Politics & Power Quote by Eduard Shevardnadze

There’s a particular kind of post-Soviet sentence that tries to do two jobs at once: justify a retreat and reframe it as strategy. Shevardnadze’s line is built exactly for that. He opens with a calm, almost managerial confidence - “I’m sure” - then immediately concedes the optics: “formally speaking,” resignation looks “disadvantageous.” That phrase matters. It shrinks the political earthquake of a president stepping down into a procedural quibble, as if the real story is just how it will read on paper.

The pivot is time. By shifting from the messy present to “what is going to happen in the future,” he claims the one arena where opponents can’t rebut him: history. It’s a classic statesman’s refuge, but also a subtle power move. Even in resignation, he’s insisting on authorship of the narrative. He’s not being pushed out; he’s choosing to exit for the good of a country headed toward something bigger than today’s street politics.

Context does the heavy lifting. Shevardnadze resigned amid the Rose Revolution in 2003, facing mass protests, a legitimacy crisis, and the threat of violence if he clung to office. The subtext is an appeal to prudence: stepping down as a way to prevent bloodshed and to preserve some dignity - personal and institutional - when the old order is collapsing. It’s also preemptive self-defense. By staking his reputation on “history,” he tries to outrun immediate blame for corruption, stagnation, or failed reforms, and recast his final act as the responsible, stabilizing choice.