On September 16, 1993, Abkhaz armed formations violated the July 27, 1993 Sochi peace agreement, which required both sides to withdraw heavy military equipment from the conflict zone and for North Caucasian forces to leave the region. The Abkhaz side broke the agreement by launching attacks on Ochamchire and Sukhumi, while the Georgian side had already withdrawn its equipment and regular army units.

In response, Parliament Speaker Vakhtang Goguadze organized a sit-in protest in front of the headquarters of Russian troops stationed in the South Caucasus on Mikheil Tamarashvili Avenue. He was joined on the steps by other Georgian MPs, mostly from the parliamentary majority. During the protest, Russia’s Special and Plenipotentiary Ambassador, Vladimir Zemski, met with the participants. According to the newspaper Droni, he expressed “concern and regret” about the incident and promised to deliver their demands to the Russian government. This statement satisfied the protestors, but when Zemski politely asked them to disperse, they refused with equal politeness.

The main demand of the protest was the enforcement of the Sochi agreement. Zurab Zhvania, leader of the Greens faction, declared that the protest would continue until guarantees were provided for the protection of the civilian population in Abkhazia. However, the demonstrators dispersed later that evening after a phone conversation between Vakhtang Goguadze and Eduard Shevardnadze.