In May 2005, Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili stated that "many Georgian wine producers exported falsified wine to Russia, because Russia is a market where you can sell even turds".
After the Rose Revolution, Okruashvili was appointed the Person Authorized (governor) of the President of Georgia in Shida Kartli (to which breakaway South Ossetia was a de jure part) in November 2003 and established strong anti-corruption and anti-smuggling measures in the region.
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In October 2010, Okruashvili resigned his position in the Movement for United Georgia and shortly afterwards joined with the high-profile Georgia-based politicians — Sozar Subari, Levan Gachechiladze, and Erosi Kitsmarishvili to establish a new opposition party, the Georgian Party.