Georgia ( ; ( , ) is a country in the
Caucasus region of
Eurasia.
Situated
at the juncture of Western Asia and
Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the
west by the Black
Sea
, to the north by Russia
, to the
south by Turkey
and Armenia
, and to the
east by Azerbaijan
. Georgia covers a territory of
69,700 km² and its population is 4.3 million, largely ethnic
Georgians.
The history of Georgia can be traced back to the ancient kingdoms
of
Colchis and
Iberia, and it was one of the first
countries to adopt
Christianity as an
official religion, early in the
4th century. During the reign of
King David and Queen Tamar in 9th and
11th century, Georgia underwent its golden age and cultural
Renaissance. However, numerous Mongol, Persian and Ottoman
invasions left Georgia devastated and divided.
At the beginning of
the 19th century, Georgia was annexed by the Russian Empire
after its violation of the Treaty of Georgievsk.
After a
brief period of independence following the Russian Revolution of 1917,
Georgia was invaded by
Bolshevik Russia and forcefully incorporated into the Soviet Union
in 1922. One of the most important Soviet
leaders of Georgian ethnicity was
Joseph
Stalin.
The Independence of Georgia was restored in 1991. Like many
post-communist countries Georgia
suffered from the economic crisis and
civil unrest during the 1990s. After the
bloodless
Rose Revolution, however,
the new leadership has established efficient government
institutions, reformed the economy and guided the country through a
period of the fastest economic growth in its history.
Georgia is a
representative
democracy, organized as a
secular,
unitary semi-presidential republic; however, the idea to restore the
constitutional monarchy is popular in
certain circles, most notably in the
Georgian Orthodox Church. It is
currently a member of the
United
Nations, the
Council of
Europe, the
World Trade
Organization, the
Organization
of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, the
Community of Democratic
Choice, and
GUAM
Organization for Democracy and Economic Development.
The
country seeks to join NATO
and, in the
longer term, accession to the European
Union.
In August
2008, Georgia engaged in an armed
conflict with Russia and separatist groups from South Ossetia
and Abkhazia
. In the aftermath of the conflict, Russia
recognized the Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia
as independent states, but at present only Nicaragua
, the de facto independent republic of
Transnistria
, and Venezuela
have followed suit. On August 28, 2008, the
Parliament of Georgia passed a
resolution declaring Abkhazia and South Ossetia "Russian-occupied
territories".
Etymology
Georgians call themselves
Kartvelebi (ქართველები), their land
Sakartvelo
(საქართველო), and their language
Kartuli (ქართული).
According to
The Georgian
Chronicles, the ancestor of the
Kartvelian people was
Kartlos, the great grandson of the
Biblical Japheth.
The native Georgian name for the country is
Sakartvelo
(საქართველო). The word consists of two parts. Its root,
kartvel-i (ქართველ-ი), specifies an inhabitant of the core
central-eastern Georgian region of
Kartli –
Iberia of the
Classical and
Byzantine sources. By the early 9th
century, the meaning of "Kartli" was expanded to other areas of
medieval Georgia held together by religion, culture, and language.
The Georgian
circumfix
sa-X-
o is a standard geographic construction
designating "the area where X dwell", where X is an
ethnonym. (For another example, the
Mingrelian minority in Georgia lives in
Samegrelo.) The term
Sakartvelo came to signify the all-Georgian cultural and
political unity early in the 11th century and firmly entered
regular official usage in the 13th century.
Ancient Greeks (
Strabo,
Herodotus,
Plutarch,
Homer, etc.) and
Romans (
Titus
Livius,
Cornelius Tacitus,
etc.) referred to early eastern Georgians as
Iberians (
Iberoi in some Greek
sources) and western Georgians as
Colchians.
The origin of the name
Georgia is still disputed and has
been explained in the following ways:
- Linking it semantically to Greek and Latin roots ( , transliterated geōrgía,
"agriculture", γεωργός, geōrgós, "tiller of the land", and
γεωργικός, geōrgikós, , "agricultural").
- The country took its name from that of Saint George, itself a derivative of the
aforementioned Greek root. Or, at the very least, the popularity of
the cult of Saint George in Georgia influenced the spread of the
term.
- Under various Persian empires (536 BC-AD 638), Georgians were
called Gurjhān (Gurzhan/Gurjan), or "Gurj/Gurzh people." The early
Islamic/Arabic sources spelled the name Kurz/Gurz and the country
Gurjistan (see Baladhuri, Tabari, Jayhani, Istakhri, Ibn Hawqal,
etc.). The contemporary Russian name for the country, "Gruziya," is
similar. This also could evolve or at least contribute to the later
name of Georgia. The Russian name was brought into contemporary
Hebrew as גרוזיה ("Gruziya"). It coexisted
with the names גיאורגיה ("Gheorghia" with two hard g's) and גורג'יה
(Gurjia), when "Gruziya" took over in the 1970s, probably due to a
massive immigration of bilingual Georgian-Russian Jews to Israel at
that time. In August 2005 the Georgian ambassador to Israel
demanded that Hebrew speakers refer to his country as "Gheorghia"
and abandon the name "Gruziya". Consequently, Israeli
authorities
and most Hebrew newspapers in Israel changed their name
preference.
The terms
Georgia and Georgians appeared in Western Europe in numerous
medieval annals including that of Crusaders and later in the official documents and
letters of the Florentine
de’ Medici
family. The French chronicler
Jacques de Vitry and the English traveler
Sir John Mandeville wrote that
Georgians are called
Georgian because they especially
revere Saint George. Notably, in January 2004 the country adopted
the
five-cross flag,
featuring the
Saint George's
Cross; it has been argued that the flag was used in Georgia
from the 5th century throughout the
Middle
Ages.
Modern Georgian states have used differing names in different
periods.
The first modern Georgian state proclaimed on
May 26, 1918 adopted the name Democratic
Republic of Georgia
. As part of the USSR
from
February 25, 1921, the country was called the Georgian Soviet Socialist
Republic. When Georgia broke from the USSR on
December 25, 1991, it adopted the name
Republic of
Georgia. Since it adopted its present constitution on August
24, 1995, the official name of the country is simply
Georgia.
History
Prehistory

Left
The territory of modern-day Georgia has been
continuously inhabited since the early
Stone Age. The
classic period saw the rise of the early
Georgian states of
Colchis and
Iberia. The proto-Georgian tribes first
appear in written history in the 12th century BC. Archaeological
finds and references in ancient sources reveal elements of early
political and state formations characterized by advanced metallurgy
and goldsmith techniques that date back to the 7th century BC and
beyond. In the 4th century BC a unified kingdom of Georgia - an
early example of advanced state organization under one king and the
hierarchy of aristocracy, was established.
Christianity was declared the state
religion as early as AD 337 proving a great stimulus to literature,
arts and the unification of the country. Being at the crossroads of
Christian and Islamic traditions, Georgia experienced the dynamic
exchange between these two worlds which culminated in a true
renaissance around 12-13th centuries.
The two early Georgian kingdoms of late
antiquity, known to
ancient Greeks and
Romans as
Iberia ( ) (in the east of the country) and
Colchis ( ) (in the west), were among the
first nations in the region to adopt
Christianity (in AD 337, or in AD 319 as recent
research suggests).In
Greek
Mythology, Colchis was the location of the
Golden Fleece sought by
Jason and the
Argonauts in
Apollonius Rhodius' epic tale
Argonautica. The incorporation
of the Golden Fleece into the myth may have derived from the local
practice of using fleeces to sift gold dust from rivers. In the
last centuries of the pre-Christian era, the area, in the form of
the kingdom of
Kartli-Iberia, was
strongly influenced by Greece to the west and Persia to the
east.
After the
Roman Empire completed its
conquest of the Caucasus region in 66 BC, the kingdom was a Roman
client state and ally for nearly 400 years. In AD 330,
King Mirian III's acceptance of
Christianity ultimately tied the kingdom to the neighboring
Byzantine Empire, which exerted a strong cultural influence for
several centuries.
Known to its natives as
Egrisi or
Lazica, Colchis was often the
battlefield and buffer-zone between the rival
powers of
Persia and
Byzantine Empire, with the control of the
region shifting hands back and forth several times. The early
kingdoms disintegrated into various feudal regions by the early
Middle Ages. This made it easy for
Arabs to conquer Georgia in the 7th
century. The rebellious regions were liberated and united into a
unified Georgian Kingdom at the beginning of the 11th century.
Starting
in the 12th century, the rule of Georgia extended over a
significant part of the Southern Caucasus,
including the northeastern parts and almost the entire northern
coast of what is now Turkey
.
Although
Arabs captured the capital city of
Tbilisi in AD 645, Kartli-Iberia retained considerable independence
under local Arab rulers. In AD 813, the prince Ashot I also known
as Ashot Kurapalat became the first of the Bagrationi family to
rule the kingdom: Ashot's reign began a period of nearly 1,000
years during which the Bagrationi, as the house was known, ruled at
least part of what is now the republic.
Western and eastern Georgia were united under Bagrat V (r.
1027-72). In the next century, David IV (called the Builder, r.
1089-1125) initiated the Georgian golden age by driving the
Seljuk Turks from the country and
expanding Georgian cultural and political influence southward into
Armenia and eastward to the Caspian Sea.
Middle Ages

Queen Tamar as depicted on a mural
from the Vardzia monastery

Kingdom of Georgia at peak of its
military dominance, 1184-1225
The Georgian Kingdom reached its zenith in the 12th to early 13th
centuries. This period has been widely termed as Georgia's Golden
Age or Georgian Renaissance during the reign of
David the Builder and
Queen Tamar. This early Georgian
renaissance, which preceded its European analogue, was
characterized by the flourishing of romantic- chivalric tradition,
breakthroughs in philosophy, and an array of political innovations
in society and state organization, including religious and ethnic
tolerance. The Golden age of Georgia left a legacy of great
cathedrals, romantic poetry and literature, and the epic poem
"
The Knight in the
Panther's Skin". The struggle against the
Seljuk invaders was led by David the Builder,
who employed tens of thousands
Kipchak soldiers and settled them, in
1118, in his kingdom.
The
revival of the Georgian Kingdom was short-lived however, in 1226
Tblisi
was captured
by Mingburnu and the Kingdom was
eventually subjugated by the Mongols in 1236
(see Mongol invasions of
Georgia). Thereafter, different local rulers fought for
their independence from central Georgian rule, until the total
disintegration of the Kingdom in the 15th century. Georgia was
subjected, between 1386 and 1404, to several disastrous
invasions by Timur.
Neighbouring kingdoms exploited the situation and from the 16th
century, the
Persian Empire and the
Ottoman Empire subjugated the eastern
and western regions of Georgia, respectively.
The rulers of regions which remained partly
autonomous organized rebellions on various
occasions. Subsequent Persian and Ottoman invasions further
weakened local kingdoms and regions. As a result of wars the
population of Georgia was reduced to 250,000 inhabitants at one
point.
Eastern
Georgia, composed of the kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti
, had been under the Persian suzerainty since
1555. However, with the death of
Nader
Shah "The Persian Napoleon" in 1747, both kingdoms broke free
of the Persian control and were reunified through a personal union
under the energetic king
Heraclius II in
1762.
Georgia in the Russian Empire
In 1783, Russia and the eastern Georgian Kingdom of
Kartli-Kakheti signed the
Treaty of Georgievsk, according to
which Kartli-Kakheti received protection by Russia. Despite
Russia's commitment to defend Georgia, it rendered no assistance
when the Turks and Persians invaded in 1785 and again in 1795
completely devastated Tbilisi and massacred its inhabitants. This
period culminated in the 1801 Russian violation of Treaty of
Georgievsk and annexation of entire Georgian lands, followed the
deposing of the
Bagrationi dynasty and
suppression of the Georgian church.
On
December 22, 1800, Tsar Paul I of Russia, at the alleged request of
the Georgian King George
XII, signed the proclamation on the incorporation of Georgia
(Kartli-Kakheti) within the Russian Empire
, which was finalized by a decree on January 8,
1801, and confirmed by Tsar Alexander I on September 12,
1801. The Georgian envoy in Saint
Petersburg
reacted with a note of protest that was presented
to the Russian vice-chancellor Prince Kurakin. In May 1801,
Russian General
Carl Heinrich
Knorring dethroned the Georgian heir to the throne
David Batonishvili and instituted a government
headed by General Ivan Petrovich Lasarev.
The
Georgian nobility did not accept the decree until April 1802 when
General Knorring compassed the nobility in Tbilisi's
Sioni Cathedral
and forced them to take an oath on the Imperial Crown of Russia.
Those who disagreed were arrested temporarily.
In the
summer of 1805, Russian troops on the Askerani River near Zagam defeated the Persian army and saved Tbilisi
from conquest.
Western Georgian principalities of
Mingrelia and
Guria assumed the Russian protection
in 1800s. Finally in 1810, after a brief war, the western Georgian
kingdom of Imereti was annexed by
Tsar
Alexander I of Russia.
The last Imeretian king and the last Georgian
Bagrationi ruler
Solomon II died in exile in 1815.
From 1803
to 1878, as a result of numerous Russian wars against Turkey
and Iran
, several
territories were annexed to Georgia. These areas (Batumi
, Akhaltsikhe
, Poti
, and
Abkhazia
) now represent a large part of the territory of
Georgia. The principality of Guria
was
abolished in 1828, and that of Samegrelo
(Mingrelia) in 1857. The region of Svaneti
was gradually annexed in 1857–59.
Declaration of independence

Democratic Republic of Georgia,
1918-1921

Declaration of independence by the
Georgian parliament, 1918
After the
Russian Revolution
of 1917, Georgia declared independence on May 26, 1918 in the
midst of the
Russian Civil War.
The parliamentary election was won by the Georgian
Social-Democratic Party, considered to be pro-
Mensheviks, and its leader,
Noe Zhordania, became prime minister. In 1918
a
Georgian–Armenian war
erupted over parts of Georgian provinces populated mostly by
Armenians which ended due to British intervention.
In 1918–19 Georgian
general Giorgi Mazniashvili led
a Georgian attack against the White Army led by Moiseev and Denikin
in order to claim the Black
Sea
coastline from Tuapse
to Sochi
and Adler for independent Georgia. The country's
independence did not last long, however. Georgia was under British
protection from 1918-1920.
Georgia in the Soviet Union

Soviet Invasion In Georgia (Feb.
In February 1921 Georgia
was attacked by the
Red Army. The Georgian army was defeated and the
Social-Democrat government fled the country.
On February 25, 1921
the Red Army entered capital Tbilisi
and installed a Moscow directed communist
government, led by Georgian Bolshevik Filipp Makharadze. Nevertheless the
Soviet rule was firmly established only after a
1924 revolt was brutally
suppressed.
Georgia was incorporated into the Transcaucasian SFSR uniting Georgia,
Armenia
and Azerbaijan
. The TSFSR was disaggregated into its
component elements in 1936 and Georgia became the
Georgian SSR.
Ioseb Jughashvili (ethnic Georgian),
better known by his
nom de
guerre Stalin (from the
Russian word for steel: сталь) was
prominent among the
Bolsheviks, who came
to power in the Russian Empire after the
October Revolution in 1917.
Stalin was to rise to the highest position of
the Soviet
state.
From 1941 to 1945, during
World War II,
almost 700,000 Georgians fought in the
Red
Army against
Nazi Germany. (A
number
also fought on
the German side.) About 350,000 Georgians died in the
battlefields of the
Eastern
Front.
The Dissidential movement for restoration of Georgian statehood
started to gain popularity in the 1960s. Among the Georgian
dissidents, two of the most prominent activists were
Merab Kostava and
Zviad Gamsakhurdia. Dissidents were
heavily persecuted by Soviet government, and their activities were
harshly suppressed.
On April 9, 1989, a peaceful demonstration in the Georgian capital
Tbilisi ended in a
massacre in which
several people were killed by Soviet troops. Before the October
1990 elections to the national assembly, the
Umaghlesi
Sabcho (Supreme Council) — the first polls in the USSR held on
a formal multi-party basis — the political landscape was reshaped
again. While the more radical groups boycotted the elections and
convened an alternative forum with alleged support of Moscow
(National Congress), another part of the anticommunist opposition
united into the Round Table—Free Georgia (RT-FG) around the former
dissidents like
Merab Kostava and
Zviad Gamsakhurdia. The latter
won the elections by a clear margin, with 155 out of 250
parliamentary seats, whereas the ruling Communist Party (CP)
received only 64 seats. All other parties failed to get over the
5%-threshold and were thus allotted only some single-member
constituency seats.
Georgia after restoration of independence

April 9 Poster
On April 9, 1991, shortly before the collapse of the USSR, Georgia
declared independence. On May 26, 1991,
Zviad Gamsakhurdia was elected as a first
President of independent Georgia. Gamsakhurdia stoked Georgian
nationalism and vowed to assert Tbilisi's authority over regions
such as Abkhazia and South Ossetia that had been classified as
autonomous
oblasts under the Soviet Union.
However, he was soon deposed in a bloody
coup d'état, from December 22, 1991 to
January 6, 1992. The coup was instigated by part of the National
Guards and a paramilitary organization called "
Mkhedrioni" or "horsemen". The country became
embroiled in a bitter
civil war
which lasted almost until 1995.
Eduard Shevardnadze returned to Georgia
in 1992 and joined the leaders of the coup — Kitovani and Ioseliani
— to head a triumvirate called the "State Council".
In 1995, Shevardnadze was officially elected as president of
Georgia.
At the same time, simmering disputes within
two regions of Georgia, Abkhazia
and South
Ossetia
, between local separatists and the majority
Georgian populations, erupted into widespread inter-ethnic violence
and wars. Supported by Russia
, Abkhazia
and South Ossetia, with the exception of some "pockets" of
territory, achieved de facto independence from Georgia.
Roughly
230,000 to 250,000 Georgians were expelled from
Abkhazia
by Abkhaz separatists and North Caucasians
volunteers (including Chechens) in 1992-1993. Around 23,000
Georgians fled South
Ossetia
as well, and many Ossetian families were forced to
abandon their homes in the Borjomi
region and move to Russia.
In 2003, Shevardnadze (who won reelection in 2000) was deposed by
the
Rose Revolution, after Georgian
opposition and international monitors asserted that the November 2
parliamentary elections were marred by fraud. The revolution was
led by
Mikheil Saakashvili,
Zurab Zhvania and
Nino Burjanadze, former members and leaders
of Shevardnadze's ruling party. Mikheil Saakashvili was elected as
President of Georgia in 2004.
Following the Rose Revolution, a series of reforms was launched to
strengthen the country's military and economic capabilities. The
new government's efforts to reassert Georgian authority in the
southwestern autonomous republic of
Ajaria
led to a major
crisis early in 2004.
Success
in Ajaria encouraged Saakashvili to intensify his efforts, but
without success, in the breakaway South Ossetia
. These events along with accusations of
Georgian involvement in the
Second
Chechen War, resulted in a severe deterioration of
relations with Russia, fuelled
also by Russia's open assistance and support to the two
secessionists areas.
Despite these increasingly difficult
relations, in May 2005 Georgia and Russia reached a bilateral
agreement by which Russian military bases (dating back to the
Soviet era) in Batumi
and Akhalkalaki
were withdrawn. Russia fulfilled the terms,
withdrawing all personnel and equipment from these sites by
December 2007, ahead of schedule.
2008 military conflict with Russia
In July
2008, hostilities
escalated between Georgia and its breakaway state of South Ossetia
, with increases in missile bombardment of Georgian
villages by Ossetian separatists. Russia and Georgia had
each amassed larger military forces near their respective borders
with South Ossetia.
After the Georgian bombing of the South
Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali
in the late evening of August
7, Georgian armed forces began pushing into South Ossetia,
supported by their artillery and multiple rocket
launcher fire. Russia reported that several Russian
peacekeepers stationed in South Ossetia were killed.
At dawn of August 8
forces of the Russian 58th Army entered
South Ossetia through the Russian-controlled Roki tunnel
, and the Russian air-force launched a series of
coordinated air strikes
against multiple targets within Georgian territory. As
justification for their invasion and air strikes, Russia also
claimed the Georgian army was responsible for killing 1,600 South
Ossetian civilians. However, these allegations have not been
substantiated, and Human Rights Watch investigators in South
Ossetia accused Russia of exaggerating the scale of such
casualties.
As Russia and Georgia both sent troops into South Ossetia,
the conflict between
Georgia on the one side and Russia, Ossetian, and later, Abkhazian
separatists on the other quickly escalated into the full scale
2008 war. Due to the
intensive fighting in South Ossetia there were many disputed
reports about the number of casualties on both sides, which targets
had fallen under aerial attacks, the status of troop movements, and
the most current location of the front line between the Georgian
and Russian-Ossetian combat units.After a few days of heavy
fighting Georgian troops were driven from South Ossetia. The
advance of Russian forces from South Ossetia into undisputed
Georgia territory was accompanied by unverified reports of looting,
burning, and killing of civilians by Russian military and
accompanying irregulars.
By August 11, Russian military troops in
Abkhazia
, the other separatist Georgian province, executed a
second invasion and seized additional territory in Western
Georgia. On August 12, President
Medvedev announced an intent to halt further
Russian military operations in Georgia.
Geography and climate
Georgia is in the
South Caucasus
region of
Eurasia, straddling
Western Asia and
Eastern Europe.
Georgia's northern
border with Russia
roughly runs
along the crest of the Greater
Caucasus mountain range – a commonly reckoned boundary between
Europe and Asia.
In
Philip Johan von
Strahlenberg's 1730 definition of Europe, which was used by the
Russian Tsars and which first set the Urals
as the
eastern border of the continent, the continental border was drawn
from the Kuma-Manych
Depression to the Caspian
Sea
, including Georgia (and the whole of the Caucasus) in Asia.
Mountains are the dominant geographic feature of Georgia.
The
Likhi
Range
divides the country into eastern and western
halves. Historically, the western portion of Georgia was
known as
Colchis while the eastern plateau
was called
Iberia.
Due to a complex
geographic setting, mountains also isolate the northern region of
Svaneti
from the rest of Georgia.
The
Greater Caucasus Mountain Range separates Georgia from the North Caucasian Republics of Russia
.
The main
roads through the mountain range into Russian territory lead
through the Roki
Tunnel
between South and North Ossetia and the Darial Gorge
(in the Georgian region of Khevi). The Roki Tunnel was vital for the
Russian military in the
2008
South Ossetia War.
The
southern portion of the country is bounded by the Lesser
Caucasus Mountains
.
The
Greater Caucasus Mountain Range is
much higher in elevation than the Lesser Caucasus Mountains
, with the highest peaks rising more than above sea
level.
The
highest mountain in Georgia is Mount Shkhara
at , and the second highest is Mount Janga
(Jangi-Tau
) at above sea level. Other prominent peaks
include Kazbegi
(Kazbek
) at ,
Tetnuldi ( ), Shota Rustaveli ( ), Mt. Ushba
( ), and
Ailama
( ).
Out of
the abovementioned peaks, only Kazbegi
is of volcanic
origin. The region between Kazbegi
and Shkhara
(a distance of about along the Main Caucasus Range)
is dominated by numerous glaciers. Out of the 2,100 glaciers
that exist in the Caucasus today, approximately 30% are located
within Georgia.
The term,
Lesser
Caucasus Mountains
is often
used to describe the mountainous (highland) areas of southern
Georgia that are connected to the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range
by the Likhi Range. The area can be split into two separate
sub-regions; the Lesser Caucasus Mountains, which run parallel to
the Greater Caucasus Range, and the
Southern Georgia Volcanic
Highland, which lies immediately to the south of the Lesser
Caucasus Mountains. The overall region can be characterized as
being made up of various, interconnected mountain ranges (largely
of
volcanic origin) and plateaus that do
not exceed in elevation. Prominent features of the area include the
Javakheti Volcanic
Plateau, lakes, including Tabatskuri and Paravani, as well as
mineral water and hot springs. The Southern Georgia Volcanic
Highland is a young and unstable geologic region with high seismic
activity and has experienced some of the most significant
earthquakes that have been recorded in Georgia.
The
Voronya
Cave
(aka Krubera-Voronia Cave) is the deepest known
cave in the world. It is located in the
Arabika Massif of the Gagra Range, in Abkhazia
. In 2001, a Russian–Ukrainian team had set
the world depth record for a cave at .
In 2004, the
penetrated depth was increased on each of three expeditions, when a
Ukrainian
team crossed the mark for the first time in the
history of speleology. In October
2005, an unexplored part was found by the CAVEX team, further
increasing the known depth of the cave. This expedition confirmed
the known depth of the cave at (± ).
Two major rivers in Georgia are the
Rioni and the
Mtkvari.
Topography

The Aragvi River Gorge
The landscape within the nation's boundaries is quite varied.
Western Georgia's landscape ranges from low-land marsh-forests,
swamps, and
temperate rain
forests to eternal snows and glaciers, while the eastern part
of the country even contains a small segment of semi-arid plains
characteristic of Central Asia. Forests cover around 40% of
Georgia's territory while the
alpine/
subalpine
zone accounts for roughly around 10% of the land.
Much of the natural habitat in the low-lying areas of Western
Georgia has disappeared over the last 100 years due to the
agricultural development of the land and urbanization. The large
majority of the forests that covered the
Colchis plain are now virtually non-existent with
the exception of the regions that are included in the national
parks and reserves (e.g. Paleostomi Lake area). At present, the
forest cover generally remains outside of the low-lying areas and
is mainly located along the foothills and the mountains. Western
Georgia's forests consist mainly of deciduous trees below above sea
level and comprise of species such as
oak,
hornbeam,
beech,
elm,
ash, and
chestnut.
Evergreen species such as
box may also be
found in many areas. Ca. 1000 of all 4000 higher plants of Georgia
are endemic in this country.
The west-central slopes of the Meskheti Range in Ajaria as well as several locations in Samegrelo and Abkhazia
are covered by temperate rain forests.
Between above sea level, the deciduous forest becomes mixed with
both broad-leaf and coniferous species making up the plant life.
The zone is made up mainly of beech,
spruce, and
fir
forests. From , the forest becomes largely coniferous. The tree
line generally ends at around and the alpine zone takes over, which
in most areas, extends up to an elevation of above sea level. The
eternal snow and
glacier zone lies above the
3,000 meter line.
Eastern
Georgia's landscape (referring to the territory east of the
Likhi
Range) is considerably different from that of the
west. Although, much like the Colchis plain in the west, nearly all of the
low-lying areas of eastern Georgia including the Mtkvari and Alazani
River plains have been deforested for agricultural
purposes. In addition, due to the region's relatively
drier climate, some of the low-lying plains (especially in Kartli and south-eastern Kakheti
) were never covered by forests in the first
place. The general landscape of eastern Georgia comprises
numerous valleys and gorges that are separated by mountains. In
contrast with western Georgia, nearly 85% of the forests of the
region are deciduous. Coniferous forests only dominate in the
Borjomi Gorge and in the extreme
western areas. Out of the deciduous species of trees,
beech,
oak, and
hornbeam dominate. Other deciduous species include
several varieties of
maple,
aspen, ash, and
hazelnut.
The Upper
Alazani
River Valley contains yew forests. At higher elevations
above above sea level (particularly in the Tusheti
, Khevsureti
, and Khevi regions), pine and birch forests
dominate. In general, the forests in eastern Georgia occur
between above sea level, with the alpine zone extending from to .
The only
remaining large, low-land forests remain in the Alazani
Valley of Kakheti
. The eternal snow and
glacier zone lies above the line in most areas of
eastern Georgia.
Fauna
Due to its high landscape diversity and low latitude Georgia is
home to a large number of animal species, e. g. ca. 1000 species of
vertebrates (330
birds, 160
fish, 48
reptiles, 11
amphibians).
A number of large
carnivores live in the
forests, e. g.
Persian leopard,
Brown bear,
wolf, and
lynx. The species number of
invertebrates is considered to be very high
but data is distributed across a high number of publications. The
spider checklist of Georgia, for example,
includes 501 species.
Non-marine molluscs of
Georgia also include high diversity.
Climate

The local climate is excellent for
wine-making and there are 500 different kinds of wine in
Georgia
The climate of Georgia is extremely diverse, considering the
nation's small size. There are two main climatic zones, roughly
separating Eastern and Western parts of the country. The Greater
Caucasus Mountain Range plays an important role in moderating
Georgia's climate and protects the nation from the penetration of
colder air masses from the north. The Lesser Caucasus Mountains
partially protect the region from the influence of dry and hot air
masses from the south as well.
Much of western Georgia lies within the northern periphery of the
humid subtropical zone with annual precipitation ranging from . The
precipitation tends to be uniformly distributed throughout the
year, although the rainfall can be particularly heavy during the
Autumn months. The climate of the region varies significantly with
elevation and while much of the lowland areas of western Georgia
are relatively warm throughout the year, the foothills and
mountainous areas (including both the Greater and Lesser Caucasus
Mountains) experience cool, wet summers and snowy winters (snow
cover often exceeds 2 meters in many regions).
Ajaria is the wettest region of the
Caucasus, where the Mt.
Mtirala rainforest, east of Kobuleti
receives around of precipitation per
year.
Eastern Georgia has a transitional climate from humid subtropical
to continental. The region's weather patterns are influenced both
by dry, Central Asian/Caspian air masses from the east and humid,
Black Sea air masses from the west.
The penetration of humid air masses from
the Black Sea is often blocked by several mountain ranges (Likhi
and
Meskheti) that separate the eastern and
western parts of the nation. Annual precipitation is
considerably less than that of western Georgia and ranges from .
The wettest periods generally occur during Spring and Autumn while
Winter and the Summer months tend to be the driest. Much of eastern
Georgia experiences hot summers (especially in the low-lying areas)
and relatively cold winters. As in the western parts of the nation,
elevation plays an important role in eastern Georgia where climatic
conditions above are considerably colder than in the low-lying
areas. The regions that lie above frequently experience frost even
during the summer months.
Regions
Map of Georgia with the autonomous republics of Abkhazia (de facto
independent) and Adjara, and South Ossetia (de facto independent
region, officially termed Tskhinvali region by the Georgian
authorities)
Georgia is divided into 9 regions and 2 autonomous republics. These
in turn are subdivided into 69
districts.
Main cities
The main
cities of
Georgia include:
- Tbilisi
1,066,100 (metro area 1,270,800)
- Kutaisi
186,300
- Batumi
121,806
- Rustavi
116,384
- Zugdidi
75,550
- Gori 49,500
- Poti
47,150
- Sukhumi
43,700 (121,000 in 1991) - capital of de facto
independent Abkhazia
- Samtredia
29,700
- Senaki
28,082
Regions
Autonomous republics
Currently, the status of South Ossetia
, an autonomous administrative district (also known
as the Tskhinvali
region), is being negotiated with the
Russian-supported separatist government. Recently, these
negotiations have broken down in light of Russia's decision to
reinforce the region militarily and give Russian passports to South
Ossetians. The government of Georgia has expressed that it views
these moves as attempts by Russia to annex the region effectively.
The
Georgian government levels the same criticism against Russian
involvement in Abkhazia
, another breakaway region; Abkhazia has the status
of an autonomous republic, but operates as a de facto state.
This condition follows the ethnic cleansing of at least 200,000
Georgians in the
War in Abkhazia in
1992-1993.
Adjara gained autonomy
unilaterally under local strongman
Aslan
Abashidze with help from a Russian military brigade located on
a base in Adjara. Current Georgian president
Mikheil Saakashvili restored the region
to Georgian control after a local uprising against Abashidze's
perceived corruption.
Government and politics
Georgia is a democratic
semi-presidential republic, with the
President as the head of state, and
Prime Minister as the head of government.
The
executive branch of power
is made up of the
President and
the
Cabinet of Georgia. The
Cabinet is composed of ministers, headed by the
Prime Minister, and appointed by
the President. Notably, the ministers of defense and interior are
not members of the Cabinet and are subordinated directly to the
President of Georgia.
Mikheil Saakashvili is the
current President of Georgia after winning 53.47% of the vote in
the
2008
election.
Lado Gurgenidze has
been Prime Minister since November 22, 2007. On November 1, 2008,
Gurgenidze was replaced by
Grigol
Mgaloblishvili and since February 6, 2009
Nikoloz Gilauri has been the new prime
minister of Georgia.

The Parliament of Georgia session
hall
Legislative authority is vested in the
Parliament of Georgia. It is
unicameral and has 150 members, known as deputies, from which 75
members are proportional representatives and 75 are elected through
single-member district plurality system, representing their
constituencies. Members of parliament are elected for 5 five-year
term.
Five parties and electoral blocs had representatives elected to the
parliament in the
2008 elections: the
United National Movement
(governing party), the Electoral Bloc The Joint Opposition, the
Christian-Democrats,
the
Labour Party and
Republican Party.

Official Residence and Principal
Workplace of the President of Georgia
Despite considerable progress made since the
Rose revolution Georgia is still not a
full-fledged democracy. Political system remains in the process of
transition, with frequent adjustments to the balance of power
between the President and Parliament, and proposals ranging from
transforming the country into parliamentary republic to
re-establishing the
monarchy.
Observers note the deficit of trust in relations between the
Government and the opposition. Different opinions exist regarding
the degree of political freedom in Georgia.
President Saakashvili believes that the country is
essentially free, many opposition leaders claim that Georgia is a
dictatorship, and Freedom House puts Georgia in the group of
partly free countries, along with countries like Turkey
and Bosnia
.
Foreign relations
Georgia
maintains good relations with its direct neighbours Armenia
, Azerbaijan
and Turkey
and
participates actively in regional organizations, such as the Black
Sea Economic Council and the GUAM.
Georgia
also maintains political, economic and military relations with
Japan
, South
Korea
, Israel
, Ukraine
and many other countries. The growing US and
European Union influence in Georgia, notably through proposed EU
and NATO membership, the US
Train and Equip military
assistance program and the construction of the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline,
have frequently strained Tbilisi's relations with Moscow. Georgia's
decision to boost its presence in the coalition forces in Iraq was
an important initiative.
Georgia
is currently working to become a full member of NATO
. In August 2004, the Individual Partnership
Action Plan of Georgia was submitted officially to NATO. On October
29, 2004, the
North Atlantic
Council of NATO approved the
Individual
Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) of Georgia and Georgia moved on
to the second stage of Euro-Atlantic Integration. In 2005, by the
decision of the
President of
Georgia, a state commission was set up to implement the
Individual Partnership Action Plan, which presents an
interdepartmental group headed by the Prime Minister. The
Commission was tasked with coordinating and controlling the
implementation of the Individual Partnership Action Plan.
On
February 14, 2005, the agreement on the appointment of Partnership for Peace (PfP) liaison
officer between Georgia and the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization
came into force, whereby a liaison officer for the
South Caucasus was assigned to Georgia. On March 2, 2005,
the agreement was signed on the provision of the host nation
support to and transit of NATO forces and NATO personnel.
On March
6-9, 2006, the IPAP implementation interim assessment team arrived
in Tbilisi
. On April 13, 2006, the discussion of the
assessment report on implementation of the Individual Partnership
Action Plan was held at NATO Headquarters, within 26+1 format. In
2006, the Georgian parliament voted unanimously for the bill which
calls for integration of Georgia into NATO. The majority of
Georgians and politicians in Georgia support the push for NATO
membership. Currently, it is expected that Georgia will join NATO
in 2009.
George W. Bush became the first sitting U.S. president
to visit the country.
The street leading to Tbilisi
International Airport
has since been dubbed George W. Bush
Avenue.
From the
European commission website: President Saakashvili views membership of the EU and NATO
as a long
term priority. As he does not want Georgia to become an
arena of Russia-US confrontation he seeks to maintain close
relations with the United
States
and European Union, at the same time underlining
his ambitions to advance co-operation with Russia.
On October 2, 2006, Georgian and the European Union signed a joint
statement on the agreed text of the Georgia-European Union Action
Plan within the
European
Neighborhood Policy (ENP).
The Action Plan was formally approved at the
EU-Georgia Cooperation Council session on November 14, 2006 in
Brussels
.
On February 2, 2007, Georgia officially became the most recent
regional member of the
Asian
Development Bank. They currently hold 12,081 shares in the
bank, 0.341 percent of the total.
Military

Georgian Special Forces
Georgia's military is organized into
land,
air,
maritime,
special forces and
national guard branches. They are
collectively known as the Georgian Armed Forces (GAF). The mission
and functions of the GAF are based on the
Constitution of Georgia,
Georgia’s Law on Defense and National Military Strategy, and
international agreements to which Georgia is signatory. They are
performed under the guidance and authority of the Ministry of
Defense.
Since coming to power in 2004, Saakashvili has boosted spending on
the country's armed forces and increased its overall size to around
45,000. Of that figure, 12,000 have been trained in advanced
techniques by U.S. military instructors, under the
Georgia Train and Equip
Program.
Some of these troops have been stationed in
Iraq
as part of the international coalition in the
region, serving in Baqubah
and the Green Zone
of Baghdad
. In May 2005, the
13th
"Shavnabada" Light Infantry Battalion became the first full
battalion to serve outside of Georgia. This unit was responsible
for two checkpoints to the Green Zone, and provided security for
the Iraqi Parliament. In October 2005, the unit was replaced by the
21st Infantry Battalion. Soldiers of the
13th
"Shavnabada" Light Infantry Battalion wear the "combat patches"
of the American unit they served under, the
Third Infantry Division.
Economy
Archaeological research demonstrates that
Georgia has been involved in commerce with many lands and empires
since the ancient times, largely due its location on the Black Sea
and later on the historical Silk Road. Gold, silver, copper and iron have been mined in the Caucasus
Mountains
. Wine making is a
very old tradition.
Throughout Georgia's modern history
agriculture and
tourism
have been principal economic sectors, due to the country's climate
and topography.
For much
of the 20th century, Georgia's economy was within the Soviet
model of
command economy.
Since the
fall of the USSR
in 1991,
Georgia embarked on a major structural reform designed to
transition to a free market
economy. However, as with all other
post-Soviet states, Georgia faced a
severe economic collapse.
The civil war and military conflicts in
South
Ossetia
and Abkhazia
aggravated the crisis. The agriculture and
industry output diminished. By 1994 the
gross domestic product had shrunk to
a quarter of that of 1989.
The first
financial help from the West came in 1995, when the World Bank and International Monetary Fund
granted Georgia a credit of USD 206 million and Germany
granted DM 50
million.
As of 2001 54% of the population lived below the national
poverty line but by 2006 poverty decreased to
34%. In 2005 average monthly income of a household was GEL 347
(about 200 USD).

Rkinis Rigi (iron row) in Old
Tbilisi
Since early 2000s visible positive developments have been observed
in the economy of Georgia. In 2007 Georgia's
real GDP growth rate reached 12%, making Georgia
one of the fastest
growing economies
in Eastern Europe. The
World Bank dubbed
Georgia "the number one economic reformer in the world" because it
has in one year improved from rank 112th to 18th in terms of
ease of doing business.
However, the country has high
unemployment rate of 12.6% and has fairly
low
median income compared
to
European countries.
IMF 2007 estimates place Georgia's
nominal GDP at US$10.3
billion. Georgia's economy is becoming more devoted to
services (now representing 65% of GDP),
moving away from
agricultural
sector ( 10.9%).
The country has sizable
hydropower
resources.
The 2006
ban on imports of
Georgian wine to
Russia, one of Georgia's biggest trading partners, and break of
financial links was described by the IMF Mission as an "external
shock", In addition, Russia increased the price of gas for Georgia.
This was followed by the spike in the
Georgian lari's rate of inflation. The
National Bank of Georgia stated that the inflation was mainly
triggered by external reasons, including Russia’s economic embargo.
The Georgian authorities expected that the current account deficit
the embargo would cause in 2007 would be financed by "higher
foreign exchange proceeds generated by the large inflow of foreign
direct investment" and an increase in tourist revenues. The country
has also maintained a solid credit in international market
securities.
Georgia is becoming more
integrated
into the global trading network: its 2006 imports and exports
account for 10% and 18% of GDP respectively. Georgia's main imports
are natural
gas,
oil
products,
machinery and parts, and
transport equipment.
Since coming to power Saakashvili administration accomplished a
series of reforms aimed at improving tax collection. Among other
things a
flat income tax was
introduced in 2004 As a result budget revenues have increased
fourfold and a once large
budget
deficit has turned into
surplus.
Georgia
is developing into an international transport corridor through
Batumi
and Poti
ports, an
oil pipeline from Baku
through
Tbilisi
to Ceyhan
, the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
pipeline (BTC) and a parallel gas pipeline, the South Caucasus
Pipeline.
Tourism is an increasingly significant part of the Georgian
economy. About a million tourists brought US$313 million to the
country in 2006. According to the government, there are 103 resorts
in different
climatic
zones in Georgia.
Tourist attractions include more than 2000
mineral springs, over 12,000
historical and cultural monuments, four of which are recognised as
UNESCO
World Heritage
Sites (Bagrati
Cathedral
in Kutaisi and Gelati Monastery
, historical monuments of Mtskheta
, and Upper Svaneti
).
Demographics

Grapevine Cross of Saint Nino from the
4th century

Georgian youth in traditional
costumes

Ethno-linguistic groups in the
Caucasus region 2009.
Georgians are about 83.8%, of Georgia's
current population of 4,661,473 (July 2006 est.). Other major
ethnic groups include
Azeris, who form 6.5%
of the population,
Armenians - 5.7%,
Russians - 1.5%,
Abkhazians, and
Ossetians. Numerous smaller groups also live in
the country, including
Assyrians,
Chechens,
Chinese,
Georgian
Jews,
Greeks,
Kabardins,
Kurds,
Tatars,
Turks and
Ukrainians. Notably,
Georgia's Jewish community is one of the
oldest Jewish communities in the world.
Georgia also exhibits significant linguistic diversity. Within the
South Caucasian family,
Georgian,
Laz,
Mingrelian, and
Svan are spoken.
South Caucasian groups other than
ethnic
Georgians often speak their native
languages in addition to
Georgian.
The
official languages of Georgia are Georgian and also Abkhaz within the autonomous region of
Abkhazia
. Georgian,
the country's official language, is spoken by 71% of the
population, 9% speak
Russian, 7%
Armenian, 6%
Azeri, and 7% other languages. Georgia's
literacy rate is said to be
100%.
In the
early 1990s, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union
, violent separatist
conflicts broke out in the autonomous regions of Abkhazia
and South
Ossetia
. Many Ossetians
living in Georgia left the country, mainly to Russia's North
Ossetia
. On the other hand, more than 150,000
Georgians left Abkhazia
after the breakout of hostilities in 1993.
Of the
Meskhetian Turks who were
forcibly
relocated in 1944 only a tiny fraction returned to Georgia as
of 2008.
The 1989 census recorded 341,000 ethnic
Russians, or 6.3% of the population,
52,000
Ukrainians and 100,000
Greeks in Georgia. Since 1990, 1.5 million
Georgian nationals left.
At least one million immigrants from
Georgia legally or illegally reside in Russia
.
Georgia's net migration rate is -4.54, excluding Georgian nationals
who live abroad. Georgia has nonetheless been inhabited by
immigrants from all over the world throughout its independence.
According to 2006 statistics, Georgia gets
most of its immigrants from Turkey
and People's
Republic of China
.
Today most of the population practices
Orthodox Christianity of the
Georgian Orthodox Church
(81.9%). The religious
minorities are:
Muslim (9.9%);
Armenian Apostolic (3.9%);
Russian Orthodox Church (2.0%);
Roman
Catholic (0.8%). 0.8% of those
recorded in the 2002 census declared themselves to be adherents of
other religions and 0.7% declared no religion at all.
Culture
Georgian culture evolved over thousands of years with its
foundations in
Iberian and
Colchian civilizations, continuing into the rise of
the unified Georgian Kingdom under the single monarchy of the
Bagrationi. Georgian culture enjoyed a
golden age and renaissance of
classical literature,
arts,
philosophy,
architecture and
science
in the 11th century. The
Georgian
language, and the Classical Georgian literature of the poet
Shota Rustaveli, were revived in the
19th century after a long period of turmoil, laying the foundations
of the
romantics and
novelists of the modern era such as
Grigol Orbeliani,
Nikoloz Baratashvili,
Ilia Chavchavadze,
Akaki Tsereteli,
Vazha Pshavela, and many others.
Georgian culture was
influenced by Classical Greece, the
Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire, and later by the Russian
Empire
which contributed to the European elements of
Georgian culture.
Georgia is well known for its rich
folklore, unique traditional music,
theatre,
cinema, and art.
Georgians are renowned for their love of music, dance, theatre and
cinema. In the 20th century there have been notable Georgian
painters such as
Niko Pirosmani,
Lado Gudiashvili,
Elene Akhvlediani;
ballet choreographers such as
George Balanchine,
Vakhtang Chabukiani, and
Nino Ananiashvili; poets such as
Galaktion Tabidze,
Lado Asatiani, and
Mukhran Machavariani; and theatre and
film directors such as
Robert Sturua,
Tengiz Abuladze,
Giorgi Danelia and
Otar Ioseliani.
Architecture and arts
Georgian architecture has been influenced by many civilizations.
There are several different architectural styles for
castles,
towers,
fortifications and churches.
The Upper Svaneti
fortifications, and the castle town of Shatili
in Khevsureti
, are some of the finest examples of medieval
Georgian castle architecture.
Georgian ecclesiastic art is one of the most fascinating aspects of
Georgian Christian architecture, which combines classical
dome style with original
basilica style forming what is known as the
Georgian cross-dome style. Cross-dome architecture developed in
Georgia during the 9th century; before that, most Georgian churches
were basilicas.
Other examples of Georgian ecclesiastic
architecture can be found outside Georgia: Bachkovo
Monastery
in Bulgaria (built in 1083 by the Georgian
military commander Grigorii Bakuriani), Iviron monastery
in Greece (built by Georgians in the 10th
century), and the Monastery of the Cross
in Jerusalem (built by Georgians in the 9th
century).
Other
architectural aspects of Georgia include Rustaveli avenue in Tbilisi
in the Hausmann style, and the Old Town
District.
The art of Georgia spans the
prehistoric, the ancient
Greek,
Roman,
medieval,
ecclesiastic,
iconic
and modern
visual arts. One of the most
famous late nineteenth/early twentieth century Georgian artists is
the
primitivist painter
Niko Pirosmani. Pirosmani's works can also
been seen as early impressionistic, due to the fact that his work
inspired
Lado Gudiashvili and
Elene Akhvlediani, who represent
the more mainstream
impressionism of
the twentieth century.
Gigo
Gabashvili, a Georgian painter and educator from the same
period as Pirosmani, is considered to be the founder of Georgian
realism. Contemporary Georgian
surrealism is represented by
Ramaz Razmadze
and
Rezo Kaishauri.
Society
Cuisine
Georgian cuisine and
wine have evolved through the centuries,
adapting traditions in each era. One of the most unusual traditions
of dining is
Supra, or
Georgian table, which is
also a way of socialising with friends and family. The head of
Supra is known as
Tamada. He also
conducts the highly philosophical toasts, and makes sure that
everyone is enjoying themselves.
Various historical regions of Georgia
are known for their particular dishes: for example, Khinkali (meat dumplings), from eastern mountainous
Georgia, and Khachapuri, mainly from
Imereti
, Samegrelo and
Adjara.
In
addition to traditional Georgian dishes, the foods of other
countries have been brought to Georgia by immigrants from Russia
, Greece
, and recently China
.
Education
The education system of Georgia has undergone sweeping modernizing,
albeit painful and controversial, reforms since 2004. The adult
literacy rate in Georgia is given as
100%. Education in Georgia is mandatory for all children aged
6–14.
The school system is divided into elementary (6 years; age level
6-12), basic (3 years; age level 12-15), and secondary (2 years;
age level 15-17), or alternatively vocational studies (2 years).
Students with a secondary school certificate have access to higher
education. Only the students who have passed the Unified National
Examinations may enroll in a state-accredited higher education
institution, based on ranking of scores he/she received at the
exams. Most of these institutions offer three level studies: a
Bachelor's Programme (3–4 years); a Master's Programme (2 years),
and a Doctoral Programme (3 years). There is also a Certified
Specialist's Programme that represents a single-level higher
education programme lasting for 3–6 years. As of 2008, 20 higher
education institutions are accredited by the Ministry of Education
and Science of Georgia.
Gross
primary enrollment ratio was 94% for the period of
2001-2006.
Religion
According to the
Constitution of Georgia,
religious institutions are separate from government and every
citizen has the right of religion. However, most of the population
of Georgia (82%) practices
Orthodox Christianity and the
Georgian Orthodox Church is
an influential institution in the country.
The Gospel was preached in Georgia by the Apostles,
Andrew the First Called,
Simon the Canaanite, and
Matthias.
Iberia was
officially converted to Christianity in 326 by Saint Nino of Cappadocia
, who is considered to be the Enlightener of
Georgia and the Equal to Apostles by the Orthodox Church.
The
Georgian Orthodox Church, once being under the See of Antioch
, gained an autocephalous status in the 4th century during
the reign of King Vakhtang
Gorgasali.
Religious minorities of Georgia include Russian Orthodox (2%),
Armenian Christians (3.9%), Muslims (9.9%), Roman Catholics (0.8%),
as well as sizeable
Jewish Communities and
various Protestant minorities.
Despite the long history of religious harmony in Georgia, there
have been several instances of religious discrimination in the past
decade — such as acts of violence against
Jehovah's Witnesses and threats against
adherents of other "nontraditional faiths" by followers of the
defrocked Orthodox priest Vasil
Mkalavishvili.
Sports
Among the most popular sports in Georgia are
football,
basketball,
rugby
union,
wrestling,
hockey and
weightlifting.
Historically, Georgia has been famous for its physical education;
it is known that the
Romans were
fascinated with Georgians' physical qualities after seeing the
training techniques of ancient
Iberia. Wrestling remains a historically
important sport of Georgia, and some historians think that the
Greco-Roman style of wrestling
incorporates many Georgian elements. Within Georgia, one of the
most popularized styles of wrestling is the Kakhetian style.
However, there were a number of other styles in the past that are
not as widely used today.
For example, the Khevsureti
region of Georgia has three different styles of
wrestling. Other popular sports in 19th century Georgia were
polo, and lelo, a traditional Georgian game
later replaced by rugby union.
Gallery of Georgia
File:DSCN3638.jpg| Mountain landscape
File:JvariAugust2008.jpg|4th century
Jvari
monastery
in Mtskheta]]File:Gremi.jpg| Gremi
Fortress and ChurchFile:Ananuridc.jpg| Ananuri Fortress and
churchFile:GWS Versuchsweinberge.JPG| Famous Georgian vineyards in
KakhetiFile:Tbilis view11.jpg| Tbilisi
File:Svanetiskt
torn.jpg|The Ushguli
is dominated by typical Svan
defensive
towers, most dating back to the 9th-12th
centuriesFile:5463456.jpg| GagraFile:Building of the City
Council.jpg| SokhumiFile:724900.jpg| 12th century Fortress of
VardziaFile:Bakuriani Winter.jpg| GudauriFile:VittfarneGeorgien
155.jpg| Northern GeorgiaFile:Bagrati cathedral, georgia.jpg|11th
century King Bagrat's ChurchFile:Shiomgvime Monastery,
Georgia2.JPG|Shiomgvime MonasteryFile:David Gareja (3).jpg|8th
century Davidgareja Monastery Complex located in
Kakheti
File:Gremi Kakheti01.jpg|Gremi
KakhetiFile:Village Soli.jpg|Soli,
SvanetiFile:Sighnaghi.jpg|Sighnaghi, Kakheti
See also
Notes
References
- Anchabadze, George: History of Georgia: A Short
Sketch, Tbilisi 2005 ISBN 99928-71-59-8
- Avalov, Zurab: Prisoedinenie Gruzii k Rossii, Montvid,
S.-Peterburg 1906
- Gvosdev, Nikolas K.: Imperial policies and perspectives
towards Georgia: 1760-1819, Macmillan, Basingstoke 2000, ISBN
0-312-22990-9
- Lang, David M.: The last years of the Georgian Monarchy:
1658-1832, Columbia University Press, New York 1957
- Suny, Ronald Grigor: The Making of the Georgian
Nation, (2nd Edition), Bloomington and Indianapolis, 1994,
ISBN 0-253-35579-6
- Rapp, Stephen H. (2003), Studies In Medieval Georgian
Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts. Peeters
Publishers, ISBN 90-429-1318-5
Further reading
- Braund, David (1994) Georgia in Antiquity: a History of
Colchis and Transcaucasian Iberia 550 BC – AD 562 Clarendon
Press, Oxford ISBN 0-19-814473-3
- Brook, Stephen Claws of the Crab: Georgia and Armenia in
Crisis
- Burford, Tim Bradt Guide: Georgia
- Goldstein, Darra The Georgian Feast: the Vibrant Culture
and Savory Food of the Republic of Georgia
- Karumidze, Zurab & Wertshtor, James V. Enough!: The
Rose Revolution in the Republic of Georgia 2003
- Kurtsikidze, Shorena & Chikovani, Vakhtang, Ethnography
and Folklore of the Georgia-Chechnya Border: Images, Customs, Myths
& Folk Tales of the Peripheries, Munich: Lincom Europa,
2008
- Lonely Planet World Guide: Georgia, Armenia and
Azerbaijan
- Nasmyth, Peter Georgia: In the Mountains of
Poetry
- Rosen, Roger Georgia: A Sovereign Country in the
Caucasus
- Russell, Mary Please Don't Call It Soviet Georgia: a
Journey Through a Troubled Paradise
- Shelley, Louise; Scott, Erik & Latta, Anthony, eds.
Organized Crime and Corruption in Georgia Routledge,
Oxford.
- Steavenson, Wendell Stories I Stole
External links
- Government
- General information
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