Issue and Opponent: President Saakashvili had been accused of corruption. Transparency International and other monitoring groups linked Saakashvili to the rise of a new kleptocracy by empowering businessmen closely linked to his political party. One of his key aides was caught on video accepting several hundred thousand dollars in cash. Saakashvili faced charges of abuse of power in the dispersal of protests in 2007 and embezzlement.
Dilemma Action: With President Saakashvili refusing to step down, thousands of protesters blocked the Tbilisi rail station for hours. The rail station is a strategic location, as it is a railway artery between the Caspian region and the West. Thousands of protesters demanded Saakashvili step down and warned that they would not leave until he did. Opposition parties threatened more actions like these until Saakashvili stepped down. Police did not intervene in the protest.
Outcomes: This action did not result in the removal of President Saakashvili from office, but it did broadcast the corruption charges against him domestically and internationally. Saakashvili lost in the Georgian parliamentary elections and admitted defeat against Bidzina Ivanishvili. Saakashvili was barred from seeking a third term in the 2013 presidential election. After Saakashvili left Georgia to avoid criminal prosecution in 2013 most of his assets were seized.