Adjaran leader Aslan Abashidze, being in strong opposition to the Rose Revolution, declared a state of emergency immediately after Eduard Shevardnadze's ousting on November 23, 2003.

[5] In late January, Georgian officials, including Acting President Nino Burjanadze and President-elect Mikheil Saakashvili, met with Abashidze in Batumi.

However, pro-Abashidze armed groups blocked the administrative border of Adjara at the Choloki River and prevented President Mikheil Saakashvili and other members of the government from traveling to the Autonomous Republic.

[8][9] In retaliation, Georgia's central authorities imposed partial economic sanctions against its defiant region in a bid "to exhaust Adjaran regime's resources".

Tensions defused between Tbilisi and Batumi on March 18 after President Saakashvili and Aslan Abashidze met and struck a deal that allowed for economic sanctions on Adjara to be lifted.

[12] On April 19-April 21, Batumi-based military commanders Major General Roman Dumbadze and Murad Tsintsadze officially announced their insubordination to central authorities' orders.

[14] However, according to the Georgian government dozens of soldiers of Abashidze's elite special purpose unit began to leave the region and pledged loyalty to the country's central authorities.

[17][10] The large-scale war games, some 30 km away from Adjara's administrative border, was a show of strength, amid the confrontation between the central authorities and the Adjaran leader.

[21] Abashidze's position became untenable when local protesters took control of the central part of the city of Batumi and Georgian special forces entered the region and started to disarm pro-Abashizde militants.

[24][28] On May 7, direct presidential rule was imposed in Adjara and a 20-member Interim Council was set up to run the Autonomous Republic before snap local elections would be held in the region.