Everything at which Georgians excelled under Shevardnadze in the Soviet era – entrepreneurship, education, and culture – was greatly neglected by him in the 1990s. Similarly, whereas tens of thousands of functionaries were indicted for corruption or lost their jobs under his leadership in the 1970s, the post-Soviet Shevardnadze of the 1990s reportedly joked that he should have arrested himself, but that he deserved his wealth for his priceless political contribution.
格鲁吉亚人在苏联时期谢瓦尔德纳泽治下所擅长的一切——创业、教育、文化——在20世纪90年代都被他视若无物。同样，就在数以万计的官员在其20世纪70年代治下被控腐败或丢掉工作的同时，谢瓦尔德纳泽在20世纪90年代开玩笑说他自己也应当遭到逮捕，但他对政治的宝贵贡献让他的财产成为应得。