Site Information:  Newly Independent States of the Former Soviet Union

Title:         
Georgia

Public Affairs

Source:         Bureau of Public Affairs, Office of Public
                 Communication

Description:    Washington, DC

Date:           May 27, 19925/27/92

Category:       Site Information

Region:         Eurasia

Country:        Georgia, USSR (former)

Subject:        History, Democratization, Trade/Economics,
                 Cultural Exchange

Map: Central, Eastern Europe, and the former Soviet Republics

[TEXT]

Overview

Georgia is a modern state with an ancient history.  Located in the
Caucasus Mountains on the southeastern shores of the Black Sea, it
is one of the smallest of the republics.  Ancestors of today's
Georgians have probably lived in this region of the Caucasus since
the Stone Age.  The area became part of the Roman Empire by 65 BC,
and Georgia converted to Christianity in the 4th century AD.

        For the next 3 centuries, it became involved in the conflicts
between the Byzantine and Persian Empires.  After 654 AD, local
authority was exercised by Arab caliphs, who established an
emirate in Tiflis (Tbilisi).  In the early 11th century, King Bagrat
united all the principalities of eastern and western Georgia into one
state.

        Under Queen Tamara (1184-1213), Georgia reached its zenith
of power; her realm stretched from Azerbaijan on the east to
Circassia to the northwest, forming a pan-Caucasian empire.  From
1220 onward, Mongols and others invaded the area and took control
of the eastern region.  The fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman
Turks in 1453 further isolated Georgia from Western Christendom,
and the next 3 centuries witnessed repeated invasions by the Turks
and Persians, leading to the partition of the country between
Turkish sultans and Persian shahs.  A few outstanding rulers, such
as Vakhtang VI (1711-24) kept the national spirit alive.

        In 1801, Czar Alexander I annexed Georgia to the Russian
empire, ensuring a measure of order and stability.  Georgians played
a vital role in the revolutions of 1917, and after the overthrow of
Alexander Kerensky, an independent Menshevik government was set
up in Georgia under the presidency of Noe Zhordania.  The Red Army
crushed that government in 1921.  From 1922 to 1936, Georgia,
with Armenia and Azerbaijan, formed the Soviet Transcaucasian
Republic.  The Soviet constitution of 1936, however, dissolved that
federation and established the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Georgia declared its independence on August 23, 1991.

        Georgia is a land of spectacular geographic and climatic
contrasts.  To the north is the main Caucasus range, which includes
Mount Elbruz (18,510 feet) and Mount Kazbek (16,558 feet), capped
with perpetual snow.  To the south, it is bounded by the Lesser
Caucasus range and the Armenian highlands.  Between is a series of
fertile plains and valleys with temperate climate and high
agricultural potential.  The low-lying regions along the Black Sea
are sub-tropical, with palm trees and lush vegetation.  Eastern
Georgia, which includes Tbilisi, comprises the ancient kingdoms of
Kartli and Kakheti; its climate resembles the upland Mediterranean
regions of Spain and Italy.  Numerous rivers provide water for
irrigation and hydroelectric power, and extensive deciduous and
coniferous forests shelter a wide range of wild fauna, including
bears, boars, roedeer, lynxes, foxes, wolves, reindeer and wild cats.

        Today, Georgia has a well-developed industrial base, together
with a diversified and mechanized agriculture.  Among other things,
it produces iron and steel, nitrogen, manganese, cotton, silk and
woolen fabrics.  Bamboo, tung oil, eucalyptus, tobacco, and citrus
fruits, are produced near the Black Sea.  Vineyards in the eastern
region produce wines that are exported to Europe and America.  Not
until the 1980s did the region's population approach its 13th-
century peak of about 5 million.  Two-thirds of the people are
Georgians; minorities include Armenians, Russians, and
Azerbaijanis.

Principal Government Officials

Chairman of the State Council:   Eduard Shevardnadze
Deputy Chairman of State Council: Jaba Ioseliani

Acting Prime Minister:Tengiz Sigua
Minister of Defense:  Tengiz Kitovani
Minister of Foreign Affairs:  Alexander Chikvaidze
Capital:   Tbilisi

    Located in a mountain-ringed basin on the Kura River, Tbilisi is
an ancient city founded as early as the 4th century BC and
continuously occupied ever since.  In 1936, it became the capital of
the separate republic of Georgia.  Among its many famous landmarks
are the Zion Cathedral, the Anchiskat Basilica, and the Metekhi
Castle.

"Land of the Kartvelians"

The Georgians call themselves Kartvelebi and their country Sakart-
velo, or "land of the Kartvelians."

        The term "Georgia" derives from the Arabic and Persian Gurji
and is connected with the Russian Gruziya.

        Ancient legends, such as that of Prometheus chained to a
Caucasian mountain peak for bringing fire to mankind, help confirm
the role of Caucasian metal workers in ancient technology.

        The tale of Medea and the Golden Fleece, set in Colchis, refers
to Georgia's ancient riches in precious metals.

        In classical times, the Greeks knew western Georgia as the
fabled wealthy area of Colchis or Lazica and eastern Georgia as
Iberia, which gave rise to confusion with the ancient Iberia in
Spain.

        Georgia has long had a written language.  Ancient chroniclers
carefully wrote the nation's annals with the distinctive script
devised in the 5th century.

        Queen Tamara's reign was the Golden Age of Georgian culture.
She inspired the national bard Shota Rustaveli, author of the great
romantic epic, The Man in the Panther's Skin.