Likewise, Shevardnadze resigned as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Georgia in the 1980s, ostensibly in protest against Soviet rule, only to be appointed Soviet Foreign Minister by Gorbachev. Having gained the trust of Western leaders and overseen the dismantling of the Soviet empire in Eastern Europe, he then resigned in 1990, declaring that Russia – under Gorbachev – was returning to dictatorship.
同样，谢瓦尔德纳泽在20世纪80年代辞去格鲁吉亚共产党总书记职务表面是为抗议苏联的统治，但实际却被戈尔巴乔夫任命为苏联外交部长。在博取西方领导人信任并眼看苏联在东欧的帝国解体之后，他在1990年辞职，声称俄罗斯在戈尔巴乔夫领导下已重新回到独裁政府。这种假扮民主卫士的伎俩在国家可能爆发内战的情况下为其赢得了独立格鲁吉亚的总统职务。他在这个职位上待了11年之久。