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Georgia Patiashvili
Jumber Patiashvili, a nondescript party loyalist, succeeded
Shevardnadze as head of the Georgian Communist Party. Under
Patiashvili, most of Shevardnadze's initiatives atrophied, and no
new policy innovations were undertaken. Patiashvili removed some
of Shevardnadze's key appointees, although he could not dismiss
his predecessor's many middle-echelon appointees without
seriously damaging the party apparatus.
In dealing with dissent, Patiashvili, who distrusted radical
and unofficial groups, returned to the usual confrontational
strategy of Soviet regional party officials. The party head met
major resistance when he backed a plan for a new Transcaucasian
railroad that would cut a swath parallel to the Georgian Military
Highway in a historic, scenic, and environmentally significant
region. In a televised speech, Patiashvili called opponents of
the project "enemies of the people"--a phrase used in the 1930s
to justify liquidation of Stalin's real and imagined opponents.
By isolating opposition groups, Patiashvili forced reformist
leaders into underground organizations and confrontational
behavior.
Data as of March 1994
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