January 8 – Georgia's Maritime Transport Agency announces 15 Georgian sailors held hostage by pirates for 16 months off the
coast of Somalia are released through the government's efforts.[1]
January 10 – Archaeological digs at the Monastery of the
Forty Martyrs of Sebaste in
Abanotubani in downtown
Tbilisi unearth several structures and items, predating the establishment of Tbilisi as the capital of
Iberia in the 5th century.[2][3]
January 18 – In breakaway
South Ossetia,
Alla Dzhioyeva, the disqualified apparent victor of the
November 2011 presidential election, announces her withdrawal from the Russian-mediated agreement with the outgoing leadership, condemning the planned March 25 runoff as "illegal".[4]
January 26 – Georgia and
Turkey agree to jointly restore
Oshki and
Ishkhani, the medieval Georgian cathedrals in northeastern Turkey, in exchange of the reconstruction of the
Ottoman-era mosques of Aziziye and Ahmediye in Georgia's
Batumi and
Akhaltsikhe, respectively.[5][6][7]
February 6 –
Anatoliy Bibilov, a runner-up in the annulled presidential race in breakaway South Ossetia announces his withdrawal from the planned March 25 repeat election.[10]
February 14 – The Georgian police says a man from breakaway Abkhazia is detained, while plotting a terrorist attack in a market in
Zugdidi, western Georgia.[12]
February 16 – Georgia severs diplomatic relations with the
South Pacific island nation of
Tuvalu due to the latter's recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in September 2011.[13]
February 25 – The Ministry of Defense of Georgia presents the first-ever Georgia-produced tracked
infantry fighting vehicleLazika, developed by the Ministry's research center Delta.[16]
February 29 – Georgia unilaterally lifts visa rules for Russia, enabling the Russian citizens to stay in Georgia without a visa for 90 days.[17]
February 29 – The Russian-Georgian painter and sculptor
Zurab Tsereteli opens the Museum of Modern Art, dominated by his own works, in the late 19th-century building in Tbilisi.[18]
March
March 2 – In response to Georgia's decision to unilaterally abolish visa requirements for Russian citizens, the
Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs says Russia is ready to reciprocate, provided Georgia revises its Law on the Occupied Territories.[19]
March 4 – A Georgian police check-point at
Ganmukhuri near the
Abkhazian administrative boundary line comes under fire, with no casualties reported. Georgia blames the attack on the Abkhaz separatist forces, who deny the involvement.[21][22]
March 10 –
Legislative election is held in breakaway
Abkhazia, with race for most seats going into runoff held on March 24. Georgia,[23] the United States[24] and the European Union[25] refuse to recognize the legitimacy of the elections.
March 20 – The opposition politician
Irakli Alasania accuses the government of creating "paramilitary groups" of supporters in western Georgia ahead of the scheduled October parliamentary election, a claim dismissed by the authorities as "incomprehensible" and "irresponsible".[28]
April
April 8 – The former security official
Leonid Tibilov wins the second round of
presidential election in breakaway South Ossetia, garnering 54.12% votes.[29]
April 17 – Construction of the
monastery of the Iverian Theotokos—described by the Patriarchate of the Georgian Orthodox Church as "historic"—is inaugurated on Mount Makhata at Tbilisi.[31]
May 26 – President Saakashvili opens Georgia's new parliament building in Kutaisi, where the Parliament holds its inaugural session to mark the country's Independence Day.[36]
May 27 – Tens of thousands demonstrate in downtown Tbilisi in support of the billionaire-turned-opposition politician
Bidzina Ivanishvili and his political coalition
Georgian Dream.[37]
May 28 – Two policemen and one local resident die in shooting at a café in the town of
Gali in breakaway Abkhazia. Sukhumi and Tbilisi trade accusations over the incident.[38]
June
June 3 – The Russian rock-band
DDT concludes the
Tbilisi Open Air festival, gathering nearly 80,000 people, the largest attendance for a music event in the capital of Georgia.[39]
June 5 – The
United States Secretary of StateHillary Clinton visits Georgia as part of her South Caucasian tour, focusing on the new aspects of the U.S.–Georgian security cooperation and the importance of upcoming elections in Georgia during her news conference in Batumi.[40]
June 21 – Georgian police seizes a large number of satellite dishes belonging to a company connected to a billionaire opposition leader, Bidzina Ivanishvili, as part of an investigation into possible vote-buying.[41]
June 28 – Severe floods and landslides hit the western province of
Samegrelo, with no casualties reported, forcing President Saakashvili to abort his visit to
Azerbaijan.[42]
June 30 – President Saakashvili names Interior Minister
Vano Merabishvili as the new prime minister.[44]
July
July 3 – Seventy-three people are hospitalized after a chlorine leak at a water distribution company in Tbilisi's suburban neighborhood of Lilo.[45]
July 4 – The Parliament approves the new cabinet, with Ivane Merabishvili as Prime Minister.[46]
July 18 – The
Machakhela National Park is inaugurated in the
Machakheli valley at the border with Turkey, accompanied by the signing of the
USAID-supported Georgian–Turkish "Trans-boundary Cooperation Action Plan".[47]
July 19 – Heavy rainfall, hail, and hurricane hit the eastern Georgian region of
Kakheti, inflicting severe damage to its infrastructure and agriculture.[48]
August
August 8 – On the 4th anniversary of the
Russian–Georgian war,
President of RussiaVladimir Putin reveals that the Russian General Staff had laid down a contingency plan for a conflict with Georgia in 2006–2007 and trained "militiamen" in South Ossetia as part of this plan.[49][50]
August 16 – President Saakashvili unveils the renovated castle complex of Rabati in the city of
Akhaltsikhe, which features the medieval and early modern Christian, Islamic, and Jewish buildings.[52]
September 18 –
Gldani prison scandal: the Georgian television channels broadcast video footages of torture and rape in the Gldani prison, leading to the resignation of the Minister for Penitentiary
Khatuna Kalmakhelidze and the Minister of Interior
Bachana Akhalaia, and to the arrest of several prison personnel.[56]
September 24 – President Saakashvili inaugurates the first building in the planned
Black Sea city of
Lazika.[57][58]
October 5 – The government of Georgia starts negotiations on handing over power to the Georgian Dream coalition, winner of the parliamentary election. Bidzina Ivanishvili is designated by the coalition as the incoming Prime Minister.[61][62]
October 12 – The Georgian defense officials announce that the total number of Georgian soldiers killed in Afghanistan rises to 18 since the country joined the NATO-led operation in November 2009.[63]
October 25 – Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili and his government nominated by the Georgian Dream coalition are approved by the Parliament.[64]
Deaths
January 4 –
Merab Eliozishvili, a Georgian writer and actor (born 1934).
January 13 – Kakha Katsitadze, a Georgian military and political analyst (born 1959).[65]
January 24 – Merab Megreladze, a veteran Georgian football player (
FC Torpedo Kutaisi) (born 1957).[66]
January 25 – Zurab Kometiani, a Georgian biophysicist and cell biologist (born 1934).[67]
February 12 – Alexi Chincharauli, a Georgian folklorist, professor (born 1925).[68]
March 1 – Luiza Shakiashvili, a Georgian politician and Soviet-era dissident, member of the Parliament (1992–1995) (born 1942).[69]
March 7 –
Ramaz Urushadze, a veteran Georgian football player (born 1939).
March 11 – Janri Kashia, a Georgian journalist and husband of the politician
Salome Zourabichvili (born 1940).[70]
March 20 – Erlom Akhvlediani, a Georgian script writer (born 1933).[71]
May 30 – Revaz Bairamashvili, Georgian architect (born 1929).
April 10 – Shalva Gatserelia, Georgian theatre director (born 1931).[72]
May 4 –
Alexander Chikvaidze, Georgian diplomat, Minister of Foreign Affairs (1992–1995) (born 1932).[73]
June 14 –
Vano Gurgenidze, retired lieutenant-general, Deputy Minister of Defense of Georgia (1992–2000) (born 1941).
June 20 –
Ramaz Shengelia, a retired Georgian football player (born 1957).[74]
July 9 – Marine Iashvili,
PAG, a Georgian violinist (born 1932).[75]
July 24 – Nino Javakhishvili, a Georgian anatomist (born 1914).[76]
August 3 –
Giorgi Gomiashvili, a Georgian businessman and ex-Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (2004–2005).[77]
August 7 –
Bondo Shalikiani, a controversial Georgian businessman and alleged mafia boss, found murdered in
Minsk (born 1961).[78]
August 9 – Athanasius (born Anzor Chakhvashvili), a Georgian Orthodox cleric, Metropolitan Bishop of Rustavi and Marneuli (1996–2009) (born 1936).
December 21 –
Revaz Gurgenidze, a retired Georgian major-general (born 1951).[79]
^"UEFA Super Cup decisions". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 30 June 2012. Archived from
the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
January 8 – Georgia's Maritime Transport Agency announces 15 Georgian sailors held hostage by pirates for 16 months off the
coast of Somalia are released through the government's efforts.[1]
January 10 – Archaeological digs at the Monastery of the
Forty Martyrs of Sebaste in
Abanotubani in downtown
Tbilisi unearth several structures and items, predating the establishment of Tbilisi as the capital of
Iberia in the 5th century.[2][3]
January 18 – In breakaway
South Ossetia,
Alla Dzhioyeva, the disqualified apparent victor of the
November 2011 presidential election, announces her withdrawal from the Russian-mediated agreement with the outgoing leadership, condemning the planned March 25 runoff as "illegal".[4]
January 26 – Georgia and
Turkey agree to jointly restore
Oshki and
Ishkhani, the medieval Georgian cathedrals in northeastern Turkey, in exchange of the reconstruction of the
Ottoman-era mosques of Aziziye and Ahmediye in Georgia's
Batumi and
Akhaltsikhe, respectively.[5][6][7]
February 6 –
Anatoliy Bibilov, a runner-up in the annulled presidential race in breakaway South Ossetia announces his withdrawal from the planned March 25 repeat election.[10]
February 14 – The Georgian police says a man from breakaway Abkhazia is detained, while plotting a terrorist attack in a market in
Zugdidi, western Georgia.[12]
February 16 – Georgia severs diplomatic relations with the
South Pacific island nation of
Tuvalu due to the latter's recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in September 2011.[13]
February 25 – The Ministry of Defense of Georgia presents the first-ever Georgia-produced tracked
infantry fighting vehicleLazika, developed by the Ministry's research center Delta.[16]
February 29 – Georgia unilaterally lifts visa rules for Russia, enabling the Russian citizens to stay in Georgia without a visa for 90 days.[17]
February 29 – The Russian-Georgian painter and sculptor
Zurab Tsereteli opens the Museum of Modern Art, dominated by his own works, in the late 19th-century building in Tbilisi.[18]
March
March 2 – In response to Georgia's decision to unilaterally abolish visa requirements for Russian citizens, the
Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs says Russia is ready to reciprocate, provided Georgia revises its Law on the Occupied Territories.[19]
March 4 – A Georgian police check-point at
Ganmukhuri near the
Abkhazian administrative boundary line comes under fire, with no casualties reported. Georgia blames the attack on the Abkhaz separatist forces, who deny the involvement.[21][22]
March 10 –
Legislative election is held in breakaway
Abkhazia, with race for most seats going into runoff held on March 24. Georgia,[23] the United States[24] and the European Union[25] refuse to recognize the legitimacy of the elections.
March 20 – The opposition politician
Irakli Alasania accuses the government of creating "paramilitary groups" of supporters in western Georgia ahead of the scheduled October parliamentary election, a claim dismissed by the authorities as "incomprehensible" and "irresponsible".[28]
April
April 8 – The former security official
Leonid Tibilov wins the second round of
presidential election in breakaway South Ossetia, garnering 54.12% votes.[29]
April 17 – Construction of the
monastery of the Iverian Theotokos—described by the Patriarchate of the Georgian Orthodox Church as "historic"—is inaugurated on Mount Makhata at Tbilisi.[31]
May 26 – President Saakashvili opens Georgia's new parliament building in Kutaisi, where the Parliament holds its inaugural session to mark the country's Independence Day.[36]
May 27 – Tens of thousands demonstrate in downtown Tbilisi in support of the billionaire-turned-opposition politician
Bidzina Ivanishvili and his political coalition
Georgian Dream.[37]
May 28 – Two policemen and one local resident die in shooting at a café in the town of
Gali in breakaway Abkhazia. Sukhumi and Tbilisi trade accusations over the incident.[38]
June
June 3 – The Russian rock-band
DDT concludes the
Tbilisi Open Air festival, gathering nearly 80,000 people, the largest attendance for a music event in the capital of Georgia.[39]
June 5 – The
United States Secretary of StateHillary Clinton visits Georgia as part of her South Caucasian tour, focusing on the new aspects of the U.S.–Georgian security cooperation and the importance of upcoming elections in Georgia during her news conference in Batumi.[40]
June 21 – Georgian police seizes a large number of satellite dishes belonging to a company connected to a billionaire opposition leader, Bidzina Ivanishvili, as part of an investigation into possible vote-buying.[41]
June 28 – Severe floods and landslides hit the western province of
Samegrelo, with no casualties reported, forcing President Saakashvili to abort his visit to
Azerbaijan.[42]
June 30 – President Saakashvili names Interior Minister
Vano Merabishvili as the new prime minister.[44]
July
July 3 – Seventy-three people are hospitalized after a chlorine leak at a water distribution company in Tbilisi's suburban neighborhood of Lilo.[45]
July 4 – The Parliament approves the new cabinet, with Ivane Merabishvili as Prime Minister.[46]
July 18 – The
Machakhela National Park is inaugurated in the
Machakheli valley at the border with Turkey, accompanied by the signing of the
USAID-supported Georgian–Turkish "Trans-boundary Cooperation Action Plan".[47]
July 19 – Heavy rainfall, hail, and hurricane hit the eastern Georgian region of
Kakheti, inflicting severe damage to its infrastructure and agriculture.[48]
August
August 8 – On the 4th anniversary of the
Russian–Georgian war,
President of RussiaVladimir Putin reveals that the Russian General Staff had laid down a contingency plan for a conflict with Georgia in 2006–2007 and trained "militiamen" in South Ossetia as part of this plan.[49][50]
August 16 – President Saakashvili unveils the renovated castle complex of Rabati in the city of
Akhaltsikhe, which features the medieval and early modern Christian, Islamic, and Jewish buildings.[52]
September 18 –
Gldani prison scandal: the Georgian television channels broadcast video footages of torture and rape in the Gldani prison, leading to the resignation of the Minister for Penitentiary
Khatuna Kalmakhelidze and the Minister of Interior
Bachana Akhalaia, and to the arrest of several prison personnel.[56]
September 24 – President Saakashvili inaugurates the first building in the planned
Black Sea city of
Lazika.[57][58]
October 5 – The government of Georgia starts negotiations on handing over power to the Georgian Dream coalition, winner of the parliamentary election. Bidzina Ivanishvili is designated by the coalition as the incoming Prime Minister.[61][62]
October 12 – The Georgian defense officials announce that the total number of Georgian soldiers killed in Afghanistan rises to 18 since the country joined the NATO-led operation in November 2009.[63]
October 25 – Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili and his government nominated by the Georgian Dream coalition are approved by the Parliament.[64]
Deaths
January 4 –
Merab Eliozishvili, a Georgian writer and actor (born 1934).
January 13 – Kakha Katsitadze, a Georgian military and political analyst (born 1959).[65]
January 24 – Merab Megreladze, a veteran Georgian football player (
FC Torpedo Kutaisi) (born 1957).[66]
January 25 – Zurab Kometiani, a Georgian biophysicist and cell biologist (born 1934).[67]
February 12 – Alexi Chincharauli, a Georgian folklorist, professor (born 1925).[68]
March 1 – Luiza Shakiashvili, a Georgian politician and Soviet-era dissident, member of the Parliament (1992–1995) (born 1942).[69]
March 7 –
Ramaz Urushadze, a veteran Georgian football player (born 1939).
March 11 – Janri Kashia, a Georgian journalist and husband of the politician
Salome Zourabichvili (born 1940).[70]
March 20 – Erlom Akhvlediani, a Georgian script writer (born 1933).[71]
May 30 – Revaz Bairamashvili, Georgian architect (born 1929).
April 10 – Shalva Gatserelia, Georgian theatre director (born 1931).[72]
May 4 –
Alexander Chikvaidze, Georgian diplomat, Minister of Foreign Affairs (1992–1995) (born 1932).[73]
June 14 –
Vano Gurgenidze, retired lieutenant-general, Deputy Minister of Defense of Georgia (1992–2000) (born 1941).
June 20 –
Ramaz Shengelia, a retired Georgian football player (born 1957).[74]
July 9 – Marine Iashvili,
PAG, a Georgian violinist (born 1932).[75]
July 24 – Nino Javakhishvili, a Georgian anatomist (born 1914).[76]
August 3 –
Giorgi Gomiashvili, a Georgian businessman and ex-Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (2004–2005).[77]
August 7 –
Bondo Shalikiani, a controversial Georgian businessman and alleged mafia boss, found murdered in
Minsk (born 1961).[78]
August 9 – Athanasius (born Anzor Chakhvashvili), a Georgian Orthodox cleric, Metropolitan Bishop of Rustavi and Marneuli (1996–2009) (born 1936).
December 21 –
Revaz Gurgenidze, a retired Georgian major-general (born 1951).[79]
^"UEFA Super Cup decisions". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 30 June 2012. Archived from
the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2012.