Against the expectations of the then ruling United National Movement (UNM) of president Mikheil Saakashvili, the 6-party opposition coalition around newly found Georgian Dream won the parliamentary elections in October 2012, bringing an end to nine years of UNM rule and marking the first peaceful, electoral, transfer of power in Georgia. Georgia, or officially called the Democratic Republic of Georgia, is a country in the Southern Caucasus. [296] On the other hand, at least 160,000 Georgians left Abkhazia after the break-out of hostilities in 1993. Political tensions with Russia have contributed to the 2006 Russian embargo of Georgian wine, Russia claimed Georgia produced counterfeit wine. [82] Supported by Russia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia achieved de facto independence from Georgia, with Georgia retaining control only in small areas of the disputed territories. [226], The landscape within the nation's boundaries is quite varied. [60], However, despite this commitment to defend Georgia, Russia rendered no assistance when the Iranians invaded in 1795, capturing and sacking Tbilisi while massacring its inhabitants, as the new heir to the throne sought to reassert Iranian hegemony over Georgia. But the nonprofit organization was accused in Georgia courts of being a communist front, and King's inner circle considered it radical. In response,[95] several South Ossetian militiamen were killed by snipers. [25][26], The territory of modern-day Georgia was inhabited by Homo erectus since the Paleolithic Era. In 2019, Georgia ranked 61st on the Human Development Index (HDI). [235] 1,729 species of plants have been recorded from Georgia in association with fungi. Many Ossetians living in Georgia left the country, mainly to Russia's North Ossetia. Georgia has become more integrated into the global trading network: its 2015 imports and exports account for 50% and 21% of GDP respectively. Boeder; et al. Announces New Military Assistance Program for Georgia", "Why was Georgia not granted EU candidate status? Christianity and the Georgian language are particularly important national identifiers. By the 1980s, an independence movement emerged and grew quickly, leading to Georgia's secession from the Soviet Union in April 1991. [140] Most of Georgian Dream's coalition parties had left the coalition and landed outside of parliament. [201], Human rights in Georgia are guaranteed by the country's constitution. The Likhi Range divides the country into eastern and western halves. On the other hand, Georgia, the country in the Caucasus region between Europe and Asia, is a sovereign state. Georgia is a small country. Western Georgia's landscape ranges from low-land marsh-forests, swamps, and temperate rainforests to eternal snows and glaciers, while the eastern part of the country even contains a small segment of semi-arid plains. Members of parliament are elected for four-year terms. The country of Georgia is located in the Caucasus region at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Georgia was further weakened by several disastrous invasions by Tamerlane. For example, in its 2017 report, Council of Europe observed that while most day-to-day corruption has been eliminated, there are some indications of a "clientelistic system" whereby the country's leadership may allocate resources in ways that generate the loyalty and support it needs to stay in power. 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. The USSR was also the largest communist country. About 86.8% of the population of Georgia comprises of ethnic Georgians. The agriculture and industry output diminished. It is unicameral and has 150 members, known as deputies, of whom 30 are elected by plurality to represent single-member districts, and 120 are chosen to represent parties by proportional representation. Ca. [318] The school system is divided into elementary (six years; ages 612), basic (three years; ages 1215), and secondary (three years; ages 1518), or alternatively vocational studies (two years). From 1,5001,800 metres (4,9215,906ft), the forest becomes largely coniferous. [185][186] Over 11,000 Georgian soldiers have been rotated through Afghanistan. [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. [226], 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. 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. For most of the subsequent decade, post-Soviet Georgia suffered from economic crisis, political instability, ethnic conflict, and secessionist wars in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. [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. "[128] In their 2022 report[update] Freedom House lists Georgia as a partly free country, recognizing a trajectory of democratic improvement surrounding the 201213 transfer of power, yet observing a gradual backslide in later years. [11] Following World War I, Georgia was invaded and annexed by the Soviet Union in 1922, becoming one of its constituent republics. The first mention of the name spelled as Georgia is in Italian on the mappa mundi of Pietro Vesconte dated AD 1320. [149] Garibashvili, who had an earlier term as prime minister in 201315, is known as a political hardliner. In 2007, Georgia's real GDP growth rate reached 12 per cent, making Georgia one of the fastest-growing economies in Eastern Europe. Rugby is considered Georgia's national sport. It was one of the first countries in the world to legalize cannabis, becoming the only former-socialist state to do so. "[197] In 2012, the World Bank called Georgia a "unique success" of the world in fighting corruption, noting "Georgia's experience shows that the vicious cycle of endemic corruption can be broken and, with appropriate and decisive reforms, can be turned into a virtuous cycle. [1] [50], The 29-year reign of Tamar, the first female ruler of Georgia, is considered the most successful in Georgian history. [183] Georgia also participated in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan; with 1,560 troops in 2013, it was at that time the largest contributor among non-NATO countries[184] and in per capita terms. [96] South Ossetian separatists began shelling Georgian villages on 1 August. [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 only remaining large, low-land forests remain in the Alazani Valley of Kakheti. ["Flora of Spore Producing Plants of Georgia (Summary)"]. Situated at the strategically important crossroads where Europe meets Asia, Georgia has a unique and ancient cultural heritage, and is famed for its traditions of hospitality and cuisine. [289] The population of Georgia, including the breakaway regions, has declined by more than 1 million due to net emigration in the period 19902010. [citation needed] The general landscape of eastern Georgia comprises numerous valleys and gorges that are separated by mountains. [173] The street leading to Tbilisi International Airport has since been dubbed George W. Bush Avenue. [298], The most widespread language group is the Kartvelian family, which includes Georgian, Svan, Mingrelian and Laz. In the 1992 elections it won four MPs. 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. [citation needed], Religious minorities of Georgia include Muslims (10.7 per cent), Armenian Christians (2.9 per cent) and Roman Catholics (0.5 per cent). The first attempt to unite the country occurred under King Parnavaz of Kartli at the beginning of the third century B.C.E. [129] In their Democracy Index 2021 report[update] the Economist Intelligence Unit classifies Georgia as a hybrid regime which is above the threshold for an authoritarian regime but below the threshold needed to be classified as a flawed democracy.[130]. [citation needed] 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 3,400 metres (11,155ft) in elevation. In June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union on an immediate course towards Caucasian oil fields and munitions factories. [119] Russian forces left the buffer areas bordering Abkhazia and South Ossetia on 8 October, and the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia was dispatched to the buffer areas. 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 within the Georgian SSR. Their cause was championed by the socialist Mensheviks, who became the dominant political force in Georgia in the final years of Russian rule. [120][121] Since the war, Georgia has maintained that Abkhazia and South Ossetia are occupied Georgian territories. [343], Georgia has an ancient musical tradition, which is primarily known for its early development of polyphony. According to CPUSA records, by 1932 only a small number of party members were active in Atlanta, and the statewide apparatus was in disarray. [281][c] The population declined by 40,000 in 2021, a reversal of the trend towards stabilisation of the last decade and, for the first time since independence, the population was recorded to be below 3.7 million. These in turn are subdivided into 67 districts and 5 self-governing cities. The region between Kazbek and Shkhara (a distance of about 200km (124mi) along the Main Caucasus Range) is dominated by numerous glaciers. George V was the last great king of the unified Georgian state. [226], Because of its high landscape diversity and low latitude, Georgia is home to about 5,601 species of animals, including 648 species of vertebrates (more than 1% of the species found worldwide) and many of these species are endemics. As with all other post-Soviet states, Georgia faced a severe economic collapse. Based on this law, 300 medals were confiscated by the Georgian Customs. In recent years, the Patrol Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia has undergone a radical transformation, with the police having now absorbed a great many duties previously performed by dedicated independent government agencies. [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]. Evergreen species such as box may also be found in many areas. The Cabinet is composed of ministers, headed by the Prime Minister, and appointed by the Parliament. 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. "Dictionary of the Fungi". This came under criticism from human rights activists[210] and led to protests. [71], From 1803 to 1878, as a result of numerous Russian wars now against Ottoman Turkey, several of Georgia's previously lost territories such as Adjara were recovered, and also incorporated into the empire. [195], Prior to the Rose Revolution, Georgia was among the most corrupt countries in the world. It was the last direct election of a Georgian president, as additional constitutional reforms removed the popular vote. For much of the 20th century, Georgia's economy was within the Soviet model of command economy. These artillery attacks immediately caused Georgian servicemen to return fire periodically. 1955 - Warsaw Treaty Organisation, or Warsaw Pact, set up. Top 10 Georgia country facts. 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. [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. Despite the revitalization of the Iberian monarchy, remaining Georgian lands were divided among rival authorities, with Tbilisi remaining in Arab hands. One of the most famous late 19th/early 20th century Georgian artists was primitivist painter Niko Pirosmani. why were chinese railroad workers called jakes . Despite the Soviet takeover, Zhordania was recognized as the legitimate head of the Georgian Government by France, UK, Belgium, and Poland through the 1930s. 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. [148], In February 2021, Irakli Garibashvili became Prime Minister of Georgia, following the resignation of Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia. [260][261][262][263], Tourism is an increasingly significant part of the Georgian economy. Georgia ranked number 58 overall in the 2016 NRI ranking,[258] up from 60 in 2015. This country held its first democratic republic elections in 1990. His regime is known as one of the most brutal in world history; tens of millions of . There were a number of other styles in the past that are not as widely used today. With the beginning of perestroika in 1986, the Georgian Soviet leadership proved so incapable of handling the changes that most Georgians, including rank and file communists, concluded that the only way forward was a break from the existing Soviet system. [264] In 2019, the number of international arrivals reached a record high of 9.3 million people[265] with foreign exchange income in the year's first three quarters amounting to over US$3 billion. In politics, communist parties have absolute power over governance, and elections are single-party affairs. A bitter civil war and feudal revolts which began under Demetrius III (r. 967975) led the kingdom into complete anarchy under the unfortunate king Theodosius III the Blind (r. 975978). [220] Georgia considers the regions as occupied by Russia. The . (2002). 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. The country is a member of international organizations, such as the Council of Europe, the OSCE, Eurocontrol, the EBRD, the BSEC, the GUAM, the ADB, the WTO, and the Energy Community. 1953 - Soviet Union explodes its first hydrogen bomb. The former communist countries of the Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia needed to reform the financing of their healthcare systems and make efforts to strengthen the role of primary care while limiting the role of hospital care. Its root, kartvel-i (-), specifies an inhabitant of the core central-eastern Georgian region of Kartli, or Iberia as it is known in sources of the Eastern Roman Empire. In the Middle Ages, the unified Kingdom of Georgia emerged and reached its Golden Age during the reign of King David IV and Queen Tamar in the 12th and early 13th centuries. This law prohibits communist symbolism and ideology along with fascist symbolism and ideology. Georgian wine making is a very old tradition and a key branch of the country's economy. [180] After its independence from the Soviet Union, Georgia began to develop its own military industry. [254] Georgia's economy is becoming more devoted to services (as of 2016[update], representing 59.4 per cent of GDP), moving away from the agricultural sector (6.1 per cent). Ever since its turbulent founding in 1918, Georgia has been highly dependent on the German Empire, the primary nation guaranteeing Georgian independence. Later, in 1936, the TSFSR was dissolved and Georgia emerged as a union republic: the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. And that is who Joe Biden is," the Georgia Republican said during an interview on. According to United Nations data, this totalled 625,000 by 2000, declining to 450,000 by 2019. [104] According to Georgian intelligence,[105] and several Russian media reports, parts of the regular (non-peacekeeping) Russian Army had already moved to South Ossetian territory through the Roki Tunnel before the Georgian military action. The U.S. Capitol building in Washington on Dec. 21, 2022. The sons and grandsons of Ashot I established three separate branches, frequently struggling with each other and with neighbouring rulers. [35][36] From the first centuries AD, the cult of Mithras, pagan beliefs, and Zoroastrianism were commonly practised in Georgia. In the early 4th century, ethnic Georgians officially adopted Christianity, which contributed to the spiritual and political unification of the early Georgian states. [305][c] Azerbaijani once served as a lingua franca for communication among various nationalities inhabiting Eastern Caucasus. [55] The Mongols were expelled by George V of Georgia (r. 12991302), son of Demetrius II of Georgia (r. 12701289), who was named "Brilliant" for his role in restoring the country's previous strength and Christian culture. Free shipping for many products! [334], This long history has provided a national narrative which encompasses the successful preservation of unique culture and identity in a consistent territory, despite external pressures. Following the bloodless Rose Revolution in 2003, Georgia strongly pursued a pro-Western foreign policy; it introduced a series of democratic and economic reforms aimed at integration into the European Union and NATO. The population of the nation is about 3.718 million people. In 2010, Transparency International (TI) named Georgia "the best corruption-buster in the world. After Stalin's death, Nikita Khrushchev became the leader of the Soviet Union and implemented a policy of de-Stalinization. In 2018, more than 1.4million tourists from Russia visited Georgia. Towards 778, Leon II (r. 780828) won his full independence with the help of the Khazars and was crowned as the king of Abkhazia. The country's Western orientation soon led to worsening relations with Russia, which culminated in the Russo-Georgian War of 2008, and entrenched Russia occupation of a portion of Georgia. [43] The successful defence against the Arabs, and new territorial gains, gave the Abkhazian princes enough power to claim more autonomy from the Byzantine Empire. The last Imeretian king and the last Georgian Bagrationi ruler, Solomon II, died in exile in 1815, after attempts to rally people against Russia and to enlist foreign support against the latter, had been in vain. "It's a communist regime. [135][136], In October 2013, Giorgi Margvelashvili, a candidate of the Georgian Dream party, won the presidential election. Legislative authority is vested in the Parliament of Georgia. In 19181919, Georgian general Giorgi Mazniashvili led an 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 the independent Georgia. Georgia, Georgian Sakartvelo, country of Transcaucasia located at the eastern end of the Black Sea on the southern flanks of the main crest of the Greater Caucasus Mountains. Consecutive research estimated the 2002 census to be inflated by 8 to 9 percent,[286] which affected the annually updated population estimates in subsequent years. [126] Saakashvili's rivals, who came to power later in 2012, never truly accepted the move to Kutaisi and six years later Parliament returned to its old location in Tbilisi after adapting the constitutional clause. [177] On 27 February 2017, the Council adopted a regulation on visa liberalization for Georgians travelling to the EU for a period of stay of 90 days in any 180-day period. Among other things a flat income tax was introduced in 2004. The alphabet probably was created soon afterward to . 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. [248], Since coming to power the Saakashvili administration accomplished a series of reforms aimed at improving tax collection. [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).

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