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- Actress
- Soundtrack
Elena Satine was born in Tbilisi, Georgia and grew up in Sochi. She began her professional career at the tender age of 6 when she appeared on the popular children's variety show "Morning Star". On a spontaneous trip to New York City, the young actress attended an open call for at the Professional Performing Arts School, and got accepted on the spot. After graduating with honors, Elena continued her dramatic studies at the renowned Moscow Art Theater School.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
One of the 20th century's greatest masters of cinema Sergei Parajanov was born in Georgia to Armenian parents and it was always unlikely that his work would conform to the strict socialist realism that Soviet authorities preferred. After studying film and music, Parajanov became an assistant director at the Dovzhenko studios in Kiev, making his directorial debut in 1954, following that with numerous shorts and features, all of which he subsequently dismissed as "garbage". However, in 1964 he was able to make Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1965), a rhapsodic celebration of Ukrainian folk culture, and the world discovered a startling and idiosyncratic new talent. He followed this up with the even more innovative The Color of Pomegranates (1969) (which explored the art and poetry of his native Armenia in a series of stunningly beautiful tableaux), but by this stage the authorities had had enough, and Paradjanov spent most of the 1970s in prison on almost certainly rigged charges of "homosexuality and illegal trafficking in religious icons". However, with the coming of perestroika, he was able to make The Legend of Suram Fortress (1985), Ashik Kerib (1988) and The Confession, which survives as Parajanov: The Last Spring (1992), before succumbing to cancer in 1990.- Sofiko Chiaureli was born on 21 May 1937 in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia]. She was an actress, known for The Color of Pomegranates (1969), Rats ginakhavs, vegar nakhav (1965) and Chveni ezo (1956). She was married to Giorgi Shengelaia and Kote Makharadze. She died on 2 March 2008 in Tbilisi, Georgia.
- David Katsarava was born on 8 March 1982 in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia]. He is an actor, known for The Parts (2013), My Dad's Girlfriend (2011) and An Adventure of a Tiny Man and Gulliver (2021).
- Producer
- Actor
Irakli Rodonaya was born on 4 July 1981 in Gagra, Abkhaz ASSR, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Abkhazia]. He is a producer and actor, known for Brighton 4th (2021), Stavka na lyubov (2016) and Bez granits (2015).- Director
- Actor
- Camera and Electrical Department
Levan Gabriadze was born on 16 November 1969 in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia]. He is a director and actor, known for Unfriended (2014), Rezo (2018) and Kin-dza-dza! (1986).- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Georgi Daneliya was born on August 25, 1930 in Tbilisi, Georgia. Since 1939 the family lived in Moscow, where Danelia's father was the chief engineer for the Moscow Underground Metro System. Daneliya's father became a decorated WWII General, specializing in construction of underground bunkers for the Soviet Government. His mother was a good chess-player and later worked as a second unit director at Mosfilm. Daneliya's mother's sister Veriko Anjaparidze was married to Mikheil Chiaureli, who was a personal friend of Joseph Stalin. Daneliya first earned his architect's degree from the Moscow Architecture Institute. Then he studied at the Higher Director's Courses at Mosfilm under Mikhail Romm, and graduated in 1959, becoming a film director at the Mosfilm Studios in Moscow.
During the cultural "Thaw" initiated by Nikita Khrushchev Daneliya was at the start of the Soviet "New Wave" in films. He had his first success shared with Igor Talankin. Their film 'Seryozha' (1960) was awarded the Crystal Globe in Karlovy Vary. He then worked with Gennady Shpalikov on a propaganda-free project about life in Moscow. Censorship caused a few obstacles by demanding changes to the plot and the script of 'Walking the Streets of Moscow' (1963). It became a popular lyrical comedy with a title hit song by Andrey Petrov. But soon Nikita Khrushchev was dismissed by Leonid Brezhnev and the "Thaw" ended. Daneliya's brilliant comedy '33' (1965) was labeled as anti-Soviet by the head of KGB Vladimir Semichastny, who wrote in a secret letter to the Central Committee: "anti-Soviet...film '33' is an attempt to discredit everything including the cosmonaut's flight."
Daneliya had to wait for 4 long years until he got a chance to work on his next film. It was titled "Don't Grieve" - 'Ne Goryuy' (1969), starring Vakhtang Kikabidze. His more careful, but masterful comedies 'Gentlemen of Luck' (1972), 'Afonya' (1975), 'Mimino' (1977) continued his successful career. A step beyond the comedy genre was made in his film 'Osenny Marafon' (1979). It's a melodrama about a man in his mid-life crisis, torn between two women, and all three are trapped in the game of lies and personal demands, amidst the stagnant Soviet reality.
His innovative film 'Kin-Dza-Dza' (1986) stands out as a genre of it's own. Everything is different, yet very familiar in this metaphoric film. New type of script with renown stars, new environment for and old tale, new language for ancient wisdom. Daneliya created a universe of allusions; It grows with a passage of time, while getting closer to our future. He presented a fresh view of the human nature, and played with reflections on his own life, the fate of a genius in a rigid society going through inevitable changes.
Danelia is blessed with good friends and highly professional collaborators. His first wife was actress Lyubov Sokolova (1921-2001) who played 370 film roles and is listed in the Guinnes book of Records. Their son Nikolai Daneliya (1958-1985) was a film director before his tragic death. Danelia lives in Moscow and works on his new project, an animation sequel to 'Kin-Dza-Dza'.- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Dea Kulumbegashvili was born and raised in Georgia. Dea studied film directing at Columbia University School of the Arts and media studies at The New School in New York. Her debut short film Invisible Spaces was nominated for Palme D'Or at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2014. It was also the first film from independent Georgia to be part of the official competition at the Cannes International Film Festival.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Dover Koshashvili was born on 8 December 1966 in Georgian SSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia]. He is an actor and director, known for Late Marriage (2001), Im Hukim (1999) and Infiltration (2010).- Vladimir Korneev was born in 1987 in Manglisi, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia]. He is an actor, known for Kundschafter des Friedens (2017), Tender Hearts (2023) and Tell: Das Musical (2012).
- Director
- Writer
'Tengiz Abuladze' studied theatrical direction af the Chota Rustaveli Theatre Institute in Tbilisi, Georgia, and film- making at the VGIK Cinematography Institute, graduating in 1953, when he joined Georgia Film Studios as a director. He made documentaries before making his feature debut in 1958. His best-known work in the West is the trilogy Vedreba (1967), The Wishing Tree (1976) and 0093754, the latter being one of the first films to be released in the post-glasnost era, and one of the most controversial, thanks to its allegorical portrait of a small town under Stalinist terror (Stalin, like Abuladze, hailing originally from Georgia). It was a huge success in the Soviet Union, and achieved reasonable distribution abroad, almost unheard of for a Georgian film.- Ksenia Lavrentieva is a British actress, voice-over artist and TV personality of Eurasian descent. Known for her numerous appearances on British/US television, as well as having played Nadia Dansky on HBO's Strike Back. Born in the former communist state of Georgia, Tbilisi, to a renowned dissident Georgian artist and one of Russia's revered actresses. Her first years were spent in Taganrog Bay a port city in Rostov on the shores of the Azov Sea - southern Russia. The separation of her parents prompted a move to Moscow with her mother, followed by an unsettlingly candid immersion in the confused, though highly creative atmosphere that pervaded in the Russian capital at the time. A few years later, the newly re-composed Lavrentieva family moved to London. When asked about this period in her life, Ksenia only refers to it as a time where "we pretty much existed upon the fringes, moving regularly and rarely settling in one place". However, she does admit that whilst it was a time of constant upheaval, it perhaps also represents, in many ways, a time from which she now draws a great deal of inspiration. Ksenia has worked and traveled on both sides of the Atlantic in film, television and commercials, working with creatives as diverse as David Cronenberg to Dr. Dre.
- Music Artist
- Actress
- Composer
Katie Melua was born on 16 September 1984 in Kutaisi, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia]. She is a music artist and actress, known for Miss Potter (2006), The Tourist (2010) and Just Like Heaven (2005). She was previously married to James Toseland.- Otar Megvinetukhutsesi was born on 16 January 1932 in Tiflis, Georgian SSR, Transcaucasian SFSR, USSR. He was an actor, known for Izydi! (1991), Fatima (1958) and Tariel Golua (1968). He was married to Guranda Gabunia. He died on 8 May 2013.
- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Dito Tsintsadze was born on 2 March 1957 in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Georgia]. He is a director and writer, known for Gun-Shy (2003), Shindisi (2019) and Der Mann von der Botschaft (2006).- Born on August 28, 1925 in Batumi, Georgian SSR, Transcaucasian SFSR, USSR (now in Georgia), Arkadiy Natanovich Strugatskiy was a Soviet/Russian sci-fi writer, often writing in collaboration with his younger brother Boris Strugatskiy. Strugatskiys' father Natan Strugatskiy was a Jewish art critic and their mother was a Russian Orthodox teacher. When Arkadiy was a child, the family moved to Leningrad. He was evacuated from the city during the siege of Leningrad in 1942 along with his father, who didn't survive the journey. The following year he was drafted into the Soviet army and went to study at the artillery school in Aktyubinsk. In 1949 he graduated the Military Institute of Foreign Languages in Moscow as Japanese and English interpreter. He worked for the military until 1955, when he became a writer instead. In 1958 the Strugatskiy brothers begun their artistic collaboration, which lasted until Arkadiy's death. In 1979, the brothers' best-known novel, "Piknik na obochine" ("Roadside Picnic") was loosely adapted for the screen by Andrei Tarkovsky as Stalker (1979). Arkadiy died on October 12, 1991 in Moscow, USSR (now in Russia). Writings of the Strugatskiys continue to inspire creators of movies (such as Dark Planet (2008)) and video games (such as S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (2007) and its sequels).
- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Levan Bakhia is film director and producer from ex soviet state, Georgia. Founder and CEO of the largest production company in Caucasus region Sarke Studio.
Since 1998, he has been producing and directing commercials. In 2011, Bakhia made his directorial and writing debut with a feature film - 247°F.
Levan was born on 12th of August, 1979, in Tbilisi, Georgia. He Graduated from European School of Management in 2000. On his 3rd year of collage, in 1998 he founded the advertising agency - Sarke. Part of Sarke Group Companies, Sarke Studio is today considered not only being the largest production and rental company in the territory, but also as the company responsible for developing the production industry in the country overall.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Rati Tsiteladze was born in post-Soviet Georgia. He studied acting and filmmaking at the Hybrid Conservatory, Los Angeles. He is an alumnus of Locarno Academy, TIFF Filmmaker Lab, HFPA Film Independent and Berlinale Talent Project Market.
At age 21, he won the title of World Champion in martial arts, but in 2014, when filmmaking became the overpowering passion in his life, he left his fighting career and founded ArtWay Film production. Rati directed and produced several short films that won over 50 awards worldwide and screened at more than 300 festivals, including Melbourne, Hong Kong, Leeds and Locarno. His recent work Prisoner of Society (2018) won numerous Oscar® qualifying awards and it is the first Georgian short documentary nominated for European Film Academy Awards. With his feature film project, The Empty House he won the Eurimages Award at TIFF and Special Mention at Locarno. He was selected among 6 directors at Cannes Cinéfondation Residence and won the first HFPA/Film Independent Award by Hollywood Foreign Press Association Golden Globes®.- Actor
- Music Department
- Director
Vakhtang Konstantinovich Kikabidze, an actor, singer, songwriter, screenwriter, and producer, was born in Tbilisi, Soviet Georgia on July 19, 1938. He was also a politician who served in the Parliament of Georgia from 2020 until his death.
He was awarded the USSR State Prize, the Orders of King Vakhtang Gorgasali, Nikolai Wondermonger, and Prince Yaroslav the Wise, as well as Knight Cross of St. Konstantin the Great. He won different international song concourses and film festivals.
In 1999 in Moscow, he received a star on the "Star Square". In cinematography, he created a number of eminent actors who became very popular. His last film, Fortuna (2000), was made in 2000.
As scriptwriter and producer, he made two feature films: "Bud' Zdorov, dorogoi" (which took the first premium on the international comedy festival in Grabovo, Bulgaria) and "Muzchini i vse ostal'nie".
He was married with two children and three grandchildren at the time of his death in 2023 at the age of 84.- Kakhi Kavsadze was born on 5 June 1935 in Tkibuli, Georgian SSR, TSFSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia]. He was an actor, known for Midjachvuli raindebi (2000), White Sun of the Desert (1970) and Tsar Ivan Groznyy (1991). He died on 27 April 2021 in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia.
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
George Ovashvili was born on 14 November 1963 in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia]. He is a producer and director, known for Gagma napiri (2009), Corn Island (2014) and Zgvis donidan... (2005).- Anatoliy Kotenyov was born on 25 September 1958 in Sukhumi, Abkhaz ASSR, Georgian SSR, USSR. He is an actor, known for Deja vu (1990), Chetvyortaya planeta (1995) and Kazachya byl (1999). He has been married to Svetlana Borovskaya since 1989. They have two children.
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Born in Tbilisi in 1982. Graduated from director's faculty of VGIK (Marlen Khutsiev's class) in 2005 . Directed more than 150 music video's and advertising clips. His feature "Hostages" (2017) was premiered in Berlinale's Panorama and participated in more than 30 international film festivals including Telluride, Edinburgh, Thessaloniki, Shanghai, Haifa, Cairo. Other features: Heat (2005), Love with Accent (2012), No Borders (2015). He lives in Tbilisi Georgia.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Levan Tutberidze was born on 24 December 1959 in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia]. He is a director and writer, known for A Trip to Karabakh (2005), Moira (2015) and Tskhra mtas iqit (2015).- Director
- Writer
- Cinematographer
Salomé Jashi was born in 1981 in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Georgia]. She is a director and writer, known for Taming the Garden (2021), The Dazzling Light of Sunset (2016) and Bakhmaro heißt Paradies (2011).- Zura Kipshidze was born on 10 August 1953 in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia]. He is an actor, known for Vremya tantsora (1998), Alka (1990) and Rotsa akvavda nushi (1972).
- Tatyana Bestayeva was born on 13 June 1937 in Stalinir, South Ossetian AO, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Tskhinval, South Ossetia]. She was an actress, known for Matros s Komety (1958), Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1965) and Roman i Francheska (1961). She was married to Kirill, Aleksei Gabrilovich and Evgeny Stolyarov. She died on 23 October 2021.
- Khatia Buniatishvili was born on 21 June 1987 in Batumi, Adjar SSR, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Adjara, Republic of Georgia].
- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Temur Babluani was born on 20 March 1948 in Chaluri, Lentekhi, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Lentekhi Municipality, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, Republic of Georgia]. He is a director and actor, known for Sun of the Sleepless (1992), L'héritage (2006) and Dzma (1981).- Eduard Martsevich was an actor, theater director, teacher. He was an Honored Artist of the RSFSR (4.11.1974), People's artist of the RSFSR (22.06.1987). Martsevich graduated from the Theater School of M.S. Shchepkina (1959). Since 1959 he was an actor of the Academic Theater of Vl. Mayakovskiy. Since 1969 Martsevich was an actor of the Academic Maly Theater of the USSR. Even at the beginning of his artistic career, he tried his hand at directing. He staged and together with Z. Andreeva, played in the concert version the play "White Nights" by F. Dostoyevsky. Then other performances followed. And finally, the decision has come to do directing professionally. For this reason, he broke away from the theater for a year and went to the Lithuanian city of Panevezhis to study the profession of the director for the famous director Yu. Miltinis. At the end of the director's course, Martsevich confirmed his qualification by putting A. Kazantsev's "Old House" at the Panevezys Theater, and then in different years "Ordinary History" by I.A. Goncharov and "Ivanov" of A.P. Chekhov. In his native Maly Theater he produced three plays. Staged the play by A. Strindberg's "Father", in which he played the main role of the Captain. Then the comedy of A.N. Ostrovsky "There was not a penny, but suddenly Altyn" for which he chose for the main role one of the most beloved and revered actors of the modern theater, Evgeniy Samoilov. At the end of 1998, he directed his own staging of Tolstoy's novel "Resurrection."
- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
He graduated from the Directing Department of Yerevan Institute of Fine Arts and Theatre in 1951, then finished Special Director Courses at Moscow Theatre Institute. He worked as director at different Armenian theatres from 1951 to 1954. After 1954 he was one of the leading directors at Armenfilm Studios.- Demis Karibidis was born on 4 December 1982 in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia]. He is an actor and writer, known for Korolyok moey lyubvi: Ramash i Shamar, Otpusk (2021) and Ivan Vasilievich menyaet vsyo (2023). He has been married to Pelageya Karibova since 2014. They have four children.
- Ia Ninidze was born on 8 September 1960 in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia]. She is an actress, known for Heavenly Swallows (1976), Repentance (1984) and The First Swallow (1975).
- Writer
- Producer
Boris Akunin was born on 20 May 1956 in Zestafoni, Georgian SSR, USSR. He is a writer and producer, known for The Spy (2012), The Turkish Gambit (2005) and The Turkish Gambit (2006).- Composer
- Music Department
- Producer
Konstantin Meladze was born on 11 May 1963 in Batumi, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia]. He is a composer and producer, known for Hipsters (2008), Lilya 4-Ever (2002) and Ottepel (2013). He has been married to Vera Brezhneva since 23 October 2015.- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Valeriy Meladze was born on 23 June 1965 in Batumi, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia]. He is an actor, known for Sorochinskaya yarmarka (2004), Krasota trebuyet (2008) and Dunno on the Moon (1997).- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Mikael Tariverdiev was born on 15 August 1931 in Tiflis, Georgian SSR, Transcaucasian SFSR, USSR [now Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia]. He was a composer and actor, known for Russkiy regtaym (1993), Zagadka Endkhauza (1990) and Letnie lyudi (1995). He died on 24 June 1996 in Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia.- Sergey Nasibov was born on 30 June 1958 in Sukhumi, Georgian SSR, USSR. He is an actor, known for Chuzhaya doch (2018), The Detached Mission (1986) and Homeland (2011).
- Writer
- Director
- Art Director
Revaz Gabriadze was born on 29 June 1936 in Kutaisi, Georgian SSR, Transcaucasian SFSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia]. He was a writer and director, known for Pasport (1990), Kin-dza-dza! (1986) and Rezo (2018). He was married to Elena. He died on 6 June 2021 in Tbilisi, Georgia.- Diana Gurtskaya was born on 2 July 1978 in Sukhumi, Georgian SSR, USSR. She was previously married to Pyotr Kucherenko.
- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Yuriy Erzinkyan was born on 26 January 1922 in Tiflis, Georgian SSR [now Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia]. Yuriy was a director and writer, known for Sneg v traure (1978), Khatabala (1971) and O moyom druge (1959). Yuriy died on 19 December 1996.- Korneli Koka Bziava was doctor of Chemistry engineering institute of science. He worked in Warsaw Poland and Tbilisi Georgia. Metallurgy and chemical elements. He was the founder of the metal type (Arg NO SO1) which was used in high electrical constructions flows.
He took the mane part in short film Le Nid aside with actor Tornike Gogrichiani, directed by Tornike Bziava. - Cinematographer
- Producer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Levan Paatashvili was born on 12 March 1926 in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia]. He was a cinematographer and producer, known for Tojinebi itsinian (1963), Last Day, First Day (1960) and Blue Mountains, or Unbelievable Story (1983). He died on 24 January 2023 in Georgia.- Stepan Anastasovich Mikoyan is Soviet test pilot. Hero of the Soviet Union (1975). Lieutenant General of Aviation. Honored Test Pilot of the USSR. Candidate of Technical Sciences.
Mikoyan entered the Kachin Military Aviation Pilot School in Crimea in August 1940. He graduated on September 3, 1941 in the city of Krasnyy Kut, Saratov Region, where the school was evacuated. In the same year, he retrained for the Yak-1 fighter, and in December was sent to the fighter aviation regiment defending Moscow. January 16, 1942 Mikoyan was shot down by mistake by the Soviet pilot M. Rodionov. Stepan Anastasovich managed to land a burning plane. Six months later, he was appointed to Stalingrad, and then to the North-Western Front. By October 1942, Mikoyan completed 14 sorties. Held 3 air battles, as part of a group shot down 6 enemy planes.
From 1945 to 1951 - student of the Faculty of Engineering of the Air Force Engineering Academy named after Professor N. E. Zhukovskiy. After graduation, he worked at the Air Force Research and Testing Institute. For 23 years, he tested combat aircraft of the fighter OKB Mikoyan, Sukhoy and Yakovlev, received the title of Honored Test Pilot of the USSR. On April 3, 1975, for conducting state tests of the MiG-25 became a Hero of the Soviet Union. - Actor
- Director
Eduard Abalov was born on 7 October 1927 in Tiflis, Georgian SSR, TSFSR, USSR [now Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia]. He was an actor and director, known for Absolutely Seriously (1961), U tikhoi pristani (1958) and Severnaya rapsodiya (1974). He died on 5 August 1987.- Viktoriya Bogatyryova was born on 5 November 1979 in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia]. She is an actress, known for Chikatilo (2021), Restoran po ponyatiyam (2022) and Sny (2022). She was previously married to Aleksey Makarov.
- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Lev Kulidzhanov was born on 19 March 1924 in Tiflis, Georgian SSR, TSFSR, USSR [now Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia]. He was a director and writer, known for When the Trees Were Tall (1962), Nezabudki (1994) and Otchiy dom (1959). He died on 18 February 2002 in Moscow, Russia.- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Writer
Devi Abashidze was born on 1 May 1924 in Islari, Georgian SSR, TSFSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia]. Devi was a director and assistant director, known for Kvarkvare (1978), The Right Hand of the Grand Master (1969) and Tsiteli pateponi (1995). Devi died on 3 August 2005 in Tbilisi, Georgia.- After school, Saakashvili studied law. He then initially worked for the Institute for Human Rights in Oslo. He then worked as a lawyer in New York. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and Georgia's independence, Saakashvili returned to his homeland. He entered parliament as a member, where he was the leader of the "Citizens' Union" faction. Under President Eduard Shevardnadze, Saakashvili temporarily headed the Justice Ministry.
However, since he was investigating his government colleagues for alleged corruption, he soon had to resign from this office. During Shevardnadze's third term in office, however, Saakashvili increasingly came into opposition to the long-time president. After his party alliance won the November 2003 parliamentary elections through massive manipulation and falsification, Saakashvili was one of the key opposition leaders who brought about Shevardnadze's resignation in November 2003.
In the presidential elections of January 2004, Saakashvili was elected as Shevardnadze's successor. The new head of state declared the reunification of Georgia, which was threatened by separatist efforts in the provinces of Adjaria, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, to be torn apart as his first goal. At the end of the month, Saakashvili's first state visit was to Germany, where he confirmed to Chancellor Gerhard Schröder his desire for his country's future integration into NATO and the EU.
In the parliamentary elections of March 2004, Saakashvili's alliance of the National Union and the Democrats emerged as the clear winner. Since the percentage threshold for entry into parliament was increased to 7%, no other party made it into the people's assembly. As 2004 progressed, the domestic political situation in Georgia worsened. In May, President Saakashvili prevailed in the power struggle with the province of Adjara, where the separatist governor Aslan Abashidze and other government representatives resigned and the central power took control again.
Saakashvili then tried to re-integrate Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which have been asserting their state independence from Georgia since the mid-1990s and are supported by their powerful neighbor Russia. This brought the Georgian president into repeated diplomatic conflicts with Russian President Vladimir Putin. On January 5, 2008, he was re-elected president in early presidential elections in Georgia with 53.47% of the votes counted.
Mikhail Saakashvili is married to a Dutch woman and has one child. - Director
Sophie Shevardnadze was born on 23 September 1978 in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia]. She is a director, known for Eduard and SophieCo (2013).