[246] Of factors contributing to HDI, education had the most positive influence[247] as Georgia ranks in the top quintile in terms of education. According to United Nations data, this totalled 625,000 by 2000, declining to 450,000 by 2019. [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. Since February 2021, Irakli Gharibashvili has been the Prime Minister of Georgia. Its autonomous status was revoked in 1990. 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. 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. Combined population of urban (23,433 in 1922) and rural (2,326 in 1917) communities. Heraclius, who had risen to prominence through the Iranian ranks, was awarded the crown of Kakheti by Nader himself in 1744 for his loyal service to him. (2002). With the death of Nader Shah in 1747, both kingdoms broke free of Iranian control and were reunified through a personal union under the energetic king Heraclius II in 1762. Members of parliament are elected for four-year terms. Georgia: in the mountains of poetry 3rd rev. Political tensions with Russia have contributed to the 2006 Russian embargo of Georgian wine, Russia claimed Georgia produced counterfeit wine. [78] The Georgian uprising on Texel against the Germans was the last battle of the Second World War in Europe. One explanation put forward by UNFPA is that families of emigrants continued to list them in 2002 as residents for fear of losing certain rights or benefits. The Constitution of Georgia guarantees freedom of speech. NGO "Tolerance", in its alternative report about its implementation, speaks of a rapid decrease in the number of Azerbaijani schools and cases of appointing headmasters to Azerbaijani schools who do not speak the Azerbaijani language. Evergreen species such as box may also be found in many areas. 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. Ever since its turbulent founding in 1918, Georgia has been highly dependent on the German Empire, the primary nation guaranteeing Georgian independence. [98] Abkhaz forces opened a second front on 9 August by attacking the Kodori Gorge held by Georgia. GCP 0001-01-01. This electoral imbalance became a key issue of political and civil society strife in the following years. The Likhi Range divides the country into eastern and western halves. [226], 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. [315], The education system of Georgia has undergone sweeping, though controversial, modernisation since 2004. However, scholars agree that the word is derived from the Karts, one of the proto-Georgian tribes that emerged as a dominant group in ancient times. [81], On 26 May, Zviad Gamsakhurdia was elected as the first President of independent Georgia. Georgia was further weakened by several disastrous invasions by Tamerlane. [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. [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. In contrast with western Georgia, nearly 85 per cent of the forests of the region are deciduous. As a result of incessant OttomanPersian Wars and deportations, the population of Georgia dwindled to 784,700 inhabitants at the end of the 18th century. Georgia adopted Christianity in 334, when King Mirian III of Kartli-Iberia, following the instructions of Saint Nino of Cappadocia, declared it the state religion. The country has sizeable hydropower resources. [214], Georgia is administratively divided into 9 regions, 1 capital region, and 2 autonomous republics. 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. The region between Kazbek and Shkhara (a distance of about 200km (124mi) along the Main Caucasus Range) is dominated by numerous glaciers. [273][274], Air and maritime transport is developing in Georgia, with the former mainly used by passengers and the latter for transport of freight. [103] According to Russian military expert Pavel Felgenhauer, the Ossetian provocation was aimed at triggering the Georgian response, which was needed as a pretext for premeditated Russian military invasion. [259] Georgia was ranked 63rd in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, down from 48th in 2019. [168], In 2011, the North Atlantic Council designated Georgia as an "aspirant country". [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). "[171] He was quoted as saying that if NATO accepts Georgian membership with the article on collective defence covering only Tbilisi-administered territory (i.e., excluding the Georgian territories Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both of which are currently Russian-supported unrecognized breakaway republics), "we will not start a war, but such conduct will undermine our relations with NATO and with countries who are eager to enter the alliance. The head of the Bagrationi dynasty Ashot I of Iberia (r. 813826), who had migrated to the former southwestern territories of Iberia, came to rule over Tao-Klarjeti and restored the Principate of Iberia in 813. [334][335][336][337] This self-identity is stronger among the dominant ethnic Georgian population than in the country's minority groups. [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). South Ossetians were responsible for instigating this incident, which marked the opening of hostilities and injured five Georgian servicemen. [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. Mingrelia, although a Russian protectorate since 1803, was not absorbed until 1867.[72]. [96] South Ossetian separatists began shelling Georgian villages on 1 August. Saakashvili believed in 2008 that the country is "on the road to becoming a European democracy. [281][c] The Georgian Jews are one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. (1996). [175] In June 2014, the EU and Georgia signed an Association Agreement, which entered into force on 1 July 2016. As result of the mixed proportional-majoritarian system, with a threshold of 5% for the proportional vote and redefined majoritarian districts, only four parties entered parliament, with the Georgian Dream party gaining a constitutional majority of 77% (+36 seats). 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 . [37] In 337 AD King Mirian III declared Christianity as the state religion, giving a great stimulus to the development of literature, arts, and ultimately playing a key role in the formation of the unified Georgian nation,[38][39] The acceptance led to the slow but sure decline of Zoroastrianism,[40] which until the 5th century AD, appeared to have become something like a second established religion in Iberia (eastern Georgia), and was widely practised there.[41]. is georgia a communist country. It was not until around 2010 that parts of the system became reliable again. In economics, the party controls the country's economic system, and private ownership is illegal, although this facet of communist rule has changed in some countries like China. Communism is both a political system and an economic one. [299][300][301][302][303][304] The official languages of Georgia are Georgian, with Abkhaz having official status within the autonomous region of Abkhazia. Prominent features of the area include the Javakheti Volcanic Plateau, lakes, including Tabatskuri and Paravani, as well as mineral water and hot springs. On 2 March 2005, the agreement was signed on the provision of the host nation support to and transit of NATO forces and NATO personnel. [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. With the support of the UNFPA, the demographic data for the period 19942014 has been retro-projected. When the era of Communist rule began in Russia in 1917, religion was seen as a hindrance to a thriving socialist society. [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). Burkhard Herbote, tourism Hero. [200] Since 2016 the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index hovers around 56 out of 100 points. [236], Georgia is home to four ecoregions: Caucasus mixed forests, Euxine-Colchic deciduous forests, Eastern Anatolian montane steppe, and Azerbaijan shrub desert and steppe. [138] Ivanishvili has since been called the informal leader of Georgia, arranging political reappointments from behind the scenes. Top 10 Georgia country facts. Officially autonomous within Georgia,[216] the de facto independent region of Abkhazia declared independence in 1999. [51] She succeeded in neutralizing opposition and embarked on an energetic foreign policy aided by the downfall of the rival powers of the Seljuks and Byzantium. [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. [25][26], The territory of modern-day Georgia was inhabited by Homo erectus since the Paleolithic Era. A communist state, also known as a Marxist-Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism-Leninism. [226], The landscape within the nation's boundaries is quite varied. The sons and grandsons of Ashot I established three separate branches, frequently struggling with each other and with neighbouring rulers. [231], Slightly more than 6,500 species of fungi, including lichen-forming species, have been recorded from Georgia,[232][233] but this number is far from complete. These in turn are subdivided into 67 districts and 5 self-governing cities. [127], Different opinions exist regarding the degree of political freedom in Georgia. [267] Other tourist attractions are Cave City, Ananuri Castle/Church, Sighnaghi and Mount Kazbek. In 1121, he decisively defeated much larger Turkish armies during the Battle of Didgori and liberated Tbilisi. [178], Georgia applied for EU membership on 3 March 2022, soon after the beginning of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. [297] Of the Meskhetian Turks who were forcibly relocated in 1944, only a tiny fraction returned to Georgia as of 2008[update]. [189][190], In Georgia, law enforcement is conducted and provided for by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. [194] The police introduced a 0-2-2 (currently, 1-1-2) emergency dispatch service in 2004. [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. [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. Thereafter, the kingdom declined and eventually disintegrated under the hegemony of various regional powers, including the Mongols, the Turks, and various dynasties of Persia. 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. Free shipping for many products! Georgia (Georgian: , .mw-parser-output .noitalic{font-style:normal}romanized:Sakartvelo, IPA:[skrtvl] (listen)) is a transcontinental country at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. The 2014 census, carried out in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), found a population gap of approximately 700,000 compared to the 2014 data from the National Statistical Office of Georgia, Geostat, which was cumulatively built on the 2002 census. [311], Despite the long history of religious harmony in Georgia,[312] there have been instances of religious discrimination and violence against "nontraditional faiths", such as Jehovah's Witnesses, by followers of the defrocked Orthodox priest Basil Mkalavishvili. These artillery attacks immediately caused Georgian servicemen to return fire periodically. 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. [137] However, the new constitution made the role of president largely ceremonial. by Juergen T Steinmetz. "It's a communist regime. Its economy is growing at 5 percent per year, and the country ranks ahead of the United States in economic . Georgian Jews trace the history of their community to the 6th century BC;[citation needed] their numbers have dwindled in the last decades due to high levels of immigration to Israel. [31][32] The classical period saw the rise of a number of early Georgian states, the principal of which were Colchis in the west and Iberia in the east. Other prominent peaks include Mount Kazbek at 5,047m (16,558ft), Shota Rustaveli Peak 4,960m (16,273ft), Tetnuldi 4,858m (15,938ft), Ushba 4,700m (15,420ft), and Ailama 4,547m (14,918ft). [21] Ancient Greeks (Strabo, Herodotus, Plutarch, Homer, etc.) [351] The shipment of counterfeit wine has been primarily channelled through Russian managed customs checkpoints in Russian occupied Georgian territories Abkhazia and South Ossetia, where no inspection and regulation occurs. [353] Wrestling remains a historically important sport of Georgia, and some historians think that the Greco-Roman style of wrestling incorporates many Georgian elements. Towards 778, Leon II (r. 780828) won his full independence with the help of the Khazars and was crowned as the king of Abkhazia. Mikheil Saakashvili was elected as President of Georgia in 2004. Other popular sports in 19th century Georgia were polo, and Lelo, a traditional Georgian game very similar to rugby. The first attempt to unite the country occurred under King Parnavaz of Kartli at the beginning of the third century B.C.E. In 1783, one of the Georgian kingdoms entered into an alliance with the Russian Empire, which proceeded to annex the territory of modern Georgia in a piecemeal fashion throughout the 19th century. This period also brought social and economic change to Georgia, with new social classes emerging: the emancipation of the serfs freed many peasants but did little to alleviate their poverty; the growth of capitalism created an urban working class in Georgia. [citation needed], Coordinates: 4200N 4330E / 42.000N 43.500E / 42.000; 43.500. [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. 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? Iranian elements in Georgian art and archeology", Ethnic tensions: War in the Caucasus is Stalin's legacy, "Georgian World War II hero's remains return home". 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. Out of the deciduous species of trees, beech, oak, and hornbeam dominate. 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. [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. 9 also warned of "color revolution." This term originated in the first decade of this century, when a series of antiauthoritarian popular uprisings in former Soviet states became known by colorful names, including Georgia's Rose Revolution (2003), Ukraine's Orange Revolution (2004), and Kyrgyzstan's Tulip Revolution (2005). [255] Since 2014, unemployment has been gradually decreasing each year but remained in double digits and worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. [308][309] The Church gained autocephaly during the early Middle Ages; it was abolished during the Russian domination of the country, restored in 1917 and fully recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1989. [204][205][206][207] While human rights activists maintained that the protests were peaceful, the government pointed out that many protesters were masked and armed with heavy sticks and molotov cocktails. [57] Eastern Georgia (Safavid Georgia), composed of the regions of Kartli and Kakheti, had been under Iranian suzerainty since 1555 following the Peace of Amasya signed with neighbouring rivalling Ottoman Turkey. 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. [339][340], Georgia is known for its folklore, traditional music, dances, theatre, cinema, and art. The native name is Sakartvelo (; 'land of Kartvelians'), derived from the core central Georgian region of Kartli, recorded from the 9th century, and in extended usage referring to the entire medieval Kingdom of Georgia by the 13th century. It is bounded on the north and northeast by Russia, on the east and southeast by Azerbaijan, on the south by Armenia and Turkey, and on the west by the Black Sea. [100] However, escalating assaults against Georgian villages (located in the South Ossetian conflict zone) were soon matched with gunfire from Georgian troops,[101][102] who then proceeded to move in the direction of the capital of the self-proclaimed Republic of South Ossetia (Tskhinvali) on the night of 8 August, reaching its centre in the morning of 8 August. 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. [18][19] This term itself might have been established through the ancient Iranian appellation of the near-Caspian region, which was referred to as Gorgan ("land of the wolves").[18][20].