
#REDIRECT Georgia (country)
Georgia (Georgian language: საქართველო ''Sakartvelo''), known from 1990 to 1995 as the Republic of Georgia, is a country to the east of the Black Sea in the southern Caucasus. A former republic of the Soviet Union, it shares borders with Russia in the north and Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan in the south. == History == ''Main article: History of Georgia'' Two Georgian Kingdoms of late antiquity, Caucasian Iberia in the east of the country and Egrisi in the west, were among the first nations in the region to adopt Christianity (In 317 AD and 523 AD, respectively.) Iberia soon became a part of the Persian Empire. Egrisi often saw Lazic War between rivals Iran and the Byzantine Empire, both of which managed to conquer Western Georgia from time to time. As a result, those Kingdoms were disintegrated into various feudal regions in the early Middle Ages. This made it easy for Arabs to occupy Georgia in the 7th century. The rebellious regions were liberated and united into the Georgian Kingdom at the beginning of the 11th century. Starting in the 12th century the rule of Georgia extended over the significant part of Southern Caucasus, including northeastern parts and almost entire northern coast of what is now Turkey. This Georgian Kingdom, which was tolerant towards its Muslim and Jewish subjects despite the Kingdom's deeply Christian character, was subordinated by the Mongols in the 13th century. Thereafter, different local rulers fought for their independence from the central Georgian rule, until the total disintegration of the Kingdom in the 15th century. Neighbouring kingdoms exploited the situation and from the 16th century the Persian Empire and the Ottoman Empire subordinated the eastern and western regions of Georgia, respectively. The rulers of regions, which remained partly autonomous, organised rebellions on various occasions. Subsequent Persian and Turkish invasions further weakened local kingdoms and regions. This time, Georgian weakness was exploited by the neighbouring Russian Empire. First to fall into Russian hands was the Eastern Georgian Kingdom of Kartl-Kakheti, which was almost totally devastated by Persian invasions in the last two decades of the 18th century. The annexation of eastern Georgia by the Russian Tsarist Empire took place on September 12, 1801. This conquest was officially legitimised by the 1813 Treaty of Gulistan. All the regions in the west of the country remained fully independent until the next decade. In 1810 the Russian Empire managed to conquer and abolish the Western Georgian Kingdom of Imereti, which had a key role in the diplomatic efforts to maintain Georgian sovereignty in the west of the country and to unite Western Georgian regions. Even after this, it took the Russian Empire another 54 years to take full control of all of Western Georgia. The region of Guria was abolished in 1828, and the region of Samegrelo in 1857. The region of Svaneti was gradually annexed in 1857-1859 and the Principality of Abkhazia in 1864. After the Russian Revolution Georgia declared independence on May 26, 1918 in the midst of the Russian Civil War. The parliamentary election was won by the Georgian Social-Democratic Party and its leader, Noe Zhordania, became a Prime-Minister. The country's independence did not last long, however. In February 1921 Georgia was attacked by the Red Army. Georgian troops lost the battle and the Social-Democrat government fled the country. On February 25 1921 the Red Army entered the capital Tbilisi and installed a puppet communist government led by Georgian Bolshevik Philippe Makharadze. Georgia was incorporated into a Transcaucasian Federative Soviet Socialist Republic uniting Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The TFSSR was disaggregated into its component elements in 1936 and Georgia became the Georgian SSR. The Georgian born radical Ioseb Jughashvili was prominent among the Russian Bolsheviks, who came to power in the Russian Empire after the October Revolution (1917). Jughashvili was better known by his nom de guerre ''Stalin'' (from the Russian language word for steel: ''сталь''). Stalin was to rise to the highest position of the Soviet state and to rule ruthlessly. In 1941-1945, during the Second World War, almost 700,000 Georgians fought as the Red Army soldiers against Nazi Germany. About 350,000 of them died in the battlefields of the eastern front. During the Perestroika reforms of the late 1980s, of which one of the main architects was the USSR's Georgian minister for foreign affairs, Eduard Shevardnadze*, Georgia developed a vigorous multiparty system that strongly favoured independence. The country staged the first democratic, multiparty parliamentary elections in the Soviet Union on October 28, 1990. In November, 1990 - March, 1991 one of the leaders of the National-Liberation movement, Dr. Zviad Gamsakhurdia (1939-1993) was the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia (a National Parliament). On April 9, 1991, shortly before the collapse of the USSR, Georgia declared a state independence again. On May 26, 1991 Zviad Gamsakhurdia was elected as a first President of independent Georgia. However, in December 22, 1991 - January 6, 1992 Gamsakhurdia was deposed in a bloody coup d'etat by part of the National Guards and a paramilitary organization "Mkhedrioni" allegedly supported by Russian military units stationed in Tbilisi. The country got embroiled in a bitter civil war which lasted almost until 1995. Shevardnadze returned to Georgia in 1992 and joined the leaders of the coup – Kitovani and Ioseliani - to head a triumvirate – “State Council”. In 1995 Shevardnadze was officially elected as a president of Georgia. At the same time, two regions of Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, quickly became embroiled in disputes with local separatists that led to widespread inter-ethnic violence and wars. Supported by Russia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia have achieved and maitained ''de facto'' independence from Georgia. More than 250,000 Georgians have been ethnically cleansed out of Abkhazia by Abkhaz separatists and Russian volunteers. More than 25,000 Georgians were expelled from Tskhinvali as well, and many Ossetian families were forced to abandon their homes in the Borjomi region and move to Russia. In 2003 Shevardnadze himself was deposed in a bloodles coup, also known as 'Rose Revolution', led by Mikheil Saakashvili, Zurab Zhvania and Nino Burjanadze - the former members and leaders of his ruling party. Mikheil Saakashvili was elected as a president of Georgia in 2004. Restoring Georgia's territorial integrity, reversing the effects of ethnic cleansing and returning refugees to their home places were the main pre-election promises of Saakashvili's government. == Politics == ''Main article: Politics of Georgia'' ''See also'' Foreign relations of Georgia Following a crisis involving allegations of ballot fraud in the 2003 parliamentary elections, Eduard Shevardnadze resigned as president on November 23, 2003 in the bloodless Rose Revolution. The interim president was the speaker of the outgoing parliament (whose replacement was annulled), Nino Burjanadze. On January 4, 2004 Mikhail Saakashvili, leader of the National Movement - Democrats (NMD) (former ''United National Movement'') won the country's presidential election and was inaugurated on January 25. Fresh parliamentary elections were held on March 28 where NMD secured the vast majority of the seats (with ca. 75% of the votes) with only one other party reaching the 7% threshold (the Rightist Opposition with ca. 7.5%). The vote is believed to have been one of the freest ever held in independent Georgia although an upsurge of tension between the central government and the Ajaria leader Aslan Abashidze affected the elections in this region. The tension between the Georgian government and that of Ajaria grew increasingly after the elections until late April. Climaxing on May 1 when Abashidze responded to military maneuvers held by Georgia near the region with having the three bridges connecting Ajaria and the rest of Georgia over the Choloki River blown up. On May 5, Abashidze was forced to flee Georgia as mass demonstrations in Batumi called for his resignation and Russia increased their pressure by deploying Security Council secretary Igor Ivanov. On February 3 2005, Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania died of carbon monoxide poisoning in an apparent gas leak at the home of Raul Usupov, deputy governor of Kvemo Kartli region. At an emergency cabinet meeting the same day, Giorgi Baramidze was appointed acting prime minister. Finance Minister Zurab Nogaideli has been appointed for the post by President Saakashvili. == Subdivisions == ''Main article: Subdivisions of Georgia'' Georgia is divided into 53 provinces, 11 cities, 2 autonomous republics and 1 former autonomous district. Autonomous republics: Abkhazia, Ajaria. The status of the former autonomous administrative district, South Ossetia aka Samachablo, has being negotiated with the Russian supported separatist government there.
Cities: Batumi, Chiatura, Gagra, Gori, Kutaisi, Poti, Rustavi, Sokhumi, Tbilisi, Tkibuli, Tskaltubo, Tskhinvali
Districts: Abasha, Adigeni, Akhalgora, Akhaltsikhe, Akhmeta, Ambrolauri, Aspindza, Baghdati, Bolnisi, Borjomi, Chkhorotsku, Chokhatauri, Dedoplistskaro, Dmanisi, Dusheti, Gardabani, Gurjaani, Java, Georgia, Kareli, Kaspi, Kharagauli, Khashuri, Khobi, Khoni, Lagodekhi, Lanchkhuti, Lentekhi, Marneuli, Martvili, Mestia, Mtskheta, Ninotsminda, Oni, Georgia, Ozurgeti, Kazbegi, Kvareli, Sachkhere, Sagarejo, Samtredia, Senaki, Sighnaghi,Telavi, Terjola, Tetritskaro, Tianeti, Tsageri, Tsalenjikha, Tsalka, Vani, Zestaponi, Zugdidi * ISO 3166-2:GE ==Origin of the name== Georgians call themselves ''Kartvelebi'' (''ქართველები''), their land ''Sakartvelo'' (''საქართველო''), and their language ''Kartuli'' (''ქართული''). These names are derived from a Paganism in Georgia called Kartlos, said to be the father of all Georgians. The foreign name ''Georgia'', used throughout the world, is derived from Persian language گرجی ''Gurji'' via the Arabic language ''Jurj''. Because the spelling was influenced by the Greek language root ''geōrg-'' (γεωργ-, indicating farming), the word has been mistakenly supposed to have come from a cognate such as ''St. George'' (the country's patron saint), or ''γεωργία'' (''geōrgía'', farming). The ancient world knew the inhabitants of eastern Georgia as ''Iberians'', from the Caucasian kingdom of Caucasian Iberia — thus confusing the geographers of antiquity, who thought this name applied only to the inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar). ''Gurj'', the Persian designation for the Georgians, is also the source of Turkish ''Gürcü'' (pronounced "Gürdjü") and Russian Грузин ''Gruzin''. The name of the country is ''Gurjestan'' in Persian, ''Gürcistan'' in Turkish, and Грузия ''Gruziya'' in Russian. The Persian name is probably related to the Armenian words for Georgian and Georgia, respectively ''Vir'' and ''Virq''. (There are other instances in which a Persian word-initial ''gu-'' is derived from an earlier ''wi-'' or ''wa-''.) Thus, both the Persian and the Armenian words appear to be related to the name Caucasian Iberia, with loss of the initial ''i-'' and substitution of ''w'' or ''v'' for the ''b'' of ''Iberia''. There is also, in all likelihood, an etymological connection between the name Caucasian Iberia and the historic province of Georgia called Imereti. == Former symbols == This flag was in use from 1991 to January 25, 2004. It was previously used from 1918 to 1921. For more information, see Flag of Georgia (country). This coat of arms was used from 1918 to 1921 and from 1991 to 2004. == Geography == ''Main article: Geography of Georgia'' In the north, Georgia has a 723km common border with Russia, specifically with the Northern Caucasus federal district. The following Russian republics/subdivisions - from west to east - border Georgia: Krasnodar Krai, Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia-Alania, Ingushetia, Chechnya, Dagestan. Mountains are the dominant geographic feature of Georgia. The Likhi Range divides the country into eastern and western halves. Historically, the western portion was known as Colchis while the eastern plateau was called Caucasian Iberia. Mountains also isolate the northern region of Svaneti from the rest of Georgia. Major rivers in Georgia include the Rioni River and the Mtkvari River. Main cities: *Tbilisi 1,066,100 (metro area 1,270,800) *Kutaisi 183,300 *Batumi 116,900 == Economy == ''Main article: Economy of Georgia'' Georgia's economy has traditionally revolved around Black Sea tourism, cultivation of citrus fruits, tea and grapes; mining of manganese and copper; and output of a small industrial sector producing wine, metals, machinery, chemicals, and textiles. The country imports the bulk of its energy needs, including natural gas and oil products. Its only sizable internal energy resource is hydropower. Despite the severe damage the economy has suffered due to civil strife, Georgia, with the help of the IMF and World Bank, made substantial economic gains since 1995, increasing Gross domestic product growth and slashing inflation. The Georgian economy continues to experience large budget deficits due to a failure to collect tax revenues. Georgia also still suffers from energy shortages; it privatized the electricity distribution network in 1998, and deliveries are steadily improving. Georgia is pinning its hopes for long-term recovery on the development of an international transportation corridor through the key Black Sea ports of Poti and Batumi. The growing trade deficit, continuing problems with tax evasion and Political corruption, and political uncertainties cloud the short-term economic picture. However, revived investment could spur higher economic growth in 2000, perhaps up to 6%. == Demographics == ''Main article: Demographics of Georgia'' Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Georgia has suffered a serious population collapse as the rebellion in Abkhazia, the strife in Ajaria and South Ossetia, a fragile economy, and bad job opportunities led hundreds of thousands of Georgians to emigrate in search of work, especially to Russia. This is exacerbated by a very low birthrate among the people remaining; a similar problem exists in neighboring Armenia. The population is currently estimated to be a full million less than in was back in 1990, and some observers suggest the actual number is even lower. == Culture == ''Main article: Culture of Georgia'' ''See also'' Georgian language, Georgian alphabet, Music of Georgia == Miscellaneous topics == *Georgian people *Communications in Georgia *Transportation in Georgia *Military of Georgia *List of Georgians *List of Georgian writers *Georgian Academy of Sciences *Tbilisi State University *Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church *Georgian National Section of EUROSCIENCE *Lelos Rugby Team (Georgian national rugby union team) * Religion and religious freedom in Georgia ==References== *Braund, David. 1994. ''Georgia in Antiquity: A History of Colchis and Transcaucasian Iberia 550 BC-AD 562''. Clarendon Press, Oxford. ISBN 0-19-814473-3. ==External links== *[http://www.nplg.gov.ge/ic/library_e/gabeskiria/ GEORGIAN HISTORY from the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia] *[http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gg.html CIA World Factbook] *[http://www.president.gov.ge/ Official Presidental site of Georgia] *[http://www.parliament.ge Parliament of Georgia] *[http://www.visitgeorgia.ge/English/Information/General_information.htm ''Visit Georgia'' tourist agency country information] *[http://www.polosbastards.com/artman/publish/Georgia.shtml Georgia in Pictures] *[http://www.tedsnet.de Tedsnet.de - Fotos, Geografie, Maps, Culture] *[http://www.world-gazetteer.com/s/p_ge.htm Map of cities] *[http://www.powertripthemovie.com/index2.html Documentary film about efforts to modernize electrical grid] *http://www.marxist.com/Asia/georgia_letter.html - A student's report on the 2003 revolution *[http://www.eurasianet.org/resource/georgia/index.shtml Georgia resource page on Eurasianet] *[http://rustaveli.tripod.com/cgi-bin/geoiran.htm History of Georgian-Iranian relationship] *[http://www.caucaz.com/home_uk Caucaz.com : Weekly online publishing articles and reports about Georgia and South Caucasus. Available in English and French] *[http://www.geocities.com/levan_urushadze_98/Georgia.html "Kartuli Idea - The Georgian Idea"] *[http://www.geotc.net/ Welcome to Georgia. Georgian Culture, icons. Regions,resorts. Tbilisi] *[http://www.mfa.gov.ge/english Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia] *[http://photo.hit.ge/forum/index.php?act=module&module=gallery&cmd=sc&cat=11 Georgian Historical Monuments Gallery] *[http://internet.ge Georgian Search Engine] Caucasus Georgia (country) ab:Георгиа fa:گرجستان hi:जोर्जिया ka:საქართველო li:Georgië lv:Gruzija nds:Georgien la:Georgia ms:Georgia scn:Giorgia th:ประเทศจอร์เจีย zh-min-nan:Sakartvelo
''An event in this article is a MediaWiki:April 9 selected anniversaries (may be in HTML comment). '' ----- ''Hey All''I have added a poll to the Talk:Georgia regarding the moving of Georgia (country) to Georgia. Please go vote, non binding, all the rest. I am simple seeing who out there is still interested in this topic and I don't want to do something preemtively. User:24.68.208.246 21:02, 6 May 2004 (UTC) Hm. Should the titles here be moved to "''Blah'' of Georgia", ignoring the ambiguity with the US state Georgia? User:-- April :Georgia the country is an independent political entity, Georgia the state is nothing more than an internal political subdivision of the US. Plus, Georgia the country has been called that since long before the state even existed. Georgia the country is the more important meaning, internationally, and hence if there is an ambiguity conflict preference should be given to the country. -- User:SJK ::Are you sure?? The country began in 1991 and the state began in the eighteenth century, which ended in 1799. User:66.32.69.62 22:55, 21 Apr 2004 (UTC) :::Hmmm... weak argument. History of Georgia states, "The recorded history of Georgia dates back more than 4,000 years and the Georgian language is one of the oldest living languages in the world." ::That is as may be, but which will be the number one search subject? That's the important question. -- User:Zoe :::Searching for 'Sakartvelo' does not find this page (as it should). -- User:ignatios ::::I agree that ambiguity conflict preference should be given to the country. However, vis-a-vis the relative "importance of meaning", it behooves me as an immigrant to the U.S. state of Georgia (from the U.S. State of New York) that the state is 60% more populous than the country and WAS declared a Free and Independent State along with the remainder of the original 13 in 1776. Also it's a close call as to who produced the most famous native (I.V. Dzugashvili v. J.E. Carter)... :::::I think I.V. Dzugashvili had a slightly bigger impact on history than J.E. Carter... :-) -- User:ChrisO 09:54, 4 Feb 2004 (UTC) I suggest moving Georgia (country) to Georgia and the disambiguation page from Georgia to Georgia (disambiguation). Whether we do so or not, the U.S. state will still be at Georgia (U.S. state); if someone is looking for information on the U.S. state and searches for "Georgia", they will still have to click an extra link. As a precedent, consider Luxembourg, which isn't called "Luxembourg (country)" despite the existence of Luxembourg (province of Belgium). —User:Bkell 09:42, 21 Apr 2004 (UTC) :Or, for that matter, Azerbaijan (both a country and a province of Iran). It's a good point. The US state should clearly be subordinate in hierarchy to the country. Your proposal sounds very sensible. -- User:ChrisO 23:17, 21 Apr 2004 (UTC) ::There is a similar discussion at Talk:Georgia -- User:Docu :::Please see Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(places)#Hierarchy_of_place_names_and_disambiguation_guidelines for a proposed rule on disambiguation hierarchies - if adopted it would provide a consistent basis for what to call identically-named geographic areas of differing levels of status (including the two Georgias). -- User:ChrisO 11:42, 22 Apr 2004 (UTC) I have to concur here with the consensus. Georgia (country) is the preëminent political entity, cultural contributor, and influence on world history, when juxtaposed with Georgia (U.S. State). It'd be ignominious to overlook that and place them at parity as if the former weren't those things. I propose, as others have, the establishment of a Georgia (disambiguation) page. That way, access to either page will not be curtailed, but neither will Wikipedia be forced into neglecting its responsibility to providing the more pertinent search (Georgia (country)) the priority it deserves. In short, I'd prefer the Georgia search criterion to result in a redirect to the Georgia (country) page. the neoteric Georgia (disambiguation) page would then be an option listed atop Georgia (country), and from thence, one could select Georgia (U.S. State). User:Earthliberator 00:02, 24 Dec 2004 (UTC) ---- About the national anthem, is it Sakartvelo as stated in the article or Dideba zetsit kurthelus? I just ran across this article and was wondering. User:Dori 05:15 12 Jul 2003 (UTC) :I apparently can't read, nevermind. User:Dori :: Yesterday (May 20, 2004) Georgia adopted a new anthem (music by David Kechakmadze, text by David Magradze) and coat of arms (which should be pretty close to the previous one, judging by its description [http://pda.lenta.ru/vojna/2004/05/20/arms here, in Russian]). I can't finnd anything on it but we need at least a new image -- User:Apoivre 16:05, 21 May 2004 (UTC) UPDATE The new coat of arms hasn't been approved by the Parliament yet but you can see the project here, behind Saakashvili & Co - [http://gazeta.ru/2004/05/26/images/i4_121987_970.jpg]. The new flag and the new anthem have been approved. -- User:Apoivre 09:09, 27 May 2004 (UTC) ----- I'd just like to say that I like the words "...Russia increased their pressure by deploying Security Council secretary Igor Ivanov..." since Ivanov really is a weapon used against Georgian leaders... Hah! --User:Oceanhahn 04:59, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC) ----- I've copy-edited paragraph 1 of the section 'History'. This looks as though it has been written by someone whose mother tongue is not English. I'm not questioning the accuracy of the information given, but perhaps someone who knows more about the subject than me (i.e. anyone who knows the basics of Georgian history) might like to review this paragraph to check that my changes have not intorduced errors. Thanks, User:Arcturus 21:56, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC) == Georgia COA == the COA in the main page is not similat to the COA in the "full size"!!! User:83.130.27.45 18:12, 11 Feb 2005 (UTC) == European country? == Just to state that there is an open poll in Template talk:Europe regarding the fact of Georgia being or not being in Europe and if it should figure in the template.--User:Joaopais 17:38, 31 Mar 2005 (UTC) == mistake == i don't know if i should be writing this here, but in the fact box in Georgia (country) it gives the American Georgian capital not the correct one. == name == Why don't we just change this to Republic of Georgia and the state to State of Georgia? - User:68.72.133.233 01:17, 23 May 2005 (UTC) *Oppose. (just in case this sneaks in under the radar) User:Hajor 04:24, 25 May 2005 (UTC) *Oppose because it would mean more typing:Georgia (country) is easier than Republic of Georgia , i.e. Georgia (country) is easier than Republic of Georgia. --User:Henrygb 10:11, 26 May 2005 (UTC)
* Oppose, because the correct name is just ''Georgia'', so any additional text should clearly be disambiguation text (although I would be in favour of moving it to Georgia). ''—User:Mzajac User talk:Mzajac 2005-05-26 18:54 Z''
User:Violetriga User_talk:violetriga 10:29, 28 May 2005 (UTC)
== Cut-paste move ==
About an hour and a half ago, somebody cut-pasted the Georgia (country) article. Anything to say?? User:Georgia guy 14:07, 30 May 2005 (UTC)
:Yeah. C&P moves are evil. User:Hajor 14:27, 30 May 2005 (UTC)
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Georgia (Country)
#REDIRECT Georgia (country)
Georgia (country)
Georgia (Georgian language: საქართველო ''Sakartvelo''), known from 1990 to 1995 as the Republic of Georgia, is a country to the east of the Black Sea in the southern Caucasus. A former republic of the Soviet Union, it shares borders with Russia in the north and Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan in the south. == History == ''Main article: History of Georgia'' Two Georgian Kingdoms of late antiquity, Caucasian Iberia in the east of the country and Egrisi in the west, were among the first nations in the region to adopt Christianity (In 317 AD and 523 AD, respectively.) Iberia soon became a part of the Persian Empire. Egrisi often saw Lazic War between rivals Iran and the Byzantine Empire, both of which managed to conquer Western Georgia from time to time. As a result, those Kingdoms were disintegrated into various feudal regions in the early Middle Ages. This made it easy for Arabs to occupy Georgia in the 7th century. The rebellious regions were liberated and united into the Georgian Kingdom at the beginning of the 11th century. Starting in the 12th century the rule of Georgia extended over the significant part of Southern Caucasus, including northeastern parts and almost entire northern coast of what is now Turkey. This Georgian Kingdom, which was tolerant towards its Muslim and Jewish subjects despite the Kingdom's deeply Christian character, was subordinated by the Mongols in the 13th century. Thereafter, different local rulers fought for their independence from the central Georgian rule, until the total disintegration of the Kingdom in the 15th century. Neighbouring kingdoms exploited the situation and from the 16th century the Persian Empire and the Ottoman Empire subordinated the eastern and western regions of Georgia, respectively. The rulers of regions, which remained partly autonomous, organised rebellions on various occasions. Subsequent Persian and Turkish invasions further weakened local kingdoms and regions. This time, Georgian weakness was exploited by the neighbouring Russian Empire. First to fall into Russian hands was the Eastern Georgian Kingdom of Kartl-Kakheti, which was almost totally devastated by Persian invasions in the last two decades of the 18th century. The annexation of eastern Georgia by the Russian Tsarist Empire took place on September 12, 1801. This conquest was officially legitimised by the 1813 Treaty of Gulistan. All the regions in the west of the country remained fully independent until the next decade. In 1810 the Russian Empire managed to conquer and abolish the Western Georgian Kingdom of Imereti, which had a key role in the diplomatic efforts to maintain Georgian sovereignty in the west of the country and to unite Western Georgian regions. Even after this, it took the Russian Empire another 54 years to take full control of all of Western Georgia. The region of Guria was abolished in 1828, and the region of Samegrelo in 1857. The region of Svaneti was gradually annexed in 1857-1859 and the Principality of Abkhazia in 1864. After the Russian Revolution Georgia declared independence on May 26, 1918 in the midst of the Russian Civil War. The parliamentary election was won by the Georgian Social-Democratic Party and its leader, Noe Zhordania, became a Prime-Minister. The country's independence did not last long, however. In February 1921 Georgia was attacked by the Red Army. Georgian troops lost the battle and the Social-Democrat government fled the country. On February 25 1921 the Red Army entered the capital Tbilisi and installed a puppet communist government led by Georgian Bolshevik Philippe Makharadze. Georgia was incorporated into a Transcaucasian Federative Soviet Socialist Republic uniting Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The TFSSR was disaggregated into its component elements in 1936 and Georgia became the Georgian SSR. The Georgian born radical Ioseb Jughashvili was prominent among the Russian Bolsheviks, who came to power in the Russian Empire after the October Revolution (1917). Jughashvili was better known by his nom de guerre ''Stalin'' (from the Russian language word for steel: ''сталь''). Stalin was to rise to the highest position of the Soviet state and to rule ruthlessly. In 1941-1945, during the Second World War, almost 700,000 Georgians fought as the Red Army soldiers against Nazi Germany. About 350,000 of them died in the battlefields of the eastern front. During the Perestroika reforms of the late 1980s, of which one of the main architects was the USSR's Georgian minister for foreign affairs, Eduard Shevardnadze*, Georgia developed a vigorous multiparty system that strongly favoured independence. The country staged the first democratic, multiparty parliamentary elections in the Soviet Union on October 28, 1990. In November, 1990 - March, 1991 one of the leaders of the National-Liberation movement, Dr. Zviad Gamsakhurdia (1939-1993) was the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia (a National Parliament). On April 9, 1991, shortly before the collapse of the USSR, Georgia declared a state independence again. On May 26, 1991 Zviad Gamsakhurdia was elected as a first President of independent Georgia. However, in December 22, 1991 - January 6, 1992 Gamsakhurdia was deposed in a bloody coup d'etat by part of the National Guards and a paramilitary organization "Mkhedrioni" allegedly supported by Russian military units stationed in Tbilisi. The country got embroiled in a bitter civil war which lasted almost until 1995. Shevardnadze returned to Georgia in 1992 and joined the leaders of the coup – Kitovani and Ioseliani - to head a triumvirate – “State Council”. In 1995 Shevardnadze was officially elected as a president of Georgia. At the same time, two regions of Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, quickly became embroiled in disputes with local separatists that led to widespread inter-ethnic violence and wars. Supported by Russia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia have achieved and maitained ''de facto'' independence from Georgia. More than 250,000 Georgians have been ethnically cleansed out of Abkhazia by Abkhaz separatists and Russian volunteers. More than 25,000 Georgians were expelled from Tskhinvali as well, and many Ossetian families were forced to abandon their homes in the Borjomi region and move to Russia. In 2003 Shevardnadze himself was deposed in a bloodles coup, also known as 'Rose Revolution', led by Mikheil Saakashvili, Zurab Zhvania and Nino Burjanadze - the former members and leaders of his ruling party. Mikheil Saakashvili was elected as a president of Georgia in 2004. Restoring Georgia's territorial integrity, reversing the effects of ethnic cleansing and returning refugees to their home places were the main pre-election promises of Saakashvili's government. == Politics == ''Main article: Politics of Georgia'' ''See also'' Foreign relations of Georgia Following a crisis involving allegations of ballot fraud in the 2003 parliamentary elections, Eduard Shevardnadze resigned as president on November 23, 2003 in the bloodless Rose Revolution. The interim president was the speaker of the outgoing parliament (whose replacement was annulled), Nino Burjanadze. On January 4, 2004 Mikhail Saakashvili, leader of the National Movement - Democrats (NMD) (former ''United National Movement'') won the country's presidential election and was inaugurated on January 25. Fresh parliamentary elections were held on March 28 where NMD secured the vast majority of the seats (with ca. 75% of the votes) with only one other party reaching the 7% threshold (the Rightist Opposition with ca. 7.5%). The vote is believed to have been one of the freest ever held in independent Georgia although an upsurge of tension between the central government and the Ajaria leader Aslan Abashidze affected the elections in this region. The tension between the Georgian government and that of Ajaria grew increasingly after the elections until late April. Climaxing on May 1 when Abashidze responded to military maneuvers held by Georgia near the region with having the three bridges connecting Ajaria and the rest of Georgia over the Choloki River blown up. On May 5, Abashidze was forced to flee Georgia as mass demonstrations in Batumi called for his resignation and Russia increased their pressure by deploying Security Council secretary Igor Ivanov. On February 3 2005, Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania died of carbon monoxide poisoning in an apparent gas leak at the home of Raul Usupov, deputy governor of Kvemo Kartli region. At an emergency cabinet meeting the same day, Giorgi Baramidze was appointed acting prime minister. Finance Minister Zurab Nogaideli has been appointed for the post by President Saakashvili. == Subdivisions == ''Main article: Subdivisions of Georgia'' Georgia is divided into 53 provinces, 11 cities, 2 autonomous republics and 1 former autonomous district. Autonomous republics: Abkhazia, Ajaria. The status of the former autonomous administrative district, South Ossetia aka Samachablo, has being negotiated with the Russian supported separatist government there.
Cities: Batumi, Chiatura, Gagra, Gori, Kutaisi, Poti, Rustavi, Sokhumi, Tbilisi, Tkibuli, Tskaltubo, Tskhinvali
Districts: Abasha, Adigeni, Akhalgora, Akhaltsikhe, Akhmeta, Ambrolauri, Aspindza, Baghdati, Bolnisi, Borjomi, Chkhorotsku, Chokhatauri, Dedoplistskaro, Dmanisi, Dusheti, Gardabani, Gurjaani, Java, Georgia, Kareli, Kaspi, Kharagauli, Khashuri, Khobi, Khoni, Lagodekhi, Lanchkhuti, Lentekhi, Marneuli, Martvili, Mestia, Mtskheta, Ninotsminda, Oni, Georgia, Ozurgeti, Kazbegi, Kvareli, Sachkhere, Sagarejo, Samtredia, Senaki, Sighnaghi,Telavi, Terjola, Tetritskaro, Tianeti, Tsageri, Tsalenjikha, Tsalka, Vani, Zestaponi, Zugdidi * ISO 3166-2:GE ==Origin of the name== Georgians call themselves ''Kartvelebi'' (''ქართველები''), their land ''Sakartvelo'' (''საქართველო''), and their language ''Kartuli'' (''ქართული''). These names are derived from a Paganism in Georgia called Kartlos, said to be the father of all Georgians. The foreign name ''Georgia'', used throughout the world, is derived from Persian language گرجی ''Gurji'' via the Arabic language ''Jurj''. Because the spelling was influenced by the Greek language root ''geōrg-'' (γεωργ-, indicating farming), the word has been mistakenly supposed to have come from a cognate such as ''St. George'' (the country's patron saint), or ''γεωργία'' (''geōrgía'', farming). The ancient world knew the inhabitants of eastern Georgia as ''Iberians'', from the Caucasian kingdom of Caucasian Iberia — thus confusing the geographers of antiquity, who thought this name applied only to the inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar). ''Gurj'', the Persian designation for the Georgians, is also the source of Turkish ''Gürcü'' (pronounced "Gürdjü") and Russian Грузин ''Gruzin''. The name of the country is ''Gurjestan'' in Persian, ''Gürcistan'' in Turkish, and Грузия ''Gruziya'' in Russian. The Persian name is probably related to the Armenian words for Georgian and Georgia, respectively ''Vir'' and ''Virq''. (There are other instances in which a Persian word-initial ''gu-'' is derived from an earlier ''wi-'' or ''wa-''.) Thus, both the Persian and the Armenian words appear to be related to the name Caucasian Iberia, with loss of the initial ''i-'' and substitution of ''w'' or ''v'' for the ''b'' of ''Iberia''. There is also, in all likelihood, an etymological connection between the name Caucasian Iberia and the historic province of Georgia called Imereti. == Former symbols == This flag was in use from 1991 to January 25, 2004. It was previously used from 1918 to 1921. For more information, see Flag of Georgia (country). This coat of arms was used from 1918 to 1921 and from 1991 to 2004. == Geography == ''Main article: Geography of Georgia'' In the north, Georgia has a 723km common border with Russia, specifically with the Northern Caucasus federal district. The following Russian republics/subdivisions - from west to east - border Georgia: Krasnodar Krai, Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia-Alania, Ingushetia, Chechnya, Dagestan. Mountains are the dominant geographic feature of Georgia. The Likhi Range divides the country into eastern and western halves. Historically, the western portion was known as Colchis while the eastern plateau was called Caucasian Iberia. Mountains also isolate the northern region of Svaneti from the rest of Georgia. Major rivers in Georgia include the Rioni River and the Mtkvari River. Main cities: *Tbilisi 1,066,100 (metro area 1,270,800) *Kutaisi 183,300 *Batumi 116,900 == Economy == ''Main article: Economy of Georgia'' Georgia's economy has traditionally revolved around Black Sea tourism, cultivation of citrus fruits, tea and grapes; mining of manganese and copper; and output of a small industrial sector producing wine, metals, machinery, chemicals, and textiles. The country imports the bulk of its energy needs, including natural gas and oil products. Its only sizable internal energy resource is hydropower. Despite the severe damage the economy has suffered due to civil strife, Georgia, with the help of the IMF and World Bank, made substantial economic gains since 1995, increasing Gross domestic product growth and slashing inflation. The Georgian economy continues to experience large budget deficits due to a failure to collect tax revenues. Georgia also still suffers from energy shortages; it privatized the electricity distribution network in 1998, and deliveries are steadily improving. Georgia is pinning its hopes for long-term recovery on the development of an international transportation corridor through the key Black Sea ports of Poti and Batumi. The growing trade deficit, continuing problems with tax evasion and Political corruption, and political uncertainties cloud the short-term economic picture. However, revived investment could spur higher economic growth in 2000, perhaps up to 6%. == Demographics == ''Main article: Demographics of Georgia'' Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Georgia has suffered a serious population collapse as the rebellion in Abkhazia, the strife in Ajaria and South Ossetia, a fragile economy, and bad job opportunities led hundreds of thousands of Georgians to emigrate in search of work, especially to Russia. This is exacerbated by a very low birthrate among the people remaining; a similar problem exists in neighboring Armenia. The population is currently estimated to be a full million less than in was back in 1990, and some observers suggest the actual number is even lower. == Culture == ''Main article: Culture of Georgia'' ''See also'' Georgian language, Georgian alphabet, Music of Georgia == Miscellaneous topics == *Georgian people *Communications in Georgia *Transportation in Georgia *Military of Georgia *List of Georgians *List of Georgian writers *Georgian Academy of Sciences *Tbilisi State University *Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church *Georgian National Section of EUROSCIENCE *Lelos Rugby Team (Georgian national rugby union team) * Religion and religious freedom in Georgia ==References== *Braund, David. 1994. ''Georgia in Antiquity: A History of Colchis and Transcaucasian Iberia 550 BC-AD 562''. Clarendon Press, Oxford. ISBN 0-19-814473-3. ==External links== *[http://www.nplg.gov.ge/ic/library_e/gabeskiria/ GEORGIAN HISTORY from the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia] *[http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gg.html CIA World Factbook] *[http://www.president.gov.ge/ Official Presidental site of Georgia] *[http://www.parliament.ge Parliament of Georgia] *[http://www.visitgeorgia.ge/English/Information/General_information.htm ''Visit Georgia'' tourist agency country information] *[http://www.polosbastards.com/artman/publish/Georgia.shtml Georgia in Pictures] *[http://www.tedsnet.de Tedsnet.de - Fotos, Geografie, Maps, Culture] *[http://www.world-gazetteer.com/s/p_ge.htm Map of cities] *[http://www.powertripthemovie.com/index2.html Documentary film about efforts to modernize electrical grid] *http://www.marxist.com/Asia/georgia_letter.html - A student's report on the 2003 revolution *[http://www.eurasianet.org/resource/georgia/index.shtml Georgia resource page on Eurasianet] *[http://rustaveli.tripod.com/cgi-bin/geoiran.htm History of Georgian-Iranian relationship] *[http://www.caucaz.com/home_uk Caucaz.com : Weekly online publishing articles and reports about Georgia and South Caucasus. Available in English and French] *[http://www.geocities.com/levan_urushadze_98/Georgia.html "Kartuli Idea - The Georgian Idea"] *[http://www.geotc.net/ Welcome to Georgia. Georgian Culture, icons. Regions,resorts. Tbilisi] *[http://www.mfa.gov.ge/english Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia] *[http://photo.hit.ge/forum/index.php?act=module&module=gallery&cmd=sc&cat=11 Georgian Historical Monuments Gallery] *[http://internet.ge Georgian Search Engine] Caucasus Georgia (country) ab:Георгиа fa:گرجستان hi:जोर्जिया ka:საქართველო li:Georgië lv:Gruzija nds:Georgien la:Georgia ms:Georgia scn:Giorgia th:ประเทศจอร์เจีย zh-min-nan:Sakartvelo
Georgia (country)
''An event in this article is a MediaWiki:April 9 selected anniversaries (may be in HTML comment). '' ----- ''Hey All''I have added a poll to the Talk:Georgia regarding the moving of Georgia (country) to Georgia. Please go vote, non binding, all the rest. I am simple seeing who out there is still interested in this topic and I don't want to do something preemtively. User:24.68.208.246 21:02, 6 May 2004 (UTC) Hm. Should the titles here be moved to "''Blah'' of Georgia", ignoring the ambiguity with the US state Georgia? User:-- April :Georgia the country is an independent political entity, Georgia the state is nothing more than an internal political subdivision of the US. Plus, Georgia the country has been called that since long before the state even existed. Georgia the country is the more important meaning, internationally, and hence if there is an ambiguity conflict preference should be given to the country. -- User:SJK ::Are you sure?? The country began in 1991 and the state began in the eighteenth century, which ended in 1799. User:66.32.69.62 22:55, 21 Apr 2004 (UTC) :::Hmmm... weak argument. History of Georgia states, "The recorded history of Georgia dates back more than 4,000 years and the Georgian language is one of the oldest living languages in the world." ::That is as may be, but which will be the number one search subject? That's the important question. -- User:Zoe :::Searching for 'Sakartvelo' does not find this page (as it should). -- User:ignatios ::::I agree that ambiguity conflict preference should be given to the country. However, vis-a-vis the relative "importance of meaning", it behooves me as an immigrant to the U.S. state of Georgia (from the U.S. State of New York) that the state is 60% more populous than the country and WAS declared a Free and Independent State along with the remainder of the original 13 in 1776. Also it's a close call as to who produced the most famous native (I.V. Dzugashvili v. J.E. Carter)... :::::I think I.V. Dzugashvili had a slightly bigger impact on history than J.E. Carter... :-) -- User:ChrisO 09:54, 4 Feb 2004 (UTC) I suggest moving Georgia (country) to Georgia and the disambiguation page from Georgia to Georgia (disambiguation). Whether we do so or not, the U.S. state will still be at Georgia (U.S. state); if someone is looking for information on the U.S. state and searches for "Georgia", they will still have to click an extra link. As a precedent, consider Luxembourg, which isn't called "Luxembourg (country)" despite the existence of Luxembourg (province of Belgium). —User:Bkell 09:42, 21 Apr 2004 (UTC) :Or, for that matter, Azerbaijan (both a country and a province of Iran). It's a good point. The US state should clearly be subordinate in hierarchy to the country. Your proposal sounds very sensible. -- User:ChrisO 23:17, 21 Apr 2004 (UTC) ::There is a similar discussion at Talk:Georgia -- User:Docu :::Please see Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(places)#Hierarchy_of_place_names_and_disambiguation_guidelines for a proposed rule on disambiguation hierarchies - if adopted it would provide a consistent basis for what to call identically-named geographic areas of differing levels of status (including the two Georgias). -- User:ChrisO 11:42, 22 Apr 2004 (UTC) I have to concur here with the consensus. Georgia (country) is the preëminent political entity, cultural contributor, and influence on world history, when juxtaposed with Georgia (U.S. State). It'd be ignominious to overlook that and place them at parity as if the former weren't those things. I propose, as others have, the establishment of a Georgia (disambiguation) page. That way, access to either page will not be curtailed, but neither will Wikipedia be forced into neglecting its responsibility to providing the more pertinent search (Georgia (country)) the priority it deserves. In short, I'd prefer the Georgia search criterion to result in a redirect to the Georgia (country) page. the neoteric Georgia (disambiguation) page would then be an option listed atop Georgia (country), and from thence, one could select Georgia (U.S. State). User:Earthliberator 00:02, 24 Dec 2004 (UTC) ---- About the national anthem, is it Sakartvelo as stated in the article or Dideba zetsit kurthelus? I just ran across this article and was wondering. User:Dori 05:15 12 Jul 2003 (UTC) :I apparently can't read, nevermind. User:Dori :: Yesterday (May 20, 2004) Georgia adopted a new anthem (music by David Kechakmadze, text by David Magradze) and coat of arms (which should be pretty close to the previous one, judging by its description [http://pda.lenta.ru/vojna/2004/05/20/arms here, in Russian]). I can't finnd anything on it but we need at least a new image -- User:Apoivre 16:05, 21 May 2004 (UTC) UPDATE The new coat of arms hasn't been approved by the Parliament yet but you can see the project here, behind Saakashvili & Co - [http://gazeta.ru/2004/05/26/images/i4_121987_970.jpg]. The new flag and the new anthem have been approved. -- User:Apoivre 09:09, 27 May 2004 (UTC) ----- I'd just like to say that I like the words "...Russia increased their pressure by deploying Security Council secretary Igor Ivanov..." since Ivanov really is a weapon used against Georgian leaders... Hah! --User:Oceanhahn 04:59, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC) ----- I've copy-edited paragraph 1 of the section 'History'. This looks as though it has been written by someone whose mother tongue is not English. I'm not questioning the accuracy of the information given, but perhaps someone who knows more about the subject than me (i.e. anyone who knows the basics of Georgian history) might like to review this paragraph to check that my changes have not intorduced errors. Thanks, User:Arcturus 21:56, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC) == Georgia COA == the COA in the main page is not similat to the COA in the "full size"!!! User:83.130.27.45 18:12, 11 Feb 2005 (UTC) == European country? == Just to state that there is an open poll in Template talk:Europe regarding the fact of Georgia being or not being in Europe and if it should figure in the template.--User:Joaopais 17:38, 31 Mar 2005 (UTC) == mistake == i don't know if i should be writing this here, but in the fact box in Georgia (country) it gives the American Georgian capital not the correct one. == name == Why don't we just change this to Republic of Georgia and the state to State of Georgia? - User:68.72.133.233 01:17, 23 May 2005 (UTC) *Oppose. (just in case this sneaks in under the radar) User:Hajor 04:24, 25 May 2005 (UTC) *Oppose because it would mean more typing:
Georgia (country)
About or related to Georgia (country). European countries Georgia Caucasus ka:კატეგორია:საქართველო
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
G
GA | GB | GC | GD | GE | GF | GH | GI | GJ | GK | GL | GM | GN | GO | GP | GR | GS | GT | GU | GW | GX | GY | GZ |Words begining with Georgia_(country):
Georgia_(Country)
Georgia_(country)
Georgia_(country)
Georgia_(country)
Georgia_(country)_infobox
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