User:AlexandreAssatiani/1991-92 Georgian coup d'état
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The 1991-92 Georgian coup d'état, also known as the Tbilisi War, or the Putsch of 1991-92, is an internal military conflict that took place in the new Republic of Georgia following the fall of the Soviet Union, from 22 December 1991 to 6 January 1992. The coup, a violent representation of the chaos that engulfed the Caucasus at the beginning the 1990s, pits factions of the National Guard loyal to President Zviad Gamsakhurdia against several paramilitary organizations unified at the end of 1991 under the leadership of warlords Tengiz Kitovani, Jaba Ioseliani and Tengiz Sigua.
1991-92 Georgian coup d'état | |||||||
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Part of Georgian Civil War | |||||||
Inside of Parliament after the coup | |||||||
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Government-Insurgents | |||||||
National Guard of Georgia Black Pantyhose Battalion Lemi Supported by: Ichkeria Ukrainian mercenaries |
Rebel factions of the National Guard Mkhedrioni Tetri Artsivi Merab Kostava Society Union of Afghans Replaced on 2 January by: Military Council Supported by: Transcaucasian Military District | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Zviad Gamsakhurdia |
Tengiz Kitovani Tengiz Sigua Jaba Ioseliani Gia Karakashvili Vazhi Adamia Sufian Bepayev | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
1,000-4,000 |
2,000 600-5,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
113 dead Around 700 injured |
Stemming from authoritarian actions undertaken by Zviad Gamsakhurdia, the Tbilisi War ends with the exile of the first democratically-elected president of Georgia, after two weeks of violent clashes in the heart of the Georgian capital. Rustaveli Avenue, the main thoroughfare of Tbilisi since the beginning of the 20th century, is ravaged by the conflict, which mainly consists of a siege of the Georgian Parliament building, where Gamsakhurdia is isolated in a bunker.
The coup d'état, which only inaugurates a bloody civil war that will last until 1994, is largely seen as an example of Russian military exploitation of legitimate pro-democratic protests in its former sphere of influence. This fact is mainly represented by the probable intervention of the Red Army in favor of opposition factions, while providing weapons to both sides of the war. Following Gamsakhurdia's fall, a Military Council, led by Kitovani and Ioseliani, takes power in Tbilisi and assures the return of Eduard Shevardnadze, the last Foreign Affairs Minister of the USSR to hand over power to him.