ABSTRACT
Georgia experienced a rapid change of rulers, but the Rose Revolution also marked the beginning of a fundamental transformation of the political system and social order. Most European political revolutions in twentieth century took place in modernized societies and ended with relatively rapid consolidation of democracy. The Georgian Social Democrats came to power in the midst of the Russian revolutionary events of 1917-18, attempted to build a state based on a popular alliance between the peasantry. When the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) collapsed, members of the pre-war Baltic generation were still alive, and could remember a time of relative prosperity and self-governance. The Soviet economy operated under two sets of rules: the State Committee for Planning and the State Committee for Supply. The experience of Zviad Gamsakhurdia, Eduard Shevardnadze and Mikheil Saakashvili shows that far from creating an enduring coalition, massive electoral victories can in the long run lead to the disintegration of the winning alliance.
