Post-Communist Georgia: A Short History
The proto-Georgian tribes first appear in written history in the 12th century BC. The classical period saw the rise of a number of early Georgian states, the principal of which was Colchis in the west and Iberia in the east. 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.
After the Roman Republic completed its brief conquest of what is now Georgia in 66 BC, the area became a primary objective of what would eventually turn out to be over years of protracted Irano—Roman geo-political rivalry and warfare. D, the cult of Mithras , pagan beliefs, and Zoroastrianism were commonly practised in Georgia. Located on the crossroads of protracted Roman—Persian wars , the early Georgian kingdoms disintegrated into various feudal regions by the early Middle Ages. This made it easy for the remaining Georgian realms to fall prey to the early Muslim conquests in the 7th century.
The extinction of the different Iberian royal dynasties, such as Guaramids and the Chosroids , [36] and also the Abbasid preoccupation with their own civil wars and conflict with the Byzantine Empire , let the Bagrationi family to grown in prominence. The head of the Bagrationi dynasty Ashot I of Iberia , who had migrated to the former southwestern territories of Iberia, came to rule over Tao-Klarjeti and restored the Principate of Iberia in Despite the revitalization of the monarchy, Georgian lands remained divided among rival authorities, with Tbilisi remaining in Arab hands.
The sons and grandsons of Ashot I established three separate branches — the lines of Kartli , Tao , and Klarjeti — frequently struggling with each other and with neighboring rulers. The Kartli line prevailed; in , with Adarnase IV of Iberia , it restored the indigenous Georgian royal authority dormant since Towards circa , Leon II won his full independence with the help of the Khazars ; he assumed the title of " King of the Abkhazians " and transferred his capital to the western Georgian city of Kutaisi.
During this period western Georgian Church broke away from Constantinople and recognized the authority of the Catholicate of Mtskheta ; Georgian language replaced Greek as the language of literacy and culture. A period of unrest ensued, which ended as Abkhazia and eastern Georgian states were unified under a single Georgian monarchy , ruled by King Bagrat III of Georgia , due largely to the diplomacy and conquests of his energetic foster-father David III of Tao. The stage of feudalism 's development and struggle against common invaders as much as common belief of various Georgian states had an enormous importance for spiritual and political unification of Georgia feudal monarchy under the Bagrationi dynasty in 11th century.
The Kingdom of Georgia reached its zenith in the 12th to early 13th centuries. This period during the reigns of David IV c. David suppressed dissent of feudal lords and centralized the power in his hands to effectively deal with foreign threats. In , he decisively defeated much larger Turkish armies during the Battle of Didgori and liberated Tbilisi. The year reign of Tamar, the first female ruler of Georgia, is considered the most successful in Georgian history. The revival of the Kingdom of Georgia was set back after Tbilisi was captured and destroyed by the Khwarezmian leader Jalal ad-Din in 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 Kingdom of Georgia collapsed into anarchy by and fragmented into three independent kingdoms and five semi-independent principalities. Neighboring large empires subsequently exploited the internal division of the weakened country, and beginning in the 16th century up to the late 18th century, Safavid Iran and successive Iranian Afsharid and Qajar dynasties and Ottoman Turkey subjugated the eastern and western regions of Georgia, respectively.
The rulers of regions that remained partly autonomous organized rebellions on various occasions. However, subsequent Iranian and Ottoman invasions further weakened local kingdoms and regions. As a result of incessant wars and deportations, the population of Georgia dwindled to , inhabitants at the end of the 18th century. With the death of Nader Shah in , both kingdoms broke free of Iranian control and were reunified through a personal union under the energetic king Heraclius II in Heraclius, who had risen to prominence through the Iranian ranks, was awarded the crown of Kartli by Nader himself in for his loyal service to him.
In , Russia and the eastern Georgian Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti signed the Treaty of Georgievsk , by which Georgia abjured any dependence on Persia or another power, and made the kingdom a protectorate of Russia, which guaranteed Georgia's territorial integrity and the continuation of its reigning Bagrationi dynasty in return for prerogatives in the conduct of Georgian foreign affairs.
However, despite this commitment to defend Georgia, Russia rendered no assistance when the Iranians invaded in , capturing and sacking Tbilisi while massacring its inhabitants, as the new heir to the throne sought to reassert Iranian hegemony over Georgia. Pyotr Bagration , one of the descendants of the abolished house of Bagrationi, would later join the Russian army and rise to be a prominent general in the Napoleonic wars.
The Georgian envoy in Saint Petersburg reacted with a note of protest that was presented to the Russian vice-chancellor Prince Kurakin. Those who disagreed were temporarily arrested. In the summer of , Russian troops on the Askerani River near Zagam defeated the Iranian army during the Russo-Persian War — and saved Tbilisi from reconquest now that it was officially part of the Imperial territories. Russian suzerainty over eastern Georgia was officially finalized with Iran in following the Treaty of Gulistan.
The last Imeretian king and the last Georgian Bagrationi ruler, Solomon II , died in exile in , after attempts to rally people against Russia and to enlist foreign support against the latter, had been in vain. The principality of Guria was abolished and incorporated into the Empire in , while Svaneti was gradually annexed in Mingrelia , although a Russian protectorate since , was not absorbed until After the Russian Revolution of , the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic was established with Nikolay Chkheidze acting as its president.
The federation consisted of three nations: Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. As the Ottomans advanced into the Caucasian territories of the crumbling Russian Empire, Georgia declared independence on 26 May The Georgian—Armenian War , which erupted over parts of Georgian provinces populated mostly by Armenians, ended because of British intervention.
Georgia was under British protection from — Noe Zhordania , first prime minister of Georgia. The Georgian army was defeated and the Social Democratic government fled the country. On 25 February , the Red Army entered Tbilisi and established a government of workers' and peasants' soviets with Filipp Makharadze as acting head of state. Georgia was incorporated into the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic , alongside Armenia and Azerbaijan , in which in would become a founding member of the Soviet Union.
There remained significant opposition to the Bolsheviks in Georgia, which was unindustrialized and viewed as socially backward, and this culminated in the August Uprising of Soviet rule was firmly established only after the insurrection was swiftly defeated. Stalin was to rise to the highest position, leading the Soviet Union from 3 April until his death on 5 March In June , Germany invaded the Soviet Union on an immediate course towards Caucasian oil fields and munitions factories.
They never reached Georgia, however, and almost , Georgians fought in the Red Army to repel the invaders and advance towards Berlin. Of them, an estimated , were killed. After Stalin's death, Nikita Khrushchev became the leader of the Soviet Union and implemented a policy of de-Stalinization. This was nowhere else more publicly and violently opposed than in Georgia, where in riots broke out upon the release of Khruschev's public denunciation of Stalin and led to the death of nearly students.
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. With the beginning of perestroika in , the Georgian Communist leadership proved so incapable of handling the changes that most Georgians, including rank and file Communists, concluded that the only way forward was a break from the existing Soviet system.
On 9 April , shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Supreme Council of Georgia declared independence after a referendum held on 31 March Gamsakhurdia stoked Georgian nationalism and vowed to assert Tbilisi's authority over regions such as Abkhazia and South Ossetia that had been classified as autonomous oblasts under the Soviet Union. The coup was instigated by part of the National Guards and a paramilitary organization called " Mkhedrioni " "horsemen".
The country became embroiled in a bitter civil war , which lasted until nearly 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 , Shevardnadze was officially elected as president of Georgia. During the War in Abkhazia — , roughly , to , Georgians [68] were expelled from Abkhazia by Abkhaz separatists and North Caucasian volunteers including Chechens. Around 23, Georgians [69] fled South Ossetia as well, and many Ossetian families were forced to abandon their homes in the Borjomi region and moved to Russia. In , Shevardnadze who won re-election in was deposed by the Rose Revolution , after Georgian opposition and international monitors asserted that 2 November parliamentary elections were marred by fraud.
Mikheil Saakashvili was elected as President of Georgia in Following the Rose Revolution, a series of reforms were launched to strengthen the country's military and economic capabilities. The new government's efforts to reassert Georgian authority in the southwestern autonomous republic of Ajaria led to a major crisis early in 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 , [72] resulted in a severe deterioration of relations with Russia , fuelled also by Russia's open assistance and support to the two secessionist areas.
Despite these increasingly difficult relations, in May Georgia and Russia reached a bilateral agreement [73] 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 [74] while failing to withdraw from the Gudauta base in Abkhazia, which it was required to vacate after the adoption of the Adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty during the Istanbul summit. Tensions between Georgia and Russia began escalating in April South Ossetians were responsible for instigating this incident, which marked the opening of hostilities and injured five Georgian servicemen.
In response, [79] several South Ossetian militiamen were hit. These artillery attacks caused Georgian servicemen to return fire periodically since 1 August. Russia accused Georgia of "aggression against South Ossetia", [92] and launched a large-scale land, air and sea invasion of Georgia with the pretext of " peace enforcement " operation on 8 August A campaign of ethnic cleansing against Georgians in South Ossetia was conducted by South Ossetians, [99] with Georgian villages around Tskhinvali being destroyed after the war had ended.
President of France Nicolas Sarkozy negotiated a ceasefire agreement on 12 August Georgia is a representative democratic semi-presidential republic , with the President as the head of state, and Prime Minister as the head of government. The executive branch of power is made up of the President and the Cabinet of Georgia. The Cabinet is composed of ministers, headed by the Prime Minister , and appointed by the President. Giorgi Margvelashvili is the current President of Georgia after winning Legislative authority is vested in the Parliament of Georgia. It is unicameral and has members, known as deputies, of whom 75 are elected by plurality to represent single-member districts, and 75 are chosen to represent parties by proportional representation.
Members of parliament are elected for four-year terms. Five parties and electoral blocs had representatives elected to the parliament in the elections: Although considerable progress was made since the Rose revolution , former President Mikheil Saakashvili stated in that Georgia is still not a "full-fledged, very well-formed, crystallized society.
Different opinions exist regarding the degree of political freedom in Georgia. Saakashvili believed in that the country is "on the road to becoming a European democracy. In preparation for parliamentary elections, Parliament adopted a new electoral code on 27 December that incorporated many recommendations from non-governmental organizations NGOs and the Venice Commission. However, the new code failed to address the Venice Commission's primary recommendation to strengthen the equality of the vote by reconstituting single-mandate election districts to be comparable in size.
On 28 December, Parliament amended the Law on Political Unions to regulate campaign and political party financing. Local and international observers raised concerns about several amendments, including the vagueness of the criteria for determining political bribery and which individuals and organizations would be subject to the law.
Train and Equip military assistance program, and the construction of the Baku—Tbilisi—Ceyhan pipeline have frequently strained Tbilisi's relations with Moscow. Georgia's decision to boost its presence in the coalition forces in Iraq was an important initiative. Georgia is currently working to become a full member of NATO. In , by the decision of the President of Georgia, a state commission was set up to implement the Individual Partnership Action Plan, which presents an interdepartmental group headed by the Prime Minister. The Commission was tasked with coordinating and controlling the implementation of the Individual Partnership Action Plan.
Bush became the first sitting U. Georgia's military is organized into land and air forces. They are performed under the guidance and authority of the Ministry of Defense. The biggest part, With 1, troops in , it was at that time the largest non- NATO [] and the largest per capita [] [] troop contributor. Over 11, Georgian soldiers have been rotated through Afghanistan. In Georgia, law enforcement is conducted and provided for by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia.
In recent years, the Patrol Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia has undergone a radical transformation, with the police having now absorbed a great many duties previously performed by dedicated independent government agencies. New duties performed by the police include border security and customs functions and contracted security provision; the latter function is performed by the dedicated 'security police'. Intelligence collecting in the interests of national security is now the remit of the Georgian Intelligence Service.
In , President Mikheil Saakashvili fired the entire traffic police force numbering around 30, police officers of the Georgian National Police due to corruption. The new Patruli force was first introduced in the summer of to replace the traffic police, a force which was accused of widespread corruption. Human rights in Georgia are guaranteed by the country's constitution. There is an independent human rights public defender elected by the Parliament of Georgia to ensure such rights are enforced.
NGO "Tolerance", in its alternative report about its implementation, speaks of a rapid decrease in the number of Azerbaijani schools and cases of appointing headmasters to Azerbaijani schools who don't speak the Azerbaijani language. The government came under criticism for its alleged use of excessive force on 26 May when it dispersed protesters led by Nino Burjanadze , among others, with tear gas and rubber bullets after they refused to clear Rustaveli avenue for an independence day parade despite the expiration of their demonstration permit and despite being offered to choose an alternative venue.
Georgia is divided into 9 regions, 1 city, and 2 autonomous republics. Georgia contains two official autonomous regions, of which one has declared independence. Officially autonomous within Georgia, [] the de facto independent region of Abkhazia declared independence in South Ossetia is officially known by Georgia as the Tskinvali region, as it views "South Ossetia" as implying political bonds with Russian North Ossetia. Its autonomous status was revoked in De facto separate since Georgian independence, offers were made to give South Ossetia autonomy again, but in 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. 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 tensions rose between Abashidze and the Georgian government, leading to demonstrations in Adjara and the resignation and flight of Abashidze.
The region retains autonomy, as a sign of Ajaria's reconnection with the central Georgian government, the Georgian Constitutional Court was moved from T'bilisi to Batumi. Georgia is mostly situated in the South Caucasus , while parts of the country are also located in the North Caucasus. It is a very mountainous country. The Likhi Range divides the country into eastern and western halves. Because of a complex geographic setting, mountains also isolate the northern region of Svaneti from the rest of Georgia.
The southern portion of the country is bounded by the Lesser Caucasus Mountains. 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. 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. The landscape within the nation's boundaries is quite varied. Western Georgia's landscape ranges from low-land marsh-forests, swamps, and temperate rainforests to eternal snows and glaciers, while the eastern part of the country even contains a small segment of semi-arid plains. Much of the natural habitat in the low-lying areas of western Georgia has disappeared during the past years because of the agricultural development of the land and urbanization. The large majority of the forests that covered the Colchis plain are now virtually non-existent with the exception of the regions that are included in the national parks and reserves e.
At present, the forest cover generally remains outside of the low-lying areas and is mainly located along the foothills and the mountains. Evergreen species such as box may also be found in many areas. The west-central slopes of the Meskheti Range in Ajaria as well as several locations in Samegrelo and Abkhazia are covered by temperate rain forests.
The zone is made up mainly of beech, spruce , and fir forests. The eternal snow and glacier zone lies above the 3, metre line. Eastern Georgia's landscape referring to the territory east of the Likhi Range is considerably different from that of the west, although, much like the Colchis plain in the west, nearly all of the low-lying areas of eastern Georgia including the Mtkvari and Alazani River plains have been deforested for agricultural purposes. In addition, because of the region's relatively drier climate, some of the low-lying plains especially in Kartli and south-eastern Kakheti were never covered by forests in the first place.
The general landscape of eastern Georgia comprises numerous valleys and gorges that are separated by mountains. In contrast with western Georgia, nearly 85 percent of the forests of the region are deciduous. Coniferous forests only dominate in the Borjomi Gorge and in the extreme western areas. Out of the deciduous species of trees, beech , oak , and hornbeam dominate.
Other deciduous species include several varieties of maple , aspen , ash, and hazelnut. The Upper Alazani River Valley contains yew forests. The only remaining large, low-land forests remain in the Alazani Valley of Kakheti. The climate of Georgia is extremely diverse, considering the nation's small size. There are two main climatic zones, roughly corresponding to the eastern and western parts of the country. The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range plays an important role in moderating Georgia's climate and protects the nation from the penetration of colder air masses from the north.
The Lesser Caucasus Mountains partially protect the region from the influence of dry and hot air masses from the south. The precipitation tends to be uniformly distributed throughout the year, although the rainfall can be particularly heavy during the Autumn months. The climate of the region varies significantly with elevation and while much of the lowland areas of western Georgia are relatively warm throughout the year, the foothills and mountainous areas including both the Greater and Lesser Caucasus Mountains experience cool, wet summers and snowy winters snow cover often exceeds 2 meters in many regions.
Ajaria is the wettest region of the Caucasus , where the Mt. Eastern Georgia has a transitional climate from humid subtropical to continental. The region's weather patterns are influenced both by dry Caspian air masses from the east and humid Black Sea air masses from the west. The penetration of humid air masses from the Black Sea is often blocked by mountain ranges Likhi and Meskheti that separate the eastern and western parts of the nation.
The wettest periods generally occur during spring and autumn, while winter and summer months tend to be the driest. Much of eastern Georgia experiences hot summers especially in the low-lying areas and relatively cold winters. The common pheasant also known as the Colchian Pheasant is an endemic bird of Georgia which has been widely introduced throughout the rest of the world as an important game bird.
The species number of invertebrates is considered to be very high but data is distributed across a high number of publications. The spider checklist of Georgia, for example, includes species. Slightly more than 6, species of fungi , including lichen-forming species, have been recorded from Georgia, [] [] but this number is far from complete.
The true total number of fungal species occurring in Georgia, including species not yet recorded, is likely to be far higher, given the generally accepted estimate that only about seven percent of all fungi worldwide have so far been discovered. Russian suzerainty over Persia's traditionally eastern and southern Georgian ruled territories were nominally finalized in in the Treaty of Gulistan.
These areas Batumi , Artvin , Akhaltsikhe , Poti , and Abkhazia now represent the majority of the territory of the present state of Georgia. Georgia was reunified for the first time in centuries but had lost its independence. The Russian and Georgian societies had much in common: The Russian authorities aimed to integrate Georgia into the rest of their empire, but at first Russian rule proved high-handed, arbitrary and insensitive to local law and customs, leading to a conspiracy by Georgian nobles in and a revolt by peasants and nobles in Guria in Count Vorontsov's new policies, alleged by himself, won over the Georgian nobility, who became increasingly eager to abandon Islamic influences that had been forced upon Georgia in the preceding centuries and pursued, after the example of Russian nobility, a long-sought process of Europeanisation.
Life for Georgian serfs was very different, however, since the rural economy remained seriously depressed. Georgian serfs lived in dire poverty, subject to the frequent threat of starvation. Few of them lived in the towns, where what little trade and industry there was, was in the hands of Armenians, whose ancestors had migrated to Georgia in the Middle Ages. Serfdom was abolished in Russian lands in The tsar also wanted to emancipate the serfs of Georgia, but without losing the loyalty of the nobility whose revenues depended on peasant labour.
This called for delicate negotiations before serfdom was gradually phased out in the Georgian provinces from onwards. The emancipation of the serfs pleased neither the serfs nor the nobles. The poverty of the serfs had not been alleviated while the nobles had lost some of their privileges. The nobles in particular also felt threatened by the growing power of the urban, Armenian middle class in Georgia, who prospered as capitalism came to the region. Georgian dissatisfaction with Tsarist autocracy and Armenian economic domination [83] led to the development of a national liberation movement in the second half of the 19th century.
A large-scale peasant revolt occurred in , which led to political reforms that eased the tensions for a period. During this time, the Marxist Social Democratic Party became the dominant political movement in Georgia, being elected to all the Georgian seats in the Russian State Duma established after Josef Vissarionovich Djugashvili more famously known as Joseph Stalin , a Georgian Bolshevik , became a leader of the revolutionary and anti- Menshevik movement in Georgia.
He went on to control the Soviet Union. Many Georgians were upset by the loss of independence of the Georgian Orthodox Church. The Russian clergy took control of Georgian churches and monasteries, prohibiting use of the Georgian liturgy and desecrating medieval Georgian frescos on various churches all across Georgia.
Between the years of to , the Georgian patriotic movement was launched under the leadership of Prince Ilia Chavchavadze , world-renowned poet, novelist and orator. Chavchavadze financed new Georgian schools and supported the Georgian national theatre. In he launched the newspaper Iveria , which played an important part in reviving Georgian national consciousness.
The Georgian intelligentsia's support for Prince Chavchavadze and Georgian independence is shown in this declaration:. The last decades of the 19th century witnessed a Georgian literary revival in which writers emerged of a stature unequalled since the Golden Age of Rustaveli seven hundred years before. Ilia Chavchavadze himself excelled alike in lyric and ballad poetry, in the novel, the short story and the essay.
Apart from Chavchavadze, the most universal literary genius of the age was Akaki Tsereteli , known as "the immortal nightingale of the Georgian people. The Russian Revolution of October plunged Russia into a bloody civil war during which several outlying Russian territories declared independence. The new country was ruled by the Menshevik faction of the Social Democratic Party , which established a multi-party system in sharp contrast with the " dictatorship of the proletariat " established by the Bolsheviks in Russia.
After the Armistice of Mudros and the withdrawal of the Ottomans, the Georgian forces remained. Georgian Menshevik parliamentarian Irakli Tsereteli offered that the Armenians would be safer from the Turks as Georgian citizens. The Georgians offered a quadripartite conference including Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan , and the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus in order to resolve the issue, which the Armenians rejected.
In December , the Georgians were confronting a rebellion chiefly in the village of Uzunlar in the Lori region. Within days, hostilities commenced between the two republics. The Georgian-Armenian War was a border war fought in between the Democratic Republic of Georgia and the Democratic Republic of Armenia over the parts of then disputed provinces of Lori , Javakheti , which had been historically bicultural Armenian-Georgian territories, but were largely populated by Armenians in the 19th century.
In February , the Red Army invaded Georgia and after a short war occupied the country. The Georgian government was forced to flee. Guerrilla resistance in — was followed by a large-scale patriotic uprising in August Colonel Kakutsa Cholokashvili was one of the most prominent guerrilla leaders in this phase. Soviet rule was harsh: The country contributed almost , fighters , were killed to the Red Army, and was a vital source of textiles and munitions.
However, a number of Georgians fought on the side of the German armed forces, forming the Georgian Legion. During this period Stalin ordered the deportation of the Chechen , Ingush , Karachay and the Balkarian peoples from the Northern Caucasus ; they were transported to Siberia and Central Asia for alleged collaboration with the Nazis. He abolished their respective autonomous republics. The Georgian SSR was briefly granted some of their territory until Stalin's successful appeal for patriotic unity eclipsed Georgian nationalism during the war and diffused it in the years following.
On March 9, , about a hundred Georgian students were killed when they demonstrated against Nikita Khrushchev 's policy of de-Stalinization. The decentralisation program introduced by Khrushchev in the mids was soon exploited by Georgian Communist Party officials to build their own regional power base.
A thriving pseudo-capitalist shadow economy emerged alongside the official state-owned economy. While the official growth rate of the economy of the Georgia was among the lowest in the USSR, such indicators as savings level, rates of car and house ownership were the highest in the Union, [88] making Georgia one of the most economically successful Soviet republics. Corruption was at a high level. Among all the union republics, Georgia had the highest number of residents with high or special secondary education. Although corruption was hardly unknown in the Soviet Union, it became so widespread and blatant in Georgia that it came to be an embarrassment to the authorities in Moscow.
Eduard Shevardnadze , the country's interior minister between and , gained a reputation as a fighter of corruption and engineered the removal of Vasil Mzhavanadze , the corrupt First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party. Shevardnadze ascended to the post of First Secretary with the blessings of Moscow. He was an effective and able ruler of Georgia from to , improving the official economy and dismissing hundreds of corrupt officials.
Soviet power and Georgian nationalism clashed in when Moscow ordered revision of the constitutional status of the Georgian language as Georgia's official state language. Bowing to pressure from mass street demonstrations on April 14, , Moscow approved Shevardnadze's reinstatement of the constitutional guarantee the same year. April 14 was established as a Day of the Georgian Language. Shevardnadze's appointment as Soviet Foreign Minister in brought his replacement in Georgia by Jumber Patiashvili , a conservative and generally ineffective Communist who coped poorly with the challenges of perestroika.
Towards the end of the late s, increasingly violent clashes occurred between the Communist authorities, the resurgent Georgian nationalist movement and nationalist movements in Georgia's minority-populated regions notably South Ossetia. On April 9, , Soviet troops were used to break up a peaceful demonstration at the government building in Tbilisi. Twenty Georgians were killed and hundreds wounded and poisoned. The event radicalised Georgian politics, prompting many—even some Georgian communists—to conclude that independence was preferable to continued Soviet rule.
On March 31, , Gamsakhurdia wasted no time in organising a referendum on independence , which was approved by Formal independence from the Soviet Union was declared on April 9, , although it took some time before it was widely recognised by outside powers such as the United States and European countries.
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Gamsakhurdia's government strongly opposed any vestiges of Russian dominance, such as the remaining Soviet military bases in the republic, and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union his government declined to join the Commonwealth of Independent States CIS. He was subsequently widely criticised for what was perceived to be an erratic and authoritarian style of government, with nationalists and reformists joining forces in an uneasy anti-Gamsakhurdia coalition.
A tense situation was worsened by the large amount of ex-Soviet weaponry available to the quarreling parties and by the growing power of paramilitary groups.
Gamsakhurdia managed to evade his enemies and fled to the breakaway Russian republic of Chechnya in January The new government invited Eduard Shevardnadze to become the head of a State Council—in effect, president—in March , putting a moderate face on the somewhat unsavoury regime that had been established following Gamsakhurdia's ouster.
In August , a separatist dispute in the Georgian autonomous republic of Abkhazia escalated when government forces and paramilitaries were sent into the area to quell separatist activities. The Abkhaz fought back with help from paramilitaries from Russia's North Caucasus regions and alleged covert support from Russian military stationed in a base in Gudauta , Abkhazia and in September the government forces suffered a catastrophic defeat, which led to them being driven out and the entire Georgian population of the region being expelled.
Around 14, people died and another , were forced to flee. Ethnic violence also flared in South Ossetia but was eventually quelled, although at the cost of several hundred casualties and , refugees fleeing into Russian North Ossetia. In south-western Georgia, the autonomous republic of Ajaria came under the control of Aslan Abashidze , who managed to rule his republic from to as a personal fiefdom in which the Tbilisi government had little influence. On September 24, , in the wake of the Abkhaz disaster, Zviad Gamsakhurdia returned from exile to organise an uprising against the government.
His supporters were able to capitalise on the disarray of the government forces and quickly overran much of western Georgia. This alarmed Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and units of the Russian Army were sent into Georgia to assist the government. Gamsakhurdia's rebellion quickly collapsed and he died on December 31, , apparently after being cornered by his enemies.
In a highly controversial agreement, Shevardnadze's government agreed that it would join the CIS as part of the price for military and political support. Shevardnadze narrowly survived a bomb attack in August that he blamed on his erstwhile paramilitary allies. He took the opportunity to imprison the paramilitary leader Jaba Ioseliani and ban his Mkhedrioni militia in what was proclaimed as a strike against "mafia forces".
History of Georgia (country)
However, his government—and his own family—became increasingly associated with pervasive corruption that hampered Georgia's economic growth. He won presidential elections in November and April with large majorities, but there were persistent allegations of vote-rigging. The war in Chechnya caused considerable friction with Russia, which accused Georgia of harbouring Chechen guerrillas. Further friction was caused by Shevardnadze's close relationship with the United States, which saw him as a counterbalance to Russian influence in the strategic Transcaucasus region.
A powerful coalition of reformists headed by Mikheil Saakashvili and Zurab Zhvania united to oppose Shevardnadze's government in the November 2, parliamentary elections. The elections were widely regarded as blatantly rigged, including by OSCE observers; [91] in response, the opposition organised massive demonstrations in the streets of Tbilisi. After two tense weeks, Shevardnadze resigned on November 23, , and was replaced as president on an interim basis by Burjanadze.
These results were annulled by the Georgia Supreme Court after the Rose Revolution on November 25, , following allegations of widespread electoral fraud and large public protests, which led to the resignation of Shevardnadze. A new election was held on March 28, Constitutional amendments were rushed through Parliament in February strengthening the powers of the President to dismiss Parliament and creating the post of Prime Minister.
Zurab Zhvania was appointed Prime Minister. Nino Burjanadze , the interim President, became Speaker of Parliament. The new president faced many problems on coming to office. More than , internally displaced persons put an enormous strain on the economy. Peace in the separatist areas of Abkhazia and South Ossetia , overseen by Russian and United Nations peacekeepers in the framework of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe , remained fragile. The Rose Revolution raised many expectations, both domestically and abroad. The new government was expected to bring democracy, ending a period of widespread corruption and government inefficiency; and to complete state-building by re-asserting sovereignty over the whole Georgian territory.
Both aims were very ambitious; the new ruling elite initiated a process of concentration of power in the hands of the executive, in order to use the revolutionary mandate to change the country. In fact, the Saakashvili government initially achieved impressive results in strengthening the capacity of the state and toppling corruption. After the Rose Revolution, relations between the Georgian government and semi-separatist Ajarian leader Aslan Abashidze deteriorated rapidly, with Abashidze rejecting Saakashvili's demands for the writ of the Tbilisi government to run in Ajaria.
Both sides mobilised forces in apparent preparations for a military confrontation. Saakashvili's ultimatums and massive street demonstrations forced Abashidze to resign and flee Georgia Adjara crisis. Relations with Russia remained problematic due to Russia's continuing political, economic and military support to separatist governments in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Russian troops still remained garrisoned at two military bases and as peacekeepers in these regions. Saakashvili's public pledge to resolve the matter provoked criticism from the separatist regions and Russia. In August , several clashes occurred in South Ossetia. Georgia supported the coalition forces in Iraq War. On November 8, , extra Georgian troops were sent to Iraq. The Georgian government committed to send a total of troops to Iraq to serve in the protection forces of the UN Mission. Saakashvili remained under significant pressure to deliver on his promised reforms. Organisations such as Amnesty International have pushed serious concerns over human rights.
In Georgia's relationship with Russia was at nadir due to the Georgian—Russian espionage controversy and related events. In , a political crisis led to serious anti-government protests , and Russia allegedly led a series of airspace violations against Georgia. Since the weakening of the democratic credentials of the Saakashvili cabinet after the police crackdown of the protests , the government has put the stress on his successful economic reforms. Saakashvili called new parliamentary and presidential elections for January In order to contest the presidential election, Saakashvili announced his resignation effective 25 November , with Nino Burjanadze becoming acting president for a second time until the election returned Saakashvili to office on 20 January In October famous georgian tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili admitted his entrance to politics of Georgia.
The "loans for shares" giveaway took place in the run-up to the presidential election—at a point when it had appeared that Zyuganov might defeat Yeltsin. Yeltsin and his entourage gave the oligarchs an opportunity to scoop up some of Russia's most desirable assets in return for their help in his reelection effort.
The oligarchs, in turn, reciprocated the favor. The media painted a picture of a fateful choice for Russia, between Yeltsin and a "return to totalitarianism. In the outlying regions of the country, the Yeltsin campaign relied on its ties to other allies—the patron-client ties of the local governors, most of whom had been appointed by the president. The Zyuganov campaign had a strong grass-roots organization, but it was simply no match for the financial resources and access to patronage that the Yeltsin campaign could marshal.
Yeltsin campaigned energetically, dispelling concerns about his health, exploiting all the advantages of incumbency to maintain a high media profile. To assuage voters' discontent, he made the claim that he would abandon some unpopular economic reforms and boost welfare spending, end the war in Chechnya , pay wage and pension arrears, and abolish military conscription he did not live up to his promises after the election, except for ending the Chechen war, which was halted for 3 years.
Grigory Yavlinsky was the liberal alternative to Yeltsin and Zyuganov. He appealed to a well-educated middle class that saw Yeltsin as an incompetent alcoholic and Zyuganov as a Soviet-era throwback. Seeing Yavlinsky as a threat, Yeltsin's inner circle of supporters worked to bifurcate political discourse, thus excluding a middle ground—and convince voters that only Yeltsin could defeat the Communist "menace.
Voter turnout in the first round of the polling on June 16 was With no candidate securing an absolute majority, Yeltsin and Zyuganov went into a second round of voting. In the meantime, Yeltsin co-opted a large segment of the electorate by appointing Lebed to the posts of national security adviser and secretary of the Security Council. In the end, Yeltsin's election tactics paid off.
In the run-off on July 3, with a turnout of Yeltsin lost to Zyuganov in Russia's southern industrial heartland. The southern stretch of the country became known as the " red belt ", underscoring the resilience of the Communist Party in elections since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Although Yeltsin promised that he would abandon his unpopular neoliberal austerity policies and increase public spending to help those suffering from the pain of capitalist reforms, within a month of his election, Yeltsin issued a decree canceling almost all of these promises.
Right after the election, Yeltsin's physical health and mental stability were increasingly precarious.
History of Georgia (country) - Wikipedia
Many of his executive functions thus devolved upon a group of advisers most of whom had close links with the oligarchs. The global recession of , which started with the Asian financial crisis in July , exacerbated Russia's continuing economic crisis. Given the ensuing decline in world commodity prices, countries heavily dependent on the export of raw materials such as oil were among those most severely hit. Oil is also a major source of government tax revenue which brought significant negative implications for Russia's fiscal situation, foreign exchange stores and ultimately, the value of the ruble.
The pressures on the ruble, reflecting the weakness of the economy, resulted in a disastrous fall in the value of the currency. Massive tax evasion continued and accelerated due to financial instability and decreasing government capacity. This further decreased government revenues and soon, the central government found itself unable to service the massive loans it had accumulated and ultimately was even unable to pay its employees.
The government stopped making timely payment of wages, pensions, and debts to suppliers; and when workers were paid, it was often with bartered goods rather than rubles. As time wore on, they added calls for the resignation of Yeltsin in addition to their demands for wages. A political crisis came to a head in March when Yeltsin suddenly dismissed Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and his entire cabinet on March Russian observers expressed doubts about Kiriyenko's youth and inexperience.
The Duma rejected his nomination twice. Only after a month-long standoff, during which Yeltsin threatened to dissolve the legislature, did the Duma confirm Kiriyenko on a third vote on April Kiriyenko appointed a new cabinet strongly committed to stemming the fall in the value of Russia's currency. The oligarchs strongly supported Kiriyenko's efforts to maintain the exchange rate. A high exchange rate meant that they needed fewer rubles to buy imported goods, especially luxury items.
But concerns about the financial crisis in Asia and the slump in world oil prices were already prompting investors to withdraw from Russia. By mid, it was clear Russia would need help from IMF to maintain its exchange rate. The Russian crisis caused alarm in the West. Pouring more money into the Russian economy would not be a long-term solution, but the U. President Bill Clinton 's treasury secretary, Robert Rubin , also feared that a Russian collapse could create a panic on world money markets and it indeed did help bring down one major US hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management.
Despite the bailout, Russia's monthly interest payments still well exceeded its monthly tax revenues. Realizing that this situation was unsustainable, investors continued to flee Russia despite the IMF bailout. Weeks later the financial crisis resumed and the value of the ruble resumed its fall, and the government fell into a self-perpetuating trap.
To pay off the interest on the loans it had taken, it needed to raise still more cash, which it did through foreign borrowing. As lenders became increasingly certain that the government could not make good on its obligations, they demanded ever-higher interest rates, deepening the trap. Ultimately the bubble burst. On August 17, Kiriyenko's government and the central bank were forced to suspend payment on Russia's foreign debt for 90 days, restructure the nation's entire debt, and devalue the ruble.
The ruble went into free fall as Russians sought frantically to buy dollars. Western creditors lost heavily, and a large part of Russia's fledgling banking sector was destroyed, since many banks had substantial dollar borrowings. Foreign investment rushed out of the country, and financial crisis triggered an unprecedented flight of capital from Russia. The financial collapse produced a political crisis, as Yeltsin, with his domestic support evaporating, had to contend with an emboldened opposition in the parliament. A week later, on August 23, Yeltsin fired Kiryenko and declared his intention of returning Chernomyrdin to office as the country slipped deeper into economic turmoil.
Yeltsin, who began to lose his hold as his health deteriorated, wanted Chernomyrdin back, but the legislature refused to give its approval. After the Duma rejected Chernomyrdin's candidacy twice, Yeltsin, his power clearly on the wane, backed down. Instead, he nominated Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov , who on September 11 was overwhelmingly approved by the Duma. Primakov's appointment restored political stability because he was seen as a compromise candidate able to heal the rifts between Russia's quarreling interest groups. There was popular enthusiasm for Primakov as well.
Communists and trade unionists staged a nationwide strike on October 7, and called on President Yeltsin to resign. On October 9, Russia, which was also suffering from a bad harvest, appealed for international humanitarian aid, including food. Russia bounced back from the August financial crash with surprising speed. Much of the reason for the recovery is that world oil prices rapidly rose during — just as falling energy prices on the world market had deepened Russia's financial troubles so that Russia ran a large trade surplus in and Another reason is that domestic industries such as food processing have benefited from the devaluation, which caused a steep increase in the prices of imported goods.
Finally, the economy has been helped by an infusion of cash; as enterprises were able to pay off arrears in back wages and taxes, it, in turn, allowed consumer demand for the goods and services of Russian industry to rise. For the first time in many years, unemployment in fell as enterprises added workers. Nevertheless, the political and social equilibrium of the country remains tenuous to this day [ when?
The economy remains vulnerable to downturn if, for instance, world oil prices fall at a dramatic pace. Yevgeny Primakov did not remain in his post long. Yeltsin grew suspicious that Primakov was gaining in strength and popularity and dismissed him in May , after only eight months in office. The Duma confirmed his appointment on the first ballot by a wide margin.
Stepashin's tenure was even shorter than Primakov's. In August , Yeltsin once again abruptly dismissed the government and named Vladimir Putin as his candidate to head the new government. Like Stepashin, Putin had a background in the secret police, having made his career in the foreign intelligence service and later as head of the FSB. Yeltsin went so far as to declare that he saw Putin as his successor as president. The Duma narrowly voted to confirm Putin. When appointed, Putin was a relatively unknown politician, but he quickly established himself both in public opinion and in Yeltsin's estimation as a trusted head of government, largely due to the Second Chechen War.
Just days after Yeltsin named Putin as a candidate for prime minister, Chechen forces engaged the Russian army in Dagestan , a Russian autonomy near Chechnya. In the next month, several hundred people died in apartment building bombings in Moscow and other cities, bombings Russian authorities attributed to Chechen rebels. The Russian public at the time, angry over the terrorist bombings, widely supported the war.
The support translated into growing popularity for Putin, who had taken decisive action in Chechnya. After the success of political forces close to Putin in the December parliamentary elections , Yeltsin evidently felt confident enough in Putin that he resigned from the presidency on December 31, six months before his term was due to expire. This made Putin acting president and gave Putin ample opportunity to position himself as the frontrunner for the Russian presidential election held on March 26, , which he won. The Chechen War figured prominently in the campaign. In February , Russian troops entered Grozny , the Chechen capital, and a week before the election, Putin flew to Chechnya on a fighter jet, claiming victory.
In August , the Russian submarine K Kursk suffered an explosion, causing the submarine to sink in the shallow area of the Barents Sea. Russia organized a vigorous but hectic attempt to save the crew, and the entire futile effort was surrounded by unexplained secrecy. This, as well as the slow initial reaction to the event and especially to the offers of foreign aid in saving the crew, brought much criticism on the government and personally on President Putin.
On October 23, , Chechen separatists took over a Moscow theater. Over people inside were taken hostage in what has been called the Moscow theater hostage crisis. The separatists demanded the immediate withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya and threatened to blow up the building if authorities attempted to enter. Three days later, Russian commandos stormed the building after the hostages had been subdued with a sleeping gas, shooting the unconscious militants, and killing over civilian hostages with the sleeping gas in the process.
In the aftermath of the theater siege, Putin began renewed efforts to eliminate the Chechen insurrection. The government canceled scheduled troop withdrawals, surrounded Chechen refugee camps with soldiers, and increased the frequency of assaults on separatist positions. Chechen militants responded in kind, stepping up guerrilla operations and rocket attacks on federal helicopters. Several high-profile attacks have taken place. In May , Chechen separatists assassinated Akhmad Kadyrov , the pro-Russia Chechen leader who became the president of Chechnya 8 months earlier after an election conducted by Russian authorities.
On August 24, , two Russian aircraft were bombed. This was followed by the Beslan school hostage crisis in which Chechen separatists took 1, hostages. The initially high public support for the war in Chechnya has declined. Putin has confronted several very influential oligarchs Vladimir Gusinsky , Boris Berezovsky and Mikhail Khodorkovsky , in particular who attained large stakes of state assets, allegedly through illegal schemes, during the privatization process. Gusinsky and Berezovsky have been forced to leave Russia and give up parts of their assets. Putin's stand against oligarchs is generally popular with the Russian people, even though the jailing of Khodorkovsky is mainly seen as part of a takeover operation by government officials, according to another Levada-Center poll.
These confrontations have also led to Putin establishing control over Russian media outlets previously owned by the oligarchs. Similar takeovers have also occurred with print media. Putin's popularity, which stems from his reputation as a strong leader, stands in contrast to the unpopularity of his predecessor, but it hinges on a continuation of economic recovery.
Putin came into office at an ideal time: Indeed, during the seven years of his presidency, real GDP grew on average 6. Thus, many credit him with the recovery, but his ability to withstand a sudden economic downturn has been untested. Putin won the Russian presidential election in without any significant competition. Some researchers assert that most Russians today have come to regret the collapse of the Soviet Union in In a campaign speech in February , for example, Putin called the dismantlement of the Soviet Union a "national tragedy on an enormous scale," from which "only the elites and nationalists of the republics gained.
On the contrary, people have faced a huge number of problems. Putin's international prestige suffered a major blow in the West during the disputed Ukrainian presidential election. Putin had twice visited Ukraine before the election to show his support for the pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych against opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko , a pro-Western liberal economist.
He congratulated Yanukovych, followed shortly afterwards by Belorussian president Alexander Lukashenko , on his victory before election results were even made official [40] and made statements opposing the rerun of the disputed second round of elections, won by Yanukovych, amid allegations of large-scale voting fraud. The second round was ultimately rerun; Yushchenko won the round and was eventually declared the winner on January 10, In the West, the reaction to Russia's handling of, or perhaps interference in, the Ukrainian election evoked echoes of the Cold War, but relations with the U.
Many in the Russian press and in the international media warned that the death of hostages in the special forces' rescue operation during the Moscow theater hostage crisis would severely damage President Putin's popularity. In , the Russian government replaced the broad in-kind Soviet-era benefits, such as free transportation and subsidies for heating and other utilities for socially vulnerable groups by cash payments. The reform, known as monetization , has been unpopular and caused a wave of demonstrations in various Russian cities, with thousands of retirees protesting against the loss of their benefits.
This was the first time such wave of protests took place during the Putin administration. The near year period prior to the rise of Putin after the dissolution of Soviet rule was a time of upheaval in Russia. The continued criminal prosecution of Russia's then richest man, President of Yukos oil and gas company Mikhail Khodorkovsky , for fraud and tax evasion was seen by the international press as a retaliation for Khodorkovsky's donations to both liberal and communist opponents of the Kremlin. On 7 October , Anna Politkovskaya , a journalist who exposed corruption in the Russian army and its conduct in Chechnya , was shot in the lobby of her apartment building, on Putin's birthday.
The death of Politkovskaya triggered international criticism, with accusations that Putin has failed to protect the country's new independent media. In , " Dissenters' Marches " were organized by the opposition group The Other Russia , [60] led by former chess champion Garry Kasparov and national-Bolshevist leader Eduard Limonov. Following prior warnings, demonstrations in several Russian cities were met by police action, which included interfering with the travel of the protesters and the arrests of as many as people who attempted to break through police lines.
Fradkov commented that it was to give the President a "free hand" in the run-up to the parliamentary election. Viktor Zubkov was appointed the new prime minister. In December , United Russia won Putin was barred from a third term by the Constitution.
Georgia (country)
In a power-switching operation on 8 May , only a day after handing the presidency to Medvedev, Putin was appointed Prime Minister of Russia , maintaining his political dominance. In , Kosovo's declaration of independence saw a marked deterioration in Russia's relationship with the West. It also saw South Ossetia war against Georgia , that followed Georgia's attempt to take over the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Russian troops entered South Ossetia and forced Georgian troops back, establishing their control on this territory.
In the fall of , Russia unilaterally recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Putin has said that overcoming the consequences of the world economic crisis was one of the two main achievements of his second Premiership.