Misha: Saakashvili, Georgia and the Inside Story of the War that Shook the Post-Soviet World

by Alexandros Petersen, Richard Cashman

Released to mark the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Georgia in August 2006, this is the turbulent history of Georgia's past decade through the prism of its most consequential citizen, President Mikhail "Misha" Saakashvili, and tells how he engineered Georgia's peaceful Rose Revolution, went to war with Russia, flirted with autocracy, and secured the country's democratic future by conceding defeat in 2012 elections. It is the story of the transformation of an authoritarian, corruption-ridden, post-Soviet basket case into what the United States called a "beacon of liberty," widely feted for its sweeping reforms, economic transparency, and ambitions to join NATO and the European Union. Based on hours of discussion with Saakashvili and interviews with his advisors and fellow travelers, and with interviews with recently retired American and Georgian officials, the story of Georga and its leader, Mikhail "Misha" Saakashvili, holds lessons for nations in transition across the globe. Alexandros Petersen, PhD , is the author of The World Eurasian Geopolitics and the Fate of the West . He was tragically killed in an attack on a Kabul restaurant in January 2014. Richard Cashman is a barrister of The Middle Temple specializing in international law and a fellow at the London foreign policy think tank The Henry Jackson Society.

352 pages, Hardcover

First published September 9, 2014