2009 Georgian mutiny The 2009 Georgian mutiny was a mutiny by a Georgian Army tank battalion based in Mukhrovani , Georgia , east of the capital Tbilisi on 5 May 2009 . It is not yet known how many soldiers took part . Later that day , the Georgian Ministry of Interior announced that the mutineers had surrendered . Some of its leaders , including the battalion ' s commander , were arrested ; others managed to escape . The mutiny broke out after the government announced that it had uncovered what it claimed was a Russia n - backed plot to destabilize Georgia and assassinate President Mikheil Saakashvili . Later , Georgian authorities retracted their accusations of an assassination plot and allegations of Russian support . Background . Georgia has been affected by unrest since the 2008 South Ossetia war . Since April 2009 , protests have called for the resignation of the Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili . In March , nine members of the political party Democratic Movement – United Georgia were arrested after allegedly purchasing automatic weapons ahead of more anti - government demonstrations , a claim described by its leader as " absurd " . Several senior government figures recently defected to the opposition , claiming Saakashvili started an unwinnable war that left the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia further in Russian control . In May 2009 , Russia decided to take control of South Ossetia ' s border with Georgia . The mutiny took place a day before the planned NATO exercises in Georgia . NATO drills were condemned by Russia , which referred to them as an " attempt to cheer up the Saakashvili regime " . The mutiny . The mutiny erupted on the morning of 5 May , after a Georgian Army tank battalion stationed in Mukhrovani , from the Georgian capital of Tbilisi , began to disobey orders . According to the mutineers statement , circulated by local media , they were not planning any military action , and urging for dialogue between the government and the opposition during ongoing political crisis . Colonel Mamuka Gorgishvili , commander of the Mukhrovani Tank Battalion , stated : " Watching the country being torn apart by the current standoff is unbearable . There is a possibility of this standoff turning violent " . Police then barred reporters from approaching the base . According to the Minister of Defense , Vasil Sikharulidze , the plotters ' minimum goal was to undermine the NATO military exercises beginning this week in Georgia . Sikharulidze also mentioned to the Rustavi 2 television that the rebellion was also " an attempt of a military coup . " In response to the mutiny , the Georgian Army deployed troops , military police , helicopters , and 30 tanks and armored vehicles , alongside Georgian Police units , some equipped with armored vehicles , to the base . In a televised address , the President of Georgia said the mutineers had been given a deadline to surrender . Although not specifying when the deadline would expire , he did say that an order " to act appropriately " has been given out to the law enforcement agencies if the negotiations would fail . President Saakashvili also suggested that the mutiny was part of a wider Russian - orchestrated plan to disrupt the upcoming NATO military exercises " Cooperative Longbow - Cooperative Lancer 09 " in Georgia , scheduled to start on 6 May and Georgia ’ s joining with EU ' s Eastern Partnership . The soldiers at Mukhrovani quickly surrendered after Saakashvili entered the base accompanied by heavily armed bodyguards to negotiate with the mutineers . After their surrender , the mutineers were disarmed , and Georgian military police removed the mutineers from the base in buses . Almost three dozen mutineers were arrested , and according to some reports , their relatives were detained and tortured . However , three of the mutiny ' s organizers fled , sparking a manhunt . On May 21 , the suspects were found by Police leaving Tbilisi in a minivan . One was shot dead , and two others were wounded and arrested . According to Georgian authorities , the suspects ignored police orders to stop and began shooting , prompting the police officers to return fire . 21 of the mutiny plotters were put tried . The last trials concluded on 11 January 2010 . Colonel Koba Otanadze was given 29 years in prison , while Rangers ' Battalion Commander Levan Amiridze was given 28 years , and Tank Battalion Commander Shota Gorgiashvili was given 19 years . All three had been charged with attempting to overthrow the government . National Guard Commander Koba Kobaladze was sentenced to eight months and six days imprisonment for the illegal purchase and possession of weapons . The remaining defendants were tried for various crimes including disobedience and illegal weapons possetion , and given sentences ranging from three to fifteen years of imprisonment . Military coup attempt suspicion . The Georgian Interior Ministry has expressed concerns about a large scale military mutiny that was to be planned in the Georgian Army by some former military officials , who were in coordination with Russia . Shota Utiashvili , head of the information and analytical department of the Georgian Interior Ministry , said that the mutiny seems to be coordinated with Russia and aimed at minimum thwarting NATO military exercises and maximum organizing full - scale military mutiny in the country . Later , Georgian authorities retracted accusations of Russian support . Aftermath . On May 5 , 2009 , the Interior Ministry of Georgia released video footage , recorded apparently with a body - worn covert camera and showing a man , purportedly the retired major Gia Gvaladze , talking to several persons whose faces were blurred in tape and naming several former senior military and security officials , including David Tevzadze , Jemal Gakhokidze , Koba Kobaladze , and Gia Karkarashvili as supporters of the planned mutiny . Kobaladze , Gvaladze , and the Mukhrovani battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel Mamuka Gorgiashvili , as well as dozens of military personnel and civilians were arrested by the police " in connection with the Mukhrovani incident " . Kharkharashvili and Tevzadze have rejected any links with the plot . Two other former army officers , Koba Otanadze and Zaza Mushkudiani , are wanted . Later that day Gia Karkarashvili released video footage showing him talking with Koba Melikidze who allegedly was trying to persuade him to take part in the mutiny . The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs expressed its gratitude to Karkarashvili for information provided by him as it helped to arrest Melikidze and prevent an assassination attempt on Vano Merabishvili . On May , 6 , Georgian authorities stepped back from accusations of an assassination plot against Mikheil Saakashvili and allegations of Russian support of the mutiny . At this stage , Georgian authorities claimed the army mutiny was mainly aimed at disrupting NATO exercises starting on May 6 , 2009 . Saakashvili ' s official site states the mutiny was inspired by a group of disgruntled Georgian army officers . The principal suspects – Gia Krialashvili , Koba Otanadze , and Levan Amiridze – remained at large after the Mukhrovani incident . On May 20 , 2009 , Krialashvili was killed , and Otanadze and Amiridze were wounded and delivered to hospital in a shootout with police at the outskirts of Tbilisi .