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Eduard Shevardnadze: Polished Diplomat Or Brutal Communist Boss? An Investigative Glimpse Into Shevardnadze's Creation In Georgia What He Said He Feared Most About Gorbachev's Soviet Union, Presented In The Highest DVD Quality MPG Video Format Of 9.1 MBPS As An Archival Quality All Regions Format DVD, MP4 Video Download Or USB Flash Drive! #EduardShevardnadze #Georgia #RepublicOfGeorgia #MikhailGorbachev #SecondRussianRevolution #Glasnost #Perestroika #SovietUnion #SovietHistory #HistoryOfTheSovietUnion #USSR #RevolutionsOf1989 #DVD #VideoDownload #MP4 #USBFlashDrive
He was at one time a diplomat, acclaimed for helping end the Cold War - that, before he ws accused of conducting a reign of terror. Next to Mikhail Gorbachev, Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze was, up until the end of 1991, the best known and most well-liked of the Soviet leaders. To officials in the United States, he was a welcome change. Shevardnadze's predecessor, Andrei Gromyko, was known as "Dr. Nyet", "Mr. Nyet" or "Grim Grom", for his habit of always saying "No" to American proposals, and because of his frequent use of the Soviet veto in the United Nations Security Council. Shevardnadze, on the other hand, had a working relationship with United States Secretary of State James Baker, and was considered one of the architects of the end of the Cold War. When on December 20, 1990, Shevardnadze publicly resigned from the Gorbachev administration to protest what he called "the coming dictatorship". But, did he himself create in Georgia what he said he feared the most about Gorbachev's Soviet Union? When Shevardnadze became head of the ruling council of the former Soviet republic of Georgia, many people saw him not as the polished diplomat, but rather as a communist boss with strong arms that reached inside the hated KGB. That's the subject of this controversial film (Color, 1992, 46 Minutes).
Eduard Shevardnadze, Soviet and Georgian general and politician, 2nd President of Georgia who had governed Georgia for several non-consecutive periods from 1972 until his resignation in 2003, final Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1985 to 1990 (January 25, 1928 - July 7, 2014) was born Eduard Ambrosis dze Shevardnadze in Mamati in the Transcaucasian SFSR, which was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union. Shevardnadze started his political career in the late 1940s as a leading member of his local Komsomol organisation. He was later appointed its Second Secretary, then its First Secretary. His rise in the Georgian Soviet hierarchy continued until 1961 when he was demoted after he insulted a senior official. After spending two years in obscurity, Shevardnadze returned as a First Secretary of a Tbilisi city district, and was able to charge the Tbilisi First Secretary at the time with corruption. His anti-corruption work quickly garnered the interest of the Soviet government and Shevardnadze was appointed as First Deputy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Georgian SSR. He would later become the head of the internal affairs ministry and was able to charge First Secretary (leader of Soviet Georgia) Vasil Mzhavanadze with corruption. He served as First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party (GPC) from 1972 to 1985, which made him the de facto leader of Georgia. As First Secretary, Shevardnadze started several economic reforms, which would spur economic growth in the republic-an uncommon occurrence in the Soviet Union because the country was experiencing a nationwide economic stagnation. Shevardnadze's anti-corruption campaign continued until he resigned from his office as First Secretary. In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev appointed Shevardnadze to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs. He served in this position, with the exception of a brief interruption between 1990 and 1991, until the fall of the Soviet Union. During this time, only Gorbachev would outrank Shevardnadze in importance in Soviet foreign policy. Shevardnadze was responsible for many key decisions in Soviet foreign policy during the Gorbachev Era, and was seen by the outside world as the face of Soviet reforms such as Perestroika. In the aftermath of the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991, Shevardnadze returned to the newly independent Republic of Georgia, after being asked to lead the country by the Military Council which had recently deposed the country's first president, Zviad Gamsakhurdia. In 1992 Shevardnadze became the leader of Georgia (as Chairman of Parliament). He was formally elected as president in 1995. Under his rule, the peace treaty was signed in Sochi, which ended military hostilities in South Ossetia, although Georgia lost effective control over large part of the territory. In August 1992 the war broke out in Abkhazia, which Georgia also lost. Shevardnadze also headed the government in the civil war in 1993 against pro-Gamsakhurdia forces, which did not recognize Shevardnadze as a legitimate leader and tried to regain power. Shevardnadze signed Georgia up to the Commonwealth of Independent States, in return receiving help from Russia to end the conflict, although Georgia also deepened its ties with the European Union and the United States. It joined the Council of Europe in 1999 and declared its intention to join NATO in 2002. Shevardnadze oversaw large-scale privatization and other political and economic changes. His rule was marked by rampant corruption and accusations of nepotism. Allegations of electoral fraud during the 2003 legislative election led to a series of public protests and demonstrations colloquially known as the Rose Revolution. Eventually, Shevardnadze agreed to resign. He later published his memoirs and lived in relative obscurity, spending his last years living quietly at his mansion house in the outskirts of Tbilisi. As his health deteriorated, his involvement in public life became much reduced. After a long undisclosed illness, he died in Tbilisi, Georgia at the age of 86. Georgia's Former president Giorgi Margvelashvili and Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili extended condolences to his family members. Margvelashvili described him as "one of the distinguished politicians of the 20th century, who participated in dismantling of the Soviet system". He added, "He was also playing a serious role in creation of new Georgia and in development of our western course". Garibashvili said Shevardnadze's "contribution was especially important in establishing Georgia's geopolitical role in the modern world. Eduard Shevardnadze was a politician of international significance, who made a great contribution to end the Cold War and to establish new world order." Former President Mikheil Saakashvili, who overthrew Shevardnadze in the 2003 Rose Revolution, offered condolences and said Shevardnadze was "a significant figure for the Soviet empire and for post-Soviet Georgia". Saakashvili said his government did not start a criminal prosecution against Shevardnadze, despite calls by some politicians and parts of society, out of "respect to the President's institution". Among others, Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry offered condolences. Kerry credited Shevardnadze with playing "an instrumental role" in bringing about the end of the Cold War, a reduction of "the risk of nuclear confrontation" as the Soviet Union's Foreign Minister, ensuring "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of [Georgia] during the 1990s" as President of Georgia and putting the country "on its irreversible trajectory toward Euro-Atlantic integration". Shevardnadze was accorded a state funeral on July 13, 2014, which was attended by the Georgian political leaders and foreign dignitaries, including the former US Secretary of State James Baker and former German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher. After a service at the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi, Shevardnadze was buried next to his late wife Nanuli Shevardnadze at the Krtsanisi residence in Tbilisi.