, Columnist
Georgia’s Democracy Recedes Into Russia’s Shadow
15 years later, the hope of the Rose Revolution has given way to anxiety.
A more hopeful time.
Photographer: Vano Shlamov/AFP/Getty Images
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Georgia’s Rose Revolution, one of the most dramatic and hopeful episodes of the post-Cold War era, will mark its 15th anniversary in a matter of weeks. For 20 days in November 2003, citizens flooded the streets of Tbilisi and other major cities to protest a stolen election. By the end of the month, a strongman had resigned and a new Georgia was born.
At the time, most Western observers saw these protests and elections as a triumph of the liberal, democratic world order. Today, as the gains of 2003 erode, this former Soviet republic is in danger of becoming a cautionary tale.