Georgia (country)

Claw foot of the royal throne and patera depicting emperor Marcus Aurelius uncovered near Mtskheta, 2nd century AD.

The

Located on the crossroads of protracted Roman–Persian wars, 54 BC – 628 AD (681 years), 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 victim to the early Muslim conquests in 645, the 7th century.

Rise of Bagratid Iberia

The extinction of the

An

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 the 11th century.

The Kingdom of Georgia reached its zenith in the 12th to early 13th centuries. This period during the reigns of David IV (r. 1089–1125) and his great-granddaughter Tamar (r. 1184–1213) has been widely termed as Georgia's Golden Age or the Georgian Renaissance.^[53] This early Georgian renaissance, which preceded its Western European analogue, was characterized by impressive military victories, territorial expansion, and a cultural renaissance in architecture, literature, philosophy and the sciences.^[54] The Golden age of Georgia left a legacy of great cathedrals, romantic poetry and literature, and the epic poem The Knight in the Panther's Skin, which is considered a Georgian national epic.^[55][56]

David suppressed dissent of feudal lords and centralized the power in his hands to effectively deal with foreign threats. In 1121, he decisively defeated much larger Turkish armies during the Battle of Didgori and liberated Tbilisi.^[57]

The 29-year reign of Tamar, the first female ruler of Georgia, is considered the most successful in Georgian history.^[59] Tamar was given the title "king of kings" (mepe mepeta).^[58] She 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 as well as parts of northern Iran,^[60] until its collapse under the Mongol attacks within two decades after Tamar's death in 1213.^[61]

The revival of the Kingdom of Georgia was set back after Tbilisi was captured and destroyed by the

The Kingdom of Georgia collapsed into anarchy by 1466 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, various Ottoman and Iranian forces subjugated western and eastern regions of Georgia, respectively.^[63] This pushed local Georgian rulers to seek closer ties with Russia. In 1649, the Kingdom of Imereti sent ambassadors to the Russian royal court, with Russia returning the favor in 1651. In the presence of these ambassadors, Alexander III of Imereti swore an oath of allegiance to Tsar Alexis of Russia on behalf of Imereti.^[64]

The rulers of regions that remained partly autonomous organized rebellions on various occasions. As a result of incessant Ottoman–Persian Wars and deportations, the population of Georgia dwindled to 784,700 inhabitants at the end of the 18th century.^[65] Eastern Georgia, composed of the regions of Kartli and Kakheti, had been under Iranian suzerainty since the Peace of Amasya signed with neighbouring rivalling Ottoman Turkey (Safavid Georgia). With the death of Nader Shah in 1747, both kingdoms broke free and were reunified through a personal union under the energetic king Heraclius II, who succeeded in stabilizing Eastern Georgia to a degree.^[66]

In 1783, Russia and the eastern Georgian Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti signed the Treaty of Georgievsk, which made eastern Georgia protectorate of Russia, guaranteed its territorial integrity and the continuation of its reigning Bagrationi dynasty in return for prerogatives in the conduct of Georgian foreign affairs.^[67]

Despite its commitment to defend Georgia, Russia rendered no assistance when the

On 22 December 1800,

After the

Joseph Stalin, an ethnic Georgian born Iosif Vissarionovich Jugashvili (იოსებ ბესარიონის ძე ჯუღაშვილი) in Gori, was prominent among the Bolsheviks.^[84] Stalin was to rise to the highest position, leading the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death on 5 March 1953.

In June 1941,

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 1956 riots broke out upon the release of Khrushchev's public denunciation of Stalin, which had to be dispersed by military force.

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 1986, the Georgian Soviet 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.

After restoration of independence

On 9 April 1991, shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the

On 26 May, Zviad Gamsakhurdia was elected as the first President of independent Georgia. 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 within the Georgian SSR.^[89]

He was soon deposed in a

During the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993), roughly 230,000 to 250,000 Georgians^[91] were expelled from Abkhazia by Abkhaz separatists and North Caucasian volunteers (including Chechens). Around 23,000 Georgians fled South Ossetia as well.^[92]

In 2003, Shevardnadze (who won re-election in 2000) was deposed by the Rose Revolution, after Georgian opposition and international monitors asserted that 2 November parliamentary elections were marred by fraud.^[93] The revolution was led by Mikheil Saakashvili, Zurab Zhvania and Nino Burjanadze, former members and leaders of Shevardnadze's ruling party. Mikheil Saakashvili was elected as President of Georgia in 2004.^[94]

Following the Rose Revolution, a series of reforms were launched to strengthen the country's military and economic capabilities, as well as to reorient its foreign policy westwards. The new government's efforts to reassert Georgian authority in the southwestern autonomous republic of

There was a Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis in April 2008.^[100][101] A bomb explosion on 1 August 2008 targeted a car transporting Georgian peacekeepers. South Ossetians were responsible for instigating this incident, which marked the opening of hostilities and injured five Georgian servicemen, then several South Ossetian militiamen were killed by snipers.^[102][103] South Ossetian separatists began shelling Georgian villages on 1 August. These artillery bombardments caused Georgian servicemen to return fire periodically.^{[100][103][104][105][106]}

On 7 August 2008, the Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili announced a unilateral ceasefire and called for peace talks.^[107] More attacks on Georgian villages (located in the South Ossetian conflict zone) were soon matched with gunfire from Georgian troops, who then proceeded to move in the direction of the capital of the self-proclaimed Republic of South Ossetia (Tskhinvali) on the night of 8 August, reaching its centre in the morning of 8 August.^{[108][109][110]} According to Russian military expert Pavel Felgenhauer, the Ossetian provocation was aimed at triggering Georgian retaliation, which was needed as a pretext for a Russian military invasion.^[111] According to Georgian intelligence and several Russian media reports, parts of the regular (non-peacekeeping) Russian Army had already moved to South Ossetian territory through the Roki Tunnel before the Georgian military action.^[112][113]

Russia accused Georgia of "aggression against South Ossetia" and began a big land, air and sea invasion of Georgia under the pretext of a "

During the conflict, there was a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Georgians in South Ossetia, including destruction of Georgian settlements after the war had ended.^[118][119] 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.^[120][121] In an interview published in Kommersant, South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity said he would not allow Georgians to return.^[122][123]

The President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, negotiated a ceasefire agreement on 12 August 2008.^[124] Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as separate republics on 26 August.^[125] The Georgian government severed diplomatic relations with Russia.^[126] Russian forces left the buffer areas bordering Abkhazia and South Ossetia on 8 October and the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia was dispatched to the buffer areas.^[127][128] Since the war, Georgia has maintained that Abkhazia and South Ossetia are occupied Georgian territories.^[129][130]

Georgian Dream government (2012-present)

In preparation for the 2012 parliamentary elections, Georgia implemented constitutional reforms to switch to a parliamentary democracy, moving executive powers from the President to the Prime Minister.^[131] The transition was set to start with the October 2012 parliamentary elections and to be completed with the 2013 presidential elections. Against the expectations of the ruling United National Movement (UNM) of president Mikheil Saakashvili, a 6-party

Georgian Dream won the parliamentary elections with 48.61% of the vote while UNM received 27.04%.^[140] As result of the mixed proportional-majoritarian voting system, this translated into a parliamentary supermajority of 115 out of 150 seats (77%). This electoral imbalance became a key issue of political and civil society strife in the following years.^{[141][142][143]} In the 2018 presidential election, the Georgian Dream party backed Salome Zurabishvili, who won in the second round, becoming the first woman in Georgia to hold the office in full capacity.^[144] This was the last direct election of a Georgian president, as additional constitutional reforms removed the popular vote.^[145]

After international mediation to overcome the deep political crisis in the runup to the 2020 parliamentary elections, an amended electoral system was adopted, specifically for the 2020 elections.^[146] Nine parties were elected to parliament. Georgian Dream secured over 48% of votes, which translated into 90 out of 150 seats. They were thus able to continue to govern alone. The opposition made accusations of fraud, which Georgian Dream denied. Thousands of people gathered outside the Central Election Commission to demand a new vote.^[147] This led to a new political crisis that was (temporarily) resolved by an EU brokered agreement,^[148] from which the Georgian Dream later withdrew.^[149] In February 2021, Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia resigned and Irakli Garibashvili became Prime Minister once more.^[150]

Since the

Government and politics

Salome Zourabichvili President	Irakli Garibashvili Prime Minister

Georgia is a

Legislative authority is vested in the Parliament of Georgia. It is unicameral and has 150 members, known as deputies, of whom 30 are elected by plurality to represent single-member districts, and 120 are chosen to represent parties by proportional representation. Members of parliament are elected for four-year terms.

Different opinions exist regarding the degree of political freedom in Georgia. Saakashvili believed in 2008 that the country is "on the road to becoming a European democracy."

Georgia maintains good relations with its direct neighbours Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey, and is a member of the United Nations, the

The explicit western orientation of Georgia, deepening political ties with the US and European Union, notably through its EU and NATO membership aspirations, the US Train and Equip military assistance programme, and the construction of the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline, increasingly strained Tbilisi's relations with Moscow in the early 2000s. Georgia's decision to boost its presence in the coalition forces in Iraq was an important initiative.^[168] The European Union has identified Georgia as a prospective member,^[169] and Georgia has sought membership.^[170]

Georgia is currently working to become a full member of

In 2011, the North Atlantic Council designated Georgia as an "aspirant country".^[173] Since 2014, Georgia–NATO relations are guided by the Substantial NATO–Georgia Package (SNGP), which includes the NATO–Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Centre and facilitation of multi-national and regional military drills.^[174]

In September 2019, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that "NATO approaching our borders is a threat to Russia."^[175] He was quoted as saying that if NATO accepts Georgian membership with the article on collective defence covering only Tbilisi-administered territory (i.e., excluding the Georgian territories Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both of which are currently Russian-supported unrecognized breakaway republics), "we will not start a war, but such conduct will undermine our relations with NATO and with countries who are eager to enter the alliance."^[176]

Georgia's military is organized into

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'.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, President

The new Patruli force was first introduced in the summer of 2005 to replace the traffic police, a force which was accused of widespread corruption.[198] The police introduced a 0-2-2 (currently, 1-1-2) emergency dispatch service in 2004.^[199]

Corruption

Prior to the Rose Revolution, Georgia was among the most corrupt countries in the world.^[200] However, following the reforms brought by the peaceful revolution, corruption in the country abated dramatically. In 2010, Transparency International (TI) named Georgia "the best corruption-buster in the world."^[201] In 2012, the World Bank called Georgia a "unique success" of the world in fighting corruption, noting "Georgia's experience shows that the vicious cycle of endemic corruption can be broken and, with appropriate and decisive reforms, can be turned into a virtuous cycle."^[202]

Although Georgia has been very successful in reducing blatant forms of corruption, other more subtle corrupt practices have been noted. For example, in its 2017 report,

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.^[206] Georgia has ratified the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in 2005. 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.^[207]

The government came under criticism for its alleged use of excessive force on 26 May 2011 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.^{[208][209][210][211]} 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.^[212] Georgian opposition leader Nino Burjanadze said the accusations of planning a coup were baseless, and that the protesters' actions were legitimate.^[211][213]

Since independence, Georgia maintained harsh policies against drugs, handing out lengthy sentences even for

Georgia is administratively divided into 9 regions, 1 capital region, and 2 autonomous republics. These in turn are subdivided into 67 districts and 5 self-governing cities.^[219]

Georgia contains two official autonomous regions, of which one has declared independence. Officially autonomous within Georgia,

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.^[223] This was used as a justification for Russian invasion of Georgia during the 2008 South Ossetia war after which Russia recognized the region's independence.^[224] Georgia considers the regions as occupied by Russia.^[129][225] The two self-declared republics gained limited international recognition after the 2008 Russo-Georgian War. Most countries consider the regions to be Georgian territory under Russian occupation.^[226]

Abkhazia

Samegrelo-
Zemo Svaneti

Guria

Adjara

Samtskhe-
Javakheti

Imereti

Racha-Lechkhumi
and Kvemo Svaneti

Shida
Kartli

Kvemo Kartli

Mtskheta-
Mtianeti

Tbilisi

Kakheti

Geography

Georgia is a mountainous country situated almost entirely in the South Caucasus, while some slivers of the country are situated north of the Caucasus Watershed in the North Caucasus.^[227][228] The country lies between latitudes 41° and 44° N, and longitudes 40° and 47° E, with an area of 67,900 km² (26,216 sq mi). The Likhi Range divides the country into eastern and western halves.^[229] Historically, the western portion of Georgia was known as Colchis while the eastern plateau was called Iberia.^[230]

The

The highest mountain in Georgia is Mount

The landscape within the nation's boundaries is quite varied. Western Georgia's landscape ranges from low-land marsh-forests, swamps, and

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.^[232]

Much of western Georgia lies within the northern periphery of the humid subtropical zone with annual precipitation ranging from 1,000–2,500 mm (39–98 in), reaching a maximum 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 metres or 6 feet 7 inches in many regions).^[232]

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.^[230] 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. As in the western parts of the nation, elevation plays an important role in eastern Georgia where climatic conditions above 1,500 metres (4,921 ft) are considerably colder than in the low-lying areas.^[230]

Biodiversity

Because of its high landscape diversity and low latitude, Georgia is home to about 5,601 species of animals, including 648 species of

Slightly more than 6,500 species of fungi, including lichen-forming species, have been recorded from Georgia,^[236][237] 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 per cent of all fungi worldwide have so far been discovered.^[238] Although the amount of available information is still very small, a first effort has been made to estimate the number of fungal species endemic to Georgia, and 2,595 species have been tentatively identified as possible endemics of the country.^[239] 1,729 species of plants have been recorded from Georgia in association with fungi.^[237] According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, there are 4,300 species of vascular plants in Georgia.^[240]

Georgia is home to four ecoregions:

Archaeological research demonstrates that Georgia has been involved in commerce with many lands and empires since 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 and a key branch of the country's economy. The country has sizeable hydropower resources.^[243] Throughout Georgia's modern history agriculture and tourism have been principal economic sectors, because of the country's climate and topography.

For much of the 20th century, Georgia's economy was within the Soviet model of

Tourism is an increasingly significant part of the Georgian economy. In 2016, 2,714,773 tourists brought approximately US$2.16 billion to the country.

Today transport in Georgia is provided by rail, road, ferry, and air. Total length of roads in Georgia, excluding the occupied territories, is 21,110 kilometres (13,120 mi) and railways – 1,576 km (979 mi).^[272] Positioned in the Caucasus and on the coast of the Black Sea, Georgia is a key country through which energy imports to the European Union from neighbouring Azerbaijan pass.^{[citation needed]}

In recent years Georgia has invested large amounts of money in the modernization of its transport networks. The construction of new highways has been prioritized and, as such, major cities like Tbilisi have seen the quality of their roads improve dramatically; despite this however, the quality of inter-city routes remains poor and to date only one

Air and maritime transport is developing in Georgia, with the former mainly used by passengers and the latter for transport of freight. Georgia currently has four international airports, the largest of which is by far Tbilisi International Airport, hub for Georgian Airways, which offers connections to many large European cities. Other airports in the country are largely underdeveloped or lack scheduled traffic, although, as of late, efforts have been made to solve both these problems.^[278] There are a number of seaports along Georgia's Black Sea coast, the largest and most busy of which is the Port of Batumi; whilst the town is itself a seaside resort, the port is a major cargo terminal in the Caucasus and is often used by neighbouring Azerbaijan as a transit point for making energy deliveries to Europe. Scheduled and chartered passenger ferry services link Georgia with Bulgaria,^[279] Romania, Turkey and Ukraine.^[280]

Demographics

Like most native

The 2014 census, carried out in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), found a population gap of approximately 700,000 compared to the 2014 data from the National Statistical Office of Georgia, Geostat, which was cumulatively built on the 2002 census. Consecutive research estimated the 2002 census to be inflated by 8 to 9 percent,^[289] which affected the annually updated population estimates in subsequent years. One explanation put forward by UNFPA is that families of emigrants continued to list them in 2002 as residents for fear of losing certain rights or benefits. Also, the population registration system from birth to death was non-functional. It was not until around 2010 that parts of the system became reliable again. With the support of the UNFPA, the demographic data for the period 1994–2014 has been retro-projected.^[290] On the basis of that back-projection, Geostat has corrected its data for these years.

The 1989 census recorded 341,000 ethnic Russians, or 6.3 per cent of the population,^[291] 52,000 Ukrainians and 100,000 Greeks in Georgia.^[292] The population of Georgia, including the breakaway regions, has declined by more than 1 million due to net emigration in the period 1990–2010.^[293][292] Other factors in the population decline include birth-death deficits for the period 1995–2010 and the exclusion of Abkhazia and South Ossetia from the statistics. Russia received by far the most migrants from Georgia. According to United Nations data, this totalled 625,000 by 2000, declining to 450,000 by 2019.^[294] Initially the out-migration was driven by non-Georgian ethnicities but increasing numbers of Georgians emigrated as well,^[295] due to the war, the crisis-ridden 1990s, and the subsequent bad economic outlook. The 2010 Russian census recorded about 158,000 ethnic Georgians living in Russia,^[296] with approximately 40,000 living in Moscow by 2014.^[297] There were 184 thousand immigrants in Georgia in 2014 with most of them hailing from Russia (51.6%), Greece (8.3%), Ukraine (8.11%), Germany (4.3%), and Armenia (3.8%).^[298][c]

In the early 1990s, following the

Largest cities or towns in Georgia (country) 2014 General Population Census Main Results
	Rank	Name	Administrative divisions of Georgia	Pop.
Tbilisi Batumi	1	Tbilisi	Tbilisi	1 108 717	Kutaisi Rustavi
	2	Batumi	Adjara	152 839
	3	Kutaisi	Imereti	147 635
	4	Rustavi	Kvemo Kartli	125 103
	5	Gori	Shida Kartli	48 143
	6	Zugdidi	Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti	42 998
	7	Poti	Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti	41,465
	8	Sokhumi	Abkhazia	39,100[f]
	9	Khashuri	Shida Kartli	33 627
	10	Tskhinvali	Shida Kartli	30,000[f]

Religion

Today 83.4 per cent of the population practices

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.^{[citation needed]}

Religious minorities of Georgia include Muslims (10.7 per cent), Armenian Christians (2.9 per cent) and Roman Catholics (0.5 per cent).^[309][c] 0.7 per cent of those recorded in the 2014 census declared themselves to be adherents of other religions, 1.2 per cent refused or did not state their religion and 0.5 per cent declared no religion at all.^[309]

The education system of Georgia has undergone sweeping, though controversial, modernisation since 2004.^[319][320] Education in Georgia is mandatory for all children aged 6–14.^[321] The school system is divided into elementary (six years; ages 6–12), basic (three years; ages 12–15), and secondary (three years; ages 15–18), or alternatively vocational studies (two years). Access to higher education is given to students who have gained a secondary school certificate. 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.^[322]

Most of these institutions offer three levels of study: a bachelor's programme (three to four years); a master's programme (two years), and a doctoral programme (three years). There is also a certified specialist's programme that represents a single-level higher education programme lasting from three to six years.^[321][323] As of 2016^[update], 75 higher education institutions are accredited by the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia.^[324] Gross primary enrolment ratio was 117 per cent for the period of 2012–2014, the 2nd highest in Europe after Sweden.^[325]

Tbilisi has become the main artery of the Georgian educational system, particularly since the creation of the

Georgian culture evolved over thousands of years from its foundations in the

This long history has provided a national narrative which encompasses the successful preservation of unique culture and identity in a consistent territory, despite external pressures. Christianity and the Georgian language are particularly important national identifiers.[338] These cultural, religious, and later political attributes are associated with a European and Western identity, based on a national perception of these attributes that contrasts with surrounding powers.^{[337][338][339][340]} This self-identity is stronger among the dominant ethnic Georgian population than in the country's minority groups.^[340]

Georgia is known for its

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, and Vazha-Pshavela.^[341] The Georgian language is written in three unique scripts which, according to traditional accounts, were invented by King Pharnavaz I of Iberia in the 3rd century BC.^[343][344]

Media

Television, magazines, and newspapers in Georgia are all operated by both state-owned and for-profit corporations which depend on

Georgia has an ancient musical tradition, which is 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.^{[citation needed]} Three types of polyphony have developed in Georgia: a complex version in Svaneti, a dialogue over a bass background in the Kakheti region, and a three-part partially-improvised version in western Georgia.^[347] 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.^[348]

Cuisine

Georgia is

Georgia's moderate climate and moist air, influenced by the Black Sea, provide the best conditions for vine cultivation. The soil in vineyards is so intensively cultivated that the grapevines grow up the trunks of fruit trees eventually hanging down along the fruit when they ripen. This method of cultivation is called maglari.^[355] Among the best-known Georgian wine regions are Kakheti (further divided into the micro-regions of Telavi and Kvareli), Kartli, Imereti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, Adjara and Abkhazia.

Georgian wine has been a contentious issue in recent relationships with Russia. Political tensions with Russia have contributed to the 2006 Russian embargo of Georgian wine, Russia claimed Georgia produced counterfeit wine. It was an "official" reason, but instability of economic relations with Russia is well known, as they use the economic ties for political purposes.^[356] Counterfeiting problems stem from mislabelling by foreign producers and falsified "Georgian Wine" labels on wines produced outside of Georgia and imported into Russia under the auspices of being Georgian produced.^[356] The shipment of counterfeit wine has been primarily channelled through Russian managed customs checkpoints in Russian occupied Georgian territories Abkhazia and South Ossetia, where no inspection and regulation occurs.^[356]

Sports

The most popular sports in Georgia are

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 styles of wrestling. Other popular sports in 19th century Georgia were polo, and Lelo, a traditional Georgian game very similar to rugby.^[360]

The first and only race circuit in the Caucasian region is located in Georgia.

There are a number of world-class Georgian MMA fighters. For example Ilia Topuria, Merab Dvalishvili, Giga Chikadze and Roman Dolidze.

Georgian athletes have won a total of 40 olympic medals, mostly in wrestling, judo and weightlifting.

• Index of Georgia (country)-related articles
• Outline of Georgia (country)

Notes