Georgia on Our Minds

Not the U.S. state–the country south of Russia
Zoom out to map the whole region

Modern Georgia has plenty of problems–including high unemployment, separatist movements, and an uneasy relationship with its much more powerful neighbor: Russia. Now, on top of all that, it faces war.

Early Friday, Georgian forces tried to seize control of South Ossetia, a breakaway region that lies within Georgia’s borders but that, with Russian help, has maintained de facto independence since 1992. The Georgians succeeded, but only for a moment. Russian troops, tanks, and planes poured across the border and quickly drove the Georgians out.

By Sunday, the conflict had widened, with Russian planes bombing sites in Georgia’s capital, Russian ships reportedly blockading one of Georgia’s main ports, and Russian troops entering another breakaway region: Abkhazia. Russia says it intends to punish Georgia for its actions. We say it’s clearly time to learn something about Georgia.

Georgia’s Days of Yore

The ancient Greeks knew Georgia. So did the Romans. They conquered the region in 66 BC, and it remained under the sway of Roman and Byzantine emperors for centuries. Later, it became one of the first parts of the world to convert to Christianity–around AD 330. To this day, the vast majority of Georgians are Orthodox Christians.

Still, Georgia’s rulers have often been Muslims. During the 7th century, invading Arabs set up an emirate in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, and gave the place its modern name: “Georgia” is from “Jurj,” the Arabic term for the region. The Georgians themselves call their country “Sakartvelo.”

Between periods of foreign rule, native Georgians periodically managed to reassert control over their country. In fact, Georgia enjoyed a golden age between the 11th and 13th centuries. But the glory days came to an end when the Mongols invaded in 1236. A further indignity came in 1386, when Timur (a.k.a. Tamerlane) sacked Tbilisi. Georgia became a pawn in the struggles of more powerful neighbors, notably Safavid Iran and Ottoman Turkey.

Reds’ Rise

At the start of the 19th century, Georgia’s rulers were most concerned about their Iranian neighbors, and they turned to Russia for help. Russia’s rulers responded by helping themselves to Georgia, annexing their smaller neighbor piece by piece. Eventually, Georgia’s royals were deported, and the Georgian people underwent a process of “Russification” designed to erase their national identity.

Still, Georgian patriots dreamed of national independence. When Russia was embroiled in revolution in 1917, the Georgians seized the opportunity. After trying to align with their “Transcaucasian” neighbors (Armenia and Azerbaijan), they founded the independent Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1918. Three years after that, the Red Army rolled in and made Georgia join the Soviet Union.

Rose Revolution

Georgia’s next chance at independence came seven decades later, in 1991, when Mikhail Gorbachev was trying to keep the Soviet Union alive. That year, Georgia declared its independence and elected Zviad Gamsakhurdia as its first president. His rule ended with a brief civil war and a coup in 1992. Gorbachev’s former foreign minister–Eduard Shevardnadze–then took over as president.

Shevardnadze had a reputation as a moderate, and at first he enjoyed broad popular support. He brought Georgia closer to the West, and hoped the nation would someday join both NATO and the European Union. But in 2003, crowds of rose-bearing protesters forced Shevardnadze to resign after an election beset by allegations of ballot fraud. This bloodless “Rose Revolution” brought current president Mikheil Saakashvili–another friend of the West–to power.

Still, the Rose Revolution didn’t make everything in Georgia peachy. The economy has been growing, but poverty and unemployment are still problems. What’s more, even as Georgia pulled away from Russia, two regions along the border–South Ossetia and Abkhazia–effectively broke away from Georgia. Both have since enjoyed de facto independence, preserved in part by the presence of Russian soldiers. Now, they’ve drawn Georgia and Russia into war.

–Mark Diller