Very much appreciated CCIP's and Dmitry Markov's posts, very informative. I have to say these polls are kind of silly...I mean what evidence do any oof us have to make a judgment? It's not as if we are from the CSI crime lab eh?
granted the discussion is entertaining and I suppose the poll can show attitudes and prejudices if nothing else. However, I won't answer as I don't know.
I do want to remind folks, I mean my fellow Westerners, that Shakashvili originally came to power in a kind of coup..not very democratic. Also, despite his faults I always admired Shevardnadze, also one of the msot honest Soviet leaders during the Glasnost era.