Kakha Bendukidze Analyzes Georgia's Economic Strategy: How Georgia Handled its Economy After the War

Article / I write about the architect of Georgia's post-Soviet economic strategy.

Kakha Bendukidze, a former Russian oligarch who served as State Minister on Reforms Coordination in Georgia from 2004 to 2008, and then the Head of the Chancellery of Georgia until 2009, spoke at the Harriman Institute on March 29, 2010, about the state of Georgia’s economy. Bendukidze left Georgia after he graduated from the Department of Biology at Tbilisi State University and made his fortune in Russia during perestroika. He returned to his homeland in 2004, after President Mikheil Saakashvili asked him to reform the Georgian economy. Bendukidze is known for his rampant privatization efforts, having famously stated that Georgia “should sell everything except its conscience.” Opponents criticize him for selling too many of Georgia’s national assets to Russia, while supporters praise him for orchestrating “Georgia’s Economic Miracle.”

Read the article on the Harriman Institute's website.