[204][205][206][207] While human rights activists maintained that the protests were peaceful, the government pointed out that many protesters were masked and armed with heavy sticks and molotov cocktails. [299][300][301][302][303][304] The official languages of Georgia are Georgian, with Abkhaz having official status within the autonomous region of Abkhazia. [181] STC Delta now produces a variety of military equipment, including armoured vehicles, artillery systems, aviation systems, personal protection equipment, and small arms. GCP, Unified Communist Party of Georgia . [175] In June 2014, the EU and Georgia signed an Association Agreement, which entered into force on 1 July 2016. Other popular sports in 19th century Georgia were polo, and Lelo, a traditional Georgian game very similar to rugby. The first attempt to unite the country occurred under King Parnavaz of Kartli at the beginning of the third century B.C.E. [355], The first and only race circuit in the Caucasian region is located in Georgia. This country held its first democratic republic elections in 1990. 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. Joseph Stalin, an ethnic Georgian born Iosif Vissarionovich Jugashvili ( ) in Gori, was prominent among the Bolsheviks. [343], Georgia has an ancient musical tradition, which is primarily known for its early development of polyphony. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, Georgia emerged as an independent republic under German protection. [citation needed] 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 metres (11,155ft) in elevation. The Constitution of Georgia guarantees freedom of speech. Only those students who have passed the Unified National Examinations may enroll in a state-accredited higher education institution, based on ranking of the scores received at the exams. Prominent features of the area include the Javakheti Volcanic Plateau, lakes, including Tabatskuri and Paravani, as well as mineral water and hot springs. 1956 - Soviet troops . 120 parliamentary seats were elected through proportional vote while 30 seats were elected through single mandate majoritarian constituencies. In a letter on Monday, Raffensperger called on the GOP's congressional leadership to . Members of parliament are elected for four-year terms. [353] Wrestling remains a historically important sport of Georgia, and some historians think that the Greco-Roman style of wrestling incorporates many Georgian elements. Located on the crossroads of protracted RomanPersian wars, the early Georgian kingdoms disintegrated into various feudal regions by the early Middle Ages. [96] South Ossetian separatists began shelling Georgian villages on 1 August. [310], The special status of the Georgian Orthodox Church is officially recognized in the Constitution of Georgia and the Concordat of 2002, although religious institutions are separate from the state. [208] Georgian opposition leader Nino Burjanadze said the accusations of planning a coup were baseless, and that the protesters' actions were legitimate. Georgia (Georgian: , .mw-parser-output .noitalic{font-style:normal}romanized:Sakartvelo, IPA:[skrtvl] (listen)) is a transcontinental country at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. [31][32] The classical period saw the rise of a number of early Georgian states, the principal of which were Colchis in the west and Iberia in the east. The first mention of the name spelled as Georgia is in Italian on the mappa mundi of Pietro Vesconte dated AD 1320. 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. CABI, 2008. Tourist attractions include more than 2,000 mineral springs, over 12,000 historical and cultural monuments, four of which are recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites (Bagrati Cathedral in Kutaisi and Gelati Monastery, historical monuments of Mtskheta, and Upper Svaneti). The Georgian railways represent an important transport artery for the Caucasus, as they make up the largest proportion of a route linking the Black and Caspian Seas. The track satisfies the FIA Grade 2 requirements and currently hosts the Legends car racing series and Formula Alfa competitions. Government of Georgia. In 1921, communist Russia launched a new military campaign against Georgia and conquered the country in fierce battles, annexing it to the Soviet Union. The medals depict the famous statue "Motherland" Calls, which was . In 19181919, Georgian general Giorgi Mazniashvili led an 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 the independent Georgia. Its name stemmed from the term 'Gorn', which was a designation given by Persians to Georgian people. [226], 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. South Ossetia is officially known by Georgia as the Tskinvali region, as it views "South Ossetia" as implying political bonds with Russian North Ossetia. "[172], George W. Bush became the first sitting US president to visit the country. Against the expectations of the then ruling United National Movement (UNM) of president Mikheil Saakashvili, the 6-party opposition coalition around newly found Georgian Dream won the parliamentary elections in October 2012, bringing an end to nine years of UNM rule and marking the first peaceful, electoral, transfer of power in Georgia. The first exhibition of products made by STC Delta was in 1999. [92], Tensions between Georgia and Russia began escalating in April 2008. Georgia: in the mountains of poetry 3rd rev. [297] Of the Meskhetian Turks who were forcibly relocated in 1944, only a tiny fraction returned to Georgia as of 2008[update]. [270] Passenger services are operated by the state-owned Georgian Railway whilst freight operations are carried out by a number of licensed operators. For much of the 20th century, Georgia's economy was within the Soviet model of command economy. This was nowhere else more publicly and violently opposed than in Georgia, where in 1956 riots broke out upon the release of Khrushchev's public denunciation of Stalin, which had to be dispersed by military force. It's been a communist takeover of our country, and it happened on January 21. An Arab incursion into western Georgia led by Marwan II, was repelled by Leon I (r. 720740) jointly with his Lazic and Iberian allies in 736. Communism is both a political system and an economic one. In contrast with western Georgia, nearly 85 per cent of the forests of the region are deciduous. President Saakashvili acknowledged the defeat of his party on the following day. [311], Despite the long history of religious harmony in Georgia,[312] there have been instances of religious discrimination and violence against "nontraditional faiths", such as Jehovah's Witnesses, by followers of the defrocked Orthodox priest Basil Mkalavishvili. On 29 October 2004, the North Atlantic Council of NATO approved the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) of Georgia, and Georgia moved on to the second stage of Euro-Atlantic Integration. [74], The 1918 GeorgianArmenian War, which erupted over parts of disputed provinces between Armenia and Georgia populated mostly by Armenians, ended because of British intervention. [273][274], Air and maritime transport is developing in Georgia, with the former mainly used by passengers and the latter for transport of freight. [167] The majority of Georgians and politicians in Georgia support the push for NATO membership. [313], In addition to traditional religious organizations, Georgia retains secular and irreligious segments of society (0.5 per cent),[314] as well as a significant portion of religiously affiliated individuals who do not actively practice their faith. [citation needed] The military budget of Georgia for 2021 is 900 ($280) million. Thousands of people gathered outside the Central Election Commission to demand a new vote. Country straddling Western Asia and Eastern Europe in the Caucusus, "Republic of Georgia" redirects here. 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 do not speak the Azerbaijani language. [226], Because of its high landscape diversity and low latitude, Georgia is home to about 5,601 species of animals, including 648 species of vertebrates (more than 1% of the species found worldwide) and many of these species are endemics. Georgian wine has been a contentious issue in recent relationships with Russia. In 2010, Transparency International (TI) named Georgia "the best corruption-buster in the world. On 26 May 2012, Saakashvili inaugurated a new Parliament building in the western city of Kutaisi, in an effort to decentralize power and shift some political control closer to Abkhazia. [146] This led to a new political crisis that was (temporarily) resolved with an EU brokered agreement,[147] from which the Georgian Dream later withdrew. ", "NDI Poll: Economy Still Top Concern for Georgians; Support for NATO and EU Stable", "Substantial NATO-Georgia Package (SNGP)", "Lavrov: If Georgia Joins NATO, Relations Will Be Spoiled", "Russian FM Lavrov supports resumption of flights to Georgia as Georgians 'realised consequences' of June 20", "Europe | Bush praises Georgian democracy", "Visas: Council confirms agreement on visa liberalisation for Georgia", "Visas: Council adopts regulation on visa liberalisation for Georgians", "Georgia's PM Signs Application to Join the EU", "MoD Releases Details on Georgian Troops Wounded in May 13 Helmand Attack", "Georgia deploying 750 soldiers to Afghanistan", "Why Georgia sends troops to Afghanistan", "Georgian Soldier Succumbs to Injuries Suffered in Afghanistan", "Firing of traffic police force stands as a symbol of hope in Georgia | McClatchy", "Georgia's National Police Corruption Project", Building security in the Republic of Georgia, "Remarks by President Saakashvili at the CIS Summit in Tbilisi", "How Georgia Stamped Out Corruption on Campus", "Lessons from Georgia's fight against graft", "Georgia's Fight Against Corruption in Public Services Wins Praise", "Georgia's anti-corruption reforms stall amid political crisis and allegations of state capture", "Alternative report on the implementation by Georgia of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in the region of Kvemo Kartli Tbilisi, 2008 p. 5859", "US, Britain, call for probe into May 26 events in Georgia", "Georgia: Police Used Excessive Force on Peaceful Protests | Human Rights Watch", "Tbilisi Mayor's Offers Protesters Alternative Venues for Rally", "Georgian Police Say 2 Killed in Protest Dispersal", "Audio, Video Recordings Implicate Protest Leaders to 'Plotting Violence', "Thousands gather for street protests against Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili", "PM Strongly Against of Marijuana Decriminalization", "Fighting back against Georgia's war on drugs", "Georgian Court Abolishes Fines For Marijuana Consumption", "Human Rights in the Occupied Territories of Georgia", "Abkhazia, S. Ossetia Formally Declared Occupied Territory", "The Law of Georgia on Occupied Territories (431-IIs)", 'Caucasus (region and mountains, Eurasia)', "Dramatic Double Sturgeon Discovery in Georgia", "Cybertruffle's Robigalia Observations of fungi and their associated organisms", "An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm", "Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity Supplementary Material", "U.S. Energy Informationa Administration "World Hydroelectricity Installed Capacity", "World Integrates Trade Solution Country Snapshot Georgia", "Briefing note for countries on the 2020 Human Development Report", "Briefing note for countries on the 2020 Human Development Report": Figure 1: Trends in Georgia's HDI component indices 20002019, Flat taxes could be a flash in the pan, IMF research says, "Frequently Asked Questions: I. George V was the last great king of the unified Georgian state. 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. Georgia, or officially called the Democratic Republic of Georgia, is a country in the Southern Caucasus. Greene said that she became a member of Congress in January while "raging against this system, refusing to back down and calling out communism." The congresswoman urged Republicans to oppose the. It was the last direct election of a Georgian president, as additional constitutional reforms removed the popular vote. The 1989 census recorded 341,000 ethnic Russians, or 6.3 per cent of the population,[288] 52,000 Ukrainians and 100,000 Greeks in Georgia. (1996). [254] Georgia's economy is becoming more devoted to services (as of 2016[update], representing 59.4 per cent of GDP), moving away from the agricultural sector (6.1 per cent). It is bounded on the north and northeast by Russia, on the east and southeast by Azerbaijan, on the south by Armenia and Turkey, and on the west by the Black Sea. [308][309] The Church gained autocephaly during the early Middle Ages; it was abolished during the Russian domination of the country, restored in 1917 and fully recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1989. The species number of invertebrates is considered to be very high but data is distributed across a high number of publications. [83], During the War in Abkhazia (19921993), roughly 230,000 to 250,000 Georgians[84] were expelled from Abkhazia by Abkhaz separatists and North Caucasian volunteers (including Chechens). With the death of Nader Shah in 1747, both kingdoms broke free of Iranian control and were reunified through a personal union under the energetic king Heraclius II in 1762. ["Flora of Spore Producing Plants of Georgia (Summary)"]. [citation needed], In 2005, President Mikheil Saakashvili fired the entire traffic police force (numbering around 30,000 police officers) of the Georgian National Police due to corruption. [18][19] This term itself might have been established through the ancient Iranian appellation of the near-Caspian region, which was referred to as Gorgan ("land of the wolves").[18][20]. [266] According to the government, there are 103 resorts in different climatic zones in Georgia. The revival of the Kingdom of Georgia was set back after Tbilisi was captured and destroyed by the Khwarezmian leader Jalal ad-Din in 1226. He also conducts the highly philosophical toasts, and makes sure that everyone is enjoying themselves. After his death, local rulers fought for their independence from central Georgian rule, until the total disintegration of the Kingdom in the 15th century. Other architectural features of Georgia include Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi and the Old Town District. Saakashvili believed in 2008 that the country is "on the road to becoming a European democracy. "It's a communist regime. [242][243] 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,[244] and by 2020 further improved its position to 6th in the world. Top 10 Georgia country facts. [344] The Georgian folk song "Chakrulo" was one of 27 musical compositions included on the Voyager Golden Records that were sent into space on Voyager 2 on 20 August 1977. [268], Today transport in Georgia is provided by rail, road, ferry, and air. There are several architectural styles for castles, towers, fortifications and churches. On 2 March 2005, the agreement was signed on the provision of the host nation support to and transit of NATO forces and NATO personnel. Meanwhile in Georgia, the communists terrorized dissidents, abolished democratic freedoms and persecuted the Church. Gold, silver, copper and iron have been mined in the Caucasus Mountains. The federation consisted of three nations: Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Georgia ranked number 58 overall in the 2016 NRI ranking,[258] up from 60 in 2015. According to United Nations data, this totalled 625,000 by 2000, declining to 450,000 by 2019. Cuba is ruled by the Communist Party of Cuba, whose role is described in the Cuban constitution as the "leading force of society of the state." The Communist Party of Cuba adheres more strictly to the tradition of Marxism-Leninism and the Soviet model than the communist parties of other countries. [218], In both Abkhazia and South Ossetia large numbers of people had been given Russian passports, some through a process of forced passportization by Russian authorities. [25][26], The territory of modern-day Georgia was inhabited by Homo erectus since the Paleolithic Era.
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