ABSTRACT
On 17 December 2010 Mohamed Bouazizi – a 26-year-old Tunisian, an unemployed holder of a bachelor's degree – was trying to sell vegetables and fruits from a cart. A female police officer took away his goods and, in addition, insulted him. His attempts to file a complaint ended when he was thrown out of the municipality. The tsunami of revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East has not only radically changed the geopolitical realities in this region, but affected the international situation as a whole. That is not the point that the unrest engulfed Arab countries also east of Suez. In Tunisia, the situation developed in the most "calm" fashion. The political tensions somewhat eased over a few months. The crisis of personal power of leaders, their age and their very long stay on the top of the pyramid of power were significant reasons for the weakness of authoritarian regimes in the face of revolution and protest movements.
