Filmmmaker & Adventurer
Filmmaker & Adventurer
Private
Georgia
2023
Georgia (Georgian სარალი, Sakartvelo) is a state on the border of Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia located on the eastern edge of the Black Sea in the Caucasus region. Georgia's neighbors are Russia to the north and northeast, Turkey and Armenia to the south, and Azerbaijan to the southeast. On the official territory of Georgia lie the two autonomous republics of Adjara and Abkhazia, which, however, the Georgian government does not control, because it is de facto controlled and militarily occupied by Russia, and in fact the formally independent Republic of Abkhazia operates on its territory. The Republic of South Ossetia was proclaimed on another Georgian territory occupied by Russia.
The area of the country, including Abkhazia and South Ossetia, is 69,700 square kilometers. The population is around 4 million (3.7 million without the occupied territories). It is a unitary state and a parliamentary republic with a democratic regime. The capital and largest city is Tbilisi.
Georgia has an ancient culture. The Iberian kingdom existed as early as the 4th century BC. Georgians were also one of the first peoples to adopt Christianity - in the 4th century. The medieval Kingdom of Georgia (1008–1490) was a regional power that reached its peak under David IV. Builder and Tamara of Georgia in the 12th century. However, it was refuted by the Mongols, and the country was then forced to endure a series of foreign dominations - the Ottomans, the Persians and finally, from the 19th century, the Russians. An attempt at an independent state in 1917 failed after only five years, when Georgia was forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union. It managed to gain independence only in April 1991. After the bloodless Rose Revolution in 2003, Georgia began to promote a strongly pro-Western foreign policy and began to seek to join NATO and the European Union. This soon led to a deterioration of relations with Russia, which activated its national minorities and motivated them to separatism. At one point, this persistent tension even resulted in a brief war. In the Caucasus region, Georgia is thus an "island of the West", as neighboring Azerbaijan bets on Turkey, while Armenia bets on Russia.
Georgia is a developing country. According to the International Monetary Fund, it is the 78th most developed country in the world in terms of gross domestic product at purchasing power parity, which roughly corresponds to the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina or Brazil (2021 estimate). In terms of the simple size of the economy (GDP PPP), it ranks 110th in the world, so its economy is roughly as powerful as that of Estonia, Latvia or Honduras.
Georgia is a member of the Council of Europe, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, OSCE or GUAM, which is a regional partnership platform of four post-Soviet countries – Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova.