Ia Antadze
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Politics has, it seems, never been so popular in Georgia. But the voters are being offered two very different views on the country's future by parties contesting the coming parliamentary elections.
Despite widespread hopes of a radical shake-up in Georgia's ruling cabal, President Shevardnadze once again puts his faith in the old guard
Eduard Shevardnadze's inauguration ceremony was redolent with omens of a brighter future but thin on promises of decisive reform.
Ajarian leader Aslan Abashidze is fond of boasting that he has created a virtual "paradise" on the shores of the Black Sea. But not of all his subjects would agree with him.
Most voters quietly accept that President Eduard Shevardnadze will win the April 9 elections - but they bitterly resent the fact that there is no real alternative.
New economic realities are eroding the traditional stereotype of Georgian women as devoted home-makers and long-suffering martyrs.
While the incumbent's victory in Georgia's forthcoming presidential vote seems certain, a bizarre array of eccentrics, misfits and criminals have joined the race.
Georgia's political heavyweights are set to cross swords in the wake of Shevardnadze's expected election victory