[82], He was soon deposed in a bloody coup d'tat, from 22 December 1991 to 6 January 1992. This came under criticism from human rights activists[210] and led to protests. 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. Georgia . Georgia had five players in the NBA: Vladimir Stepania, Jake Tsakalidis, Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Tornike Shengelia and current Golden State Warriors centre Zaza Pachulia. It is part of the Caucasus region, bounded by the Black Sea to the west, by Russia to the north and northeast, by Turkey to the southwest, by Armenia to the south, and by Azerbaijan to the southeast. During much of this time (1927-1953), Joseph Stalin was the totalitarian leader. [1] The party is member of Union of Communist Parties Communist Party of the Soviet Union . [114] In an interview published in Kommersant, South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity said he would not allow Georgians to return. [27] In fact, early metallurgy started in Georgia during the 6th millennium BC, associated with the Shulaveri-Shomu culture. It's been a communist takeover of our country, and it happened on January 21. [48][49], David suppressed dissent of feudal lords and centralized the power in his hands to effectively deal with foreign threats. Much of eastern Georgia experiences hot summers (especially in the low-lying areas) and relatively cold winters. The Lesser Caucasus Mountains partially protect the region from the influence of dry and hot air masses from the south. [44][45] The most prosperous period of the Abkhazian kingdom was between 850 and 950. Towards 778, Leon II (r. 780828) won his full independence with the help of the Khazars and was crowned as the king of Abkhazia. Total length of roads in Georgia, excluding the occupied territories, is 21,110 kilometres (13,120mi) and railways 1,576km (979mi). [25][26], The territory of modern-day Georgia was inhabited by Homo erectus since the Paleolithic Era. "[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. [334][335][336][337] This self-identity is stronger among the dominant ethnic Georgian population than in the country's minority groups. [268], Today transport in Georgia is provided by rail, road, ferry, and air. [96] South Ossetian separatists began shelling Georgian villages on 1 August. The Global Coalition To Defeat ISIS U.S. Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority Arms Control and International Security Arms Control and International Security Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation [31][347][348][349] Local traditions associated with wine are entwined with its national identity. The proto-Georgian tribes first appear in written history in the 12th century BC. From 1,5001,800 metres (4,9215,906ft), the forest becomes largely coniferous. 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. [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]. Georgia is a representative democracy governed as a unitary parliamentary republic. [249] As a result, budget revenues have increased fourfold and a once large budget deficit has turned into a surplus. Christianity and the Georgian language are particularly important national identifiers. Cuba is ruled by the Communist Party of Cuba, whose role is described in the Cuban constitution as the "leading force of society of the state." The Communist Party of Cuba adheres more strictly to the tradition of Marxism-Leninism and the Soviet model than the communist parties of other countries. 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. Coniferous forests only dominate in the Borjomi Gorge and in the extreme western areas. An Arab incursion into western Georgia led by Marwan II, was repelled by Leon I (r. 720740) jointly with his Lazic and Iberian allies in 736. [169] Since 2014, GeorgiaNATO relations are guided by the Substantial NATOGeorgia Package (SNGP), which includes the NATOGeorgia Joint Training and Evaluation Centre and facilitation of multi-national and regional military drills. 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. 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. CABI, 2008. [28][29] Archaeological finds and references in ancient sources also 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. One of the most famous late 19th/early 20th century Georgian artists was primitivist painter Niko Pirosmani. It was named after George II of Great Britain. [138] Ivanishvili has since been called the informal leader of Georgia, arranging political reappointments from behind the scenes. [282][d] Georgia was also once home to significant ethnic German communities, numbering 11,394 according to the 1926 census. [18] Starting with the Persian word gur/gurn, the word was later adopted in numerous other languages, including Slavic and West European languages. [271] Infrastructural development has also been high on the agenda for the railways, with the key Tbilisi railway junction expected to undergo major reorganization in the near future. Throughout the remainder of the Soviet period, Georgia's economy continued to grow and experience significant improvement, though it increasingly exhibited blatant corruption and alienation of the government from the people. 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 . The civil war and military conflicts in South Ossetia and Abkhazia aggravated the crisis. In 1921, communist Russia launched a new military campaign against Georgia and conquered the country in fierce battles, annexing it to the Soviet Union. Invasions continued, giving the kingdom no time for restoration, with both Black and White sheep Turkomans constantly raiding its southern provinces. [12][13] It is a developing country with a very high Human Development Index. In recent years Georgia has invested large amounts of money in the modernization of its transport networks. [306], Islam is represented by both Azerbaijani Shia Muslims (in the south-east) ethnic Georgian Sunni Muslims in Adjara, and Laz-speaking Sunni Muslims as well as Sunni Meskhetian Turks along the border with Turkey. 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 metres or 6feet 7inches in many regions). [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. [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. by Juergen T Steinmetz. Other notable basketball players are two times Euroleague champion Giorgi Shermadini and Euroleague players Manuchar Markoishvili and Viktor Sanikidze. The coup was instigated by part of the National Guards and a paramilitary organization called "Mkhedrioni" ("horsemen"). Formerly Communist countries (by current name): Formerly part of the Soviet Union: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. The Likhi Range divides the country into eastern and western halves. [18] The name Sakartvelo () consists of two parts. [318][320] As of 2016[update], 75 higher education institutions are accredited by the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia. 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. [145], On 31 October 2020, the ruling Georgian Dream again led by Bidzina Ivanishvili secured over 48% of votes in the parliamentary election under a different electoral system. ed., Nasmyth, Peter, I. Gagoshidze "The Achaemenid influence in Iberia" Boreas 19. This period during the reigns of David IV (r. 10891125) and his great-granddaughter Tamar (r. 11841213) has been widely termed as Georgia's Golden Age or the Georgian Renaissance. The government of Georgia is carried out under a semi-presidential representative democracy. These artillery attacks immediately caused Georgian servicemen to return fire periodically. In 1121, he decisively defeated much larger Turkish armies during the Battle of Didgori and liberated Tbilisi. 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. Access to higher education is given to students who have gained a secondary school certificate. [b][10] Tbilisi is its capital as well as its largest city, home to roughly a third of the Georgian population. The highest mountain in Georgia is Mount Shkhara at 5,203 metres (17,070ft), and the second highest is Mount Janga at 5,059m (16,598ft) above sea level. This country held its first democratic republic elections in 1990. "[24] Before the 1995 constitution came into force, the country's official name was the Republic of Georgia (Georgian: , romanized: Sakartvelos Resp'ublik'a) and it is still sometimes referred to by that name. 888 pp., Tbilisi, Academy of Science of the Georgian SSR, 1986, Kirk, P.M., Cannon, P.F., Minter, D.W. and Stalpers, J. On 25 February 1921, the Red Army entered Tbilisi and established a government of workers' and peasants' soviets with Filipp Makharadze as acting head of state. In comparison, that places Georgia in the top 50 out of 180 countries, among Central European and Mediterranean EU member states. Russia withdrew all personnel and equipment from these sites by December 2007[91] while failing to withdraw from the Gudauta base in Abkhazia, which it was required to vacate after the adoption of the Adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty during the 1999 Istanbul summit. Georgia's moderate climate and moist air, influenced by the Black Sea, provide the best conditions for vine cultivation. 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. The extinction of the Iberian royal dynasties, such as Guaramids and the Chosroids,[42] and also the Abbasid preoccupation with their own civil wars and conflict with the Byzantine Empire, led to the Bagrationi family's growth in prominence. Pyotr Bagration, one of the descendants of the abolished house of Bagrationi, would later join the Russian army and rise to be a prominent general in the Napoleonic wars. Officially autonomous within Georgia,[216] the de facto independent region of Abkhazia declared independence in 1999. Georgia is the official host country at ITB Berlin 2023. Brief on Georgia. [citation needed] Three types of polyphony have developed in Georgia: a complex version in Svaneti, a dialogue over a bass background in the Kakheti region, and a three-part partially-improvised version in western Georgia. Georgia (excluding Abkhazia) was one of the six republics along with Armenia, Moldova and the Baltic States who boycotted participation in the March 1991 union-wide preservation referendum. [135][136], In October 2013, Giorgi Margvelashvili, a candidate of the Georgian Dream party, won the presidential election. [110], During the conflict, there was a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Georgians in South Ossetia,[111] including destruction of Georgian settlements after the war had ended. [343], Georgia has an ancient musical tradition, which is primarily known for its early development of polyphony. The Kingdom of Georgia collapsed into anarchy by 1466 and fragmented into three independent kingdoms and five semi-independent principalities. [30], Archaeological evidence indicates that Georgia has been the site of wine production since at least 6,000 BC, which over time played a role in forming Georgia's culture and national identity. [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. 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). [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. [69], In the summer of 1805, Russian troops on the Askerani River near Zagam defeated the Iranian army during the 180413 Russo-Persian War and saved Tbilisi from reconquest now that it was officially part of the Imperial territories. Political tensions with Russia have contributed to the 2006 Russian embargo of Georgian wine, Russia claimed Georgia produced counterfeit wine. As in the western parts of the nation, elevation plays an important role in eastern Georgia where climatic conditions above 1,500 metres (4,921ft) are considerably colder than in the low-lying areas. However, subsequent Iranian and Ottoman invasions further weakened local kingdoms and regions.