 Declining living standards fuelled political disaffection |
All the former Soviet states suffered sharp declines in economic activity when the Soviet union collapsed - but the decline was deepest in Georgia. This undercurrent of economic failure helps explain the protests and subsequent resignation of President Eduard Shevardnadze.
Once independent from the Soviet Union, civil war and the loss of energy subsidies exacerbated what was always going to be a very difficult period.
During 1990-94, total output fell 70%.
Living standards
Although the economy has grown each year since then, even now production is only around 40% of what it was in 1989.
Output per person is near the lowest of the former Soviet states.
It must be said, the accuracy of these figures cannot be relied on.
Georgia has a substantial informal economy which is hard to reflect in official statistics.
Even so, the decline was dramatic, and it was inevitably reflected in a fall in living standards.
Political disaffection
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded in a recent assessment that Georgia has made impressive strides since independence in laying some of the foundations for a market economy.
But pervasive corruption and tax evasion remain serious problems.
Georgia is country whose political problems have aggravated a difficult economic situation.
That in turn creates fertile ground for further political disaffection.
One-Minute World News 
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