Aslan Abashidze
Encyclopedia
Batumi
Batumi is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. Sometimes considered Georgia's second capital, with a population of 121,806 , Batumi serves as an important port and a commercial center. It is situated in a subtropical zone, rich in...
, July 20, 1938) was the leader of the Ajarian
Adjara
Adjara , officially the Autonomous Republic of Adjara , is an autonomous republic of Georgia.Adjara is located in the southwestern corner of Georgia, bordered by Turkey to the south and the eastern end of the Black Sea...
Autonomous Republic in western Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
from 1991 to May 5, 2004. He resigned under the pressure of the central Georgian government and mass opposition rallies during the 2004 Adjara crisis, and has since lived in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. On January 22, 2007, the Batumi city court found him guilty of misuse of office and embezzlement of GEL
Georgian lari
The lari is the currency of Georgia. It is divided into 100 tetri. The name lari is an old Georgian word denoting a hoard, property, while tetri is an old Georgian monetary term used from the 13th century....
98.2 million state funds, and sentenced him to a 15-year imprisonment in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
. He also faces a charge of murder of his former deputy, Nodar Imnadze, in 1991.
Early life and career
Abashidze was born into a renowned MuslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Ajarian
Ajarians
The Adjarians are an ethnographic group of Georgians that mostly live in Adjara in south-western...
family, a branch of the Abashidze
Abashidze
Abashidze is a Georgian family and a former princely house. Appearing in the 15th century, they achieved prominence in the Kingdom of Imereti in western Georgia in the late 17th century and branched out in eastern Georgian kingdoms of Kakheti and Kartli as well as the then-Ottoman-held...
princely house. His great-uncle Memed Abashidze
Memed Abashidze
Memed Abashidze was a Georgian politician, writer and public benefactor. An eminent leader of Muslim Georgian community of Adjarians, he was a major proponent of pro-Georgian orientation in Adjara and one of the architects of the region's autonomy within Georgia...
was a famous writer and member of the Parliament of the Democratic Republic of Georgia
Democratic Republic of Georgia
The Democratic Republic of Georgia , 1918–1921, was the first modern establishment of a Republic of Georgia.The DRG was created after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917...
between 1918–1921, but was shot on Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's orders in 1937. His father was sent to the Gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
for ten years but survived. Despite a difficult childhood, during the 1950s Abashidze was able to obtain degrees in history and philosophy at Batumi University and in economics at Tbilisi State University
Tbilisi State University
Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University , better known as Tbilisi State University , is a university established on 8 February 1918 in Tbilisi, Georgia. TSU is the oldest university in the whole Caucasus region...
. He worked as a teacher and economist for a period before joining Georgia's regional public service. He was the director of several technical service institutes before being named a regional minister in Batumi, the capital of Ajaria, where he served as Minister of Community Service. He was later appointed the national First Deputy Minister of Community Service and moved to Tbilisi. This was, however, a relatively minor government post.
In spite of his descent from a renowned Muslim family that played a pivotal role in strengthening Georgian and Islamic identities among the Muslims of Ajaria, Aslan Abashidze converted to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
.
Abashidze and independent Georgia
When Georgia regained its independence in 1991, Abashidze secured his appointment as Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Ajaria. He was also appointed Deputy Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, a post that he retained in 1990-1992 and 1992-1995. He built an independent power base in Ajaria by steering a course between the Tbilisi government and the opposition. He established his own army as a counterweight to the armed factions that supported and opposed President Zviad GamsakhurdiaZviad Gamsakhurdia
Zviad Gamsakhurdia was a dissident, scientist and writer, who became the first democratically elected President of the Republic of Georgia in the post-Soviet era...
.
When civil war broke out between pro- and anti-Gamsakhurdia forces in the winter of 1991-92 and again in the autumn of 1993, he kept both sides out of Ajaria, ensuring that the fighting did not spread to the republic.
However, unlike the rulers of Abkhazia
Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
and South Ossetia
South Ossetia
South Ossetia or Tskhinvali Region is a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic....
, he did not attempt to seek independence for Ajaria and pursued what can best be described as a policy of "armed autonomy" after the fall of Gamsakhurdia. He effectively turned Ajaria into a "free economic zone" with few restrictions on trade but with the customs duties and revenues going to his government rather than to Tbilisi.
Abashidze attracted some criticism for his heavy-handed rule, which was often described as feudal. He established his own political party in 1992, known variously as the Union of Democratic Revival or the Union for Georgia's Rebirth. In 1998, he was elected President of Ajaria with 93% of the vote in what Russian observers regarded as a generally free and fair election.
He preferred to exercise influence from a distance, rather than attempting to bid for national power, and consistently adopted a policy of backing whoever seemed to offer the best deal for maintaining his rule over Ajaria. He reached an accommodation with President Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Shevardnadze is a former Soviet, and later, Georgian statesman from the height to the end of the Cold War. He served as President of Georgia from 1995 to 2003, and as First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party , from 1972 to 1985. Shevardnadze was responsible for many top decisions on...
, who appeared to have preferred to live with a semi-independent Ajaria rather than risk another civil war. His relations with Shevardnadze grew frosty at the end of the 1990s, as he and the government traded accusations of corruption and treason.
Abashidze and the "Rose Revolution"
The forced resignation of Shevardnadze in November 2003 – widely dubbed the "Rose RevolutionRose Revolution
The "Revolution of Roses" was a change of power in Georgia in November 2003, which took place after having widespread protests over the disputed parliamentary elections...
" – created a political crisis between Abashidze and the new government in Tbilisi. The Georgian opposition had strongly criticised Shevardnadze for failing to resolve the problem of separatism in the country, including what they saw as the lack of control which Tbilisi had over Ajaria. Not surprisingly, Abashidze saw this as a threat to his position and the continued semi-independence of Ajaria, and denounced the downfall of Shevardnadze as a "coup". He declared a state of emergency in Ajaria and sought Russian support in the event of an open conflict. However, he failed to attract much support from Russia and came under intense pressure from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to compromise. On January 25, 2004 Abashidze met the newly-elected President Mikhail Saakashvili in Batumi and declared his intention to work with Saakashvili.
This relationship soon foundered after Saakashvili vowed to restore central authority over Georgia's separatist regions. In mid-March 2004, a motorcade carrying Saakashvili to planned political events in Ajaria ahead of the March 28 Georgian legislative elections, was turned back by Ajarian border guards. Abashidze accused Saakashvili of leading a military convoy into the republic with the aim of overthrowing him, and declared a state of emergency in Ajaria and a mobilization of armed formations. In response, Saakashvili issued a one-day ultimatum to Abashidze to accept central authority and disband the Ajarian paramilitary forces. The government also closed transit routes into and out of Ajaria.
Amid high tension and widespread public demonstrations, foreign governments and international organisations appealed to both sides to exercise restraint and resolve their differences peacefully. Abashidze resigned as leader of Ajaria on May 5, 2004, when Special Forces entered the region and Adjarian paramilitary forces began to swap sides and disarm. The next day, after being granted assurances that he would not be extradited, Abashidze left for Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, without a shot being fired in the region.
Abashidze's property in Georgia, as well as that of his close relatives, was frozen by the Georgian courts and eventually transferred to the state's ownership. http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.html?id_issue=11256055
On January 22, 2007, the Batumi court found Abashidze guilty of misuse of office and embezzlement of GEL
Georgian lari
The lari is the currency of Georgia. It is divided into 100 tetri. The name lari is an old Georgian word denoting a hoard, property, while tetri is an old Georgian monetary term used from the 13th century....
98.2 million state funds, and sentenced him to a 15-year imprisonment in absentia on January 22. He has also been charged with the murder of his former deputy, Nodar Imnadze, in 1991.
Family
Aslan Abashidze is a widower, having been married to Maguli Gogitidze, a musician, with whom he had two children: a son, George Abashidze, who has served as mayor of Batumi, and a daughter, Diana Abashidze.External links
- Profile: Aslan Abashidze, Steven Eke, BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, 4 May 2004 - "President Aslan Abashidze, visionary leader of Adjara", 2002
- Aslan Abashidze at the Georgia Parliament
- Aslan Abashidze, The Dictionary of Georgian National Biography.