Tbilisi, Georgia
Thousands of Georgians poured into the streets of Tbilisi this week, demanding that President Eduard Shevardnadze step down. “We will not leave until Shevardnadze has gone and freedom has triumphed,” Mikhail Saakashvili, the young, charismatic opposition leader, said to cheering crowds. The protesters claim the president rigged the recent parliamentary elections to favor his party, and international election observers agree. But Shevardnadze refused to go quietly and cautioned that protesters were risking civil war. The warning was seen as a veiled threat of a military crackdown. Shevardnadze came to power in 1992 after military clashes that ousted the former Soviet republic’s first democratically elected leader.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Today's political cartoons - May 20, 2024Cartoons Monday's cartoons - flags flipped, Diddy dunked, and more
-
Diddy admits to beating girlfriend after videoSpeed Read Though he previously denied allegations of abuse, Combs apologized for abusing Cassie Ventura following the release of new CCTV footage
-
Biden delivers Morehouse graduation speechSpeed Read It was the president's first time addressing a college campus since the breakout of Gaza war protests
