ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book explains how there was virtually no social stratification either in Georgia or in other republics of the former Soviet Union both during the late Soviet period and subsequently. After 1999 Georgia took a step backwards in terms of democratization, as the flawed presidential elections of 2000 demonstrated. While the direct impact of the 1989 'revolutions' in Eastern Europe was relatively limited in Georgia, Georgia was all the same profoundly affected by the unfolding events in the Baltic republics. The 'Rose Revolution' in Georgia in turn inspired the 'Orange Revolution' in Ukraine, and probably contributed to a perception amongst many opposition supporters in Ukraine that street protests could successfully dislodge an incumbent regime. Georgia was the first country in the former Soviet Union in which a well-entrenched and apparently 'immortal' president was removed as a result of a popular uprising.
