In this new episode, we look at who the trusted allies of the Georgian oligarch were, how they left their high-ranking posts, and what the party they once considered their own shouted after them.
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Perhaps we should start with Bidzina Ivanishvili himself.
He was the first to appoint himself to the office of prime minister, and the first to remove himself from it. Thus a tradition was born: power as a temporary mission that can be abandoned once the “mission is accomplished.” The oligarch’s PR team spun this beautifully: “Why does Ivanishvili need a title? He came to save you, to save Georgia.”
His successors, as the party claimed, were “the most honest, noble, and respectful of Georgian traditions and the institution of the family.”
The first after Ivanishvili was Irakli Garibashvili—the successor of Bidzina himself left the prime minister’s chair twice. The first time was following corruption scandals. The second was under the pretext of the “rotation principle,” which was soon followed by high-profile investigations, including those very searches and millions in cash.
Next was Giorgi Kvirikashvili—one of the people closest to Ivanishvili. But by the time the oligarch declared that Kvirikashvili was “no longer effective,” mass protests had already swept Tbilisi. The so-called “rave-olution”—after police raided the clubs Bassiani and Gallery, the public accused the authorities of brutality and hypocrisy. Kvirikashvili became a scapegoat—and a symbol of a shift in political style: “renewal,” as the party called it at the time.
Mamuka Bakhtadze’s career was the shortest. Less than a year in office, followed by the phrase “mission accomplished”—a standard formula for those chosen to be quietly removed. Since then, few have spared a thought for Bakhtadze.
And then came Giorgi Gakharia—perhaps one of the strongest figures of “Georgian Dream.”
He resigned in February 2021, refusing to sign the arrest warrant for opposition leader Nika Melia. In response, the party labeled him a traitor and a defector, even accusing him of handing over land to the occupiers.
Today, the Prime Minister of Georgia is Irakli Kobakhidze. He, perhaps, should not forget that power in Georgia is not about offices and achievements, but a service agreement that is always terminated unilaterally.
