By Georgy Kalatozishvili, exclusively to VK
During the presidential debates in Georgia in 2008, Mikheil Saakashvili was asked what his major political mistake had been, and the President answered that this mistake had a name - Irakly Okurashvili. At the same time, one of the most relentless opponents of President Saakashvili, Pikriya Chihradze, said that Okurashvili was even worse than Saakashvili – and it's not often that Georgian opposition figures criticize each other, even if they have different opinions.Irakly Okurashvili remains one of the most interesting figures in Georgian politics – in such cases one traditionally adds the definition ‘ambiguous’, but that’s not the case with Okurashvili.Irakly was born on 6 November 1973 in Tskhinvali. An experienced lawyer and consultant, he participated in many government projects, as well as running enterprises of his own. Foreign companies, such as the AES that bought Tbilisi’s electricity network in 1999, sought his legal help. Later, President Shevarnadze mentioned that Okurashvili used his talents to help AES compile a contract that proved to be disastrous for the Georgian energy delivery system. It is still unclear whose fault it really was – Okurashvili’s (who had just done his job well) or the Georgian Energy Ministry, which failed to protect the state's interests.
When Saakashvili was first appointed as Justice Minister by the elderly Shevarnadze, he saw Okurashvili’s talent as a possible asset and invited Irakly to be his deputy. Later, in 2002, Okurashvili was elected to the Tbilisi city parliament. Right after the ‘rose revolution’ of 2003, Saakashvili appointed his comrade as the governor of the Shida Kartly region, neighboring on South Ossetia. There the new governor tried to establish ‘revolutionary order’ and fought corruption. However, he didn’t have a chance to show himself as a mediator in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict, as he was soon reappointed to be Prosecutor General – this decision came as a great surprise to the public, as attorneys don’t usually become prosecutors.
Despite all doubts, Okurashvili was quite successful in his new role – in a couple of weeks he had arrested almost all the bureaucrats of the Shevarnadze regime who hadn’t fled the country in the days of the ‘rose revolution’. The state budget was replenished by millions once stolen by corrupt officials and now being returned (Okurashvili inspired a law that allowed any corrupt ex-official to pay off instead of being imprisoned).The Prosecutor General was dealt with shortly by ex-officials and his ex-colleagues in thwe legal profession, who tried to call on the law instead of ‘revolutionary justice’ and to remind him of the presumption of innocence. However, as it turned out later, Okurashvili didn’t forget to take care of his own financial interests.It became clear that the ‘harsh prosecutor’ could ruin Georgia’s establishment and its relations with the West, so he had to be removed from his post. However, Saakashvili didn’t want to spoil relations with his friend, so he assigned him to be the head of the Police. However, in his new position Okurashvili made an even bigger hash. It was because of his uncompromising efforts that South Ossetia came to the brink of a real war in 2004 after Okurashvili’s forces attacked a Russian arms escort.In December 2004 Okurashvili was offered the position of Defense Minister. During his first press conference in this office Okurashvili demanded that his predecessor be arrested, as he had bought ‘low-quality weaponry from Ukraine”. An international scandal broke out. Ukraine even hinted that it might completely cease military cooperation with Georgia. Saakashvili’s patience was growing thin and he moved his troublesome comrade to the more ‘peaceful’ office of Economy Minister. Okurashvili, however, had too strong an ambition to agree to such a post and he disappeared from the political stage for some time. He returned in 2007 with a traditional scandal. Okurashvili formed a new party – ‘United Georgia’ – and accused Saakashvili of usurping power. However, the investigation into abuses of power during his term as Prosecutor General was already underway. Okurashvili was arrested and confessed, as well as denouncing all his allegations against the President. After paying a 6 million dollar bail Okurashvili escaped to Paris, where he was granted the status of political refugee. In his absence Okurashvili was sentenced to 11 years in prison for extortion.
Ever since, Okurashvili has been trying to influence Georgian politics via his comrades in the most radical wing of the opposition, as well as via frequent interviews to Russian and Georgian media. During the recent opposition demonstrations he even threatened to return to Georgia with the full support of Russia’s government – which was only a bluff, of course, but it cost a number of his followers terms in prison for an armed coup attempt. After that Okurashvili has stayed quiet – probably awaiting another destabilization in Georgia, that is, for another chance for himself.
