On 22 October 1993, ITN's Julian Manyon reported on the Battle of Samtredia. With the Georgian Civil War in its second year following the overthrow of the country's first democratically-elected president, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, in a violent military coup d'etat, rebel forces loyal to Gamsakhurdia's cause seized the strategically vital town of Samtredia. Amidst the disintegration of the Georgian military, Gamsakhurdia's successor to the presidency, Eduard Shevardnadze, requested military assistance from Russia, which was granted on the condition that Georgia join the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). On the same day that Shevardnadze signed the decree entering Georgia into the CIS, ITN's cameras filmed this footage of Russian tanks assisting pro-Shevardnadze fighters in the battle to retake Samtredia.
#Georgia #Samtredia #CombatFootage #CivilWar #GeorgianCivilWar #Russia #USSR #SovietUnion #Soviet #PostSoviet #PostSoviet #ModernWarfare #History #SovietWave #Tblisi #ZviadGamsakhurdia #EduardShevardnadze #Shevardnadze #ColdWar #BattleOfSamtredia #1993 #1990s
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