Ex-President Saakashvili shares limited possessions, prioritizes patriotic sacrifice over personal wealth
Ex-President Saakashvili shares limited possessions, prioritizes patriotic sacrifice over personal wealth

“Everyone measures by their own standards. I have never associated with those who believe that being in power means making money. That is precisely why I have practically nothing left in Georgia except for a 1.5-hectare vineyard in Kvareli and a small house that is falling apart. I never faced hardship in America and Ukraine, and I wasn’t lacking, and it was in Ukraine that I first had a proper home,” jailed ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili writes on social media.

Saakashvili emphasized that no amount of comfort can alleviate the pain of losing his homeland and witnessing its destruction.

“No amount of money, comfort, or popularity could pacify the pain of losing my homeland and witnessing the destruction of the Georgian state I built and the reforms upon which it was established. Watching from the sidelines was unbearable. That’s why I did what I did—motivated by the same drive that kept me in Tbilisi in August 2008.

I am pleased that today, hundreds of thousands of people are taking to the streets, fueled by the same sentiment.

I cannot respond to gratitude with gratitude. You suggest that money and personal well-being take precedence over one’s homeland, which reflects precisely the ideology of oligarchs and the Russian world.

This is a confrontation between two differing mindsets and worldviews, and it appears we are on opposing sides.

My primary motivation is the responsibility I accepted towards millions of Georgians many years ago. Now, as my people suffer, my own physical survival becomes secondary,” Saakashvili stated.