NPR: Did Russia Play Role in Georgian Turmoil?

Did Russia Play Role in Georgian Turmoil?

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili appeared on national television on Thursday to announce early elections.

AFP/Getty Images

Georgia's opposition leaders called off their demonstrations against President Mikhail Saakashvili today after he announced early elections in the former Soviet republic. Saakashvili's announcement came after many in Georgia and around the world expressed shock at Wednesday's police crackdown on demonstrators in the capital of Tbilisi. They had been protesting in front of Georgia's parliament buildings for several days.

The BBC reports that early elections had been one of the opposition's main demands as it seeks to end what it considers the president's authoritarian grip on power.

One lingering question has been whether Russia played a role in the demonstrations. NPR contributor Lawrence Sheets reported that the Georgian president accused Russia of helping to coordinate them, a charge opposition leaders deny.

But Russia is "livid" with Georgia, in part because of its Western-style reforms, says Gregory Feifer, NPR's correspondent in Moscow. Saakashvili also has been openly critical of the overt political pressure that Russia exerts, unlike the leaders of other former Soviet republics.

Since he came to power in 2003, after what became known as the Rose Revolution, Saakashvili has tried to end the corrupt practices of his predecessors, including replacing the police force with a more mobile, American-style one. He also adopted a pro-Western foreign policy, saying that he wanted Georgia to ultimately join both NATO and the European Union.

But much of the rhetoric about the West in Moscow appears paranoid, Feifer says. Russian leaders, including President Vladimir Putin, are constantly talking about how the West is trying to break up Russia.

Given Saakashvili's charges against Moscow, his decision to call elections early may seem like caving to pressure, but Feifer says it could actually save his job. By announcing elections so quickly, he looks like a leader who is unafraid to face the public and leaves the fragmented opposition little time to find a credible candidate to run against him.

4:39 PM ET | 11- 9-2007 | permalink

Send a Comment

Comments are reviewed and edited by NPR prior to display. All comments will be read, but not all will be posted.

NPR reserves the right to read on the air and/or publish on its Web site or in any medium now known or unknown the e-mails and letters that we receive. We may edit them for clarity or brevity and identify authors by name and location. For additional information, please consult our Terms of Use.

E-mail this Page

Recipient's e-mail address:	» Up to twelve addresses, separated by commas.
Your e-mail address:
Your name:
Personal message (optional, 600 characters max):
Your NPR member station:	» List of local stations (PDF)
Are you a member of your local NPR station?	Yes No
Would you like to receive information from your local NPR member station? (see NPR's privacy policy)	Yes No
May we contact you with information about NPR programming and services? (see NPR's privacy policy)	Yes No

(Information collected by NPR will be used solely for internal NPR or NPR member station purposes and only if you selected 'yes' above. See NPR's privacy policy for more information.)

Tom Regan

Blogger

About Us

This year's election cycle has been one of the most exciting in memory. At the NPR News Blog we'll do our best to bring you interesting, informative -- and controversial -- stories from our own reporters and bloggers, as well as the rest of the best of the Internet and blogosphere. And we hope you'll let us know what you think as well.

Want to learn more? Be sure to read our Frequently Asked Questions and our discussion guidelines.