On April 9, 1989, a peaceful demonstration in the Georgian capital Tbilisi ended in a massacre in which several people were killed by Soviet troops. Before the October 1990, elections of the national assembly, the Supreme Council — the first polls in the USSR held on a formal multi-party basis — the political landscape was reshaped again. While more radical groups boycotted the elections and convened an alternative forum (National Congress), another part of the anticommunist opposition united into the Round Table—Free Georgia (RT-FG) around the former dissidents like Merab Kostava and Zviad Gamsakhurdia. The latter won the elections by a clear margin, with 155 out of 250 parliamentary seats, whereas the ruling Communist Party (CP) received only 64 seats. All other parties failed to get over the 5%-threshold and were thus allotted only some single-member constituency seats.

On April 9 1991, shortly before the collapse of the USSR, Georgia declared independence. On May 26, 1991, Zviad Gamsakhurdia was elected as a first President of independent Georgia. However, he was soon deposed in a bloody coup d'état, from December 22, 1991 to January 6, 1992. The coup was instigated by part of the National Guards and a paramilitary organization called "Mkhedrioni". The country became embroiled in a bitter civil war which lasted almost until 1995. Eduard Shevardnadze returned to Georgia in 1992 and joined the leaders of the coup — Kitovani and Ioseliani — to head a triumvirate called the "State Council".

In 1995, Shevardnadze was officially elected as a president of Georgia. At the same time, two regions of Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, quickly became embroiled in disputes with local separatists that led to widespread inter-ethnic violence and wars. Supported by Russia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia achieved de facto independence from Georgia. More than 250,000 Georgians were ethnically cleansed from Abkhazia by Abkhaz separatists and North Caucasians volunteers, (including Chechens) in 1992-1993. More than 25,000 Georgians were expelled from Tskhinvali as well, and many Ossetian families were forced to abandon their homes in the Borjomi region and move to Russia.

In 2003, Shevardnadze (who won re-election in 2000) was deposed by the Rose Revolution, after Georgian opposition and international monitors asserted that the November 2 parliamentary elections were marred by fraud. The revolution was led by Mikheil Saakashvili, Zurab Zhvania and Nino Burjanadze, former members and leaders of Shavarnadze's ruling party. Mikheil Saakashvili was elected as President of Georgia in 2004.
Following the Rose Revolution, a series of reforms were launched to strengthen the country's military and economic capabilities, to eradicate corruption and create a prosperous country. Georgia finally returned to the path of European values, establishing a democratic society.

This progress has been complicated by Russian assistance and support to the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and so called South Ossetia. On August 8, 2008, Russian troops invaded Georgia for the 3^rd time to leave the country with one more break-away territory, Samachablo (so called South Ossetia) and recognizing Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states within the Georgian borders. Russian troops still remain in sizable numbers in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and, with significant assistance from the Russia, continue to take actions, which express their independence from Georgia.

Georgian people look forward to EU integration, as we consider ourselves a part of the European culture. Our late Prime Minister, Mr. Zurab Zhvania once said, “I am Georgian, therefore I am European” echoing strong desire of the Georgian people towards Europe, NATO and better future that are firm and unchangeable.