Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, the governor of Odesa Oblast in Ukraine, presented his memoirs in Kyiv on Sept. 26.
The book, titled “The Awakening of Strength,” is written in the form of anecdotes from Saakashvili’s eventful life, followed by his recommendations to Ukrainian politicians.
In the book, Saakashvili recollects his encounters with world leaders such as U.S. President George W. Bush., Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and others, and shares details of Georgia’s diplomatic relations and reforms during his presidency. The book is full of easy-to-read stories illustrated with photographs from the author’s personal archive.
The book was presented at the Free Market Center, a Kyiv-based think tank. Those attending the event were mostly journalists, economists, political experts and university students, who were eager to hear a firsthand account of the “Georgian Wonder” – the drastic economic reforms for which Saakashvili and his team are famous.
The Russian version of the book is now available in stores, and the Ukrainian version will be released in three weeks.
Saakashvili emphasized his deep connections to Ukraine, which started with his studies at Kyiv National University, and which have now seen him become governor of one of Ukraine’s most important regions. He was appointed to the job by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in May 2015 after he fled Georgia in the aftermath of losing elections and coming under investigation for abuse of power and embezzlement, charges that he says are politically motivated.
In his new book, Saakashvili draws parallels between the situation in Georgia after the 2003 Rose Revolution, which brought him to power in the country for two presidential terms, and in Ukraine after the 2014 EuroMaidan Revolution, which he strongly supported.
But he also expressed disappointment with results of the two revolutions in Ukraine.
“After the first Maidan, the old political regime was restored. That happens when a revolution doesn’t produce results. And since the second Maidan, we haven’t seen any serious reforms either. Moreover, we’ve reached a dead-end.” Saakashvili said.
He said Ukraine hasn’t developed a national approach to its interests that outweighs the individual interests of state officials. He suggested that oligarchs with fortunes of over $100 million should not participate in politics, either directly or through media they own.
“In the beginning, Poroshenko wanted reforms. He is talented, clearly distinguishes the good and the bad, and is very intuitive about progress. But as soon as reforms came to fundamental things – control over cash flows and power abuse for political goals, his attitude to reform became dubious,” Saakashvili writes in his book.
According to Saakashvili, Ukraine has two ways out of this dead-end: either a military coup, which might lead to the complete disintegration of the country, or the total replacement of the political elite and early parliamentary elections.
Saakashvili said the existing political elite in Ukraine was comparable with the Russian elite, with similar values and lifestyle. The next generation of politicians, he believes, will share Western values and interests, but won’t be as servile and scared of the West as the existing Ukrainian political elite. These people will be hard to corrupt and will be ready to take risks, he said.
Saakashvili urged the new Ukrainian politicians who come to power to be bold, and conduct reforms of the fiscal system, customs, education and health care as soon as possible, since “a corrupt system by its nature is unable to make rapid decisions.”
Although Saakashvili seems disappointed with the current state of affairs in Ukrainian politics, he finished his speech – and his book – optimistically.
“Ukraine is the main factor constraining a Russian attack on Europe,” the ending reads. “And with its educated, talented, freedom-loving society, it is fated to become a regional superpower at the level of France or Poland. We have to become less dependent on other’s opinions and believe in our own resources and unlimited potential. Then we will win.”
But at the moment it is not certain whether Saakashvili will be a part of Ukraine’s bright future. His Dutch-born wife Sandra Roelofs is running for a single-mandate parliamentary seat in the Zugdidi municipality in Georgia. Interfax-Ukraine reported on Sept. 26 that she said that her spouse would return to Tbilisi after the announcement of exit poll results of the Georgian parliamentary elections on Oct. 8.
Georgian Interior Minister Giorgi Mgebrishvili on Sept. 26 warned Saakashvili that he would immediately be arrested if he tried to enter Georgia.
