TBILISI, GEORGIA, AND MOSCOW — Georgia's president, a post-Soviet darling of the Bush administration, is struggling with a buildup of Russian troops in breakaway territories and an angry opposition movement intent on driving him from power. Suddenly, the integrity of the armed forces is in doubt as well.
The short-lived mutiny of a tank battalion Tuesday was another reminder of the instability that has racked Georgia since it was defeated last summer in a war with Russia. President Mikheil Saakashvili rushed to negotiate with the mutineers. And he took to the airwaves to accuse Russia -- whose leaders loathe him and are bitterly opposed to his hopes of joining NATO -- of trying to organize a coup.
"What happened today is just a signal that the war has not ended yet," said Alexander Rondeli, president of the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies.
The flare of insurrection was over in a few hours. The commander of the 500-member tank battalion was in custody, the base was calm, and the government had turned its attention to circulating a news release describing "the failed military mutiny."
But the uprising further pressurized politics in the small republic in the volatile Caucasus region.
The government accused Russia of orchestrating the uprising in an effort to undermine NATO war games set to begin today in Georgia.
Saakashvili called the uprising "a serious threat and a serious challenge," but said it was isolated. He also said the mutineers had "connections with special forces in a specific country known to us."
"I am asking and demanding from our northern neighbor to refrain from provocations," Saakashvili said in a televised address.
But despite the public accusations, Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili acknowledged in a telephone interview that there was no proof of Russian involvement.
"We don't have direct evidence for the moment," he said. "The timing of this mutiny coincides with these exercises, so that's what we're looking at."
Even as troops rushed to the rebel base to contain the mutiny, the Interior Ministry said it had prevented a widespread coup plotted by some of the country's most prominent former military leaders.
Former special forces commander Gia Gvaladze and Koba Kobaladze, who served as commander of the national guard until February 2004, were arrested and accused of organizing the military uprising, the Interior Ministry said.
