THE GEOGRAPHY (Foreign Office UK)
Area: 69,700 sq km
Population: 5.4 million
Capital City: Tbilisi (population: 1.5
million)
People: 71% Georgian (including
subgroups of Svanetians, Mingrelians,
Ajars), 7.7% Armenian, 6.5% Russian,
6% Azeri, 3% Ossete, 1,8% Abkhaz
Languages: Georgian 71% (official),
Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%,
other 7% note: Abkhaz (official in
Abkhazia)
Religion(s): Georgian Orthodox 65%,
Muslim 11%, Russian Orthodox 10%,
Armenian Apostolic 8%, unknown 6%
Currency: Lari
Major political parties: Citizen's Union
of Georgia or CUG; Georgian United
Communist Party or UCPG; Greens
Party; Industry Will Save Georgia;
Labor Party; National Democratic Party
or NDP; National Independent Party or
NIP; People's Party; Socialist Party or
SPG; Union for 'Revival' Party or
AGUR; Union of Traditionalists or UGT;
United Republican Party or URP.
Government: Republic
GEOGRAPHY
Location: South-western Asia,
bordering the Black Sea, between
Turkey and Russia
Geographic co-ordinates: 42 00 N, 43
30 E
Area:
total: 69,700 sq km
land: 69,700 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Land boundaries:
total: 1,461 km
border countries: Armenia 164 km,
Azerbaijan 322 km, Russia 723 km,
Turkey 252 km
Coastline: 310 km
Maritime claims: NA
Climate: warm and pleasant;
Mediterranean-like on Black Sea coast
Terrain: largely mountainous with
Great Caucasus Mountains in the north
and Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the
south; Kolkhet'is Dablobi (Kolkhida
Lowland) opens to the Black Sea in the
west; Mtkvari River Basin in the east;
good soils in river valley flood plains,
foothills of Kolkhida Lowland.
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Mt'a Mqinvartsveri (Gora
Kazbek) 5,048 m
Natural resources: forests,
hydropower, manganese deposits, iron
ore, copper, minor coal and oil
deposits; coastal climate and soils allow
for important tea and citrus growth.
Land use:
arable land: 9%
permanent crops: 4%
permanent pastures: 25%
forests and woodland: 34%
other: 28% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 4,000 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: earthquakes
THE HISTORY (Foreign Office UK)
Georgia's history is in some respects
similar to Armenia's: in both cases
small nations have successfully
maintained their ancient cultures
against successive invaders and
regional overlords. Georgia has its own
Orthodox Christian Church which has
been autocephalous for much of its
history and played an important role in
preserving the nation's identity, culture
and traditions. The Georgian group of
languages is unique and does not belong
to any of the major language families.
From the 18th century to the present
day, Georgia has from time to time
turned to Russia for protection and
help: Russia's response over the years
has varied according to her interests.
Towards the end of the Soviet period,
the strong Georgian sense of national
identity became translated into a desire
for political independence, especially
after Soviet military intervention in
April 1989.
In November 1990, the radical
nationalist Zviad Gamsakhurdia was
elected Chairman of the Georgian
parliament following the landslide
election victory of his Round
Table/Free Georgia coalition. In March
1991 Georgians voted overwhelmingly
(89.3%) for independence and the
parliament unanimously adopted a
declaration restoring Georgian
independence as it existed in 1918.
Gamsakhurdia (deceased in 1994) was
subsequently elected President with
86.5% of the vote. However, he was
deposed in 1992 and Eduard
Shevardnadze, the former head of the
Georgian Communist Party (1972-85)
and ex-Soviet Foreign Minister
(1985-89), was invited to head a new
State Council.
BBC News Country Timeline: Georgia
POLITICS
Shevardnadze pressed ahead with
parliamentary elections on 11 October
1992. International observers
confirmed that the elections were free
and fair. On 4 November 1992 the new
Georgian Parliament elected
Shevardnadze as Head of State.
Parliamentary and Presidential
elections took place on 5 November
1995. Shevardnadze gained 73% of the
vote and his party, the Citizens' Union
of Georgia (CUG) won a majority in the
Parliament. Shevardnadze was
inaugurated as President under the
new constitution on 26 November 1995.
Political violence has blighted Georgia
since independence, with murders of
both opposition figures and
Shevardnadze aides. On 29 August 1995
Shevardnadze survived a car-bomb
assassination attempt with minor cuts
and bruises and in February 1998 he
escaped injury when his motorcade
was attacked by armed men using
rocket launchers. Nevertheless, in
recent years Georgia has seen a
remarkable stabilisation of the political
situation and the restoration of law and
order, and this is continuing.
Georgia last held Parliamentary
elections on 31 October 1999. The
Citizens' Union of Georgia (CUG) were
the victors winning 130 of a possible
235 seats. The main opposition are the
pro-Russian Batumi Alliance with 58
seats. Under Georgia's electoral
system a party needs to achieve 7% of
the vote before it can win seats in
parliament. As a result both the
Communists and the extreme Right
Wing Nationalist parties failed to win
any seats in the new Parliament. OSCE
monitors found faults with the election
process but declared them to be
generally free and fair. President
Shevardnadze was re-elected in April
2000. This will be his last term in
office as the Georgian constitution only
allows for two terms. The April
presidential elections were described
as seriously flawed by the OSCE
although no-one doubts Shevardnadze
was the genuine winner.
Following a political crisis in late 2001
the entire government resigned. Most
positions had been refilled by early
December but there is some pressure
for constitutional change including the
creation of a Prime Minister and a
cabinet of Ministers. There have also
been calls for early Presidential
elections (due in 2005). Local elections
took place in June 2002.
THE ECONOMY (Foreign Office UK)
Basic Economic Facts
GDP: US$ 4.8bn
GDP per head: US$ 4,600
Annual Growth: 2.0%
Inflation: 5.7%
Major Industries: steel, aircraft,
machine tools, electric locomotives,
trucks, tractors, textiles, shoes,
chemicals, wood products, wine
Major Trading Partners: Russia,
Turkey, EU, Germany, US, Azerbaijan,
Armenia
Exchange Rate: US$1: 2.02 Lari
Georgia was hit badly by the Russian
financial crisis of August 1998 and is
only emerging from its shadow. This
recovery is largely export led. Growth
in exports to Russia, Georgia's largest
market, picked up strongly in the last
quarter of 1999, fuelling a 17% growth
in industrial production over the period
and resulting in GDP growth of 3% for
1999 as a whole. Inflation rose to 6% in
2000 as growth picked up and because
of further depreciation in the Lari.
The IMF and World Bank continued to
provide a significant share of Georgia's
foreign financing ($45m & $32.5m
respectively in 2000), although
disbursement was delayed due to
problems with revenue collection. The
IMF and Georgian government are
currently working on a new
programme (Poverty Reduction &
Growth Facility - PRGF). Key issues
are the size of the necessary fiscal
adjustment, lack of progress at tackling
corruption and persistent revenue
raising problems. Revenue raised by
the government is only 6.55 of GDP,
far below that necessary to fund the
government's budget. This has led to an
accumulation of arrears and cuts in
social provision with the resultant
increase in poverty levels. Georgia's
gross foreign debt has doubled over
the last five years, mainly to finance
energy imports and the persistent
current account deficit. With IMF
support Georgia is seeking a
rescheduling agreement with the Paris
Club of sovereign creditors, but
Turkmenistan, which holds much of
Georgia's energy debt, is reluctant to
participate.
In January 2001 the IMF approved a
three-year loan under its poverty
reduction and growth facility. The first
tranche of US$9m has been disbursed.
Further information about Georgia's
economy can be found at Trade
Partners UK Country Profile: Georgia.
Abkhazia
Since independence in 1991, Georgia has
been bedevilled by political and
inter-ethnic conflicts, and economic
chaos. Of all the problems faced by the
government, the threat of separatism
in Abkhazia has proved the bloodiest
and most serious. In 1989, when the
last Soviet census was held, the then
Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia,
situated on the Black Sea coast, had a
population of 537,000. As a result of
enforced 19th century migration and
20th century Georgian colonisation, the
Abkhaz - a people ethnically distinct
from the Georgians - had become a
minority in their own republic (44%
Georgians, 18% Abkhazians, 16%
Russians).
The latest phase in the long-standing
tension between Abkhazia and Georgia
began in July 1992 when the Abkhaz
parliament, with a built-in Abkhaz
majority, reinstated the Abkhaz
constitution of 1925 which gave
Abkhazia equal status with Georgia.
Georgian troops invaded. Volunteers,
particularly from the (Russian) North
Caucasus, arrived to help the Abkhaz.
After prolonged fighting, the Georgian
government lost control of the entire
territory of the Autonomous Republic
of Abkhazia in September 1993, and a
de facto 'border' between Georgia and
Abkhazia was established along the
Inguri River. The region was plunged
into chaos with more than 200,000
refugees.
Discussions between the Abkhaz and
Georgians started under UN auspices
on 30 November 1993. These
discussions continued to take place and
registered some progress with
finalisation of an agreement on the
return of refugees in April 1994.
However the situation on the ground
continued to deteriorate until on 14 May
1994 the parties agreed to a cease-fire
and separation of forces agreement
brokered by the Russian Federation
and called upon the CIS to send
peacekeeping forces to the area.
The Russian Federation began deploying
troops in a security zone along the
Inguri River in June 1994 and the
peace-keeping operation officially
began on 26 June 1994. A UN Security
Council Resolution was passed in July
1994 which agreed to expand the
numbers of UN observers (UNOMIG)
to a ceiling of 136 (7 are British) with a
mandate to monitor and verify the
cease-fire agreement. Incidents of
mine laying since the beginning of 1996,
in which a UN Military Observer was
killed and another injured, have led the
UN to introduce mine-protected
vehicles and to look into the possibility
of obtaining advanced mine-clearing
equipment.
The problem of adequate security for
the UNOMIG was highlighted on 19
February 1998 when four UN
observers were taken hostage in
Western Georgia, with the kidnappers
demanding the release of those
detained as suspects after the
attempted assassination of President
Shevardnadze. After negotiations, the
UN observers were all released
unharmed, but the UN cut back
drastically on its operations. There
have been two further kidnappings of
UN staff, one incident in October 1999
and the other in June2000. In both
cases all hostages were released
unharmed within a few days of being
taken.
Security in Abkhazia again deteriorated
in the autumn of 2001 when Chechen
and Georgian rebel armed groups
entered the region from eastern
Georgia. Fighting broke out and a
UNOMIG helicopter was shot down,
with the loss of 13 lives. No party has
claimed responsibility and the UN is
investigating. The rebel groups made
their way to the Kodori valley in
Abkhazia, where they subject to aerial
bombing by unidentified aircraft, which
the Georgian government claimed to be
from the Russian military.
The UN, supported by the Friends of
the Secretary-General, (FOSG,
consisting of Russia, US, UK, France,
Germany and recently Ukraine),
continues to work for a comprehensive
political settlement. There has been
some progress on agreeing a paper on
the possible division of constitutional
competences between Georgia and
Abkhazia, but this has not so far been
put to the two sides for consideration.
Progress on the return of refugees
and security has also been slow.
South Ossetia
In 1989 South Ossetia had a population
of 100,000 (66% Ossetians, 29%
Georgians - capital Tskhinvali). The
South Ossetian Autonomous Region was
set up within Georgia in April 1922. The
Ossetians are an Iranian people, quite
distinct from the Georgians. They
practise both Sunni Islam and Orthodox
Christianity (but without great zeal). In
September 1990 the South Ossetians
proclaimed their independence from
Georgia in response to moves being
made by Georgian nationalists to loosen
Moscow's control. They declared the
formation of the autonomous Soviet
Democratic Republic of South Ossetia
and sought to unite with the
Autonomous Republic of North Ossetia
(in Russia), an old aspiration. The
declaration and the previous
autonomous status were immediately
annulled by the Georgian parliament. In
late November 1990 tension between
Georgians and South Ossetians led to
clashes and intervention by Soviet
Interior troops. In December 1991 the
South Ossetian parliament declared
independence and appealed to former
republics of the USSR for support and
recognition.
At a meeting in Dagomys on 24 June
1992, Yeltsin signed an outline
agreement with Shevardnadze on
settling the conflict. The agreement
included a cease-fire, the withdrawal
of armed formations, a demilitarised
zone, military observers, joint forces,
a joint control commission, conditions
for the return of refugees, and the
resumption of gas supplies to Georgia.
Joint Peacekeeping forces (JPKF) of
about 1,500 men (mostly Russians, but
also Georgians, North and South
Ossetians) were put in place to police a
buffer zone between South Ossetia and
the rest of Georgia. The OSCE has
placed a mission in South Ossetia to
monitor the JPKF and to contribute to
discussions on a political settlement.
These discussions are ongoing and have
registered some progress.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Georgia would like to move away from
Russia and the CIS towards greater
integration into Euro-Atlantic
structures. Shevardnadze has
previously stated that Georgia would
like NATO membership by 2006, but
has subsequently recognised this is not
a realistic aim. However Georgia joined
Partnership for Peace on 23 March
1994. It has observer status in the
World Trade Organisation (26 June
1996). Georgia achieved full
membership of the Council of Europe
on 27 April 1999.
Georgia's foreign policy is de facto
dominated by relations with Russia. The
conflict in Chechnya has caused
friction between the two with Russia
accusing the Georgians of aiding
Chechen fighters, a claim strongly
denied by the Georgians. The issue of
Russian bases in Georgia is another
source of friction. Agreement was
reached at the OSCE summit in Istanbul
in 1999 for the closure of two of
Russia's four bases by June 2001 and
agreement on a timetable for closure
of the other two. One base, Vaziani,
closed as agreed. The Russians claim to
have withdrawn from the other,
Gudauta (in Abkhazia) but this remains
to be independently verified. Talks
continue on a timetable for closure on
the other two, but there is a wide
difference of view on what might
constitute a reasonable timeframe.
In order to help lower the tension
between Georgia and Russia the OSCE
agreed to deploy 42 monitors along the
Chechen/Georgia border to see what,
if any, illegal traffic there is across the
border and have recently extended the
monitoring operation to the
Georgia/Ingush border.
EU/Georgia Relations
EC aid (UK's share: 16%), is mainly
humanitarian assistance. Georgia has
received 150 mecu in food and
humanitarian aid since 1993. TACIS
(Technical Assistance for the
Commonwealth of Independent States)
support is mainly in the form of policy
advice, institution building, training and
the design of legal and regulatory
frameworks.
A Partnership and Cooperation
Agreement (PCA) between the EU and
Georgia was signed on 22 April 1996.
The PCA, which entered into force on 1
July 1999, will govern political,
economic and trade relations between
the parties and lays a basis for social,
financial, scientific, technological and
cultural cooperation between them.
The Presidents of Georgia, Armenia
and the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan
(President Aliev was unable to travel
due to ill health), met with EU Foreign
Ministers on 22 June 1999 in
Luxembourg to mark the entry into
force of the PCAs. The first
Cooperation Council meeting was held
in October 1999. The fourth was held
on 1 October 2002.
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