On December 6, 1998, a protest began in the village of Vakiri, Sighnaghi district, with locals blocking the road to Azerbaijan. Soon, residents from Anaga, Sakobo, Tsnori, and Nukuriani joined, cutting off more routes. By December 9, traffic towards Tsnori–Dedoplistskaro had almost completely stopped. The picket in Sighnaghi lasted several days.

The protesters demanded the payment of pensions and salaries, access to water and electricity, and permission to gather firewood in the forest. The forestry issue was especially tense. In Kakheti, every district was supposed to have its own woodcutting zone, but participants claimed that not only was logging banned, even collecting fallen branches was forbidden. They insisted the forest had been taken over by a man named Kakutsa. “What difference does it make if our children die of hunger or of cold?” the demonstrators said.

Vladimir Lekiashvili, a music teacher at Sighnaghi’s art school, told reporters that his demand for teachers to be paid was ignored by district governor Vazha Tsabutashvili, who instead ordered police to take Lekiashvili, branded as the “ringleader of the riot,” to the station. He was released an hour later, though the local police chief denied the incident.

On December 9, Kakheti governor Gia Arsenishvili met with the picketers and promised that one month’s worth of pensions and salaries would be distributed soon, and that efforts would be made to resolve the electricity supply issue.