The Georgian First Secretary who asked Moscow for troops, then resigned after 21 died
Patiashvili later recalled: 'Gorbachev phoned and said, in a tone that left no room for argument: The square must be cleared immediately, and the army will handle it. I understood he knew about the plan and supported it.'
He succeeded Shevardnadze as First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party in 1985, but dismantled most of his predecessor's reform experiments and drove the opposition underground. In April 1989, facing independence protests sparked by the Abkhaz autonomy dispute, he asked Moscow to send troops and on 8 April convened the republic's Defence Council, which decided to disperse the demonstrators by force. Before dawn the next day, Soviet troops armed with sapper shovels and poison gas descended on unarmed civilians, killing 21; Patiashvili accepted responsibility and resigned within two weeks. He remained in Georgian politics, twice ran for president against Shevardnadze, and supported the 2003 Rose Revolution, though he later criticized Saakashvili.
Career Timeline
- 1965–1973Komsomol posts in Georgia, rising to First Secretary
- 1973–1974First Secretary, Gori District Party Committee
- 1974–1985Secretary for Agriculture, CP of Georgia
- 1985–1989.4First Secretary, CP of Georgia
- 1989–1991Director, scientific-production association and research institute
- 1995, 2000Presidential candidate, runner-up to Shevardnadze