his first steps in politics. In 1946, while still a student at the history department of the Pedagogical Institute in Kutaisi, he became a Komsomol activist and was a party worker of the Communist Party of Georgia. And in 1956 he was elected secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth Union of Georgia. Then he was sent to the Kazakh steppes where he became the head of the Komsomol, whose task was to raise virgin soil.
During this period, his first contacts took place with people who later occupied prominent positions in the party apparatus. One of them was Mikhail Gorbachev, at that time the first secretary of the Komsomol of the Stavropol Territory. Shevardnadze describes the future first secretary of the Soviet Union like this in his book The Future Belongs to Freedom:
There was also something that, in my eyes, particularly distinguished him from others. He was completely devoid of that artificial Komsomol simplicity that always demotivates me. He attracted attention, first of all, for his way of thinking, which expressively went beyond the framework of the style imposed from above.
Career
In 1965, Shevardnadze became Minister of Public Order, and in 1968, Internal Affairs and General of the Police. From 1972 to 1985 he served as first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia. 
Then he became known as a decisive politician fighting corruption, bribery and the appropriation of state property. He did not hesitate to dismiss and imprison unscrupulous officials.
In the previously mentioned book, he also emphasized other aspects of his activities; above all, experiments in the field of economics. He was interested in introducing elements of a market economy into the socialist system, as well as strengthening the position of the union republics relative to the center. He called these actions “Georgian Perestroika.”
At the top
The rise of Eduard Shevardnadze was associated with the strengthening of the position of Leonid Brezhnev in 1964. The changes accompanying this event at the top of power in Moscow also meant a change in the composition of the elites leading the union republics.
In addition to Shevardnadze, the highest positions in their republics were occupied by Karen Demirchyan in Armenia and Heydar Aliyev in Azeybarjan. As part of the fight against corruption and crime in 1972-1974, 25 thousand people were arrested. Among them were 9.5 thousand party members, seven thousand Komsomol members and 70 police and KGB officers. 
First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia. 70s
Among his achievements of that period, Shevardnadze names an increase in state subsidies for the restoration of historical and artistic monuments, and an improvement in the quality of teaching in schools. He presents himself as a “philanthropist of culture” who is concerned about the problems of his country, its history and traditions. As an example, he gives his help famous director Sergei Parajanov at the time when he was brought to criminal responsibility in Tbilisi.
Also, he speaks very positively about Leonid Brezhnev, claiming that “ general secretary not only did he not interfere with our endeavors (and of course could have interfered with this due to his “heretic” nature), but also supported them.”
Headed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
On July 2, 1985, Eduard Shevardnadze was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union. He himself describes this event in an unusually pompous manner, claiming that for more than five years that he spent in the minister’s office, “I remember every day I lived,” but that first one was imprinted in my memory to the smallest detail:
Looking ahead a little, I want to say that from the very beginning my “engine” received a strong spark from their friendliness, recognition, cordial attitude towards me, willingness to help, bring me up to date, and what’s interesting, without any emphasis on their professionalism and enlightenment in my knowledge. 
USSR MFA - Eduard Shevardnadze in his office in Moscow
As head of the USSR Foreign Ministry, Shevardnadze was perceived very positively in the West. First of all, he was considered one of the main architects of the famous “perestroika” and “new thinking” of Mikhail Gorbachev.
He was considered a politician open to cooperation with capitalist countries; he was not afraid to criticize the distortions of the socialist system and the mistakes of his predecessors. He became famous for criticizing the invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. This decision, he said, “was made behind the shoulders of the party and the people.”
Fall of an Empire, a new chapter
Eduard Shevardnadze had no previous experience related to diplomacy and foreign policy. Andrei Gromyko’s successor turned out to be a very ambitious minister, a staunch supporter and defender of “perestroika.” He negotiated with both Helmut Kohl and other leaders of Western Europe, as well as with Deng Xiaoping or Qian Qichen from China. I tried to find a recipe for improving Soviet-Chinese relations, incl. problems of Cambodia. 
The Soviet Union, despite “perestroika” and “new thinking,” irrevocably collapsed. As a result of the conflict with Gorbachev, Eduard Shevardnadze resigned from the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs on December 20, 1990.
A year later, he returned to the post, but only for a month, until the collapse of the Soviet Union. He did not go to the bottom with his ship. A symbolic gesture of Shevardnadze's new political path can be called his baptism into the Georgian Orthodox Church in 1991. 
Less than two months later, parliamentary elections were held in Georgia, which were the first elections organized in the USSR with the participation of the opposition. The bloc of opposition forces received over 60% of the votes, “ Round table- Free Georgia" led by Zviad Gamsakhurdia. In the spring of 1991, the Georgian parliament declared the country's independence. Gamsakhurdia became the first president.
The first days of Georgia's independence were accompanied by gunfire in South Ossetia. The support provided to the Ossetians by Russia led to a not very diplomatic declaration by Gamsakhurdia that his country was in the process of war with the USSR (at that time, Georgia did not yet have regular armed forces).
The loss of actual control over Abkhazia and South Ossetia is considered today one of the main defeats of the presidency of Eduard Shevardnadze.
Georgian conflicts
The developing conflict with Abkhazia prompted the Georgian government to make efforts to create its own armed forces. In the spring of 1991, the National Guard of Georgia was created, which in form and name belonged to the traditions of the period of the First Republic.
However, soon the remaining anti-communist elites turned away from the president, who believed that he very quickly received full power and did not take anyone into account. One of his opponents was his appointed Prime Minister Tengiz Sigua. All of this was compounded by the serious economic problems that Georgia was then experiencing - huge inflation and the lack of basic food products in stores. The Guard took the side of the putschists. 
The putsch began on December 22, 1991, with an attack by the Guard on government buildings in Tbilisi, and ended on January 4, 1992, with the defeat of the poorly organized presidential forces. According to official data, 107 people were killed. Immediately after the end of hostilities, Eduard Shevardnadze arrived in the capital of the country at the invitation former leader Communist Party of Georgia Avtandil Margiani.
The civil war in Georgia has entered a new phase - the struggle of Georgians with Georgians. It lasted until about the end of 1992. During the war, Tbilisi troops controlled the eastern part of the country, and supporters of the ousted president, called Zviadists, controlled the western part. Shevardnadze used the resulting unrest to strengthen his political position.
The situation finally returned to normal after the death of Gamsakhurdia in December 1993. In 1995, presidential elections were held in Georgia, in which, with an 80% turnout, Eduard Shevardnadze received 75% of the votes and became president of Georgia.
At the head of Georgia
The new parliament transferred almost all power into the hands of Eduard Shevardnadze, who declared himself the “head of state” and ruled the country with the help of decrees. This meant big changes in Georgia's domestic and foreign policy. Seeing the discontent of society due to continuous conflicts, social problems and the economic crisis, Shevardnadze unequivocally rejected the anti-Russian course of Zviad Gamsakhurdia.
On October 22, 1993, he signed a decree on Georgia’s entry into the Commonwealth of Independent States and began to dissolve all informal and paramilitary organizations, re-arm the people, and he himself announced the creation of a regular army. At the same time, a new currency was introduced, first the so-called temporary coupons, and later, from 1995, the lari. Privatization and distribution of land to peasants has begun. An interesting fact is that one of the economic advisers to the authorities of independent Georgia was Leszek Balcerowicz. 
Shevardnadze also pursued an active policy in the international arena. He achieved Georgia's entry into various organizations. Opened in different countries its embassy and received help from other countries to restore Georgia. Such actions gave people hope for a way out of the crisis. Shevardnadze demonstrated to society that he is the kind of politician who knows how to reconcile the Georgian foreign policy with the interests of Russia, and at the same time actively cooperate with Western countries.
On the other hand, the decision to join the CIS was very negatively received by Georgian society. Conflicts with the Ossetians, the Abkhazians, who were supported by Russia, and the Zviadists lasted continuously. In turn, Russia is dissatisfied with the pro-Western course of the Georgian president, the strategic partnership with NATO and the declaration of desire to join the Alliance (as well as European Union), accused him of supporting Chechen separatism.
End of career
Shevardnadze gradually stabilized his political position, consolidating his own political camp around the Civil Union of Georgia party. His program was consistent with the programs of Western social democratic parties. However, the popularity of this politician fell over time.
In addition to the above-mentioned problems, one can add enormous corruption, in which people from the president’s inner circle were involved, as well as the rigging of the presidential elections in 2000 and parliamentary elections in 2003. The last elections put an end to the power of this politician. Eduard Shevardnadze voluntarily gave up power (although at first he refused to concede) after consultations with opposition leaders as well as Colin Powell and Sergei Ivanov. 
This is how it ended political career Eduard Shevardnadze. A career full of contradictions, ambiguities, things that are not so easy to define. Time will tell whether the future truly belongs to freedom, as the former President of Georgia and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR arrogantly declared in the title of his book...
Igor Khomyn
Biography and episodes of life Eduard Shevardnadze. When born and died Eduard Shevardnadze, memorable places and dates of important events of his life. Politician Quotes, Photo and video.
Years of life of Eduard Shevardnadze:
born January 25, 1928, died July 7, 2014
Epitaph
May your sleep be serene
No one will ever disturb you,
Nothing can break it
Oblivion of eternal peace.
Biography
The biography of Eduard Shevardnadze is somewhat similar to the fate of other politicians - Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev, who were more popular abroad than in their own country. His life path was long and eventful, but Shevardnadze himself, like any controversial political figure, was remembered by his compatriots as an extraordinary personality.
Shevardnadze was born in Georgia - Eduard Amvrosievich's father was a teacher, his brother died during the war during the defense of the Brest Fortress. Shevardnadze was not yet twenty years old when he began to engage in party work, so his political future was marked out. By the age of thirty, Eduard Shevardnadze already held the position of first secretary of the Central Committee of the Komsomol of Georgia, at the same time he met Mikhail Gorbachev.
Shevardnadze's political biography was developing successfully; he confidently rose through career ladder, and in 1972 he took the post of first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia and soon announced the start of a large-scale campaign to combat corruption. Over the years, Shevardnadze made many enemies for himself, removing several ministers, secretaries of district and city committees from their posts. Tens of thousands of people were arrested or simply removed from their posts. Gorbachev assessed Shevardnadze’s actions positively, awarding him the title of Hero of Socialist Labor in 1981, and four years later, appointing him Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR. For Shevardnadze, troubles began in the USSR then. better times, many of his actions as minister were subject to severe criticism - for example, the agreements he signed with the United States and the DPRK. But abroad he was extremely popular and positioned himself as a democratic and modern minister. Soon the USSR collapsed, and a new stage began in the life of politics - in 1992, after the overthrow of the first president of Georgia, Eduard Shevardnadze became the head of this country. During his reign, there was a war between Georgia and Abkhazia, as a result of which the latter finally separated from Georgia. In 1995 and 1998, two assassination attempts were made on Shevardnadze - the president was criticized for his policies towards South Ossetia and Abkhazia, for the economic situation in the country and for many other shortcomings of his rule. And although Shevardnadze refused to give up his position for a long time, in 2003 he had to leave his post after the Rose Revolution, led by Saakashvili. After his early resignation, he wrote memoirs and criticized the rule of the new president.
Shevardnadze's death occurred at the age of 87. The cause of Shevardnadze's death was a long illness. Shevardnadze's funeral took place on July 13, 2014. Shevardnadze's grave is located on the territory of the former government residence, near Shevardnadze's house, which he left for himself after his resignation. Shevardnadze's wife is buried there.
Life line
January 25, 1928 Date of birth of Eduard Amvrosievich Shevardnadze.
1946 Shevardnadze's admission to the party school under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia.
1948 Joining the Communist Party.
1953 Appointment of Shevardnadze as first secretary of the Kutaisi regional committee of the Komsomol of the Georgian SSR.
1959 Graduated from Kutaisi Pedagogical Institute.
1965-1972 Minister of Public Order.
September 29, 1972 First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia.
July 2, 1985 Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR.
November 19, 1991 Minister of Foreign Relations of the USSR.
March 10, 1992 Chairman of the State Council of Georgia.
November 6, 1992 Head of Georgia.
November 26, 1995 President of Georgia.
February 9, 1998 Assassination attempt on Shevardnadze in Tbilisi.
April 9, 2000 Victory in the presidential elections in Georgia.
November 2003"Rose Revolution" in Georgia, Shevardnadze's resignation.
October 20, 2004 Death of Nanulya Shevardnadze, Shevardnadze's wife.
June 2006 The end of the book “Thoughts about the past and future.”
July 7, 2014 Date of death of Shevardnadze.
July 11, 2014 Funeral service for Shevardnadze.
July 13, 2014 Funeral of Shevardnadze.
Memorable places
1. The village of Mamati, where Shevardnadze was born.
2. Kutaisi University named after. A. Tsereteli (formerly the A. Tsulukidze Pedagogical Institute), from which Shevardnadze graduated.
3. Shevardnadze’s house on the territory of the former government residence where Shevardnadze is buried.
4. Holy Trinity Cathedral, the cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church, where Shevardnadze’s baptism ceremony took place and where Shevardnadze’s funeral service took place.
Episodes of life
Until the end of his life, Shevardnadze was sure that he had done a lot - not only for his country, but also for other countries. He believed that the unification of Germany was as much his merit as Gorbachev's. Despite the fact that various experts are confident that Shevardnadze is to blame for the fact that the USSR lost its foreign policy position during the years of his work as minister.
Eduard Shevardnadze once admitted that “the biggest sin before the people and before the country is that he transferred power to Mikheil Saakashvili.” He's up to last day was sure that Saakashvili’s policy was disastrous for Georgia.
Shevardnadze was one of Gorbachev's most important associates in the cause of perestroika and glasnost
Covenant
“No matter what attractive conditions are offered to me, I will still stay in Georgia. I was blown up twice - I'm already used to it, it doesn't surprise me. If someone plans and implements this again, I will still remain - alive or dead. There are no other options."
Documentary film about Eduard Shevardnadze from the series “ Real stories of people"
Condolences
“I express my deepest condolences on the death of Eduard Amvrosievich Shevardnadze. We were friends and I'm very sorry to see him go. He was an extraordinary, talented person. He knew how to quickly find contact with different people- both with young people and with the older generation. He had a bright character, a Georgian temperament.”
Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of the USSR
“Eduard Shevardnadze will take his rightful place in history because he and Mikhail Gorbachev refused to support the use of force to preserve Soviet Empire. Millions of people in Central and Eastern Europe, all over the world, owe their freedom to them."
James Baker, former US Secretary of State
“He was a politician whose name is associated with the destruction of the walls of Europe and the formation of a new Europe.”
Giorgi Margvelashvili, President of Georgia
