Georgia ˈdʒɔrdʒə/ (Georgian: საქართველო Sakartvelo, IPA: [sɑkʰɑrtʰvɛlɔ] ) is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital and largest city is Tbilisi. Georgia covers a territory of 69,700 square kilometres (26,911 sq mi), and its population is almost 5 million. Georgia is a unitary, semi-presidential republic, with the government elected through a representative democracy. During the classical era, independent kingdoms became established in what is now Georgia. The kingdoms of Colchis and Iberia adopted Christianity in the early 4th century. A unified Kingdom of Georgia reached the peak of its political and economic strength during the reign of King David IV and Queen Tamar in the 11th–12th centuries. After this the area was dominated by various large Empires, including the Safavids, Afsharids, and Qajar Persians. In the late 18th century the kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti forged an alliance with the Russian Empire, and the area was annexed by Russia in 1801. After a brief period of independence following the Russian Revolution of 1917, Georgia was occupied by Soviet Russia in 1921, becoming the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic and part of the Soviet Union. After independence in 1991, post-communist Georgia suffered from civil unrest and economic crisis for most of the 1990s. This lasted until the Rose Revolution of 2003, after which the new government introduced democratic and economic reforms. Georgia is a member of the Council of Europe and the GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development. It contains two de facto independent regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which gained limited international recognition after the 2008 Russo-Georgian War. Georgia and a major part of the international community consider the regions to be part of Georgias sovereign territory under Russian military occupation. The full, official name of the country is Georgia, as specified in the Georgian constitution. Georgia is an exonym, used in the West since the medieval period. It is presumably derived from the Persian designation of the Georgians, gurğ, ğurğ, borrowed around the time of the First Crusade, ultimately derived from the Middle Persian varkâna, meaning land of wolves. The name was etymologized as referring to St. George, explicitly so by the end of the 12th century by Jacques de Vitry, due to the Georgians special reverence for that saint (see Tetri Giorgi). Early modern authors such as Jean Chardin tried to link the name to the literal meaning of Greek γεωργός (tiller of the earth; agriculturalist). The self-designation used by ethnic Georgians is Kartvelebi (ქართველები, i.e. Kartvelians), the native name of Georgia Sakartvelo (საქართველო) land of Kartvelians and of the Georgian language Kartuli (ქართული). The medieval Georgian Chronicles present an eponymous ancestor of the Kartvelians, Kartlos, a great-grandson of Japheth. The name Sakartvelo (საქართველო) consists of two parts. Its root, kartvel-i (ქართველ-ი), specifies an inhabitant of the core central-eastern Georgian region of Kartli, or Iberia as it is known in sources of Eastern Roman Empire. Ancient Greeks (Strabo, Herodotus, Plutarch, Homer, etc.) and Romans (Titus Livius, Tacitus, etc.) referred to early western Georgians as Colchians and eastern Georgians as Iberians (Iberoi in some Greek sources). The territory of modern-day Georgia was inhabited by Homo erectus since the Paleolithic Era. The proto-Georgian tribes first appear in written history in the 12th century BC. Archaeological finds and references in ancient sources 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. The classical period saw the rise of the early Georgian states Diauehi (XIII BC) of Colchis (VIII BC), of Sper (VII BC) and of Iberia (VI BC). In the 4th century BC a unified kingdom of Georgia – an early example of advanced state organization under one king and an aristocratic hierarchy – was established. Sargon II (722–705 BC) of the Assyrian empire conquered the Georgian state of Tabal and all of the Hittite kingdoms of the Taurus Mountains. The two early Georgian kingdoms of late antiquity, known to Greco-Roman historiography as Colchis (Georgian: კოლხეთი) (in the west) and Iberia (Georgian: იბერია) (in the east), were among the first nations in the region to adopt Christianity (in AD 337, or in AD 319 as recent research suggests[citation needed]). In Greek mythology, Colchis was the location of the Golden Fleece sought by Jason and the Argonauts in Apollonius Rhodius epic tale Argonautica. 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. Known to its natives as Egrisi or Lazica, Colchis was also the battlefield of the Lazic War fought between the Byzantine Empire and Sassanid Persia. After the Roman Empire completed its conquest of the Caucasus region in 66 BC, the Georgian kingdoms were Roman client states and allies for nearly 400 years. 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. King Mirian IIIs acceptance of Christianity effectively tied the kingdom to the neighboring Eastern Roman Empire which exerted a strong influence on Georgia for nearly a millennium, determining much of its present cultural identity. The early kingdoms disintegrated into various feudal regions by the early Middle Ages. This made it easy for Arabs to conquer most of eastern Georgia in the 7th century. From 7th century to 10th century, Georgia was part of the Khazar empire. The various independent regions would not be united into a single Georgian Kingdom until the beginning of the 11th century. Although Arabs captured the capital city of Tbilisi in AD 645, Kartli-Iberia retained considerable independence under local Arab rulers. In AD 813 the prince Ashot I – also known as Ashot Kurapalat – became the first of the Bagrationi family to rule the kingdom. Ashots reign began a period of nearly 1,000 years during which the Bagrationi, as the house was known, ruled at least part of what is now the republic. Bagrat III (r. 1027–72) united western and eastern Georgia. In the next century, David IV (called the Builder, r. 1089–1125) initiated the Georgian golden age by driving the Seljuk Turks from the country and expanding Georgian cultural and political influence southward into Armenia and eastward to the Caspian Sea. The Georgian Kingdom reached its zenith in the 12th to early 13th centuries. This period has been widely termed as Georgias Golden Age or Georgian Renaissance during the reigns of David the Builder and Queen Tamar. This early Georgian renaissance, which preceded its West European analogue, was characterized by the flourishing of romantic-chivalric tradition, breakthroughs in philosophy, and an array of political innovations in society and state organization, including religious and ethnic tolerance. The Golden age of Georgia left a legacy of great cathedrals, romantic poetry and literature, and the epic poem The Knight in the Panthers Skin. David the Builder is popularly considered to be the greatest and most successful Georgian ruler in history. He succeeded in driving the Seljuks out of the country, winning the major Battle of Didgori in 1121. His reforms of the army and administration enabled him to reunite the country and bring most lands of the Caucasus under Georgias control. David the Builders granddaughter Tamar succeeded in neutralizing opposition and embarked on an energetic foreign policy aided by the downfall of the rival powers of the Seljuks and Byzantium. Supported by a powerful military élite, Tamar was able to build on the successes of her predecessors to consolidate an empire which dominated the Caucasus, and extended over large parts of present-day Azerbaijan, Armenia, and eastern Turkey, until its collapse under the Mongol attacks within two decades after Tamars death. The revival of the Georgian Kingdom was set back after Tbilisi was captured and destroyed by the Khwarezmian leader Jalal ad-Din in 1226. The Mongols were expelled by George V of Georgia, son of Demetrius II of Georgia, who was named Brilliant for his role in restoring the countrys previous strength and Christian culture. George V was the last great king of the unified Georgian state. After his death, different local rulers fought for their independence from central Georgian rule, until the total disintegration of the Kingdom in the 15th century. Georgia was further weakened by several disastrous invasions by Tamerlane. Invasions continued, giving the Kingdom no time for restoration, with both Black and White sheep Turkomans constantly raiding its southern provinces. As a result, the Georgian Kingdom collapsed into anarchy by 1466 and fragmented into three independent Kingdoms and five semi-independent principalities. Neighboring empires exploited the internal division of the weakened country, and beginning in the 16th century, the Persian Empire and the Ottoman Empire subjugated the eastern and western regions of Georgia, respectively. The rulers of regions which remained partly autonomous organized rebellions on various occasions. However, subsequent Persian and Ottoman invasions further weakened local kingdoms and regions. As a result of incessant wars and deportations, the population of Georgia dwindled from 5 million in the 13th century to 250,000 inhabitants at the end of the 18th century. Eastern Georgia, composed of the regions of Kartli and Kakheti, had been under Persian suzerainty since 1555. With the death of Nader Shah in 1747, both kingdoms broke free of Persian control and were reunified through a personal union under the energetic king Heraclius II in 1762. In 1783, Russia and the eastern Georgian Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti signed the Treaty of Georgievsk, which recognized the bond of Eastern Orthodoxy between the Russian and Georgian people and promised eastern Georgia protection against further Persian attacks, or by other aggressors. However, despite this commitment to defend Georgia, Russia rendered no assistance when the Turks and Persians invaded in 1785 and in 1795, completely devastating Tbilisi and massacring its inhabitants. This period culminated in the 1801 Russian violation of the Treaty of Georgievsk and annexation of eastern Georgia, followed by the abolishment of the royal Bagrationi dynasty, as well as the autocephaly of the Georgian Orthodox Church. Pyotr Bagration, one of the descendants of the abolished house of Bagrationi would later join the Russian army and rise to be a general by the Napoleonic wars. On December 22, 1800, Tsar Paul I of Russia, at the alleged request of the Georgian King George XII, signed the proclamation on the incorporation of Georgia (Kartli-Kakheti) within the Russian Empire, which was finalized by a decree on January 8, 1801, and confirmed by Tsar Alexander I on September 12, 1801. The Georgian envoy in Saint Petersburg reacted with a note of protest that was presented to the Russian vice-chancellor Prince Kurakin. In May 1801, under the oversight of General Carl Heinrich Knorring (ru) Imperial Russia transferred power in eastern Georgia to the government headed by General Ivan Petrovich Lasarev.[28] The Georgian nobility did not accept the decree until April 1802 when General Knorring compassed the nobility in Tbilisis Sioni Cathedral and forced them to take an oath on the Imperial Crown of Russia. Those who disagreed were temporarily arrested. In the summer of 1805, Russian troops on the Askerani River near Zagam defeated the Persian army and saved Tbilisi from reconquest now that it was officially part of the Imperial territories. Russian suzerainty over eastern Georgia was officially finalized with Persia in 1813 following the Treaty of Gulistan. Following the annexation of eastern Georgia, the western Georgian kingdom of Imereti was annexed by Tsar Alexander I of Russia. The last Imeretian king and the last Georgian Bagrationi ruler Solomon II died in exile in 1815. From 1803 to 1878, as a result of numerous Russian wars against the Ottoman Empire, several of Georgias previously lost territories – such as Adjara – were recovered. The principality of Guria was abolished and incorporated into the Empire in 1828, and that of Megrelia in 1857. The region of Svaneti was gradually annexed in 1857–59. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Georgia declared independence on May 26, 1918, in the midst of the Russian Civil War. The parliamentary election was won by the Menshevik Georgian Social-Democratic Party. Its leader, Noe Zhordania, became prime minister. In 1918, the Georgian–Armenian War erupted over parts of Georgian provinces populated mostly by Armenians which ended because of British intervention. In 1918–19, Georgian general Giorgi Mazniashvili led a Georgian attack against the White Army led by Moiseev and Denikin in order to claim the Black Sea coastline from Tuapse to Sochi and Adler for independent Georgia. The countrys independence did not last long. Georgia was under British protection from 1918–1920. In February 1921, Georgia was attacked by the Red Army. The Georgian army was defeated and the Social-Democratic government fled the country. On February 25, 1921 the Red Army entered the capital Tbilisi and installed a communist government loyal to Moscow, led by Georgian Bolshevik Filipp Makharadze. Nevertheless, there remained significant opposition to the Bolsheviks, and this culminated in the August Uprising of 1924. Soviet rule was firmly established only after this uprising was suppressed. Georgia was incorporated into the Transcaucasian SFSR, which united Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Later, in 1936, the TSFSR was disaggregated into its component elements and Georgia became the Georgian SSR. Joseph Stalin, an ethnic Georgian, was prominent among the Bolsheviks, who came to power in the Russian Empire after the October Revolution in 1917. Stalin was to rise to the highest position in the Soviet state. From 1941 to 1945, during World War II, almost 700,000 Georgians fought in the Red Army against Nazi Germany. There were also a few who fought on the German side. About 350,000 Georgians died in the battlefields of the Eastern Front. On April 9, 1989, a peaceful demonstration in the Georgian capital Tbilisi ended with several people being killed by Soviet troops. Before the October 1990 elections to the national assembly, the Umaghlesi Sabcho (Supreme Council) – the first polls in the USSR held on a formal multi-party basis – the political landscape was reshaped again. While the more radical groups boycotted the elections and convened an alternative forum (the National Congress) with alleged support of Moscow, another part of the anticommunist opposition united into the Round Table—Free Georgia around the former dissidents like Merab Kostava and Zviad Gamsakhurdia. The latter won the elections by a clear margin, with 155 out of 250 parliamentary seats, whereas the ruling Communist Party (CP) received only 64 seats. All other parties failed to get over the 5% threshold and were thus allotted only some single-member constituency seats. On April 9, 1991, shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia declared independence. On May 26, 1991, Zviad Gamsakhurdia was elected as a first President of independent Georgia. Gamsakhurdia stoked Georgian nationalism and vowed to assert Tbilisis authority over regions such as Abkhazia and South Ossetia that had been classified as autonomous oblasts under the Soviet Union. He was soon deposed in a bloody coup détat, from December 22, 1991, to January 6, 1992. The coup was instigated by part of the National Guards and a paramilitary organization called Mkhedrioni or horsemen. The country became embroiled in a bitter civil war which lasted almost until 1995. Eduard Shevardnadze returned to Georgia in 1992 and joined the leaders of the coup — Kitovani and Ioseliani — to head a triumvirate called The State Council. Simmering disputes within two regions of Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, between local separatists and the majority Georgian populations, erupted into widespread inter-ethnic violence and wars. Supported by Russia, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia achieved de facto independence from Georgia, with Georgia retaining control only in small areas of the disputed territories. In 1995, Shevardnadze was officially elected as president of Georgia. Roughly 230,000 to 250,000 Georgians were massacred or expelled from Abkhazia by Abkhaz separatists and North Caucasian volunteers (including Chechens) in 1992–1993. Around 23,000 Georgians fled South Ossetia as well, and many Ossetian families were forced to abandon their homes in the Borjomi region and moved to Russia. In 2003, Shevardnadze (who won reelection in 2000) was deposed by the Rose Revolution, after Georgian opposition and international monitors asserted that the November 2 parliamentary elections were marred by fraud. The revolution was led by Mikheil Saakashvili, Zurab Zhvania and Nino Burjanadze, former members and leaders of Shevardnadzes ruling party. Mikheil Saakashvili was elected as President of Georgia in 2004. Following the Rose Revolution, a series of reforms were launched to strengthen the countrys military and economic capabilities. The new governments efforts to reassert Georgian authority in the southwestern autonomous republic of Ajaria led to a major crisis early in 2004. Success in Ajaria encouraged Saakashvili to intensify his efforts, but without success, in breakaway South Ossetia. These events, along with accusations of Georgian involvement in the Second Chechen War, resulted in a severe deterioration of relations with Russia, fuelled also by Russias open assistance and support to the two secessionist areas. Despite these increasingly difficult relations, in May 2005 Georgia and Russia reached a bilateral agreement by which Russian military bases (dating back to the Soviet era) in Batumi and Akhalkalaki were withdrawn. Russia withdrew all personnel and equipment from these sites by December 2007 while failing to withdraw from the Gudauta base in Abkhazia, which it was required to vacate after the adoption of Adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty during the 1999 Istanbul summit. Tensions with Russia began escalating in April 2008. South Ossetian separatists committed the first act of violence when they blew up a Georgian military vehicle on 1 August, wounding five Georgian peacekeepers. During the evening, Georgian snipers retaliated by attacking the South Ossetian border checkpoints. Ossetian separatists began shelling Georgian villages on 1 August, with a sporadic response from Georgian peacekeepers and other fighters in the region. On 7 August, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, ordered a unilateral ceasefire at about 7 pm. However, Ossetian separatists intensified their attacks on Georgian villages. Georgia launched a large-scale military operation against South Ossetia during the night of 7-8 August 2008. According to the EU fact-finding mission, 10,000–11,000 soldiers took part in the general Georgian offensive in South Ossetia. The official reason given for this was to restore constitutional order in the region. After the heights around Tskhinvali were secured, Georgian troops with tanks and artillery support entered the town. Georgian shelling left parts of Tskhinvali in ruins. According to Russian military commander, over 10 Russian peacekeepers were killed on 8 August. That day Russia officially sent troops across the Georgian border into South Ossetia, claiming to be defending both peacekeepers and South Ossetian civilians. Russia accused Georgia of committing genocide. Russian authorities claimed that the civilian casualties in Tskhinvali amounted up to 2,000. These high casualty figures were later revised down to 162 casualties. In five days of fighting, the Russian forces captured Tskhinvali, pushed back Georgian troops, and largely destroyed Georgia’s military infrastructure using airstrikes deep inside Georgia proper.[61] Russian and Abkhaz forces opened a second front by attacking the Kodori Gorge, held by Georgia. After the retreat of the Georgian forces, the Russians temporarily occupied the cities of Poti, Gori, Senaki, and Zugdidi. Both during and after the war, South Ossetian authorities and irregular militia conducted a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Georgians in South Ossetia, with Georgian villages around Tskhinvali being destroyed after the war had ended. The war displaced 192,000 people, and while many were able to return to their homes after the war, a year later around 30,000 ethnic Georgians remained displaced. In an interview published in “Kommersant”, South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity said he would not allow Georgians to return. Through mediation by President of France Nicolas Sarkozy, the parties reached a ceasefire agreement on 12 August. On 17 August, Dmitry Medvedev announced that Russian forces were to begin withdrawal on the next day. On 8 October, Russian forces withdrew from the buffer zones adjacent to Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The control of the buffer zones was handed over to the EU monitoring mission in Georgia. Russia recognised Abkhazia and South Ossetia on 26 August 2008. In response, the Georgian government cut diplomatic relations with Russia. Since the war, Georgia has maintained that Abkhazia and South Ossetia are under Russian occupation and remain, legally, part of Georgia. Georgia is divided into 9 regions, 1 city, and 2 autonomous republics. These in turn are subdivided into 69 districts. Georgia contains two official autonomous regions, of which one has declared independence. In addition, another territory not officially autonomous has also declared independence. Officially autonomous within Georgia, the de facto independent region of Abkhazia declared independence in 1999. South Ossetia is officially known by Georgia as the Tskinvali region, as it views South Ossetia as implying political bonds with Russian North Ossetia. It was called South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast when Georgia was part of Soviet Union. Its autonomous status was revoked in 1990. De facto separate since Georgian independence, offers were made to give South Ossetia autonomy again, but in 2006 an unrecognised referendum in the area resulted in a vote for independence. 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. This was used as a justification for Russian invasion of Georgia during the 2008 South Ossetia war after which Russia recognised the regions independence. Georgia considers the regions as occupied by Russia. Both republics have received minimal international recognition. Adjara under local strongman Aslan Abashidze maintained close ties with Russia and allowed a Russian military base to be maintained in Batumi. Upon the election of Mikheil Saakashvili in 2004 tensions rose between Adjara and the Georgian government, leading to demonstrations in Adjara and the resignation and flight of Abashidze. The region retains autonomy. Georgia is situated in the South Caucasus, between latitudes 41° and 44° N, and longitudes 40° and 47° E, with an area of 67,900 km2 (26,216 sq mi). It is a very mountainous country. The Likhi Range divides the country into eastern and western halves. Historically, the western portion of Georgia was known as Colchis while the eastern plateau was called Iberia. Because of a complex geographic setting, mountains also isolate the northern region of Svaneti from the rest of Georgia. The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range forms the northern border of Georgia. The main roads through the mountain range into Russian territory lead through the Roki Tunnel between South and North Ossetia and the Darial Gorge (in the Georgian region of Khevi). The Roki Tunnel was vital for the Russian military in the 2008 South Ossetia war because it is the only direct route through the Caucasus Mountains. The southern portion of the country is bounded by the Lesser Caucasus Mountains. The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range is much higher in elevation than the Lesser Caucasus Mountains, with the highest peaks rising more than 5,000 meters (16,404 ft) above sea level. The highest mountain in Georgia is Mount Shkhara at 5,068 meters (16,627 ft), and the second highest is Mount Janga (Dzhangi-Tau) at 5,059 m (16,598 ft) above sea level. Other prominent peaks include Mount Kazbek at 5,047 m (16,558 ft), Shota Rustaveli 4,860 m (15,945 ft), Tetnuldi 4,858 m (15,938 ft), Mt. Ushba 4,700 m (15,420 ft), and Ailama 4,547 m (14,918 ft). Out of the abovementioned peaks, only Kazbek is of volcanic origin. The region between Kazbek and Shkhara (a distance of about 200 km (124 mi) along the Main Caucasus Range) is dominated by numerous glaciers. Out of the 2,100 glaciers that exist in the Caucasus today, approximately 30% are located within Georgia. 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. The area can be split into two separate sub-regions; the Lesser Caucasus Mountains, which run parallel to the Greater Caucasus Range, and the Southern Georgia Volcanic Highland, which lies immediately to the south of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains. The overall region can be characterized as being made up of various, interconnected mountain ranges (largely of volcanic origin) and plateaus that do not exceed 3,400 meters (11,155 ft) in elevation. Prominent features of the area include the Javakheti Volcanic Plateau, lakes, including Tabatskuri and Paravani, as well as mineral water and hot springs. Two major rivers in Georgia are the Rioni and the Mtkvari. The Southern Georgia Volcanic Highland is a young and unstable geologic region with high seismic activity and has experienced some of the most significant earthquakes that have been recorded in Georgia. The Krubera Cave is the deepest known cave in the world. It is located in the Arabika Massif of the Gagra Range, in Abkhazia. In 2001, a Russian–Ukrainian team had set the world depth record for a cave at 1,710 meters (5,610 ft). In 2004, the penetrated depth was increased on each of three expeditions, when a Ukrainian team crossed the 2,000-meter (6,562 ft) mark for the first time in the history of speleology. In October 2005, an unexplored part was found by the CAVEX team, further increasing the known depth of the cave. This expedition confirmed the known depth of the cave at 2,140 meters (7,021 ft). Archaeological research demonstrates that Georgia has been involved in commerce with many lands and empires since the ancient times, largely due its location on the Black Sea and later on the historical Silk Road. Gold, silver, copper and iron have been mined in the Caucasus Mountains. Georgian wine making is a very old tradition. The country has sizable hydropower resources. Throughout Georgias modern history agriculture and tourism have been principal economic sectors, because of the countrys climate and topography. For much of the 20th century, Georgias economy was within the Soviet model of command economy. Since the fall of the USSR in 1991, Georgia embarked on a major structural reform designed to transition to a free market economy. As with all other post-Soviet states, Georgia faced a severe economic collapse. The civil war and military conflicts in South Ossetia and Abkhazia aggravated the crisis. The agriculture and industry output diminished. By 1994 the gross domestic product had shrunk to a quarter of that of 1989. The first financial help from the West came in 1995, when the World Bank and International Monetary Fund granted Georgia a credit of USD 206 million and Germany granted DM 50 million. Since the early 21st century visible positive developments have been observed in the economy of Georgia. In 2007 Georgias real GDP growth rate reached 12%, making Georgia one of the fastest growing economies in Eastern Europe. The World Bank dubbed Georgia the number one economic reformer in the world because it has in one year improved from rank 112th to 18th in terms of ease of doing business. The country has a high unemployment rate of 12.6% and has fairly low median income compared to European countries. The 2006 ban on imports of Georgian wine to Russia, one of Georgias biggest trading partners, and break of financial links was described by the IMF Mission as an external shock. In addition, Russia increased the price of gas for Georgia. This was followed by the spike in the Georgian laris rate of inflation.[citation needed] The National Bank of Georgia stated that the inflation was mainly triggered by external reasons, including Russia’s economic embargo. The Georgian authorities expected that the current account deficit due to the embargo in 2007 would be financed by higher foreign exchange proceeds generated by the large inflow of foreign direct investment and an increase in tourist revenues. The country has also maintained a solid credit in international market securities. Georgia is becoming more integrated into the global trading network: its 2006 imports and exports account for 10% and 18% of GDP respectively. Georgias main imports are natural gas, oil products, machinery and parts, and transport equipment. Tourism is an increasingly significant part of the Georgian economy. About a million tourists brought US$313 million to the country in 2006. According to the government, there are 103 resorts in different climatic zones in Georgia. Tourist attractions include more than 2000 mineral springs, over 12,000 historical and cultural monuments, four of which are recognised as UNESCO World Heritage Sites (Bagrati Cathedral in Kutaisi and Gelati Monastery, historical monuments of Mtskheta, and Upper Svaneti). Georgia is developing into an international transport corridor through Batumi and Poti ports, an oil pipeline from Baku through Tbilisi to Ceyhan, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (BTC) and a parallel gas pipeline, the South Caucasus Pipeline. Since coming to power Saakashvili administration accomplished a series of reforms aimed at improving tax collection. Among other things a flat income tax was introduced in 2004. As a result budget revenues have increased fourfold and a once large budget deficit has turned into surplus. As of 2001 54% of the population lived below the national poverty line but by 2006 poverty decreased to 34%. In 2005 average monthly income of a household was GEL 347 (about 200 USD). 2013 estimates place Georgias nominal GDP at US$15.98 billion. Georgias economy is becoming more devoted to services (now representing 65% of GDP), moving away from the agricultural sector (10.9%). In regards to telecommunication infrastructure, Georgia is ranked second to last among its bordering neighbors in the World Economic Forums Network Readiness Index (NRI) – an indicator for determining the development level of a country’s information and communication technologies. Georgia ranked number 60 overall in the 2014 NRI ranking, up from 65 in 2013. Like most native Caucasian peoples, the Georgians do not fit into any of the main ethnic categories of Europe or Asia. The Georgian language, the most pervasive of the Kartvelian languages, is neither Indo-European, Turkic nor Semitic. The present day Georgian or Kartvelian nation is thought to have resulted from the fusion of aboriginal, autochthonous inhabitants with immigrants who moved into South Caucasus from the direction of Anatolia in remote antiquity. The ancient Jewish chronicle by Josephus mentions Georgians as Iberes who were also called Thobel Tubal. Ethnic Georgians form about 84% of Georgias current population of 4,661,473 (July 2006 est.). Other ethnic groups include Abkhazians, Ossetians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Greeks, Jews, Russians. The Georgian Jews are one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. The most widespread language group is the Kartvelian family, which includes Georgian, Svan, Mingrelian and Laz. The official languages of Georgia are Georgian, with Abkhaz official within the autonomous region of Abkhazia. Georgian is the primary language of approximately 71% of the population, followed by 9% speaking Russian, 7% Armenian, 6% Azerbaijani, and 7% other languages. In the early 1990s, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, violent separatist conflicts broke out in the autonomous regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Many Ossetians living in Georgia left the country, mainly to Russias North Ossetia. On the other hand, more than 150,000 Georgians left Abkhazia after the breakout of hostilities in 1993. Of the Meskhetian Turks who were forcibly relocated in 1944 only a tiny fraction returned to Georgia as of 2008. The 1989 census recorded 341,000 ethnic Russians, or 6.3% of the population, 52,000 Ukrainians and 100,000 Greeks in Georgia. Since 1990, 1.5 million Georgian nationals have left. At least one million immigrants from Georgia legally or illegally reside in Russia. Georgias net migration rate is −4.54, excluding Georgian nationals who live abroad. Georgia has nonetheless been inhabited by immigrants from all over the world throughout its independence. According to 2006 statistics, Georgia gets most of its immigrants from Turkey and China. Today 83.9% of the population practices Eastern Orthodoxy, with majority of these adhering to the national Georgian Orthodox Church. Religious minorities include Muslims (9.9%), Armenian Apostolic (3.9%), and Roman Catholic (0.8%). 0.8% of those recorded in the 2002 census declared themselves to be adherents of other religions and 0.7% declared no religion at all. A large majority of Georgias population (83.9% in 2002) practices Orthodox Christianity. The Georgian Orthodox Church is one of the worlds most ancient Christian Churches, and claims apostolic foundation by Saint Andrew. In the first half of the 4th century, Christianity was adopted as the state religion of Iberia (present-day Kartli, or Eastern Georgia), following the missionary work of Saint Nino of Cappadocia. The Church gained autocephaly during the early Middle Ages; it was abolished during the Russian domination of the country, restored in 1917 and fully recognised by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1990. The special status of the Georgian Orthodox Church is officially recognised in the Constitution of Georgia and the Concordat of 2002, although religious institutions are separate from the state, and every citizen has the right of religion. Religious minorities of Georgia include Armenian Christians (3.9%), Muslims (9.9%), and Roman Catholics (0.8%). Islam is represented by both Azerbaijani Shia Muslims (in the South-East) and ethnic Georgian Sunni Muslims in Adjara. Georgian Jews trace the history of their community to the 6th century BC; their numbers have dwindled in the last decades due to strong emigration towards Israel. Despite the long history of religious harmony in Georgia, there have been several instances of religious discrimination and violence against nontraditional faiths, such as Jehovahs Witnesses, by the followers of the defrocked Orthodox priest Vasil Mkalavishvili. Georgian culture evolved over thousands of years with its foundations in Iberian and Colchian civilizations, continuing into the rise of the unified Georgian Kingdom under the single monarchy of the Bagrationi. Georgian culture enjoyed a golden age and renaissance of classical literature, arts, philosophy, architecture and science in the 11th century. The Georgian language, and the Classical Georgian literature of the poet Shota Rustaveli, were revived in the 19th century after a long period of turmoil, laying the foundations of the romantics and novelists of the modern era such as Grigol Orbeliani, Nikoloz Baratashvili, Ilia Chavchavadze, Akaki Tsereteli, Vazha Pshavela, and many others. Georgian culture was influenced by Classical Greece, the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, and later by the Russian Empire. Georgians have their own unique 3 alphabets which according to traditional accounts was invented by King Pharnavaz I of Iberia in 3rd century BC. Georgia is well known for its rich folklore, unique traditional music, theatre, cinema, and art. Georgians are renowned for their love of music, dance, theatre and cinema. In the 20th century there have been notable Georgian painters such as Niko Pirosmani, Lado Gudiashvili, Elene Akhvlediani; ballet choreographers such as George Balanchine, Vakhtang Chabukiani, and Nino Ananiashvili; poets such as Galaktion Tabidze, Lado Asatiani, and Mukhran Machavariani; and theatre and film directors such as Robert Sturua, Tengiz Abuladze, Giorgi Danelia and Otar Ioseliani. Georgia has a rich and vibrant musical tradition, primarily known for its early development of polyphony. 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. Each region in Georgia has its own traditional music with Persian influenced drones and ostinato-like soloists in the East, complex improvised harmonies in the west, and solid moving chords in Svanetie. The most popular sports in Georgia are football, basketball, rugby union, wrestling, judo, and weightlifting. Historically, Georgia has been famous for its physical education; it is known that the Romans were fascinated with Georgians physical qualities after seeing the training techniques of ancient Iberia. Wrestling remains a historically important sport of Georgia, and some historians think that the Greco-Roman style of wrestling incorporates many Georgian elements. Within Georgia, one of the most popularized styles of wrestling is the Kakhetian style. There were a number of other styles in the past that are not as widely used today. For example, the Khevsureti region of Georgia has three different styles of wrestling. Other popular sports in 19th century Georgia were polo, and Lelo, a traditional Georgian game later replaced by rugby union. The first and only race circuit in the Caucasian region is located in Georgia. Rustavi International Motorpark originally built in 1978 was re-opened in 2012 after total reconstruction costing $20 million. The track satisfies the FIA Grade 2 requirements and currently hosts the Legends car racing series and Formula Alfa competitions.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 18:05:36 +0000
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