Bidzina Ivanishvili is Georgia's richest man and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party. GD came to power in 2012. Though Ivanishvili has held no formal government office since a brief stint as prime minister in 2012-13, he is widely understood to control the party and the state. His business interests and ambitions have shaped GD's transformation from a broad coalition into a vehicle for his patronage network.
Analysts say Ivanishvili sensed that EU-mandated reforms—de-oligarchisation, the rule of law, human rights—would cost him power, prompting GD's pivot away from Europe and towards Russia and China. Critics call GD a Russian proxy; analysts say the strategy is driven not by love of Russia but by regime survival.
The meek shall inherit the earth, but *not* its mineral rights.