Both goals of my coming into politics - ending Saakashvili’s violent regime and moving on the Euro-Atlantic course - were accomplished successfully, writes Bidzina Ivanishvili in his letter, in which he explains his decision to leave politics.

“The purpose of my coming into politics in 2011 was to fulfill two goals:

1) Putting an end to Mikheil Saakashvili’s violent, inhumane, and undemocratic regime through elections, as the opposition at the time did not possess the resources to change the government without my direct participation;
2) The unhindered movement of the country on the Euro-Atlantic course chosen by the Georgian people, as the public perceived Saakashvili being in power and especially his retention of power as an expression of the West"s support for him. This automatically elicited strong aggression directed against the country’s Western orientation. Precisely this led to the danger of Georgia moving to the opposite orbit. At the same time, it became increasingly difficult – practically impossible – for the West to support a dictatorship hiding behind a democratic façade. It can be said, without exaggeration, that our partners were relieved of this burden by the birth and victory of the Georgian Dream as a political entity.

As a result, both tasks were accomplished successfully: We removed the violent regime from power without bloodshed, through elections, and we laid the foundation for an eight-year period of our country’s peaceful and democratic development”, - writes Bidzina Ivanishvili.