Eduard Shevardnadze

Shevardnadze's rapid rise in Soviet Georgia's political hierarchy was the result of his campaign against corruption.[9] Throughout most of Shevardnadze's leadership, anti-corruption campaigns were central to his authority and policy. By the time Shevardnadze had become leader, Georgia was the Soviet republic most afflicted by corruption. The rule of Vasil Mzhavanadze had been characterised by weak leadership, nepotism, despotism, and bribery pervading the upper echelons of power.[9] In Georgia, corruption had been allowed to thrive, leading to serious deformations in the system; for example only 68 per cent of Georgian goods were exported legally, while the percentage of goods exported legally from other Soviet Republics approached 100 per cent. Shevardnadze rallied support for his anti-corruption campaigns by establishing the Study of Public Opinion.[15] To combat corruption, he engaged in subterfuge; after halting all exports he dressed himself as a peasant and drove a car filled with tomatoes through the border.[16] After his personal subterfuge, the entire Georgian border police was purged. While never proven, it is said that after taking office, Shevardnadze asked all leading officials to show their left hands and ordered those who used Western-produced watches to replace them with Soviet ones. This story portrayed Shevardnadze as an active battler against corruption.[17] His campaign against corruption was largely unsuccessful and when he returned to Georgia in 1992, corruption was still a huge problem.[18]

Under Shevardnadze's rule, Georgia was one of several Soviet Republics that did not experience economic stagnation, instead experiencing rapid economic growth. By 1974, industrial output had increased by 9.6 per cent and agricultural output had increased by 18 per cent. The shortage economy, which had evolved into a prevalent problem in other parts of the Soviet Union, had nearly disappeared in Georgia. Long food queues in Tbilisi had shortened while those in Moscow had lengthened. Some of Shevardnadze's economic policies were adopted nationally by the Soviet government.[19]

In 1973, Shevardnadze launched an agricultural reform in Abasha, popularly referred to as the "Abasha experiment". This reform was inspired by János Kádár's agricultural policy in Hungarian People's Republic, which returned agricultural decision-making to the local level of governance. Shevardnadze merged all Abasha agricultural institutions into a single entity and established a new remuneration system. If a farmer fulfilled the five-year plan early, he would be awarded a share of the crops. The policy had a positive effect on the Georgian economy and because of the large increase of agricultural output in Abasha, the reform was introduced elsewhere in the republic. The agricultural reform in Georgia became the model of the nationwide Agricultural-Industrial Organisations established by a decree in 1982.[20]

Shevardnadze took much of the credit for Georgia's economic performance under his rule. Seven months before his promotion to the Soviet Foreign Affairs Ministership, Shevardnadze said there were thirty or more economic experiments operating in Georgia, which he said would further democratise the economic management.[21]

Shevardnadze was a strong supporter of political reform in the Georgian SSR. He created agencies attached to the Central Committee of the Georgian Communist Party whose main task was studying, analysing and moulding public opinion. These agencies worked closely with Georgia's communications networks and media; government ministers and Shevardnadze were regularly interviewed live on television.[17] Shevardnadze criticised flattery in Georgia and said he and his government's activities needed to be criticised more often, especially during party congresses.[22] He showed himself, even before Mikhail Gorbachev's rise to power, to be a firm supporter of people's democracy—i.e. power from below.[23]

Previous Soviet Georgian rulers had given in to nationalist favouritism to the Georgians; Shevardnadze was against this policy of favouritism. Therefore, his nationalistic policy is considered controversial in Georgia.[24] At the 25th Congress of the Georgian Communist Party, Shevardnadze told the congress, "for Georgians, the sun rises not in the east, but in the north—in Russia".[25] Shevardnadze saw "extreme nationalism", coupled with corruption and inefficiencies within the system, as one of the main obstacles to economic growth. During his rule he condemned what he considered "national narrow-mindedness and isolation" and writers who published works with nationalistic overtones. The 1970s saw an increase in nationalistic tendencies in Georgian society. The 1978 Georgian demonstrations were sparked by the Soviet government's decision to amend the Georgian constitution and remove the Georgian language as the sole state language in the republic. While at first standing firm with the Soviet government, Shevardnadze quickly reiterated his position and was able to compromise with the Soviet government and the demonstrators. The Georgian language was kept as the sole official language of the republic and the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union passed legislation calling for an increasing level of Russian language training in the non-Russian republics.[26]

There was another problem facing Shevardnadze during the 1978 demonstrations; some leading Abkhaz intellectuals were writing to Leonid Brezhnev in the hope that he would let the Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic secede from Georgia and merge into the Russian SFSR. To halt this development, the Georgian government gave way to concessions made by the secessionists that included establishing an Abkhaz university, the expansion of Abkhaz publications and creating an Abkhaz television station. Shevardnadze proved to be an active supporter of defending minority interests.[27]

At the 25th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) in 1976, Shevardnadze gave a speech in which he called general secretary Leonid Brezhnev "vozhd" (leader), a term previously reserved for Joseph Stalin. His adulation was only surpassed by that of Andrei Kirilenko and Heydar Aliyev. As Yegor Ligachev later said, Shevardnadze never contradicted a general secretary.[28] During Brezhnev's last days, Shevardnadze publicly endorsed Konstantin Chernenko's candidacy for the General Secretaryship and called him a "great theoretician". However, when it became clear that the secretaryship would not go to Chernenko but to Yuri Andropov, Shevardnadze swiftly revised his position and gave his support for Andropov. Shevardnadze became the first Soviet republican head to offer his gratitude to the newly elected leader; in turn, Andropov quickly signalled his appreciation and his support for some of the reforms pioneered by Shevardnadze. According to Andropov's biographers the anti-corruption drive he launched was inspired by Shervardnadze's Georgian anti-corruption campaign. When Andropov died, Shevardnadze again became an avid supporter of Chernenko's candidacy for the General Secretaryship.[29]

When Chernenko died, Shevardnadze became a strong supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev's leadership candidacy.[30] Shevardnadze became a member of the Central Committee (CC) of the CPSU in 1976, and in 1978 was promoted to the rank of non-voting candidate member of the Soviet Political Bureau (Politburo).[31] His chance came in 1985, when the veteran Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Gromyko left that post for the largely ceremonial position of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (official head of state). The de facto leader, Communist Party general secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, appointed Shevardnadze to replace Gromyko as Minister of Foreign Affairs, thus consolidating Gorbachev's circle of relatively young reformers.[6]

The newly independent Republic of Georgia elected as its first president a leader of the national liberation movement, Zviad Gamsakhurdia—a scientist and writer who had been imprisoned by Shevardnadze's government in the late 1970s. However, Gamsakhurdia's rule ended abruptly in January 1992, when he was deposed in a bloody coup d'état.[32] Shevardnadze was appointed Speaker of the Georgian parliament in March 1992[36] and as speaker of parliament in November; both of these posts were equivalent to that of president. When the presidency was restored in November 1995, he was elected with 70% of the vote. He secured a second term in April 2000 in an election that was marred by widespread claims of vote-rigging.[34]

Eduard Shevardnadze on a meeting with Vladimir Putin, Heydar Aliyev and Robert Kocharian on 20 June 2000

Shevardnadze's career as Georgian President was in some respects more challenging than his earlier career as Soviet Foreign Minister. He faced many enemies, some dating back to his campaigns against corruption and nationalism during Soviet times. A civil war between supporters of Gamsakhurdia and Shevardnadze broke out in western Georgia in 1993 but was ended by Russian intervention on Shevardnadze's side[34] and the death of ex-President Gamsakhurdia on 31 December 1993. Shevardnadze survived three assassination attempts in 1992, 1995, and 1998.[34] He escaped a car bomb in Abkhazia in 1992.[33] In August 1995, he survived another car bomb attack outside the parliament building in Tbilisi.[37] In 1998, his motorcade was ambushed by 10 to 15 armed men; two bodyguards were killed.[33]

Shevardnadze also faced separatist conflicts in the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The war in the Russian republic of Chechnya on Georgia's northern border caused considerable friction with Russia, which accused Shevardnadze of harbouring Chechen guerrillas and in apparent retaliation supported Georgian separatists.[34] Further friction was caused by Shevardnadze's close relationship with the United States, which saw him as a counterbalance to Russian influence in the strategic Transcaucasus region. Under Shevardnadze's strongly pro-Western administration, Georgia became a major recipient of U.S. foreign and military aid, signed a strategic partnership with NATO[34] and declared an ambition to join both NATO and the European Union.

At the same time, Georgia suffered badly from the effects of crime and rampant corruption, which were often perpetrated by well-connected officials and politicians. Shevardnadze's closest advisers, including several members of his family, exerted disproportionate economic power and became visibly wealthy.[34] Transparency International's corruption index listed Georgia as one of the most corrupt countries in the world.[38]

According to Spanish prosecutor José Grinda González, Georgian mafia led by Dzhaba Iosselani during the 1990s took control of the country and state and then later led by Zakhariy Kalashov during Shevardnadze's rule.[39] Since April 2006, Khachidze or Lasha Shushanashvilialso imparted influence on Georgia as well as Tariel Oniani from Kutaisi near South Abkazia.[39]

Banners on Parliament of Georgia saying: "Georgia without Shevardnadze", "Poti is with you"

On 2 November 2003, Georgia held a parliamentary election that was widely denounced as unfair by international election observers.[34] The outcome sparked fury among many Georgians, leading to mass demonstrations in Tbilisi and elsewhere, called the Rose Revolution. Protesters broke into parliament on 22 November as the first session of the new Parliament was beginning, forcing President Shevardnadze to escape with his bodyguards.[34] On 23 November, Shevardnadze met with the opposition leaders Mikheil Saakashvili and Zurab Zhvania to discuss the situation in a meeting arranged by Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.[34] After this meeting, Shevardnadze announced his resignation, declaring that he wished to avert a bloody power struggle "so all this can end peacefully and there is no bloodshed and no casualties".[40] Shevardnadze's resignation as President of Georgia was the end of his political career.[41]

•  Soviet Union:
  • 1981 – Hero of Socialist Labour[49]
  • 1981 – Five Orders of Lenin[49]
  • 1985 – Order of the October Revolution[49]
  • 1985 – 1st class Order of the Patriotic War
  • 1985 – Order of the Red Banner of Labour[49]

• 1999 –  Germany: Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany[50]
• 1999 –  Ukraine: 1st class Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, for outstanding contribution to the development of co-operation between Ukraine and Georgia, to strengthen the friendship between the Ukrainian and Georgian peoples[51]
• 1999 –  Turkey: First Class of the Order of the State of Republic of Turkey[52]
• 1999 –  IOC: Gold Olympic Order for the biggest merit in the development of world sport and Olympic field.[50][53]
• 1999 –  Greece: Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer[50]
• 2000 –  UK: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George.[50][54]
• 2000 –  Azerbaijan: Istiglal Order for his contributions to the development of Azerbaijan–Georgia relations and strategic co-operation between the states[55]
• 2000 –  Armenia: Order of St. Mesrop Mashtots[50]
• 2003 –  Uzbekistan: Order of Outstanding Merit[56]

• In 1991, Shevardnadze received an honorary degree from Harvard University.[57][58][59]
• In 1991, Shevardnadze received an honorary degree from Boston University.[50][60]
• In 1997, Shevardnadze received an honorary degree from Baku State University.[61]

• In 1993, Institute for East West Security Studies granted Shevardnadze with the award for his merit in ending cold war and liberation of the country.[50]
• On July, 1999, National Democratic Institute (NDI) awarded him with the W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award for merit in the field of democracy and human rights.[62][50]
• On July 2, 1997, Onassis Foundation awarded Shevardnadze with its prize for International Understanding and Social Achievement.[50][63][64]