Georgia became a modern political player on May 26, 1918, after the collapse of The Russian Empire. For the first time in its history, the country wasn’t ruled by a “Bagrationi” Royal Family member or a foreign Governor. A new democratic party was assembled, led by Noe Zhordania. On February 21, 1921, the first Constitution of Georgia was introduced by the ruling party. At the time, it was one of the most progressive constitutions in all of Europe. Tragically, it was only in effect for 4 days. On February 25, 1921, the Red Army annexed Georgia and made it a part of the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Rule
The Soviets ruled Georgia from the 25th of February until the 9th of April 1991. This period was the hardest for Georgia, the system changed from democracy to communism and the Georgian people were forced to make the move from a free market economy to collectivization. Although many Georgians held high rank in The Communist Party, most notably Joseph Stalin, whose real surname was Jughashvili and he was born in the small town of Gori. Stalin began his Socialist journey as a teenager by helping out the local Communist Party, providing them with needed supplies, most of the time illegally.
Joseph Stalin – the Socialist menace
Slowly and ruthlessly, he climbed his way towards becoming the leader of the Soviet Union. From 1922 until 1953, Stalin was an unstoppable Socialist machine who ruled with an iron fist until the moment of his death. Today you can visit the city of Gori to see the house-museum of Joseph “Iron Man” Stalin. Georgia remained under Soviet rule until its collapse in 1991, leaving it to face incredible challenges and uncertainty. We are haunted to this day by the ghost of Communism.
The Leaders of the Sovereign Georgia
Zviad Gamsakhurdia became the first President of Georgia following his inauguration. He went down in history as a true patriot who did his best to get Georgia out of the slump that the Soviet Union had left us in. The first Constitution of 1921 was recognized as supreme law until the 24th of August 1995, when the current Constitution was ratified.
The second President of Georgia was Eduard Shevardnadze, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union and leader of Soviet Georgia from 1972 until 1985. Mr. Shevarnadze rose to his office in 1995 and ruled until 2003 when he was forced to abdicate, following The Rose Revolution.
The third President was revolutionary Mikhail Saakashvili. He ruled for 2 consecutive terms and improved Georgia massively. By his order, the main highway of Georgia was finished, the city of Batumi got a massive renovation, and extremely important police reforms took place, etc. Mr. Saakashvili played a major role in making Georgia into the country as we know it today. Sadly, many things were far from perfect and, over time, he became the subject of controversy and had to leave Georgia after charges of treason and corruption.
The fourth President of Georgia was Giorgi Margvelashvili, who is part of the current ruling party, “Georgian Dream”, led by the billionaire, Bidzina Ivanishvili. During this time, Georgia transitioned to a parliamentary system and the role of president as the head of the country was given to the Prime Minister.
Salome Zurabishvili is the current President and the first female leader of democratic Georgia. Irakli Garibashvili – is the current Prime Minister.
