International

Georgia Voters Hand President Another Term

By Gregory Feifer

Published January 5, 2008 at 1:00 PM PST

This story was published more than 16 years ago.

Supporters of President Mikhail Saakashvili gather at a rally in the town of Zugdidi, Georgia.

Exit polls show voters in the former Soviet republic of Georgia re-elected their president Saturday.

President Mikhail Saakashvili is a U.S.-educated lawyer, who came to power after the so-called "Rose Revolution" four years ago. He has pushed Georgia closer to NATO and the European Union — to the dismay of its much bigger neighbor, Russia.

The victory comes just two months after the nation imposed a state of emergency and used troops to crush anti-government protests.

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International

Gregory Feifer

Gregory Feifer reports for NPR from Moscow, covering Russia's resurgence under President Vladimir Putin and the country's transition to the post-Putin era. He files from other former Soviet republics and across Russia, where he's observed the effects of the country's vast new oil wealth on an increasingly nationalistic society as well as Moscow's rekindling of a new Cold War-style opposition to the West.

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