Politician Zurab Zhvania: biography, activities and interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:54

The revolution, like a monster, devours its own children. In the 21st century, this does not manifest itself so often, but the politician Zurab Zhvania, who actively participated in the Georgian Rose Revolution, died under mysterious circumstances two years after the overthrow of the previous government. Over the years, hundreds of versions of what happened have been put forward, many investigations have been initiated, but even today the causes of the death of the prime minister remain vague.

Climbing politics

Zurab Vissarionovich Zhvania was born in 1963 into an intelligent Soviet family of physicists. Rem Antonov's mother had Armenian-Jewish roots. After graduating from school, Zurab entered the Tbilisi State Institute at the Faculty of Biology. Having successfully defended his diploma, he remained to work at his native university at the Department of Human and Animal Physiology.

The beginning of perestroika opened the way for ambitious young people,who want to make a career in politics. Zurab Zhvania did not stand aside either. What is the party activity, he learned at a young age, creating his own Green Party in 1989.

Gradually, the politician is gaining authority in Georgia, while remaining in opposition to the existing Soviet regime. Soon he goes international, becoming the co-chairman of the Green Party for several years.

Until 1992, Zurab Zhvania worked at the university, remaining the leader of his movement. Only after the collapse of the USSR did he get the opportunity to actively participate in the state building of Georgia.

The period of independent Georgia

After gaining independence by Georgia in the biography of Zurab Vissarionovich Zhvania, radical changes come. The formation of statehood in the country was accompanied by a series of political and social upheavals.

The civil war, uprisings in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, who dreamed of freeing themselves from the Georgian yoke - all this fell to the lot of the young republic in the first years of independent development.

By 1993, Zurab Zhvania made his political choice and bet on the authoritative Eduard Shevardnadze. The coalition party CUG (Union of Citizens of Georgia), created by the young politician, was conceived as a movement in support of Eduard Shevardnadze. Two years later, the CUG won a resounding victory in the parliamentary elections, and Zurab Zhvania was elected chairman of the legislative assembly of the republic.

After four years he wasre-elected to this position and continued to head the legislative branch until 2001.

Revolutionary

At the turn of the century, Zurab Zhvania became in opposition to the incumbent President Eduard Shevardnadze. By that time, society was tired of economic problems, corruption, and was dissatisfied with the actual withdrawal of Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Georgia. The president was rapidly losing popularity, and Zurab Zhvania officially broke off relations with him, leaving the CUG and resigning as speaker.

In 2002, he heads the Democrats parliamentary faction. The next step in the biography of Zurab Zhvania is the creation of his own political movement called the United Democrats.

In the 2003 parliamentary elections, he was a member of the Burjanadze-Democrats bloc.

The victory of the pro-presidential party of Eduard Shevardnadze caused a whole series of mass protests. Crowds of demonstrators took to the streets demanding the resignation of the current government. The leaders of the opposition leading this movement were Zhvania, Burjanadze and Mikheil Saakashvili. As a result, the famous “Rose Revolution” happened, and supporters of change came to power.

Strange death

After the triumphant victory of the revolution, its leaders took key positions in the government. Saakashvili became president, Burjanadze became speaker, and Zurab Zhvania was appointed minister of state. A year later, he was officially approved as the Prime Minister of Georgia.

However, the post-revolutionaryreality in the country was accompanied by profound reforms and clash of interests of many influential groups. One of the victims of the transformation of Georgia was Zurab Zhvania. He was found dead in an apartment in the center of Tbilisi in 2005 under very strange circumstances.

February 3, the Prime Minister came to the apartment on Saburtalinskaya Street to meet with his friend Raul Yusupov, Deputy Presidential Commissioner in one of the regions. He dismissed his guards, saying he would call them if needed.

However, after a few hours, the bodyguards could not get through to their ward and returned to their place. Having broken the window bars, they entered the apartment and found the bodies of Zurab Zhvania and Raul Yusupov. According to eyewitnesses, the room smelled of gas.

5 and 6 February became the days of state mourning in Georgia in connection with the death of a high-ranking official. The funeral of Zurab Zhvania was attended by delegations from many countries, including Russia, represented by Transport Minister Igor Levitin.

Official version

The official version of what happened was made public the very next day after the death of the prime minister. According to the country's interior minister, there was a gas leak from a faulty Iranian-made gas heater. Investigators claimed that Raul Yusupov rented an apartment on Saburtalinskaya Street a month before the sad events, and three days before his death, he installed an ill-fated gas heater in the apartment.

Alternative versions

However, over time, many inconsistencies and contradictions with the official version began to be found in this case. For example, the owner of a “bad” apartment claimed that the gas heater was installed not three days, but three months before the death of officials and worked quite well.

Besides, Zhvania's relatives said that the fingerprints of the deceased were not even found in that apartment.

There are many alternative versions of what happened.

According to one of them, high-ranking government officials did not share the money received from the privatization of the Georgian Shipping Company. During the ensuing quarrel, Zurab Zhvania was killed, and his body was brought to the same apartment on Saburtalinskaya street.

Independent investigations into Zhvania's death have been initiated many times since then, but even today his death remains a mystery.