Did Soros play a role in Georgia’s 2003 “Rose Revolution”?
Georgia’s 2003 elections were marred by irregularities and government interference, prompting citizens to stage the nonviolent “Rose Revolution” that forced President Shevardnadze to resign. Though sympathetic to citizens’ calls for democracy and rule of law, Soros and the Open Society Georgia Foundation were not involved in the revolution. The OSGF did, however, support Georgia’s broader civil society movement through independent election monitoring and grassroots “get-out-the-vote” outreach. “My foundation will keep working with the government whenever possible,” said Soros in 2005, looking back on his foundation’s work in Georgia.
