Gamsakhurdia appointed Aslan Abashidze as the head of the Adjara's Supreme Council on March 15, 1991 hoping that the latter would assist in canceling the autonomous status of the region. However, when Gamsakhurdia proposed to abolish Adjarian autonomy, Abashidze called on Adjarians, especially the Muslims of the region, to rise in protest. Tensions with central Georgian authorities ensued. On 22 April 1991, pro-Abashidze protesters stormed administrative buildings in the central Batumi demanding the immediate resignation of several officials. The protests were effectively used by Abashidze to establish his own power base in the region. Gamsakhurdia, facing serious internal problems already in Tbilisi, preferred not to interfere in the events in Adjarian. In the turmoil, Nodar Imnadze, Abashidze's deputy chairman of the Supreme Soviet and the highest-placed supporter of Gamsakhurdia in Adjara, was killed in highly controversial circumstances. In Batumi's version, Imnadze was shot by guards while attempting to burst into Abashidze's office with a gun in his hands. The Tbilisi-controlled media simply printed obituaries with no specified cause of death. However, many claims have been made that Imnadze was killed by Abashidze himself during an argument at his office. Under Abashidze's tight control of the autonomy, Adjara enjoyed relative political stability and economic prosperity during the Georgian Civil War. However, the majority of the Adjarians remained poor despite much foreign investment and numerous financial projects. On 24 October 1997, Adjara became a full member of the Assembly of European Regions (AER). The relations between the central and regional authorities were strained. Adjarian leadership often refused to pay taxes to the central budget. Abashidze took control over customs, Batumi seaport and other strategic objects. He created his own semi-official armed units and had full control over the Batumi-based 25th Brigade of Georgia's Defense Ministry. The central government claimed the Batumi-based Russian military unit was a power base for the Adjarian strongman and criticized Abashidze for his pro-Russian orientation. Georgia's ex-president Eduard Shevardnadze visited the region several times during his rule in 1992–2003 to attempt reconciliation with Abashidze. They reached a kind of compromise in which Adjara obtained a more autonomous status, Abashidze agreed not to run for the presidency of Georgia, and Shevardnadze allowed Abashidze to maintain power in Adjara. The latter's party, the Union of Democratic Revival of Georgia, cooperated with Shevardnadze's ruling Union of Citizens of Georgia party in the 1995 parliamentary elections, but broke with Shevardnadze after the