Events in the year 2014 in Georgia.

Incumbents

National President: Giorgi Margvelashvili (November 17, 2013 – present) Prime Minister: Irakli Garibashvili (November 20, 2013 – present) Chairperson of Parliament: David Usupashvili (October 21, 2012 – present)

Autonomous republics

Adjara Chairman of the Government: Archil Khabadze (October 30, 2012 – present) Chairman of the Supreme Council: Avtandil Beridze (October 28, 2012 – present)

Abkhazia Chairman of Government (-in-exile): Vakhtang Kolbaia (acting; April 8, 2013 – present) Chairman of the Supreme Council (-in-exile): Elguja Gvazava (March 20, 2009 – present)

Disputed territories

Abkhazia President: Alexander Ankvab (May 29, 2011 – June 1, 2014), Valeri Bganba (acting; June 1, 2014 – September 25, 2014), Raul Khadjimba (September 25, 2014 – present) Prime Minister: Leonid Lakerbaia (September 27, 2011 – June 2, 2014), Vladimir Delba (acting; June 2, 2014 – September 29, 2014), Beslan Butba (September 29, 2014 – present) Chairman of People's Assembly: Valeri Bganba (April 3, 2012 – present)

South Ossetia President: Leonid Tibilov (April 19, 2012 – present) Prime Minister: Rostislav Khugayev (April 26, 2012 – January 20, 2014); Domenty Kulumbegov (January 20, 2014 – present) Chairman of Parliament: Stanislav Kochiev (July 2, 2012 – June 23, 2014); Anatoliy Bibilov (June 23, 2014 – present)

Events

January

January 1 – The State Ministry for Reintegration is renamed into the State Ministry for Reconciliation and Civic Equality with the declared aim of easing engagement with the breakaway entities of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.State Ministry for Reintegration Renamed. Civil Georgia. January 2, 2014. January 8 – The statement from the Christmas message by Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church Ilia II that children born by surrogate mothers or through artificial insemination will be "problematic" in their adulthood and families with such children cannot be happy sparks controversy, causing a protest rally outside the Patriarchate office and a minor skirmish between the protesters and supporters of the patriarch.Georgian Patriarch's Surrogacy Remarks Spark Protests, Clashes. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. January 8, 2014.Georgian Orthodox Church Responds to Surrogacy Statement Controversy. Civil Georgia. January 8, 2014. January 20 – President of breakaway South Ossetia, Leonid Tibilov, dismisses government, citing its inefficiency and failure to tackle economic problems.Breakaway S.Ossetia's Leader Sacks Government. Civil Georgia. January 20, 2014.

February February 5 – The Parliament of Georgia adopts a bill on local self-governance reform, envisaging direct election of mayors in 12 towns and direct election of heads of all the municipalities. February 7–23 – Despite controversy at home due to the strained relations with Russia,PM Comments on Calls for Boycotting Sochi Olympics. Civil Georgia. October 14, 2013. Georgia competes at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, with four athletes, winning no medals.Georgia . Organizing Committee of the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games of 2014 in Sochi. Accessed February 23, 2014. February 17, 27 – Georgia's former Prime Minister and secretary-general of the United National Movement party Vano Merabishvili is sentenced to five years in prison on charges of abuse of office, bribery of voters, and the inefficient use of budget funds,Ex-Georgian PM Merabishvili Sentenced To Five Years. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. February 17, 2014. and to four years and 6 months for exceeding official powers in case related to break up of the May 2011 protest rally in Tbilisi.Merabishvili Sentenced in Case over Break Up of 2011 Protest. Civil Georgia. March 1, 2014. February 21 – The Parliament of Georgia endorses the decision to send an infantry company as part of the European Union's military mission in the Central African Republic, EUFOR RCA.Parliament Approves Sending Troops to Central African Republic. Civil Georgia. February 21, 2014. February 21 – A Georgian national and a Euromaidan activist, 33-year-old David Kipiani, dies during the clashes between the police forces and protesters in Kyiv, Ukraine, the second Georgian to have died in the course of the confrontation.Georgian Citizen Dies in Kiev Clashes. Civil Georgia. February 21, 2014. February 28 – The wanted ex-warlord Emzar Kvitsiani, involved in the 2006 Kodori crisis, is arrested upon his arrival from Moscow to Tbilisi.

March March 14 – The government of Georgia gives permission to the mining company RMG to extract gold at the archaeological site of Sakdrisi, drawing protests from archaeologists and preservationists.RMG Given Go-Ahead to Dig Gold at Sakdrisi. Civil Georgia. March 14, 2014. March 15 – The Georgia national rugby union team wins European Nations Cup.Rugby success: Georgia wins European Nations Cup. Agenda.ge. March 15, 2014. March 24 – The death in unclear circumstances of the former Interior Ministry special forces officer, Shalva Tatukhashvili, a witness in a criminal case against his former superior, Data Akhalaia, sparks allegations of mistreatment by investigators during questioning, which the Prosecutor's office denies.Prosecutor's Office Gripped by Witness Death Case. Civil Georgia. April 3, 2014.Official Autopsy Report in Tatukhashvili's Case Released. Civil Georgia. April 5, 2014. March 27 – Prosecutors summon the former President Mikheil Saakashvili for questioning as witness in several criminal cases including investigation into 2005 death of the former Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania; Saakashvili, then being in the United States, says he will not return to Georgia for questioning.Georgia. CrisisWatch N°128. April 1, 2014.

April April 15 – Three Georgian journalists are detained and released after two days of captivity by the Russian forces near administrative boundary line of breakaway South Ossetia.Georgian Journalists Detained Near South Ossetia Freed. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. April 17, 2014.

May

May 2 – The Parliament of Georgia adopts with 115 votes to 0 with its third and final reading anti-discrimination bill "Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination", which is criticized by human rights group for its lack of efficient implementation mechanisms and strongly opposed by the Georgian Orthodox Church for references to "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" in the bill.Anti-Discrimination Bill Adopted. Civil Georgia. May 2, 2014. May 17 – A landslide in the Dariali Gorge in northeastern Georgia kills at least three people, blocks the Tergi River, and disrupts supply of Russian gas to Armenia.Smashing landslide in Dariali Gorge in northern Georgia. Agenda.ge. 17 May 2014.Two Bodies Found in Dariali Landslide, Four People Remain Missing. Civil Georgia. May 24, 2014. May 27 – In breakaway Abkhazia's capital of Sukhumi, opposition groups led by Raul Khadjimba storm the presidential headquarters, forcing President Alexander Ankvab into flight to his home town of Gudauta.Analysis: Unrest in Abkhazia. BBC News. 28 May 2014.Georgia Abkhazia: Leader 'flees' protesters in Sukhumi. BBC News. 28 May 2014.

June June 1 – Breakaway Abkhazia's president Alexander Ankvab resigns a day after the region's parliament declares him "unable" to perform presidential duties and appoints its chairman Valeri Bganba as an acting president.Ankvab Steps Down. Civil Georgia. June 1, 2014. June 3 – Amid the Russo-Ukrainian war, President of the United States Barack Obama announces the European Reassurance Initiative—a $1bn plan to fund the increase of the United States military presence in Europe and step up defense capabilities of Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia.US to step up military presence in 'European Reassurance Initiative' . Euronews. June 3, 2014. June 6 – A company of 140 soldiers from the Batumi-based infantry battalion leave Georgia to join the EU military mission in the Central African Republic (EUFOR RCA).Georgian Troops Heading to EU Mission in Central African Republic. Civil Georgia. June 6, 2014. June 8 – Breakaway South Ossetia holds a legislative election, unrecognized by Georgia, the EU, and NATO.Results of Parliamentary Polls in Breakaway S.Ossetia. Civil Georgia. June 9, 2014. June 15 – The Georgian Dream coalition wins local elections in the majority of precincts, with the mayoral race in Tbilisi and several other towns going into runoff.Georgian Dream Fades in Local Elections . Institute for War & Peace Reporting. June 17, 2014. June 24 – Georgia, in cooperation with the United States, opens the Joint Maritime Operations Control Center at the Georgian Coast Guard station of Supsa on the Black Sea. June 27 – Georgia, along with Ukraine and Moldova, signs an Association Agreement with the European Union, deepening political and economic ties in the framework of the Eastern Partnership.EU forges closer ties with Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. European Union. June 27, 2014.

July

July 5 – The former mayor of Tbilisi and one of the leaders of the UNM opposition party, Gigi Ugulava, is sentenced to a pre-trial detention on money laundering charges, while the opposition continues to accuse the authorities of political vendetta. July 12 – The Georgian Dream coalition candidates win the second round runoffs in the local self-government elections. July 15 – Erosi Kitsmarishvili, a Georgian media executive and politician, is found dead with gunshot wound in his head in own car. The investigation is launched under the criminal code dealing with suicides. July 15 – Georgian ISAF contingent ends their four-year deployment in the Helmand province of Afghanistan with a flag-lowering ceremony at the Camp Leatherneck. July 18 – The Parliament of Georgia ratifies the Association Agreement with the European Union at an extraordinary session. July 26 – At a session boycotted by the opposition United National Movement party, the Parliament of Georgia approves the reshuffled cabinet of Georgia, including five new ministers and two other members moving to other posts. July 28 – Criminal charges are filed by the Georgian prosecutor's office against the former President Mikheil Saakashvili over alleged "exceeding official powers" during the 2007 Georgian demonstrations as well as police raid on and "seizure" of Imedi TV and other assets owned by the late tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili. Saakashvili responds by accusing the Georgian authorities of political score-settling and attempts at appeasing Russia. The United States express concerns over the case and warn that "the legal system should not be used as a tool of political retribution". The European Union "takes note with concern" and states that it will "closely monitor these and other legal proceedings against members of the former government and current opposition in Georgia".

August August 2 – The Tbilisi City Court sentences Mikheil Saakashvili to pre-trial detention in absentia. August 20 – An electronic dance music festival KaZantip moves from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian region of Crimea to Georgia's Black Sea coast town of Anaklia, receiving mixed reactions in the Georgian society. August 21 – A landslide hits the Dariali Gorge for the second time this year, blocking a road to Russia and damaging gas supply to Armenia. Two people are missing. August 24 – Raul Khadjimba wins a snap presidential election in breakaway Abkhazia.

September September 1 – The new law on Law on Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons goes into effect, justified by the government as being more in line with the EU policy, but criticized by rights groups as creating certain complications for foreign citizens, including students. September 5 – Georgia is offered a "substantial package" from NATO at the 2014 Wales summit to help the country advance its preparations to the alliance's membership, leaving Georgia again without a long-sought Membership Action Plan (MAP).