Georgia's president forced to resign

Zpravodajka BBC Chloe Arnoldová: A tired but happy Nino Burdzhanadze addressed the nation on television, saying Georgia had overcome its gravest crisis in recent history. The task now was to restore the country to its usual rhythm of life, she said. Georgia's President, Eduard Shevardnadze, handed in his resignation on Sunday evening following massive pressure for him to step aside. After talks at his home with opposition leaders and the Russian Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov, he told the nation he was leaving office to prevent bloodshed. Earlier army units abandoned ranks, saying they were joining forces with the opposition. There was almost no violence during the campaign to oust the President which opposition leaders are calling a velvet revolution. Thousands of Georgians celebrated on the streets of the capital for most of the night. They cheered and waved the red and white cross of St. George, the patron saint and the symbol adopted to represent the new Georgia. VOCABULARY (v kontextu depeše) to step aside - rezignovat na svou pozici, odstoupit to restore it to its usual rhythm of life - vrátit do normálních kolejí to prevent bloodshed - zabránit krveprolití to oust - odstranit, vytlačit, vypudit a velvet revolution - sametová revoluce