The Constitution of Georgia guarantees freedom of speech. The proto-Georgian tribes first appear in written history in the 12th century BC. But the nonprofit organization was accused in Georgia courts of being a communist front, and King's inner circle considered it radical. [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. It was one of the first countries in the world to legalize cannabis, becoming the only former-socialist state to do so. GCP 0001-01-01. [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. There are several architectural styles for castles, towers, fortifications and churches. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has called on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to oppose a federal takeover of elections and support election law reforms. [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. [335] These cultural, religious, and later political attributes are associated with a European and Western identity, based on a national perception of these attributes that contrasts with surrounding powers. [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. The agriculture and industry output diminished. Despite the Soviet takeover, Zhordania was recognized as the legitimate head of the Georgian Government by France, UK, Belgium, and Poland through the 1930s. [218], In both Abkhazia and South Ossetia large numbers of people had been given Russian passports, some through a process of forced passportization by Russian authorities. Boeder; et al. The Georgian language, the most pervasive of the Kartvelian languages, is not Indo-European, Turkic, or Semitic. Legislative authority is vested in the Parliament of Georgia. 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. It was named after George II of Great Britain. [168], In 2011, the North Atlantic Council designated Georgia as an "aspirant country". Despite these increasingly difficult relations, in May 2005 Georgia and Russia reached a bilateral agreement[90] by which Russian military bases (dating back to the Soviet era) in Batumi and Akhalkalaki were withdrawn. [321] Gross primary enrolment ratio was 117 per cent for the period of 20122014, the 2nd highest in Europe after Sweden. The country then became embroiled in a bitter civil war, which lasted until nearly 1994. In addition, 435 were wounded, including 35 amputees. There is an independent human rights public defender elected by the Parliament of Georgia to ensure such rights are enforced. Georgia was incorporated into the Soviet Union as the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic after 25 February 1921 when the Red Army entered its capital Tbilisi and installed a communist government led by Georgian Bolshevik Filipp Makharadze. Georgia is developing into an international transport corridor through Batumi and Poti ports, BakuTbilisiKars Railway line, an oil pipeline from Baku through Tbilisi to Ceyhan, the BakuTbilisiCeyhan pipeline (BTC) and a parallel gas pipeline, the South Caucasus Pipeline. The Five Cross Flag has a white background with a red cross in the middle. Archaeological research demonstrates that Georgia has been involved in commerce with many lands and empires since ancient times, largely due its location on the Black Sea and later on the historical Silk Road. [167] The majority of Georgians and politicians in Georgia support the push for NATO membership. [194] The police introduced a 0-2-2 (currently, 1-1-2) emergency dispatch service in 2004. [31][347][348][349] Local traditions associated with wine are entwined with its national identity. Georgian wine has been a contentious issue in recent relationships with Russia. [354], Within Georgia, one of the most popularized styles of wrestling is the Kakhetian style. [355], The first and only race circuit in the Caucasian region is located in Georgia. [citation needed], In 2005, President Mikheil Saakashvili fired the entire traffic police force (numbering around 30,000 police officers) of the Georgian National Police due to corruption. [266] According to the government, there are 103 resorts in different climatic zones in Georgia. At present, the forest cover generally remains outside of the low-lying areas and is mainly located along the foothills and the mountains. About 86.8% of the population of Georgia comprises of ethnic Georgians. [323] The number of faculty and staff (collaborators) at TSU is approximately 5,000, with over 35,000 students enrolled. The USSR was also the largest communist country. [166], Georgia is currently working to become a full member of NATO. Rustavi International Motorpark originally built in 1978 was re-opened in 2012 after total reconstruction[356] costing $20million. [219] This was used as a justification for Russian invasion of Georgia during the 2008 South Ossetia war after which Russia recognized the region's independence. In 1921, communist Russia launched a new military campaign against Georgia and conquered the country in fierce battles, annexing it to the Soviet Union. On 13 April 2006, the discussion of the assessment report on implementation of the Individual Partnership Action Plan was held at NATO Headquarters, within 26+1 format. The new government's efforts to reassert Georgian authority in the southwestern autonomous republic of Adjara led to a major crisis in 2004. [217] In addition, another territory not officially autonomous has also declared independence. [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. by Juergen T Steinmetz. 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? [225] The main roads through the mountain range into Russian territory lead through the Roki Tunnel between Shida Kartli and North Ossetia and the Darial Gorge (in the Georgian region of Khevi). [11] Following World War I, Georgia was invaded and annexed by the Soviet Union in 1922, becoming one of its constituent republics. There were a number of other styles in the past that are not as widely used today. [187] As of 2015[update], 31 Georgian servicemen have died in Afghanistan,[188] most during the Helmand campaign. [185][186] Over 11,000 Georgian soldiers have been rotated through Afghanistan. Georgian wine making is a very old tradition and a key branch of the country's economy. In response,[95] several South Ossetian militiamen were killed by snipers. Sport is regaining its popularity in the country in recent years. [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. Based on this law, 300 medals were confiscated by the Georgian Customs. Located on the crossroads of protracted RomanPersian wars, the early Georgian kingdoms disintegrated into various feudal regions by the early Middle Ages. [133] Georgian Dream was founded, led and financed by tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili, the country's richest man who was subsequently elected by parliament as new Prime Minister. [27] In fact, early metallurgy started in Georgia during the 6th millennium BC, associated with the Shulaveri-Shomu culture. [228], Eastern Georgia has a transitional climate from humid subtropical to continental. [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. 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. [318][320] As of 2016[update], 75 higher education institutions are accredited by the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia. Mikheil Saakashvili was elected as President of Georgia in 2004. "Christianity and the Georgian Empire" (early history) Library of Congress, March 1994, webpage: Sketches of Georgian Church History by Theodore Edward Dowling, Nakhutsrishvili, I.G. [11] As the Ottomans advanced into the Caucasian territories of the crumbling Russian Empire, Georgia declared independence on 26 May 1918. [164] The European Union has identified Georgia as a prospective member,[165] and Georgia has sought membership. In Abkhazia, a minority of the Abkhaz population is also Sunni Muslim. Salome Zurabishvili is the current President of Georgia after winning 59.52% of the vote in the 2018 Georgian presidential election. Coniferous forests only dominate in the Borjomi Gorge and in the extreme western areas. Georgia . [191][192] A new force was then subsequently built around new recruits. [44][45] The most prosperous period of the Abkhazian kingdom was between 850 and 950. The mission and functions of the GDF are based on the Constitution of Georgia, Georgia's Law on Defense and National Military Strategy, and international agreements to which Georgia is signatory. It's been a communist takeover of our country, and it happened on January 21. When the era of Communist rule began in Russia in 1917, religion was seen as a hindrance to a thriving socialist society. [233] According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, there are 4,300 species of vascular plants in Georgia. In comparison, that places Georgia in the top 50 out of 180 countries, among Central European and Mediterranean EU member states. [33] In the 4th century BC, a kingdom of Iberia an early example of advanced state organization under one king and an aristocratic hierarchy was established. In emerging Europe's wealthiest nation, Slovenia, GDP per-capita in 2019 was 23,170 euros. [b][10] Tbilisi is its capital as well as its largest city, home to roughly a third of the Georgian population. [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. [256] A perception of economic stagnation led to a 2019 survey of 1,500 residents finding unemployment was considered a significant problem by 73% of respondents, with 49% reporting their income had decreased over the prior year. [73] The Menshevik Social Democratic Party of Georgia won the parliamentary election and its leader, Noe Zhordania, became prime minister. [351] Counterfeiting problems stem from mislabelling by foreign producers and falsified Georgian Wine labels on wines produced outside of Georgia and imported into Russia under the auspices of being Georgian produced. Announces New Military Assistance Program for Georgia", "Why was Georgia not granted EU candidate status? "[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. 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.
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