was to be ousted in October 1964. After Khrushchev's fall, Mzhavanadze also seemed to have decided that the exposure of Stalin's crimes had gone too far. In June 1965, he arranged for the museum in Stalin's birthplace, Gori to be reopened, and praised Stalin's remark that 'Our Party is a fortress whose gates open only for tried and true people.' Georgia prospered during Mzhavanadze's term of office against a background of corruption. Mzhavanadze himself became a symbol of corrupt, inefficient governance. He was accused of auctioning jobs, pocketing state funds and running illegal factories for his own enrichment; In mid-1972, Mzhavanadze was publicly accused of corruption and was denounced by the state-controlled media. He resigned from his post as First Secretary on September 28, 1972, and was replaced by his ambitious Interior Minister, Eduard Shevardnadze. It has widely been speculated that Shevardnadze had a hand in his boss's downfall; he was certainly the obvious candidate to replace Mzhavanadze. On December 18, Mzhavanadze was sacked from his Politburo position and retired to Georgia in disgrace. He died in Moscow in 1988. He was honoured with a state funeral in Tbilisi. References First Secretaries of the Georgian Communist Party 1902 births 1988 deaths People of World War II from Georgia (country) Soviet Georgian generals Soviet Georgian MVD officials Soviet military personnel of World War II Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union candidate members People from Kutaisi politicians from Kutaisi Politicians convicted of corruption 1950s in Georgia (country) 1960s in Georgia (country) 1970s in Georgia (country) 20th-century politicians from Georgia (country) Second convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic Third convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic Fourth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Fifth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Sixth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Seventh convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Eighth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Medal "For Distinction in Guarding the State Border of the USSR"