The Revolution of Roses (or Rose Revolution) was a change of power in Georgia in November 2003, which took place after widespread protests over disputed parliamentary elections. As a result, President Eduard Shevardnadze was forced to resign on November 23, 2003.
The 10th Anniversary Of Georgia's Rose Revolution
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Some 8,000 Georgian opposition supporters stage a rally in the center of Tbilisi on November 8, 2003. The protesters say that Georgian government rigged the recent parliamentary elections and demand that President Eduard Shevardnadze be put on trial if the officials who falsified the results aren't fired.
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Masked riot policemen stand guard during an opposition rally in Tbilisi on November 8.
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Georgian President Eduard Shevarnadze (right) welcomes for talks opposition leaders (left to right) Mikheil Saakashvili, Zurab Zhvania, and Nino Burjanadze in Tbilisi on November 9.
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Georgian opposition demonstrators hold portraits of opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili during a protest rally outside the Georgian parliament in Tbilisi on November 10.
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A woman walks past a line of riot policemen during a protest rally outside the Georgian parliament in Tbilisi on November 11.
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Georgian opposition protesters rally outside the Georgian parliament in Tbilisi on November 12. Several hundred protesters camped outside parliament for the fourth consecutive day as Shevardnadze signalled a tougher line on demonstrations calling for his resignation.
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Georgian students wrapped in cellophane join in protests against the policies of President Sheverdnadze in Tbilisi on November 20.
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Supporters of the opposition hold up a little girl holding a flower during a rally in front of the presidential residence in Tbilisi on November 22. Georgia teetered on the brink of chaos, with Shevardnadze declaring a state of emergency and an opposition leader claiming the interim presidency after supporters overran parliament.
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Georgian police guard the entrance of the parliament building in Tbilisi while opposition supporters storm it on November 22.
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Georgian television shows opposition protesters waving flags inside the parliament on November 22.
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A Georgian woman holding flowers smiles as special forces withdraw without fighting outside the presidential residence on November 22.
![People walk past a huge opposition flag hanging on the roof of the presidential palace in Tbilisi on November 23. Thousands of protesters massed in the Georgian capital as embattled President Shevardnadze promised talks on new elections a day after the opposition stormed parliament. "I am ready for dialogue and if you want, to discuss early presidential and parliamentary elections, but only after you leave the [parliament] buildings," Shevardnadze said in a televised address.](https://gdb.rferl.org/922fb97b-70ac-4bcd-a2d1-49e19a5df935_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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People walk past a huge opposition flag hanging on the roof of the presidential palace in Tbilisi on November 23. Thousands of protesters massed in the Georgian capital as embattled President Shevardnadze promised talks on new elections a day after the opposition stormed parliament. "I am ready for dialogue and if you want, to discuss early presidential and parliamentary elections, but only after you leave the [parliament] buildings," Shevardnadze said in a televised address.
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Georgian opposition supporters wave their flag at a rally in front of parliament overnight on November 23, but opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili warned supporters that it was "too early" to celebrate victory after they stormed parliament, forcing the fomer Soviet republic's embattled president to flee.
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Georgian opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili (right), surrounded by his bodyguards, leaves after a meeting with President Shevardnadze in the presidential residence in Tbilisi on November 23. Shevardnadze announced his resignation, bowing to opposition protesters who stormed parliament and declared a "Rose Revolution" in the former Soviet republic.