"Germany is determined to provide substantial help. So are the Netherlands and other states. But a day will come when we have to count on our own resources"
About this Quote
Eduard Shevardnadze speaks with the double vision of a diplomat and a nation builder. Gratitude is explicit: Germany, the Netherlands, and others were stepping up with money, expertise, and relief. Yet the emphasis falls on a hard horizon line where outside generosity must give way to internal capacity. The sentiment is both practical and moral. Aid can jump-start recovery, stabilize a currency, keep lights on and hospitals supplied; it cannot substitute for the habits, institutions, and revenues that sustain a sovereign state.
The context is a Georgia battered by the collapse of the Soviet economy, internal conflict, and failing infrastructure. As head of state in the 1990s, Shevardnadze courted Western support and anchored Georgia to Euro-Atlantic institutions, while navigating warlord politics and chronic shortages at home. Germany had a special resonance: as Soviet foreign minister he had helped midwife German reunification; now a unified Germany was a key donor to his struggling country. The Netherlands, active in development and European diplomacy, stood among those offering assistance. Their help mattered, but no outside partner could reorganize Georgia’s tax system, tame corruption, secure its borders, or rebuild trust in government. Those tasks demanded domestic will, sacrifice, and reform.
There is also a message to a restless public and a wary elite. Foreign funds are not a permanent income stream. The window they create must be used to rebuild institutions, diversify the economy, enforce the rule of law, and mobilize the country’s own resources, including its diaspora and entrepreneurial energy. Otherwise, dependency calcifies and political agency withers.
The line carries a universal lesson for post-conflict and transitional states. International solidarity can bridge a crisis; dignity and durability come from the difficult work of standing up on one’s own. Shevardnadze captures that pivot point succinctly: welcome the help, but build the capacity to need it less.
The context is a Georgia battered by the collapse of the Soviet economy, internal conflict, and failing infrastructure. As head of state in the 1990s, Shevardnadze courted Western support and anchored Georgia to Euro-Atlantic institutions, while navigating warlord politics and chronic shortages at home. Germany had a special resonance: as Soviet foreign minister he had helped midwife German reunification; now a unified Germany was a key donor to his struggling country. The Netherlands, active in development and European diplomacy, stood among those offering assistance. Their help mattered, but no outside partner could reorganize Georgia’s tax system, tame corruption, secure its borders, or rebuild trust in government. Those tasks demanded domestic will, sacrifice, and reform.
There is also a message to a restless public and a wary elite. Foreign funds are not a permanent income stream. The window they create must be used to rebuild institutions, diversify the economy, enforce the rule of law, and mobilize the country’s own resources, including its diaspora and entrepreneurial energy. Otherwise, dependency calcifies and political agency withers.
The line carries a universal lesson for post-conflict and transitional states. International solidarity can bridge a crisis; dignity and durability come from the difficult work of standing up on one’s own. Shevardnadze captures that pivot point succinctly: welcome the help, but build the capacity to need it less.
Quote Details
| Topic | Resilience |
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