Today is Giorgoba in Georgia – St. George’s Day. It is also the anniversary of the Rose Revolution.
The Rose Revolution is the most famous event in recent Georgian history and was sparked by disputed parliamentary election results in November 2003.
Massive anti-government demonstrations started in the streets of Tbilisi and spread to almost all other cities and towns of Georgia.
On November 22, President Shevardnadze attempted to open the new session of parliament but supporters of the major opposition parties, led by Mikheil Saakashvili, burst into the session with roses in their hands (hence the name Rose Revolution), forcing the president to flee. Mikheil Saakashvili walked to the podium, faced the cameras, and drank the departed president’s glass of green tea!
That was the Rose Revolution. Not one person was injured, not a drop of blood was spilled.
Shevardnadze resigned the next day. Two months later, in January 2004, Mikheil Saakashvili, 36, was elected the country’s new president with 96 percent of the vote.
The tall person is a great admirer of Mikheil Saakashvili, who is affectionately known as Mischa. He says that he is a man of vision and determination who has worked hard to reform and modernise Georgia.
bassasblog 
I’m a firm believer in direct action and this proves that nobody needs to get hurt for the people to get heard.
Yes Bones. What I liked is the fact that people carried roses, not weapons.
I love the symbolism of the roses. What a beautiful idea. I will keep it in mind the next time I protest. Maybe people will pay more attention to me with a flower in my hand.
The rose is a beautiful symbol.
I wish the protests in this country were as peaceful. We are in a real mess right now.
😦
A inspiring story and inspiring leader!!! I like how he drank his tea! 🙂 Who do you think is favored to take over after his term ends and he cannot run for office again? Does he have a right hand man who is greatly admired in your country who is the guy who is the obvious choice to succeed him or is it going to be a real political dogfight (no pun intended) to succeed him? My senses tell me that since he is so popular his party has to be favored in the upcoming elections next year. Thank you for telling us about the Rose Revolution! 🙂
He is an inspirational leader. Yes, he did drink the president’s tea! 🙂 Tall person feels that there is no obvious choice for a successor but he can’t stand again because he has served the maximum number of terms. Tall person hopes that the country does not lose momentum.
Jen says she remembers hearing about this in the news when it happened. Is Mr. Saakashvili still popular in your country? I seem to recall that he is not all all liked by the Russian government.
He is still very popular Rumpy. Tall person says he is one of the hardest working presidents he has ever known.
That is good. You know we don’t always get much news here in the US. For some reason many news outlets here think we’re the only country of importance *sigh*. Jen checks out BBC news for more coverage of world affairs.
Tall person watches BBC World – he said it is the best news channel.
This is a very informative albeit brief piece. I’m becoming more interested in your home country, Bassa. I’m considering traveling there some day. 🙂
Great. You could come and see me 🙂