TBILISI — 2005 · Suspicious Death

The Suspicious Death of Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania

ClosedSources: ALast updated: 14 October 2026

Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania was found dead on the morning of 3 February 2005 in an apartment in Tbilisi's Saburtalo district. Regional deputy governor Raul Usupov had also died in the same flat. According to the official account, both were poisoned by carbon monoxide leaking from an improperly installed Iranian-made gas heater. His family and the opposition disputed this explanation from the start. After the change of government in 2012 the investigation was reopened, and in August 2015 two of Zhvania's former bodyguards were convicted of negligence. Whether the death was truly an accident is still debated in Georgia.

Date: 2005
Place: Saburtalo, Georgia, Tbilisi, GE
Category: Suspicious Death
Case Status: Closed
Coordinates: 41.7260, 44.7570 ↗

Timeline of Events

3 February 2005Zhvania and Usupov were found dead in a flat in Saburtalo.
February 2005Official finding: carbon monoxide poisoning from a gas heater.

2012The investigation was reopened after the change of government.
15 August 2015Two former bodyguards were convicted of negligence.

Sources

Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.