Celebrations as Georgian president resigns

Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze was swept out of power by a wave of opposition, stepping aside without bloodshed after a decade of mounting discontent and three weeks of protests over parliamentary elections his critics said highlighted the corruption that has plagued the former Soviet republic during his reign.

Some 50,000 demonstrators sang, swung flags and literally jumped for joy outside the parliament building, the focal point of the cascade of events that culminated in Shevardnadze’s sudden resignation yesterday as protesters threatened to storm his residence – a step he said he took to avoid a bloodbath in a region steeped in violence.