ARTICLE: Georgia and Russia, again. By Thomas de Waal (opendemocracy.net)

By Thomas de Waal

The career and testimony of a man who served both the Soviet Union and independent Georgia remain a guide to how embittered neighbours might repair their relationship, says Thomas de Waal.

Never again will a Georgian command the same international authority. The green walls of Eduard Shevardnadze's study in his residence outside Tbilisi are decked with portraits of world leaders: Ronald Reagan, the elder George Bush, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, George Schultz (and, bizarrely, the jazz singer Ray Charles). In his prime as foreign minister of the Soviet Union, he was fully equal to all these statesmen.

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