By the end of his life, Shevardnadze had become a political pariah in Georgia, the West, and Russia, where he was viewed as an architect of the Soviet Union’s dissolution. Yet, even if he was largely forgotten after the Rose Revolution of 2003, when he was ousted by his one-time protégé, Mikheil Saakashvili, his cunning and skill at manipulating political forces still enabled him to manage his legacy to his advantage.
在生命末期，谢瓦尔德纳泽已经被格鲁吉亚、西方和俄罗斯政界打入另册。俄罗斯将其视为苏联解体的始作俑者。但即便在2003年玫瑰革命后开始逐渐淡出公众视线，当他被过去的门生米哈伊尔·萨卡什维利驱逐时，他的狡猾和政治手腕依然使他成功地将过去的经历转化为优势。