In 1985-1990 - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, from 1985 to 1990 - member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR 9-11 convocations. In 1990-1991 - People's Deputy of the USSR. Former President of Georgia, Eduard Shevardnadze, died on July 7 at the age of 86 in Tbilisi…
In 1985-1990, Eduard Shevardnadze served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union. In the West, he was perceived as a reform-oriented politician, he was one of the architects of the "New Thinking" - perestroika.
Shevardnadze cannot be assessed in terms of "good or bad". Most people remember him as the president who rigged the results of the Georgian elections in 2003, which caused the protests of the population and the opposition, known as the Rose Revolution. 
On the other hand, he was a politician who took upon himself the burden of transforming the system, which in all the former Soviet republics was a difficult and painful process.
Political youth
Already at the age of 18, Eduard Shevardnadze took his first steps in politics. In 1946, while still a student at the Faculty of History of the Pedagogical Institute in Kutaisi, he became an activist of the Komsomol and was a party worker of the Communist Party of Georgia. And in 1956 he was elected secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth Union of Georgia. Then he was sent to the Kazakh steppes, where he became the head of the Komsomol, whose task was to raise the virgin lands.
During this period, he made his first contacts with people who later held prominent positions in the party apparatus. One of them was Mikhail Gorbachev, at that time the first secretary of the Komsomol of the Stavropol Territory. Shevardnadze describes the future First Secretary of the Soviet Union like this in his book The Future Belongs to Freedom:
There was also something that in my eyes especially distinguished him from others. He was completely devoid of such artificial Komsomol simplicity, which always demotivates me. He attracted attention, first of all, by his way of thinking, expressively going beyond the style imposed from above.
Career
In 1965, Shevardnadze became the Minister of Public Order, and in 1968, the Interior Minister and General of the Police. In 1972-1985, he served as the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia. 
Then he became known as a determined politician who fought corruption, bribery and embezzlement of state property. He did not hesitate to dismiss and imprison unscrupulous officials.
In the book mentioned earlier, he also emphasized other aspects of his work; first of all, experiments in the field of economics. He was interested in introducing elements of a market economy into the socialist system, as well as strengthening the position of the union republics in relation to the center. He called these actions "Georgian Perestroika".
At the "top"
The rise of Eduard Shevardnadze was associated with the strengthening of the position of Leonid Brezhnev in 1964. The changes that accompanied this event at the heights of power in Moscow also meant a change in the composition of the elites leading the union republics.
In addition to Shevardnadze, Karen Demirchyan in Armenia and Heydar Aliyev in Azerbaijan held the highest posts in their republics. As part of the fight against corruption and crime in 1972-1974, 25 thousand people were arrested. Among them were 9.5 thousand party members, seven thousand Komsomol members and 70 police and KGB officers. 
First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia. 70s
Among his achievements of that period, Shevardnadze names an increase in state subsidies for the restoration of monuments of history and art, and an improvement in the quality of teaching in schools. Presents himself as a "philanthropist of culture" who is concerned about the problems of his country, its history and traditions. As an example, he cites his assistance to the famous director Sergei Parajanov at the time when he was prosecuted in Tbilisi.
Also, he speaks very positively about Leonid Brezhnev, arguing that "the Secretary General not only did not interfere with our undertakings (and, of course, he could interfere with this because of his 'eretic' nature), but also supported them."
At the head of the Foreign Ministry
July 2, 1985 Eduard Shevardnadze was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union. He himself describes this event unusually pompously, arguing that for more than five years, which he spent in the minister's office, "I remember every day I lived", but that first one, imprinted in my memory to the smallest detail:
Looking ahead a little, I want to say that my “motor” from the very beginning received a strong fuse of their friendliness, confessions, cordial attitude towards me, willingness to help, bring me up to date, and interestingly, without any emphasis on their professionalism and gaps in my knowledge. 
USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Eduard Shevardnadze in his office in Moscow
As head of the USSR Foreign Ministry, Shevardnadze was perceived very positively in the West. First of all, he was considered one of the main architects of the famous "perestroika" and "new thinking" of Mikhail Gorbachev.
He was considered a politician open to cooperation with capitalist countries, he was not afraid to criticize the distortions of the socialist system and the mistakes of his predecessors. He became famous for criticizing the invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. This decision, according to him, "was made behind the shoulders of the party and the people."
Fall of an empire, new chapter
Eduard Shevardnadze had no previous experience in diplomacy and foreign policy. Andrei Gromyko's successor turned out to be a very ambitious minister, a staunch supporter and defender of "perestroika". He negotiated with both Helmut Kohl and other leaders of Western Europe, as well as with Deng Xiaoping or Qian Qichen from China. I tried to find a recipe for improving Soviet-Chinese relations, incl. problems in Cambodia. 
The Soviet Union, despite the "perestroika" and "new thinking" irretrievably collapsed. As a result of the conflict with Gorbachev, Eduard Shevardnadze resigned from the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs on December 20, 1990.
A year later, he returned to office, but only for a month, until the collapse of the Soviet Union. He didn't go down with his ship. A symbolic gesture of Shevardnadze's new political path is his baptism in the Georgian Orthodox Church in 1991. 
Less than two months later, parliamentary elections were held in Georgia, which were the first elections organized in the USSR with the participation of the opposition. Over 60% of the votes were received by the bloc of opposition forces, "Round Table - Free Georgia" headed by Zviad Gamsakhurdia. In the spring of 1991, the Georgian parliament declared the country's independence. Gamsakhurdia became the first president.
The first days of Georgia's independence passed to the accompaniment of gunshots in South Ossetia. The support provided to the Ossetians by Russia led to Gamsakhurdia's not very diplomatic declaration that his country was in the process of war with the USSR (at that time, Georgia did not yet have a regular armed forces).
The loss of actual control over Abkhazia and South Ossetia is today considered one of the main defeats of the presidency of Eduard Shevardnadze.
Georgian conflicts
The developing conflict with Abkhazia prompted the Georgian government to make efforts to create its own armed forces. In the spring of 1991, the National Guard of Georgia was created, which in form and name belonged to the traditions of the period of the First Republic.
However, the remaining anti-communist elites soon turned away from the president, who believed that he very quickly received full power and did not reckon with anyone. One of his opponents was Prime Minister Tengiz Sigua, who was appointed by him. All this was superimposed on the serious economic problems that Georgia was then experiencing - huge inflation and the lack of basic food products in stores. The Guard took the side of the putschists. 
The coup began on December 22, 1991 with an attack by the Guards on government buildings in Tbilisi, and ended on January 4, 1992 with the defeat of the poorly organized presidential forces. According to official figures, 107 people were killed. Immediately after the end of hostilities, Eduard Shevardnadze arrived in the capital of the country at the invitation of the former leader of the Communist Party of Georgia, Avtandil Margiani.
The civil war in Georgia has entered a new phase - the struggle of Georgians against Georgians. It continued until about the end of 1992. During the war, Tbilisi troops controlled the eastern part of the country, while supporters of the overthrown president, called Zviadists, controlled the western part. Shevardnadze used the resulting unrest to strengthen his political positions.
The situation finally returned to normal after the death of Gamsakhurdia in December 1993. In 1995, presidential elections were held in Georgia, in which, with an 80% turnout, Eduard Shevardnadze received 75% of the vote and became president of Georgia.
At the head of Georgia
The new parliament transferred almost all power into the hands of Eduard Shevardnadze, who declared himself the "head of state" and ruled the country with the help of decrees. This meant big changes in Georgia's domestic and foreign policy. Seeing public dissatisfaction due to continuous conflicts, social problems and the economic crisis, Shevardnadze unequivocally rejected the anti-Russian course of Zviad Gamsakhurdia.
On October 22, 1993, he signed a decree on Georgia's accession to the Commonwealth of Independent States and proceeded to disband all informal and paramilitary organizations, to arm the people, and he himself announced the creation of a regular army. At the same time, a new currency was introduced, first the so-called temporary coupons, and later, since 1995, the lari. Privatization and distribution of land to peasants has begun. An interesting fact is that one of the economic advisers to the authorities of independent Georgia was Leszek Balcerowicz. 
Shevardnadze also pursued an active policy in the international arena. He achieved Georgia's accession to various organizations. He opened its embassies in different countries and received assistance from other countries for the restoration of Georgia. Such actions gave people hope for a way out of the crisis. Shevardnadze demonstrated to the public that he is a politician who knows how to coordinate Georgian foreign policy with Russia's interests, and at the same time actively cooperate with Western countries.
On the other hand, the decision on Georgia's accession to the CIS was perceived very negatively by the Georgian society. Conflicts with the Ossetians, whose Abkhazians were supported by Russia and the Zviadists, continued uninterrupted. In turn, Russia, dissatisfied with the pro-Western course of the Georgian president, strategic partnership with NATO and a declaration of desire to join the Alliance (as well as the European Union), accused him of supporting Chechen separatism.
End of career
Shevardnadze gradually stabilized his political position, consolidating his own political camp around the Civil Union of Georgia party. His program was in line with the programs of the Western Social Democratic parties. However, the popularity of this policy has declined over time.
In addition to the above problems, one can add the huge corruption that people from the inner circle of the president were involved in, as well as the falsification of the presidential elections in 2000 and the parliamentary elections in 2003. The last elections put an end to the power of this politician. Eduard Shevardnadze voluntarily relinquished power (although at first he refused to give in) after consultations with opposition leaders as well as Colin Powell and Sergei Ivanov. 
Thus ended the political career of Eduard Shevardnadze. A career full of contradictions, ambiguities, things that are not so easy to define. Time will tell whether the future really belongs to freedom, as the former President of Georgia and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR arrogantly stated in the title of his book ...
Igor Khomyn
Photos from open sources
Eduard Amvrosievich Shevardnadze was born on January 25, 1928 in the village of Mamati, Lanchkhut region, in the historical region of Guria in Georgia. The personality of this politician and the consequences of his actions in the post of both the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR and the President of Georgia cause ambiguous assessments. About the dead or good, or nothing but the truth. But we will not discuss Shevardnadze's personality as a person; we will dwell on his policy, the consequences of which are "alive" to this day.
For some reason, for a long time in many Russian media, Shevardnadze was presented as an exceptionally wise politician, a born diplomat, such a political "elder". However, if you look at the list of "merits" of Eduard Amvrosievich, you understand that if he had some kind of political wisdom, then it clearly did not work for the good of the Soviet state. And after the collapse of the Soviet Union, to which Eduard Shevardnadze also had a hand, already in the status of president of sovereign Georgia, the former Soviet foreign minister was far from being a friend of Russia. Having instantly "changed shoes", yesterday's representative of the Soviet party nomenklatura, the general of the Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, calmly reoriented towards cooperation with the United States.
Who knows how the fate of Eduard Amvrosievich would have developed if he had chosen a different life path for himself in his youth. He graduated with honors from the Tbilisi Medical College and could have entered a medical school without exams. Perhaps he would have become an excellent doctor, like many of his countrymen, would have treated people, and ninety years after his birth, he would have been remembered with exceptional gratitude. But, after graduating from a technical school, Shevardnadze went along the Komsomol, and then the party line. This predetermined his future fate, and Edward's career in the party was very successful.
At the age of 18, he came to the position of an instructor in the personnel department of the Ordzhonikidze district committee of the Komsomol of Tbilisi and then went exclusively along the Komsomol line. By that time, Shevardnadze had neither work experience in production, nor service in the army, nor even work as a teacher, paramedic or newspaper correspondent. Professional apparatchik. In 1952, 24-year-old Eduard became the secretary of the Kutaisi regional committee of the Komsomol of the Georgian SSR, and in 1953 - the first secretary of the Kutaisi regional committee of the Komsomol of the Georgian SSR. Naturally, such a successful career in the Komsomol gave great chances for continuing a career already in party structures. In 1957-1961. Eduard Shevardnadze was the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Komsomol of the Georgian SSR. It was at this time that he met another Komsomol functionary - Mikhail Gorbachev, who in 1958 participated in the XIII Congress of the Komsomol as the second secretary of the Stavropol Regional Committee of the Komsomol.
In 1961, when Eduard was 33 years old, he switched from Komsomol to party work - he headed the Mtskheta district committee of the Communist Party of the Georgian SSR. What followed was a dizzying career. The path from the first secretary of the district committee to the republican minister took him only 4 years. In 1963-1964 Shevardnadze headed the Pervomaisky District Committee of the Communist Party of the Georgian SSR in Tbilisi, and in 1964 was appointed First Deputy Minister of Public Order of Georgia. Then it was a very common practice to send party officials "to strengthen" the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the KGB. Yesterday's Komsomol member Shevardnadze, who from the age of 18 was engaged exclusively in apparatus work, at the age of 36 ended up in a general's position without the slightest experience in law enforcement and even without serving in the army. The following year, 1965, he was appointed Minister of Public Order (since 1968 - Internal Affairs) of the Georgian SSR and received the rank of Major General of the Internal Service. Shevardnadze led the Georgian police for seven years - until 1972.
In 1972, after a very brief leadership of the Tbilisi City Committee of the Communist Party of the Georgian SSR, Eduard Shevardnadze was elected First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia. In this post, he replaced Vasily Mzhavanadze, who was accused of corruption and encouraging the activities of the guilds. Eduard Shevardnadze promised to restore order and deal with violations of socialist legality. He conducted a massive purge in the party and state apparatus of the republic, replacing the old leading cadres with young intellectuals and technocrats. However, it was during the years of his leadership of the Georgian SSR - in the 1970s - 1980s - that the republic had already finally secured for itself the glory of one of the most corrupt in the Union, living according to "special rules" that had nothing to do with Soviet laws. Yes, and the “purges” of the leadership could be a classic preparation for the subsequent flowering of nationalism.
In 1985, Eduard Shevardnadze was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR. Mikhail Gorbachev needed a reliable person in this position, who would share his aspirations for the liberalization of the political, including international, course. Therefore, the choice fell on Shevardnadze, who, by the way, had no experience in diplomatic work and even in the state language of the USSR, not to mention foreign languages, spoke with a strong accent until the end of his life.
It was in the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR that Eduard Shevardnadze caused maximum harm to the Soviet state with his activities. In fact, together with his "patron" Mikhail Gorbachev, Shevardnadze is directly responsible for the events that led to the final weakening and collapse of the Soviet state. It was Eduard Shevardnadze who, with his extreme pliability, led to a quick surrender of positions in foreign policy, having managed to completely destroy the socialist bloc in Eastern Europe in five years, and prepare the conditions for the complete withdrawal of Soviet troops from the countries of Eastern Europe.
In 1987, Eduard Shevardnadze signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which was to come into force in 1991. As a result of the Treaty, the Soviet Union destroyed 2.5 times more launchers and 3.5 times more warheads than the United States. The Oka missile (SS-23), which had been built over many years by entire teams of Soviet scientists and engineers, was also destroyed, although the United States did not ask for it. It turns out that Shevardnadze and Gorbachev simply "gave" the United States the destruction of a modern Soviet missile at that time.
Another famous "case" of Eduard Amvrosievich is the Shevardnadze-Baker agreement. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR signed with US Secretary of State James Baker the Agreement on the line of demarcation of maritime spaces in the Bering Sea. The title of this document does not convey the essence of the consequences to which the "demarcation of maritime spaces" has led. In the part of the Bering Sea, which was discussed in the agreement, there were explored large reserves of oil, and besides, there were many fish. But the "political elder" simply ceded 46.3 thousand square meters to the United States. km of the continental shelf and 7.7 thousand square meters. km of the continental economic zone of the Soviet Union. Only 4.6 thousand square meters went to the USSR. km of the continental shelf - ten times less than the United States. Of course, US Coast Guard ships immediately appeared in this zone and it became impossible for Soviet fishing vessels to visit it. Subsequently, James Baker, characterizing Shevardnadze, said that the main achievement of the latter was the refusal to use force to preserve the empire. But there were other, even more interesting words - “the Soviet minister seemed almost a suppliant. The Soviet leadership needs only a little encouragement to conduct business essentially on Western terms.”
Eduard Shevardnadze played one of the key roles in the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. Of course, from a human point of view, the fact that our soldiers and officers stopped dying is a big plus. But politically, it was a colossal miscalculation. Its consequences were the imminent coming of the Mujahideen to power in a neighboring country, the complete opening of the "underbelly" of the Soviet Union for attacks by extremists, which began almost immediately after the withdrawal of troops. The civil war in Tajikistan is also the result of this step, as well as the flood of drugs that poured into the post-Soviet republics, from which hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of young Russians died.
It was Eduard Shevardnadze who stood behind the "surrender" of East Germany. Mikhail Gorbachev and Eduard Shevardnadze are highly respected in the West for their contribution to the unification of Germany. But what was the use of this for the Soviet state, for Russia? The actions of the Soviet leadership were dumbfounded even by the Western leaders themselves. Throughout 1990, the issue of unification of the FRG and the GDR was discussed. And Eduard Shevardnadze made concessions of a very serious nature. As you know, the FRG was a member of the NATO bloc, and the GDR was a member of the Warsaw Pact. There was an opportunity to fix the need for united Germany to refuse to join NATO, but Shevardnadze relented and agreed with Germany's right to re-join the North Atlantic Alliance.
In addition, he allowed not to indicate the promise of German Foreign Minister Hans Dietrich Genscher to abandon plans for NATO expansion to the East. Although the latter promised the Soviet minister that the former countries of the socialist bloc would never be members of NATO. Shevardnadze explained his actions by the fact that he trusts his negotiating partners and there is no need to write down Genscher's promise on paper. What was the cost of fixing these words in the contract? But there is no fixation - and there are no agreements. In the 1990s-2000s, most of the former Soviet allies in Eastern Europe became members of NATO. The North Atlantic Alliance has moved as far as possible to the borders of modern Russia - and this is the most direct "merit" of the then Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, a "wise politician."
The process of unification of Germany took place in maximum haste. It seems that Gorbachev and Shevardnadze were given the task by someone to complete the preparations for the collapse of the Soviet state by 1991. Therefore, 1990 went down in history as the year of surrender of the positions of the Soviet Union on all fronts. By the way, the “White Fox” himself, as the media liked to call him, recalled in his memoirs that he made some decisions on the unification of Germany personally, without consulting with “Mikhal Sergeyich”. Obviously, Shevardnadze wanted to go down in history as the unifier of Germany much more than to remain in memory as a normal foreign minister of his state. George W. Bush, the President of the United States, was literally shocked by the behavior of the Soviet leaders. He recalled that the West was ready to write off multibillion-dollar debts, to give guarantees that Eastern Europe would never join NATO, but Shevardnadze did not demand anything in return.
On December 20, 1990, at the IV Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, Eduard Shevardnadze announced his resignation from the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs "in protest against the impending dictatorship", although it was not very clear what kind of dictatorship he was talking about. However, in November 1991, he returned for a month to the post of Minister of Foreign Relations of the USSR (instead of the abolished Ministry of Foreign Affairs), but soon the Soviet Union ceased to exist and Eduard Amvrosievich was out of work. He decided to return to Georgia, where in January 1992 a military coup took place that overthrew Zviad Gamsakhurdia.
On March 10, 1992, Shevardnadze headed the State Council of Georgia, in October 1992 he was elected Chairman of the Georgian Parliament, and on November 6, 1992 - Head of the Georgian State (since 1995 - President). Thus, Shevardnadze actually headed sovereign Georgia for eleven years - from 1992 to 2003. Those who caught that time remember that life in Georgia became literally unbearable. The war with Abkhazia, the conflict in South Ossetia, the unprecedented growth of banditry - and all this against the backdrop of the complete destruction of the social infrastructure, the total impoverishment of the population. It was during the years of Shevardnadze's presidency that many citizens of Georgia left the territory of the country, emigrating to other states, primarily to that very Russia, independence from which Tbilisi so desired a few years ago.
Shevardnadze's policy as president of sovereign Georgia cannot be called friendly towards Russia either. Although the “White Fox” repeatedly spoke in words about the friendship of the Russian and Georgian peoples, he himself tried to turn the country into a US satellite, asking Washington to send an international military contingent to the republic. The role of Georgia during the First Chechen War is well known. Just at that time, Eduard Shevardnadze was in charge of the country on whose territory the militant bases were located.
In domestic politics, Shevardnadze suffered a complete fiasco, unable to lead the country out of the economic and social catastrophe. On November 21-23, 2003, the so-called massacre took place in Georgia. The "Rose Revolution", which forced Eduard Amvrosievich on November 23, 2003 to step down as president of the country. After Shevardnadze's resignation, he lived for almost eleven more years. He passed away on July 7, 2014 at the age of 87.
89 years have passed since the birth of Eduard Amvrosievich Shevardnadze. His activities are evaluated differently - they say both good and bad, but everyone admits that he was an extraordinary and bright personality.
Second President of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze and Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II during the religious holiday "Mtskhetoba" in Mtskheta
The second president of Georgia and the last minister of foreign affairs of the USSR died two and a half years ago, but the controversy surrounding his personality has not subsided to this day.
Like any major politician, he was an unusual personality, whose activities cannot be unambiguously assessed. For his 86 years, he managed to be both a major Soviet party functionary, and one of the creators of Gorbachev's "perestroika", and after the collapse of the Soviet Union, for more than ten years, the leader of already independent Georgia.
Shevardnadze took credit for the unification of Germany and the end of the Cold War.
Political career
Eduard Shevardnadze was born on January 25, 1928 in the village of Mamati in the Guria region (Western Georgia), in the family of a teacher. He received his secondary education at a village school.
The leader in the class, an excellent student, a ringleader and a Komsomol organizer - the parents were sure that the guy would become a doctor. As Shevardnadze himself recalled, "the paramedic in the village was the most authoritative person, what else could I become?"
However, Shevardnadze chose the path of the party and in 1951 graduated from the party school under the Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) of Georgia.
Shevardnadze's political career was long and bright - he started with the district committee of the Komsomol, was the second, then the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Komsomol of Georgia, was the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Georgian SSR.
In the autumn of 1972, Eduard Shevardnadze headed the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia and at the age of 44 became the first person in the republic. He immediately announced that he was launching a campaign against corruption and the shadow economy. He could fire an official only because he wore a non-domestic watch on his arm.
National Archives of Georgia
Shevardnadze was called the "White Fox", explaining that he was gray-haired and wise, and some considered him very resourceful and cunning.
Contemporaries assured him that he was a real workaholic. The car of the first secretary of Georgia could be seen on the streets of Tbilisi at 6 am and at 12 noon. And so he remained almost to the end of his life.
It was also said that Shevardnadze adored cinema and theater. And I tried not to miss a single premiere.
Thanks to Shevardnadze, in 1984, Tengiz Abuladze's film "Repentance" was released on Soviet screens, which, in fact, was a guilty verdict on Stalinism. Subsequently, Shevardnadze recalled how he and his wife Nanuli read the script all night and cried.
Father Nanuli was repressed in 1937. At first, she refused to accept the marriage proposal of a promising politician - she did not want to spoil the groom's career.
© photo: Sputnik / RIA Novosti
Eduard Shevardnadze recalled in an interview that he was ready to quit politics for the sake of his beloved and become a doctor, as his parents once dreamed of. However, he did not have to change his profession. They got married in 1954, during the Khrushchev thaw, when kinship with "enemies of the people" was no longer considered a crime.
In 1985, he was transferred to Moscow, where he was appointed head of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, at the same time, was a member of the Politburo. As the head of the Foreign Ministry, Shevardnadze made visits to many countries.
Sergo Edisherashvili
He was called one of the main associates of Mikhail Gorbachev in the era of perestroika, glasnost and detente.
When Shevardnadze stepped down as foreign minister in 1990, the New York Times wrote: "The best minister in the history of the USSR has left." In 1991, Shevardnadze was appointed head of a new department - the Ministry of Foreign Relations, but he did not hold it for long. In December of the same year, he was one of the first Soviet leaders to recognize the Belovezhskaya Accords and the collapse of the USSR.
Return
After the first president of independent Georgia, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, was overthrown in January 1992, Shevardnadze returned to Georgia in March at the invitation of the coup leaders and the intelligentsia.
Chaos, anarchy reigned in the country at that time, and everything was led by armed groups. He headed the State Council, created after the overthrow of President Gamsakhurdia.
In October 1992, Shevardnadze was elected chairman of the parliament - the head of state of Georgia.
In 1993, the Union of Citizens of Georgia party was created in Tbilisi, headed by Shevardnadze.
In November 1995, Shevardnadze was elected president of Georgia. He held this post for eight years, adhering to a pro-Western political course.
© photo: Sputnik / Sergo Edisherashvili
Despite the already considerable age, Shevardnadze had a phenomenal ability to work. Contemporaries claim that he could work 20 hours a day and it was impossible to guess where and when he manages to get at least a little sleep.
He read very quickly, made instant decisions and at the same time had the patience to listen to anyone and at any time - if it was necessary for the case. And all this, including Saturdays and Sundays.
Shevardnadze was always at work at 9 am, and rarely left the office before midnight. He had his own hour after dinner, he used it for reading, read a lot, most often specialized literature on political science and poetry.
During the years in power, Shevardnadze was accused of many "mortal sins." In particular, in the loss of Abkhazia, the civil war, the prosperity of corruption and so on, but no one could call him a coward.
He was always at the forefront and did not hide behind the backs of his bodyguards, regardless of whether it was the line of fire or an angry crowd of people. And with his inherent sense of humor and attention, he could support and encourage anyone in the most difficult moment.
Assassination attempts
During the years of his presidency, Shevardnadze was repeatedly assassinated. The first took place on August 29, 1995. Shevardnadze was slightly injured by glass fragments as a result of the explosion of a mined "Niva", parked near the building of the country's parliament.
© photo: Sputnik /
Igor Giorgadze, who was then the Minister of State Security of Georgia, was officially accused of the attempt.
The second assassination attempt on Shevardnadze took place on February 9, 1998. A group of attackers fired machine guns and grenade launchers at the presidential cortege, which was heading from the State Chancellery to the government residence of Krtsanisi.
Several shells hit the president's armored Mercedes, but Shevardnadze miraculously survived. A bodyguard officer and a special forces soldier were killed, four security officers were injured. 13 people were convicted in this case.
Resignation
In November 2003, during the "Rose Revolution", which occurred due to opposition forces disagreeing with the results of the country's parliamentary elections, Shevardnadze was offered to leave the presidency.
© AP Photo / Shakh Aivazov
He resigned on November 23, and as a result Mikhail Saakashvili came to power. Many years later, namely in 2012, Shevardnadze publicly apologized to the people of Georgia for having renounced power in favor of Saakashvili.
After the early resignation, Shevardnadze remained in the country and settled in the residence, which was presented to him by the new government. He considered his greatest loss not as a president, but as the death of his wife, Nanuli Shevardnadze, who died in October 2004.
After leaving big politics, Shevardnadze wrote memoirs that were published in different countries. In the last two years he has been working on a new book. In 2009, he wrote: "My Georgia. At the thought of its present and future, I feel pain and bitterness. I can't change anything anymore. New times need new people."
© AFP / VIKTOR DRACHEV
Shevardnadze died on July 7, 2014 at his own residence at the age of 87 after a serious long illness. He was buried in the courtyard of the Krtsanisi residence, next to his beloved wife, with whom he lived for more than half a century.
During his life, Eduard Shevardnadze received numerous awards and international prizes. Among them are the Hero of Socialist Labor, five orders of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree, the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise of the 1st degree for personal contribution to the development of cooperation between Ukraine and Georgia.
Achievements
Thanks to the activities of Shevardnadze as head of the Foreign Ministry, in 1986 the Treaty between the USSR and the DPRK on the delimitation of the economic zone and the continental shelf was signed.
The following year, during a visit to the United States, Shevardnadze managed to agree on the start of full-scale bilateral negotiations to limit and then stop nuclear testing.
Under him, Soviet troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan. The role of Shevardnadze in the unification of Germany was also invaluable.
Contemporaries considered Shevardnadze a reformer and a fighter against corruption. In 1990, he resigned from the post of head of the Foreign Ministry, saying that the time for dictatorship had come in the USSR and that a coup could not be avoided. But many in those days believed that this refusal was due to the fact that he did not receive the highest position of vice president.
During Shevardnadze's presidency, the foundations were laid for Georgia's integration into the European community. In parallel with the movement towards the United States and Europe, the Shevardnadze government has always tried to take into account the Russian factor.
According to experts, Shevardnadze managed to stabilize relations between Tbilisi and Moscow. This is also explained by the fact that Eduard Shevardnadze and Boris Yeltsin were well acquainted, so the personal factor played a positive role here.
One of the main achievements of Shevardnadze's era is considered by experts to be giving Georgia the function of a transit country. One striking example was the signing of an agreement on the construction of the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline in 1995, which later connected the oil pipeline from Azerbaijan to Turkey.
It was under Shevardnadze that civil society began to take shape. A system for the protection of human rights was formed in Georgia, an independent press, independent television were created, people could hold mass protests.
failures
According to experts, during Shevardnadze's presidency, power in Georgia was greatly weakened. He could not solve the problem of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region, and could not defeat corruption. And by this time, people were in power who thought only about their own gain.
© photo: Sputnik /
During the years of Shevardnadze's rule, there was a rapid social stratification of the population, and the state's internal debt only for protected budget items amounted to several hundred million dollars.
Of course, it is extremely difficult to assess the figure of Eduard Shevardnadze, as well as the role he played in certain events. One thing is clear - historians and political scientists still have to work on assessing this role for a long time.
Material prepared on the basis of open sources
In 2014, the president of Georgia died, and during the Soviet era, the minister of foreign affairs. He was 86 years old, and his name was Eduard Shevardnadze. This person will be discussed below.
Komsomol
Eduard Shevardnadze, whose photo is located in the article, was born in 1928. It happened in Georgia, in the village of Mamati. The family in which Eduard Shevardnadze was born was large and not very rich. His father worked at school as a teacher of Russian language and literature, and Edik himself worked as a postman from the age of ten.
During the fierce repressions of 1937, Edward's father escaped arrest by hiding from the NKVD. His life was saved by one of the employees of the People's Commissariat, who had previously studied with him. Edward himself entered the medical college, which he graduated with honors. But he sacrificed medical practice to a political career, which he began with the post of the released secretary of the Komsomol. His career developed rapidly, and at the age of 25 he became the first secretary of the Kutaisi city committee of the Komsomol.
Later, he was noticed after the reaction of Georgian youth to Khrushchev's report on Tbilisi activists came out with an aggressive protest against the initiative to debunk Stalin's personality cult. As a result, troops were brought into the city and force was used, the victims of which were 21 people. Kutaisi remained aloof from the riots. It is impossible to say exactly what role Eduard Shevardnadze played in this, but he was promoted. A year later, he was already heading the Komsomol within the framework of the entire Georgian Republic.
Anti-corruption activities
In 1968, Eduard Amvrosievich was transferred from the post of secretary to Shevardnadze to the post of republican minister of the interior. On the one hand, it was an increase, but a rather specific one. There were unwritten rules in the administrative apparatus of the Soviet government, according to which the occupation of a general's position in the police was the final stage of a career, because they were never transferred back to politics. Thus, this place was a dead end in terms of career development. But Eduard Amvrosievich Shevardnadze, whose biography is full of interesting twists and turns, managed to get out of this situation.
The fact is that the Soviet Caucasus was a very corrupt region and this point stood out against the background of everything else, also far from ideal, the Union. The anti-corruption campaign unleashed by the Kremlin needed reliable people who did not tarnish their reputation. And Shevardnadze had just such a reputation, which was reported to Brezhnev. As a result, he was sent for an internship as the first secretary of the Tbilisi City Committee. And a year later, in 1972, he headed the republic. Moreover, only four years later he received membership in which he was entitled to on duty. The result of Shevardnadze's first anti-corruption five-year plan was the dismissal of about forty thousand people. At the same time, 75% were convicted according to the law - about thirty thousand.
The methods of combating bribery that Eduard Shevardnadze used were preserved by his biography due to the wide resonance they had in society. For example, at one of the meetings of the Georgian Central Committee, he asked the assembled officials to demonstrate wristwatches. As a result, with the exception of the newly appointed first secretary with his modest “Glory”, everyone ended up with prestigious and expensive “Seiko”. On another occasion, he banned taxis, but the street was still full of cars with characteristic features. This is worth noting because, unlike today, private carting was classified as unearned income and condemned.
However, he failed to completely eliminate bribery from the environment of the administrative apparatus. Among the reviews of this period, there are those who call all his activities a window dressing, as a result of which some thieves in law took the place of others.
Political Flexibility
Eduard Amvrosievich Shevardnadze gained particular popularity among the population of the republic in 1978, and the reason for this was a political conflict over the official language. The situation was such that only three republics in the USSR had their own national dialects as official state languages. Georgia was among them. In all other regions of the Soviet Union, the concept of the state language was not spelled out in the Constitution. In the course of the adoption of a new version of the Constitution, it was decided to remove this feature and extend the general practice to all republics. However, this proposal was not to the taste of local citizens, and they gathered in front of the government building with a peaceful protest. Eduard Shevardnadze immediately contacted Moscow and personally convinced Brezhnev that this decision should be postponed. He did not follow the path familiar to the Soviet authorities, to please the Party. Instead, the leader of the republic went out to the people and said publicly: "Everything will be as you want." This repeatedly increased his rating and added weight in the eyes of citizens.
At the same time, however, he promised to fight ideological enemies to the last. For example, he said that he would clean the capitalist pigsty to the bone. Eduard Shevardnadze spoke very flatteringly about Moscow politics and personally about Comrade Brezhnev. His flattery crossed all conceivable limits even under the conditions of the Soviet regime. Shevardnadze spoke positively about the introduction of Soviet military units into Afghanistan, insisting that this was "the only right" step. This and many other things led to the fact that the Georgian leader's opposition often reproached him for insincerity and deceit. As a matter of fact, these same claims remain relevant even today, after Eduard Amvrosievich died. During his lifetime, Shevardnadze answered them evasively, explaining that he allegedly did not curry favor with the Kremlin, but tried to create conditions in order to better serve the interests of the people.
It is interesting to note such a fact as the critical attitude towards Stalin and the Stalinist regime, which Eduard Shevardnadze broadcast in his policy. 1984, for example, is the year of the premiere of the film "Repentance" by Tengiz Abuladze. This film produced a noticeable response in society, because in it Stalinism is sharply condemned. And this picture came out thanks to the personal efforts of Shevardnadze.
Gorbachev's assistant
Friendship between Shevardnadze and Gorbachev began when the latter was first secretary of the Stavropol Territory Party Committee. According to the memoirs of both, they talked quite frankly, and in one of these conversations Shevardnadze said that "everything is rotten, everything needs to be changed." Less than three months later, Gorbachev headed the Soviet Union and immediately invited Eduard Amvrosievich to his place with a proposal to take the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs for him. The latter agreed, and so instead of the former Shevardnadze, the leader of Georgia, Shevardnadze, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, appeared. This appointment made a splash not only in the country, but throughout the world. Firstly, Eduard Amvrosievich did not speak any foreign language. And secondly, he did not have any foreign policy experience. However, for Gorbachev's purposes, he was ideally suited, since he met the requirements of "new thinking" in the field of politics and diplomacy. As a diplomat, he behaved unconventionally for a Soviet politician: he joked, maintained a fairly relaxed atmosphere, and allowed himself some liberties.
However, he miscalculated with his own team, deciding to leave all the employees of the ministry in their places. Shevardnadze neglected as a result of which the old team split into two parts. One of them supported the new chief and admired his style, manners, memory and professional qualities. The other, on the contrary, stood up in opposition and called everything that the new head of the Foreign Ministry does stupidity, and he himself - a Kutaisi Komsomol member.
The military especially took a dislike to Shevardnadze. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, to their obvious displeasure, argued that the greatest danger to Soviet citizens was the poverty of the population and the technological superiority of competing states, and not American missiles and aircraft. The military is not used to such an attitude. Always getting everything they needed under the regime of Brezhnev and Andropov, officials from the Ministry of Defense came into open confrontation with Shevardnadze, openly vilifying and harshly criticizing him at various events. For example, at the disarmament talks, Mikhail Moiseev, chief of the General Staff, told the representatives of the United States that, unlike the "eccentric" Soviet diplomats, they have normal ones.
When the Soviet troops were withdrawn from Eastern Europe, hatred for the head of the Foreign Ministry intensified, since service within Germany or Czechoslovakia was a cherished goal for many. In the end, a meeting of the leaders of the Ministry of Defense demanded that the government bring Gorbachev to justice. Subsequently, many experts argued that the reason for the harsh policy of the Kremlin in the Caucasus in the 1990s was the personal hostility towards Shevardnadze of the Russian military. In addition, many adherents of the Soviet system of values were extremely annoyed by the position of Eduard Amvrosievich in relation to the countries of the West, which offered to see them not as enemies and competitors, but as partners. Even Gorbachev himself, under pressure from the dissatisfied, seriously thought about changing the minister.
Discord with Gorbachev
Gorbachev's radical changes were poorly received by the Soviet nomenklatura. Active democratization of society and economic reforms, as well as were met with desperate resistance. The ultra-orthodox communists blamed Shevardnadze for almost everything that happened in the camp of the bad. The second half of the 1980s was marked by a crack that appeared in relations between the leader of the USSR Gorbachev and the head of the Foreign Ministry. The result of this was the voluntary resignation of the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1990. Moreover, Eduard Amvrosievich did not coordinate his demarche with anyone. As a result, diplomats from all over the world panicked, as did Gorbachev himself, who had to apologize and justify himself for the actions of his former ally, who was Eduard Shevardnadze. His biography, however, includes a second attempt to take the place of head of the Foreign Ministry.
Return to the post of Foreign Minister
As far as is known, the decision to return to the post of head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not an easy one for Shevardnadze. With a proposal to do this, Gorbachev addressed him immediately after the putsch. However, Edward's first reaction was refusal. Nevertheless, when the collapse of the USSR became a very real threat, he nevertheless agreed to provide his assistance. When the White House was attacked in August 1991, Shevardnadze was among its defenders. His presence there was very beneficial for Gorbachev, because he told the whole world - both the Soviet nomenklatura and the West - that everything was returning to its place, and the consequences of the putsch were a thing of the past. Many people believed that Shevardnadze was not interested in the USSR, but only in Georgia. Shevardnadze allegedly wanted and in every possible way sought the collapse of the Union in order to make the republic a state independent of the Kremlin. However, this is not so - he tried to the last to prevent the collapse of the USSR and made every effort for this. For example, refusing to travel abroad, he spent time visiting the capitals of the republics. He realized that sovereign Russia, headed by Boris Yeltsin, would not become his home and there he would not be offered any position. But his efforts were not crowned with success. In general, his second attempt to take the same place lasted only three weeks.
Leadership of sovereign Georgia
The collapse of the USSR for the former minister of 63 years meant the prospect of a calm and carefree life anywhere in the world. But instead, at the suggestion of the Georgian government apparatus, he decided to head sovereign Georgia. It happened in 1992, after the overthrow of Zviad Gamsakhurdia. Contemporaries often compared his return to his homeland with the episode of calling the Varangians to Rus'. The desire to put the internal affairs of the republic in order played an important role in his decision. But he failed to complete this task: Georgian society was not fully consolidated. His world authority did not help him, and among other things, armed criminal leaders provided serious resistance. After assuming the post of head of Georgia, Shevardnadze had to deal with the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which were provoked by his predecessor. Under the influence of the military, as well as public opinion, he agreed in 1992 to send troops to these territories.
Presidency
Shevardnadze won the presidential elections twice - in 1995 and 2000. They were distinguished by a significant preponderance, but he still did not become a universally recognized national hero. He was often criticized for economic instability, for weakness in relation to Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as well as for the corruption of the state apparatus. Twice he was assassinated. The first time, in 1995, he was injured by a bomb blast. Three years later, they tried to kill him again. However, this time it was fired from machine guns and a grenade launcher. The head of state was saved only thanks to an armored car. It is not known exactly who carried out these attacks. In the first case, the main suspect is Igor Giorgadze, the former head of the Georgian security service. However, he himself, however, denies his involvement in the organization of the assassination attempt and hides in Russia. But regarding the second episode, versions were put forward at various times that it was organized by Chechen fighters, local bandits, opposition politicians, and even the Russian GRU.
Resignation
In November 2003, as a result of parliamentary elections, the victory of Shevardnadze's supporters was announced. However, opposition politicians announced the falsification of the election results, which provoked mass unrest. This event is recorded in history as the Rose Revolution. As a result of these events, Shevardnadze accepted his resignation. The new government gave him a pension, and he went to live out his life in his own residence in Tbilisi.
Eduard Shevardnadze: cause of death
Eduard Amvrosievich completed his life on July 7, 2014. He died at the age of 87 as a result of a severe and prolonged illness. The grave of Shevardnadze, the photo of which is located above, is located in the park area of his residence in the government quarter of Krtsanisi, where he lived in recent years. There is also the grave of his wife.
Biography and episodes of life Edward Shevardnadze. When born and died Eduard Shevardnadze, memorable places and dates of important events in his life. politics quotes, Photo and video.
The years of the life of Eduard Shevardnadze:
born January 25, 1928, died July 7, 2014
Epitaph
May your dream be serene
No one will ever bother
Nothing can break
Oblivion eternal rest.
Biography
The biography of Eduard Shevardnadze is somewhat similar to the fate of other politicians - Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev, who were more popular abroad than in their own country. His life path was long and eventful, but Shevardnadze himself, like any controversial political figure, was remembered by his compatriots as an extraordinary person.
Shevardnadze was born in Georgia - Eduard Amvrosievich's father was a teacher, his brother died during the war during the defense of the Brest Fortress. Shevardnadze was not yet twenty years old when he began to engage in party work, so his political future was marked. By the age of thirty, Eduard Shevardnadze had already held the post of First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Komsomol of Georgia, at the same time he met Mikhail Gorbachev.
Shevardnadze's political biography developed successfully, he confidently climbed the career ladder, and in 1972 he took the post of First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia and soon announced the start of a large-scale campaign to combat corruption. Over the years, Shevardnadze has made many enemies for himself by removing several ministers, secretaries of district committees and city committees from their posts. Tens of thousands of people were arrested or simply removed from their posts. Gorbachev, on the other hand, assessed Shevardnadze's actions positively, awarding him the title of Hero of Socialist Labor in 1981, and appointing him Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR four years later. Hard times began for Shevardnadze in the USSR at that time, many of his actions as a minister were subjected to severe criticism - for example, the agreements he signed with the USA and the DPRK. But abroad, he was extremely popular and positioned himself as a democratic and modern minister. Soon the USSR collapsed, and a new stage began in the life of politics - in 1992, after the overthrow of the first president of Georgia, Eduard Shevardnadze became the head of this country. During the years of his reign, there was a war between Georgia and Abkhazia, as a result of which the latter finally separated from Georgia. In 1995 and 1998, two assassination attempts were made on Shevardnadze - the president was criticized for his policy towards South Ossetia and Abkhazia, for the economic situation in the country, and for many other shortcomings of the government. And although Shevardnadze refused to give up positions for a long time, in 2003 he had to leave his post after the "Rose Revolution" led by Saakashvili. After his early resignation, he wrote memoirs and criticized the new president's rule.
Shevardnadze's death came at the age of 87. The cause of Shevardnadze's death was a long illness. Shevardnadze's funeral took place on July 13, 2014. Shevardnadze's grave is located on the territory of the former government residence, near Shevardnadze's house, which he left for himself after his resignation. Shevardnadze's wife is also buried there.
life line
January 25, 1928 Date of birth of Eduard Amvrosievich Shevardnadze.
1946 Shevardnadze's admission to the party school under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia.
1948 Joining the Communist Party.
1953 Appointment of Shevardnadze as the first secretary of the Kutaisi regional committee of the Komsomol of the Georgian SSR.
1959 Graduated from the Kutaisi Pedagogical Institute.
1965-1972 Minister of Public Order.
September 29, 1972 First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia.
July 2, 1985 Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR.
November 19, 1991 Minister of Foreign Relations of the USSR.
March 10, 1992 Chairman of the State Council of Georgia.
November 6, 1992 Head of Georgia.
November 26, 1995 President of Georgia.
February 9, 1998 Assassination attempt on Shevardnadze in Tbilisi.
April 9, 2000 Victory in the presidential elections in Georgia.
November 2003"Rose Revolution" in Georgia, Shevardnadze's resignation.
October 20, 2004 Death of Nanuli Shevardnadze, wife of Shevardnadze.
June 2006 The end of the book "Thoughts about the past and the future."
July 7, 2014 Date of Shevardnadze's death.
July 11, 2014 Funeral service for Shevardnadze.
July 13, 2014 Funeral of Shevardnadze.
Memorable places
1. The village of Mamati, where Shevardnadze was born.
2. Kutaisi University named after A. Tsereteli (former Pedagogical Institute named after A. Tsulukidze), who graduated from Shevardnadze.
3. Shevardnadze's house on the territory of the former government residence, where Shevardnadze is buried.
4. Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, the cathedral church of the Georgian Orthodox Church, where Shevardnadze was baptized and where Shevardnadze was buried.
Episodes of life
Until the end of his life, Shevardnadze was sure that he had done a lot - not only for his country, but also for other countries. He believed that the unification of Germany was his merit as much as Gorbachev's. Despite the fact that various experts are sure that Shevardnadze is to blame for the fact that the USSR gave up its foreign policy positions during the years of his work as a minister.
Once Eduard Shevardnadze admitted that "the biggest sin before the people and before the country is that he handed over power to Mikheil Saakashvili." Until the last day he was convinced that Saakashvili's policy was disastrous for Georgia.
Shevardnadze was one of Gorbachev's most important associates in the cause of perestroika and glasnost.
Covenant
“No matter what attractive conditions they offer me, I will still stay in Georgia. I was blown up twice - I'm already used to it, I'm not surprised by this. If someone again conceives and implements it, I will still remain - alive or dead. There are no other options."
Documentary film about Eduard Shevardnadze from the series "Real stories of people"
condolences
“I express my deep condolences on the death of Eduard Amvrosievich Shevardnadze. We were friends and I am very sorry for his passing. He was an extraordinary, talented person. He knew how to quickly find contact with different people - both with young people and with the older generation. He had a bright character, a Georgian temperament.”
Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of the USSR
“Eduard Shevardnadze will take his rightful place in history because he and Mikhail Gorbachev refused to support the use of force to preserve the Soviet empire. Millions of people in Central and Eastern Europe, around the world, owe them their freedom."
James Baker, former US Secretary of State
"He was a politician whose name is associated with the destruction of the walls of Europe and the formation of a new Europe."
Giorgi Margvelashvili, President of Georgia
