Georgia The Military Council
Church and fortress on Georgian Military Highway at
Ananuri
Courtesy Gordon Snider
A Military Council made up of Sigua, Kitovani, and Mkhedrioni
leader Jaba Ioseliani took control after Gamsakhurdia's
departure. Shortly thereafter, a Political Consultative Council
and a larger State Council were formed to provide more decisive
leadership
(see Government
and Politics
, this ch.). In March
1992, Eduard Shevardnadze returned to Georgia at the invitation
of the Military Council. Shortly thereafter Shevardnadze joined
Ioseliani, Sigua, and Kitovani to form the State Council
Presidium. All four were given the right of veto over State
Council decisions.
Gamsakhurdia, despite his absence, continued to enjoy
substantial support within Georgia, especially in rural areas and
in his home region of Mingrelia in western Georgia. Gamsakhurdia
supporters now constituted another extraparliamentary opposition,
viewing themselves as victims of an illegal and unconstitutional
putsch and refusing to participate in future elections. Based in
the neighboring Chechen Autonomous Republic of Russia,
Gamsakhurdia continued to play a direct role in Georgian
politics, characterizing Shevardnadze as an agent of Moscow in a
neocommunist conspiracy against Georgia. In March 1992,
Gamsakhurdia convened a parliament in exile in the Chechen city
of Groznyi. In 1992 and 1993, his armed supporters prevented the
Georgian government from gaining control of parts of western
Georgia.
Data as of March 1994
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