The Georgian civil war of 1991–1993 lasted from 1991 to 1993 in the South Caucasian country of Georgia. It began in December 1991 with the coup against the first democratically-elected President of Georgia, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, by the rebel factions of the Georgian National Guard and the Mkhedrioni paramilitary. It led to President Gamsakhurdia fleeing to neighboring Chechnya, and his subsequent insurgency and unsuccessful uprising to regain power in 1992–1993.