THE COUP D’ÉTAT IN GEORGIA (DECEMBER 1991 – JANUARY 1992) ACCORDING TO BRITISH AND IRISH PRESS COVERAGE

Abstract

From the beginning of September 1991, opposition protests and clashes with the government took on an irreversible character. These events were covered from the very first days by British and Irish publications. Some of them had correspondents in Georgia who reported the news directly from the epicenter of events. The changes in their headlines directly indicate the complexity of the situation, which ultimately culminated on January 6, 1992, with the overthrow of the legitimate government and, in early March 1992, with the return to Georgia of former Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze, which also had a wide international resonance due to his political past.

Keywords: Political crisis; Coup d’état; British-Georgian relations; Press; Public opinion.