[citation needed] The media environment of Georgia remains the freest and most diverse in the South Caucasus,[342] despite the long-term politicization and polarisation affecting the sector. The party was led by Panteleimon Giorgadze. [291] Initially the out-migration was driven by non-Georgian ethnicities but increasing numbers of Georgians emigrated as well,[292] due to the war, the crisis-ridden 1990s, and the subsequent bad economic outlook. [230] The Rioni River may contain a breeding population of the critically endangered bastard sturgeon. The agriculture and industry output diminished. De facto separate since Georgian independence, offers were made to give South Ossetia autonomy again, but in 2006 an unrecognized referendum in the area resulted in a vote for independence. [252] In 2015, the average monthly income of a household was 1,022.3 (about $426). [15] Georgia probably stems from the Persian designation of the Georgians gurn, in the 11th and 12th centuries adapted via Syriac gurz-n/gurz-iyn and Arabic uran/urzan. According to the 2014 census, Ethnic Georgians form about 86.8 per cent of the population, while the remainder includes ethnic groups such as Abkhazians, Armenians, Assyrians, Azerbaijanis, Greeks, Jews, Kists, Ossetians, Russians, Ukrainians, Yezidis and others. [80] In August 1991, Romania became the first country to recognize Georgia. One of the key U.S. allies in Eastern Europe, Georgia was the third largest troop contributor in the Iraq War and the largest per-capita contributor to the U.S. led mission in Afghanistan.The United States for its part is actively assisting Georgia . It borders Russia to the north, Azerbaijan to the east, Armenia and the Ottoman Empire to the south.. In Greek mythology, Colchis was the location of the Golden Fleece sought by Jason and the Argonauts in Apollonius Rhodius' epic tale Argonautica. Georgia's government should take urgent steps to protect the life of imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili, including releasing him on health grounds, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and . [357], Basketball was always one of the notable sports in Georgia, and Georgia had a few very famous Soviet Union national team members, such as Otar Korkia, Mikheil Korkia, Zurab Sakandelidze and Levan Moseshvili. [199] Since 2012 stagnation in corruption fighting efforts can be observed, according to Transparency International. The Likhi Range divides the country into eastern and western halves. [249] As a result, budget revenues have increased fourfold and a once large budget deficit has turned into a surplus. Moscow's campaign to 'coerce Georgia to peace', "The Conflict Between Russia and Georgia", "Saakashvili Appeals for Peace in Televised Address", "The Goals Behind Moscow's Proxy Offensive in South Ossetia", "A Two-Sided Descent into Full-Scale War", "The Russian-Georgian War was Preplanned in Moscow", "Georgia Offers Fresh Evidence on War's Start", "Russian Federation: Legal Aspects of War in Georgia", "Abkhaz separatists strike disputed Georgia gorge", "I got my children out minutes before the bombs fell", "Russia opens new front, drives deeper into Georgia", "Amnesty International Satellite Images Reveal Damage to South Ossetian Villages After", "Rights Groups Say South Ossetian Militias Burning Georgian Villages", "Statement by President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev", "Russia Completes 'Most of Withdrawal' EU Monitors", "Moscow Says EU Monitors Fully Control 'Buffer Zones', "Resolution of the Parliament of Georgia on the Occupation of the Georgian Territories by the Russian Federation", "Abkhazia, S.Ossetia Formally Declared Occupied Territory", "Russian exiles get a chilly reception in Georgia VoxEurop", Georgia elects Salome Zurabishvili as first woman president, "Georgia opens new parliament in Kutaisi, far from the capital", "With loss of parliament, Georgia's second city prepares for a downgrade", "Georgia: Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report", "Democracy Index 2021: the China challenge", "Saakashvili Concedes Defeat in Parliamentary Election", "Georgian tycoon Ivanishvili confirmed as prime minister", "Georgia: Conflict Rather than Cohabitation", "Georgia's Historic Transition Faces Crucial Tests In 2013", "Georgia PM ally Giorgi Margvelashvili 'wins presidency', "Irakli Garibashvili Named as Georgia's Next Prime Minister", "Did Georgia's 'Informal Leader' Pressure Prime Minister To Resign? The U.S. Capitol building in Washington on Dec. 21, 2022. In 2005, the agreement on the appointment of Partnership for Peace (PfP) liaison officer between Georgia and NATO came into force, whereby a liaison officer for the South Caucasus was assigned to Georgia. (2002). [351] Counterfeiting problems stem from mislabelling by foreign producers and falsified Georgian Wine labels on wines produced outside of Georgia and imported into Russia under the auspices of being Georgian produced. Mikheil Saakashvili was elected as President of Georgia in 2004. Georgia currently has four international airports, the largest of which is by far Tbilisi International Airport, hub for Georgian Airways, which offers connections to many large European cities. [269] Positioned in the Caucasus and on the coast of the Black Sea, Georgia is a key country through which energy imports to the European Union from neighbouring Azerbaijan pass. [112] The war displaced 192,000 people,[113] and while many were able to return to their homes after the war, a year later around 30,000 ethnic Georgians remained displaced. [122][123] Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Georgia has topped the list of countries which Russian exiles departed to after the war began; Russians are allowed to stay in Georgia for at least one year without a visa, though many Georgians view the presence of more Russian citizens in Georgia as a security risk.[124]. [12][13] It is a developing country with a very high Human Development Index. Georgia was incorporated into the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, alongside Armenia and Azerbaijan, in 1921 which in 1922 would become a founding member of the Soviet Union. Tourist attractions include more than 2,000 mineral springs, over 12,000 historical and cultural monuments, four of which are recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites (Bagrati Cathedral in Kutaisi and Gelati Monastery, historical monuments of Mtskheta, and Upper Svaneti). One of the most famous late 19th/early 20th century Georgian artists was primitivist painter Niko Pirosmani. Archaeology indicates that fertile valleys and slopes in and around Georgia have been home to grapevine cultivation and neolithic wine production (Georgian: , vino) for millennia. The sons and grandsons of Ashot I established three separate branches, frequently struggling with each other and with neighbouring rulers. [295][c], In the early 1990s, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, violent separatist conflicts broke out in the autonomous region of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region. [250][251], As of 2001, 54 per cent of the population lived below the national poverty line but by 2006 poverty decreased to 34 per cent and by 2015 to 10.1 per cent. Georgia was incorporated into the Soviet Union as the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic after 25 February 1921 when the Red Army entered its capital Tbilisi and installed a communist government led by Georgian Bolshevik Filipp Makharadze. [350] Among the best-known Georgian wine regions are Kakheti (further divided into the micro-regions of Telavi and Kvareli), Kartli, Imereti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, Adjara and Abkhazia. [86] The revolution was led by Mikheil Saakashvili, Zurab Zhvania and Nino Burjanadze, former members and leaders of Shevardnadze's ruling party. S. Neil MacFarlane, Centre for International Relations, Queen's University, 1997, "Georgia/Abchasia: Violations of the laws of war and Russia's role in the conflict", "Russia The IngushOssetian conflict in the Prigorodnyi region", "EurasiaNet Eurasia Insight Georgia's Rose Revolution: Momentum and Consolidation", "Russia Hands Over Batumi Military Base to Georgia", Russia's retention of Gudauta base An unfulfilled CFE treaty commitment, "Countdown in the Caucasus: Seven days that brought Russia and Georgia to war", "Georgia calls on EU for independent inquiry into war", "Russia resurgent? [citation needed]. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has called on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to oppose a federal takeover of elections and support election law reforms. [11] Following World War I, Georgia was invaded and annexed by the Soviet Union in 1922, becoming one of its constituent republics. There is also a certified specialist's programme that represents a single-level higher education programme lasting from three to six years. [299][300][301][302][303][304] The official languages of Georgia are Georgian, with Abkhaz having official status within the autonomous region of Abkhazia. Main exports are ores, ferro-alloys, vehicles, wines, mineral waters and fertilizers. In preparation for the 2012 parliamentary elections, Georgia implemented constitutional reforms to switch to a parliamentary democracy, moving executive powers from the President to the Prime Minister. [146] This led to a new political crisis that was (temporarily) resolved with an EU brokered agreement,[147] from which the Georgian Dream later withdrew. [151], Georgia maintains good relations with its direct neighbours Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey, and is a member of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization, the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Community of Democratic Choice, the GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development[152] and the Asian Development Bank. [83], During the War in Abkhazia (19921993), roughly 230,000 to 250,000 Georgians[84] were expelled from Abkhazia by Abkhaz separatists and North Caucasian volunteers (including Chechens). The construction of new highways has been prioritized and, as such, major cities like Tbilisi have seen the quality of their roads improve dramatically; despite this however, the quality of inter-city routes remains poor and to date only one motorway-standard road has been constructed the 1 (S1), the main eastwest highway through the country. [61] Despite a punitive campaign subsequently launched against Qajar Iran in 1796, this period culminated in the 1801 Russian violation of the Treaty of Georgievsk and annexation of eastern Georgia, followed by the abolition of the royal Bagrationi dynasty, as well as the autocephaly of the Georgian Orthodox Church. ["Flora of Spore Producing Plants of Georgia (Summary)"]. On the other hand, Georgia, the country in the Caucasus region between Europe and Asia, is a sovereign state. [67], In May 1801, under the oversight of General Carl Heinrich von Knorring, Imperial Russia transferred power in eastern Georgia to the government headed by General Ivan Petrovich Lazarev. Alexander Mikaberidze wrote that these century-old explanations for the word Georgia/Georgians are rejected by the scholarly community, who point to the Persian word gur/gurn (, 'wolf'[17]) as the root of the word. 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. After Stalin's death, Nikita Khrushchev became the leader of the Soviet Union and implemented a policy of de-Stalinization. [62], On 22 December 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 8 January 1801,[63][64] and confirmed by Tsar Alexander I on 12 September 1801. "It's a communist regime. [290][289] Other factors in the population decline include birth-death deficits for the period 19952010 and the exclusion of Abkhazia and South Ossetia from the statistics. The region's weather patterns are influenced both by dry Caspian air masses from the east and humid Black Sea air masses from the west. [194] The police introduced a 0-2-2 (currently, 1-1-2) emergency dispatch service in 2004. [46] This early Georgian renaissance, which preceded its Western European analogue, was characterized by impressive military victories, territorial expansion, and a cultural renaissance in architecture, literature, philosophy and the sciences. [225] The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range is much higher in elevation than the Lesser Caucasus Mountains, with the highest peaks rising more than 5,000 metres (16,404ft) above sea level. [93][96][97][98][99], On 7 August 2008, Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili announced a unilateral ceasefire and called for peace talks. [219] This was used as a justification for Russian invasion of Georgia during the 2008 South Ossetia war after which Russia recognized the region's independence. The political struggle for control over the public broadcaster have left it without a direction in 2014 too. [31][347][348][349] Local traditions associated with wine are entwined with its national identity. [153] Georgia also maintains political, economic, and military relations with France,[154] Germany,[155] Israel,[156] Japan,[157] South Korea,[158] Sri Lanka,[159] Turkey,[160] Ukraine,[161] the United States,[162] and many other countries. In addition, 435 were wounded, including 35 amputees. In August 2004, the Individual Partnership Action Plan of Georgia was submitted officially to NATO. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for soviet union ussr tee shirt Red Army Communist at the best online prices at eBay! [163], The explicit western orientation of Georgia, deepening political ties with the US and European Union, notably through its EU and NATO membership aspirations, the US Train and Equip military assistance programme, and the construction of the BakuTbilisiCeyhan pipeline, have frequently strained Tbilisi's relations with Moscow. Other popular sports in 19th century Georgia were polo, and Lelo, a traditional Georgian game very similar to rugby. Since February 2021, Irakli Gharibashvili has been the Prime Minister of Georgia. The civil war and military conflicts in South Ossetia and Abkhazia aggravated the crisis. [313], In addition to traditional religious organizations, Georgia retains secular and irreligious segments of society (0.5 per cent),[314] as well as a significant portion of religiously affiliated individuals who do not actively practice their faith. It's been a communist takeover of our country, and it happened on January 21. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic was established with Nikolay Chkheidze acting as its president. In 1121, he decisively defeated much larger Turkish armies during the Battle of Didgori and liberated Tbilisi. Additionally, Eastern European countries, especially former communist countries, have become the target of state-sponsored disinformation and propaganda, seeking to exploit societal and cultural wedge issues and strengthen extremist groups. [34], After the Roman Republic completed its brief conquest of what is now Georgia in 66 BC, the area became a primary objective of what would eventually turn out to be over 700 years of protracted Irano-Roman geo-political rivalry and warfare. [355], The first and only race circuit in the Caucasian region is located in Georgia. by Juergen T Steinmetz. [164] The European Union has identified Georgia as a prospective member,[165] and Georgia has sought membership. [260][261][262][263], Tourism is an increasingly significant part of the Georgian economy. Romans erected the statue of the Iberian King Pharsman after he demonstrated Georgian training methods during his visit to Rome; Georgia's secession from the Soviet Union, democratic and economic reforms aimed at integration, first countries in the world to legalize cannabis, Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic, Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, Adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty, International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Tensions between Georgia and Russia began escalating, ethnic cleansing against Georgians in South Ossetia, Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Role of Georgia in the War in Afghanistan (20012021), Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, Administrative divisions of Georgia (country), International Union for Conservation of Nature, 2014 General Population Census Main Results, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, secular and irreligious segments of society, one of the oldest wine-producing countries, Index of Georgia (country)-related articles, " ", "2014 General Population Census Main Results General Information National Statistics Office of Georgia", "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2022", "GINI index (World Bank estimate) Georgia", "2014 General Population Census Main Results", "Consolidating Parliamentary Democracy in Georgia", "U.S. and Allies Blame Russia for Cyberattack on Republic of Georgia", "Now that's what you call a real vintage: professor unearths 8,000-year-old wine", "Evidence of ancient wine found in Georgia a vintage quaffed some 6,000 years BC", The Gold Mine of Sakdrisi and Earliest Mining and Metallurgy in the Transcausus and the Kura-Valley System, "UNESCO Ancient Georgian traditional Qvevri wine-making method", "Georgia iii. Soviet rule was firmly established only after the insurrection was swiftly defeated. [215], Georgia contains two official autonomous regions, of which one has declared independence. After obtaining independence for the state, the matter of church independence became the main problem. The zone is made up mainly of beech, spruce, and fir forests. [267] Other tourist attractions are Cave City, Ananuri Castle/Church, Sighnaghi and Mount Kazbek. This country held its first democratic republic elections in 1990. 1955 - Warsaw Treaty Organisation, or Warsaw Pact, set up. [237] It had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.79/10, ranking it 31st globally out of 172 countries.[238]. [306][c] The Georgian Orthodox Church is one of the world's most ancient Christian Churches, and claims apostolic foundation by Saint Andrew. Agency Newintro History Debrief Dailybrief Policies Tags countries Timeline Docs About Georgia 2. Georgia is a representative democracy governed as a unitary parliamentary republic. [223][224] The country lies between latitudes 41 and 44 N, and longitudes 40 and 47 E, with an area of 67,900km2 (26,216sqmi). [306][c] 0.7 per cent of those recorded in the 2014 census declared themselves to be adherents of other religions, 1.2 per cent refused or did not state their religion and 0.5 per cent declared no religion at all. [135][136], In October 2013, Giorgi Margvelashvili, a candidate of the Georgian Dream party, won the presidential election. [82], He was soon deposed in a bloody coup d'tat, from 22 December 1991 to 6 January 1992. The country then became embroiled in a bitter civil war, which lasted until nearly 1994. Officially autonomous within Georgia,[216] the de facto independent region of Abkhazia declared independence in 1999. [225] Historically, the western portion of Georgia was known as Colchis while the eastern plateau was called Iberia.[226]. There were a number of other styles in the past that are not as widely used today. In Abkhazia, a minority of the Abkhaz population is also Sunni Muslim. 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. [1] The party is member of Union of Communist Parties Communist Party of the Soviet Union . [353] Wrestling remains a historically important sport of Georgia, and some historians think that the Greco-Roman style of wrestling incorporates many Georgian elements. The country plans to host 11 million visitors by 2025 with annual revenues reaching US$6.6 billion. [citation needed], Georgian ecclesiastic art is one of the most notable aspects of Georgian Christian architecture, which combines the classical dome style with the original basilica style, forming what is known as the Georgian cross-dome style. In the 1992 elections it won four MPs. Political tensions with Russia have contributed to the 2006 Russian embargo of Georgian wine, Russia claimed Georgia produced counterfeit wine. However, subsequent Iranian and Ottoman invasions further weakened local kingdoms and regions. The medieval Georgian Chronicles present an eponymous ancestor of the Kartvelians, Kartlos, a great-grandson of Japheth. Zurabishvili was backed by the ruling Georgian Dream party. Greene said that she became a member of Congress in January while "raging against this system, refusing to back down and calling out communism." The congresswoman urged Republicans to oppose the. Tbilisi is home to several major institutions of higher education in Georgia, notably the Tbilisi State Medical University, which was founded as Tbilisi Medical Institute in 1918, and the Tbilisi State University (TSU), which was established in 1918 and remains the oldest university in the entire Caucasus region. [202] Georgia has ratified the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in 2005. In turn, this has allowed them to benefit in recent years from increased energy exports from neighbouring Azerbaijan to the European Union, Ukraine, and Turkey. [85], In 2003, Shevardnadze (who won re-election in 2000) was deposed by the Rose Revolution, after Georgian opposition and international monitors asserted that 2 November parliamentary elections were marred by fraud. There are also smaller communities of Greek Muslims (of Pontic Greek origin) and Armenian Muslims, both of whom are descended from Ottoman-era converts to Turkish Islam from Eastern Anatolia who settled in Georgia following the Lala Mustafa Pasha's Caucasian campaign that led to the Ottoman conquest of the country in 1578. [272] Additional projects also include the construction of the economically important KarsTbilisiBaku railway, which was opened on 30 October 2017 and connects much of the Caucasus with Turkey by standard gauge railway. Rustavi International Motorpark originally built in 1978 was re-opened in 2012 after total reconstruction[356] costing $20million. Announces New Military Assistance Program for Georgia", "Why was Georgia not granted EU candidate status? Georgian polyphony is based on three vocal parts, a unique tuning system based on perfect fifths, and a harmonic structure rich in parallel fifths and dissonances. Invasions continued, giving the kingdom no time for restoration, with both Black and White sheep Turkomans constantly raiding its southern provinces. The stage of feudalism's development and struggle against common invaders as much as common belief of various Georgian states had an enormous importance for spiritual and political unification of Georgia feudal monarchy under the Bagrationi dynasty in the 11th century. The 1989 census recorded 341,000 ethnic Russians, or 6.3 per cent of the population,[288] 52,000 Ukrainians and 100,000 Greeks in Georgia. Document No. Since the fall of the USSR in 1991, Georgia embarked on a major structural reform designed to transition to a free market economy. As the largest faction, having secured 90 out of 150 seats, Georgian Dream formed the country's next government and continued to govern alone. [58] Heraclius nevertheless stabilized Eastern Georgia to a degree in the ensuing period and was able to guarantee its autonomy throughout the Iranian Zand period. Macroeconomic Environment", "Services, value added (% of GDP) Georgia", "Georgia Poll Reflects Widespread Concern over Economic Issues", "Georgian National Tourism Administration Researches", "Russian Flight Ban Could Cost Georgia $300M, Experts Say", "Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway Line Officially Launched", "Kutaisi's airport: Georgia's opportunity", "ECMI European Centre For Minority Issues Georgia", "Population and Demography Population by cities and boroughs (daba), as of 1 January", "Main Results of the 2014 Census (Publication)", "Retro-projection of main demographic indicators for the period 19942014", Georgia: Ethnic Russians Say, "There's No Place Like Home", "International migrant stock 2019, 'by destination and origin', "Results of the 2010 All-Russian Population Census", "Immigrants by previous country of residence and usual place of residence", Russia: The IngushOssetian Conflict in the Prigorodnyi Region, World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples Uzbekistan: Meskhetian Turks, "Population by region, by native languages and fluently speak Georgian language", "The History of Georgian Orthodox Church", "Memorandum to the U.S. Government on Religious Violence in the Republic of Georgia (Human Rights Watch August 2001)", "Centralized university entrance examinations", "Gross enrollment ratio, primary, both sexes", "New Tbilisi.Gov.Ge ", "The role of cultural paradigms in Georgian foreign policy", "The 'Myth' of the Self: The Georgian National Narrative and Quest for 'Georgianness', "Go West: Georgia's European identity and its role in domestic politics and foreign policy objectives", "Georgia's Unfinished Search for Its Place in Europe", "Niko Pirosmani Short Biographical Information", "Media freedom in Eastern Partnership countries: Georgia tops list, Ukraine improves position", "The Untold Story of How "Chakrulo" Ended Up in Space", "Traditional winemaking in Georgia the oldest wine in the world", "Position Unchanged On Russian WTO Negotiations", Claude Saurel: Georgia's rugby revolution is only just starting, Population Dynamics in Georgia An Overview Based on the 2014 General Population Census Data, Association of Modern Scientific Investigation (AMSI), autonomous country of the Kingdom of Denmark, Commission against Racism and Intolerance, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Georgia_(country)&oldid=1141973874, States and territories established in 1991, Articles with dead external links from July 2022, Articles with dead external links from November 2010, Articles with incomplete citations from June 2022, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from June 2022, Articles with dead external links from July 2017, Articles with permanently dead external links, Articles with dead external links from June 2016, Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from March 2012, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Articles containing Georgian-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2023, Articles containing Persian-language text, Articles containing Classical Syriac-language text, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2023, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2016, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2015, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2016, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2016, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2008, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2023, Pages using Sister project links with hidden wikidata, Pages using Sister project links with default search, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference, Articles with MusicBrainz area identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Personal Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office on the Conflict Dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference, This page was last edited on 27 February 2023, at 21:09. keesler air force base dorms, glynn turman wife,