Saakashvili Discusses Legacy

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili spoke in Gaston Hall Thursday about the dramatic transformations his country has undergone since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Saakashvili began his lecture by remembering how he used to bike past Georgetown's campus as a law student at The George Washington University.

"It is my belated but longstanding dream to find myself within these venerable halls," he said.

After discussing Georgia's role in world history, Saakashvili described the corruption that plagued his country before the Rose Revolution, which boosted him to the presidency in 2004.

The majority of his talk covered the strides that have been made since the revolution. He mentioned the improved education system and infrastructure, the reduced crime rate and the complete computerization of the government system, all instituted under his leadership, as the most significant reforms.

"[The lecture] was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet a man that's changing the landscape of the post-Soviet world," Mike Mezzino (MSB '15) said.

Asked about his most prominent missteps as a political leader, Saakashvili said he regretted any time he compromised on or postponed a bill in which he strongly believed.

Saakashvili also emphasized Georgia's evolving relations with Russia. Despite the fact that Russia's military currently occupies regions to which the Georgian government has laid claim, Saakashvili believes that the withdrawal of Russian troops is inevitable.

"Almost every leader in Moscow right now says they want reforms in Russia," he said.