History UsefulNotes / Georgia

This is a disambiguation page, so existing because of various different things [[NamesTheSame called Georgia]]. If a link on this wiki sent you here, please redirect it to one of the existing pages below:

* UsefulNotes/GeorgiaEurope: The Eurasian country with its capital at T'bilisi that is very not Russian.

* UsefulNotes/GeorgiaUSA: The American state known for a Music/RayCharles song and being [[DeepSouth very country]].

* Creator/GeorgiaMoffett: A [[Creator/PeterDavison Doctor's daughter]] who [[Series/DoctorWho played the Doctor's daughter]], [[CastIncest married]] [[Creator/DavidTennant the Doctor]] and [[MyOwnGrandfather had the Doctor's daughter]].

* UsefulNotes/GeorgiaUSA: The American state known for a Music/RayCharles song and being [[DeepSouth very country]].

[[quoteright:328:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gg-map.gif]]

''Georgia on My Mind...''

Not ''[[Music/RayCharles that]]'' [[TheDeepSouth Georgia]] [[note]]although that line is referenced in "Back in the USSR", and it spawned a lot of jokes about Russians in {{Atlanta}} during the 2008 invasion[[/note]]-- Georgia ('''Georgian:''' საქართველო Sakartvelo) is the former Soviet state with its capital at Tbilisi. Formerly the Georgian SSR, it became independent with the collapse of the USSR. But the history of country goes much further back. It was mentioned in Greek myths as "Kolkhis" and since then it has always been a target of many empires due to its strategic location. It has been invaded by Romans, Byzantians, Persians, Arabs, Mongols, Seljuks, Ottomans, Russians and basically every major forces of nearby regions. Mostly it was Muslim countries though, because Georgia served as a "Gatekeeper of Christianity" throughout the history, leading to the fact that Christianity was associated with nationality, it was the main difference between invaders and Georgians. Most of the time, rather than being attacked directly, enemies found more clever, indirect ways for conquest.

Georgia produced a lot of aircraft for the Soviet Union, ending up with some left in the factory when it gained independence, but little else. It had an Su-25 fleet undergoing upgrades. What's left of it is unclear. It was also a major supplier of electric locomotives, and still exports them to Ukraine.

The country underwent a peaceful revolution in 2003, deposing Eduard Shevardnadze, former Soviet foreign minister. Russian forces have now been withdrawn. Georgia is a pro-American state, with plans to join UsefulNotes/{{NATO}} soon and has a street in Tbilisi named after George W. Bush. It was a member of the Multinational Coalition in Iraq, and sent 4,000 troops to aid in the Iraq War.

There are two breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, both backed by Moscow. During the Soviet period, both regions enjoyed autonomous status, which meant among other things, their own language media (such as an Abkhazian newspaper and language institute), and different representation in the Supreme Soviet. When Georgia departed from the Soviet Union, it became clear that both regions would lose their prior arrangement. A war in the early 1990s in the latter led to the mass expulsion of ethnic Georgians from that area and a lot of deaths, with atrocities on both sides. This has led to tension between the two neighbours, culminating in [[UsefulNotes/GeorgiansWithDragunovs Georgian troops]] invading South Ossetia to "restore peace and order" in August 2008. However, due to the indiscriminate shelling by Georgian forces, they ended up killing several Russian peacekeepers in the area, as well as dozens of South Ossetian civilians. This was considered an act of war by Moscow, and led to a massive and disproportionate Russian retaliation against Georgia, also claiming Georgian atrocities against ethnic Russians in South Ossetia. However, the Russian backed separatists have also committed atrocities, which led to around 200K-250k Georgians to flee their homes in both Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russia ([[AndZoidberg and Nauru, Nicaragua, and Venezuela]]) have officially recognized South Ossetian and Abkhazian independence, with the West generally lining up in Georgia's corner. As a final poignant cap to this, in 2010, a major Georgian television news network broadcasted an [[Radio/TheWaroftheWorlds Orson Wells]]-style hoax stating Russia had invaded Georgia, and that the political opposition had killed the President. In October 2012, the newly elected Prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili pledged to try to mend Georgia's severely damaged relations with Russia.

A third region just north of Armenia known as Samtskhe-Javakheti, populated largely by ethnic Armenians, has also been pushing for autonomy (since the region has been subject to severe neglect, forced ethnic integration, and kept in poverty by an apathetic Georgian government), leading to some instability, ethnic clashes and shaky relations with Armenia as a result. Though Armenia has shown concern for the plight of the people of Javakh, a repeat of the war those two countries had over the region back in 1918 isn't too likely as landlocked Armenia needs Georgia for importing and exporting, and it already has its hands full with Turkey and an increasingly threatening Azerbaijan. Georgia also has a small border dispute with Azerbaijan over the David-Gareja monastery complex, but this has never evolved into a serious issue. Otherwise, Georgia has fairly stable relations with all three countries, aside from Armenia and Azerbaijan often trying to convince it to take sides in their conflicts.

Georgian uses a different alphabet to Russian and a VERY different language. It is (as far as we know) completely unrelated to any of the major language families, instead being part of a "South Caucasian" family more or less consisting of itself and a couple of close relatives.

Georgia is known as the Homeland of wine. First traces of winemaking were found there. Today, there are over 500 sorts of winegrapes known in Georgia.
Another cultural characteristic is that Georgia is (one of the) earliest country to develop polyphony, with 3 vocal parts. Yet another important characteristic is the importance of guests. An old saying is that a guest comes from God and was considered sacred. Even today, foreign guest are amazed by the love and respect the strange people show them.
Due to the importance of Christianity, it's elements are everywhere, most notably almost all of the old architecture consists of churches, and the flag too contains five crosses; that said, Georgia has long had a large minority of Muslims, who remain to this day, although many of their number have spread across the Muslim world and assimilated there (a good number in the 19th century joined the armies of the neighboring Circassians and ended up in high places across the Arab world). All in all, the Georgian culture was always western-oriented, but with big eastern influences, creating an unique culture.

Georgia (West Georgia, to be precise) is also the place Jason and the Argonauts went to get the Golden Fleece, although it was named Colchis at that time and later for quite a while.

The PatronSaint of the country is St. George, as for Serbia, Russia, England, Greece, Montenegro and Canada, among other territories. However it is not named after St. George, at least not directly; the name comes from the Ancient Greek word "geōrgos", which means "land-worker". The Greeks named the country "geōrgos", because they were the only people working on land in the region as they first met them. However, the name George has the same origin; it was a personal name meaning "land-worker", i.e. farmer. (The Georgians reciprocated by calling Greece "Saberdzneti", based on the root word "berdz", which means "wisdom". Georgian is one of two languages that doesn't refer to Greece using derivatives of "Greece", "Ionia", or "Hellas", the other being Chechen, and likely the only one that refers to Greece as "land of wisdom".)

One interesting thing about Georgia is that it's not clear on which continent it is. According some sources, it's Europe, according to others - Asia (German Post, for example, considers it to be in Asia, as it costs more to send things to Asia than to Europe, But Organizations for European cooperation etc. considers it to be in Europe). Actually, the problem plagues the entire Caucasus; ordinary folks would have problems dictating which continent that neighbors Azerbaijan and Armenia (the latter of which, geographically-speaking, is located ''wholly'' in Asia, but is sometimes classified as a part of Europe due to its Christian heritage) belong to. The three countries, after all, are the crossroad of the two continents and are the definitive examples of "East meets West", sharing this distinction with Turkey. This page is listed as Europe because the historic and general consensus of the Georgians themselves is that they and the country are European.

'''Famous Georgians'''
* Katie Melua, a singer.
* Iosef Besiarionis dze Jugashvili,(which, by the way, means Iosef Besarion's son Jugashvili and was a common way to name oneself in Soviet Union) aka JosefStalin. You read that right, the most "influential" figure in symbolizing the evils of the Russian [[DirtyCommunist communists]] wasn't a Russian at all, but instead from a little country that's (ironically) bullied by the bear today. [[CulturalCringe He actually kind of hated himself for being a Georgian]] (despite treating it favorably in comparison to the other republics), and refused to speak his native Georgian [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas except with his mother]] (who's a monolingual). By the way, while Stalin is universally hated everywhere else, [[NeverSpeakIllOfTheDead never try to speak ill of him in his homeland]] (''especially'' in his hometown, Gori).
* Lavrenti Pavles dze Beria, Stalin's right-hand man and the head of the NKVD StateSec. His brutal methods are only second to Stalin's own.
* Meliton Kantaria, the UsefulNotes/GreatPatrioticWar soldier who raised the Victory Banner over the Reichstag in 1945.
* John M. Shalikashvili, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1993-1997; the only foreign-born general to hold America's top military post.
* Eduard Shevardnadze ([[IncrediblyLamePun not to be confused with]] Film/EdwardScissorhands), Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union known for helping bring about an end to the UsefulNotes/ColdWar in the [[TheEighties late 1980s]]. When TheGreatPoliticsMessUp happened, he ran for (and won) the post of President of Georgia, a job he lost in 2004 during the "Rose Revolution" protests.
* Nodar Kumaritashvili, a luge specialist who was killed in a training accident just before the [[TheOlympics 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver]]. His teammates considered withdrawing before dedicating their performances to him. They also wore black arm bands and tied a black ribbon around the Georgian flag during the parade of nations.
* George Balanchine, famous Georgian-Russian-American ballet choreographer and founder of the New York City Ballet. His family's original surname is Balanchivadze.
* Elena Satine, although she started on a variety show at the age of 6 in Georgia, she later emigrated to the US and is much better known for her role in ''Series/{{Revenge}}''.

!! Georgia provides examples of:

* TheDeterminator: Like Armenia. It's been conquered by empires innumerable and manages to retain its distinctive Kartvelian culture and language, two things that are very hard to keep when someone invaded you. And unlike Armenia, the invasion continues to this day (courtesy of Russia), which Georgia responds by amping up the country's de-Russification.
* GratuitousRussian: Well, it's an ex-Soviet republic. The leaders have tried to prevent this (with varying degrees of success), though.
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Resulted due to all the wars through history and proud mountain-folks nature. Even the word "Hello" in Georgian means something along the lines "may you win", while instead of "good morning" Georgians wish each other "a morning of peace".
* TheUnpronouncable: Its language permits you to stack up a ridiculous number of consonants, producing such teeth-breakers as ''mts'vane'' ("green"), ts'q'ali (water) or even the standard welcome greeting: k'etli iq'os tkeni! In the context of Caucasian languages, though, it isn't particularly strange or unpronounceable (especially compared to the horror that is Adyghe); Caucasus is just ''that'' weird.

!! Georgia in fiction
* Myth/ClassicalMythology features Georgia, known as "Colchis", as one of the foreign kingdoms that the the ancient Greeks sometimes visited as part of their voyages. Colchis is featured notably in ''Jason and the Argonauts'', as the location of the Golden Fleece, the goal of Jason's quest. His lover ([[UngratefulBastard whom he eventually dumped]]), Medea, was a Colchian, too.
* ''VideoGame/SplinterCell''
* ''VideoGame/GhostRecon''
* Will be featured as the main setting of ''[[VideoGame/SniperGhostWarrior Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3]]''.

[[AC:The Georgian flag]]
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/georgia_flag_7977.png
->The flag is based on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_George%27s_cross Saint George's Cross]], in honor of its patron saint. Its main differentiation from other flags of its type are four [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolnisi_cross Bolnisi Crosses]] on each quarter, representing Christianity in Georgia. The flag was adopted in 2003 to replace the original flag of a maroon field with a black-and-white canton, which had been associated with Georgia's post-Soviet troubles.
----


<<|UsefulNotes/{{Europe}}|>>

One interesting thing about Georgia is that it's not clear on which continent it is. According some sources, it's Europe, according to others - Asia (German Post, for example, considers it to be in Asia, as it costs more to send things to Asia than to Europe, But Organizations for European cooperation etc. considers it to be in Europe). Actually, the problem plagues the entire Caucasus; ordinary folks would have problems dictating which continent that neighbors Azerbaijan and Armenia (the latter of which, geographically-speaking, is located ''wholly'' in Asia, but is sometimes classified as a part of Europe due to its Christian heritage) belong to. The three countries, after all, are the crossroad of the two continents and are the definitive examples of "East meets West", sharing this distinction with Turkey.

Not ''[[RayCharles that]]'' [[TheDeepSouth Georgia]] [[note]]although that line is referenced in "Back in the USSR", and it spawned a lot of jokes about Russians in {{Atlanta}} during the 2008 invasion[[/note]]-- Georgia ('''Georgian:''' საქართველო Sakartvelo) is the former Soviet state with its capital at Tbilisi. Formerly the Georgian SSR, it became independent with the collapse of the USSR. But the history of country goes much further back. It was mentioned in Greek myths as "Kolkhis" and since then it has always been a target of many empires due to its strategic location. It has been invaded by Romans, Byzantians, Persians, Arabs, Mongols, Seljuks, Ottomans, Russians and basically every major forces of nearby regions. Mostly it was Muslim countries though, because Georgia served as a "Gatekeeper of Christianity" throughout the history, leading to the fact that Christianity was associated with nationality, it was the main difference between invaders and Georgians. Most of the time, rather than being attacked directly, enemies found more clever, indirect ways for conquest.

* Iosef Besiarionis dze Jugashvili,(which, by the way, means Iosef Besarion's son Jugashvili and was a common way to name oneself in Soviet Union) aka JosefStalin.

* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: resulted due to all the wars through history and proud mountain-folks nature. Even the word "Hello" in Georgian means something along the lines "may you win", while instead of "good morning" Georgians wish each other "a morning of peace".

There are two breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, both backed by Moscow. During the Soviet period, both regions enjoyed autonomous status, which meant among other things, their own language media (such as an Abkhazian newspaper and language institute), and different representation in the Supreme Soviet. When Georgia departed from the Soviet Union, it became clear that both regions would lose their prior arrangement. A war in the early 1990s in the latter led to the mass expulsion of ethnic Georgians from that area and a lot of deaths, with atrocities on both sides. This has led to tension between the two neighbours, culminating in [[UsefulNotes/GeorgiansWithDragunovs Georgian troops]] invading South Ossetia to "restore peace and order" in August 2008. However, due to the indiscriminate shelling by Georgian forces, they ended up killing several Russian peacekeepers in the area, as well as dozens of South Ossetian civilians. This was considered an act of war by Moscow, and led to a massive and disproportionate Russian retaliation against Georgia, also claiming Georgian atrocities against ethnic Russians in South Ossetia. Russia ([[AndZoidberg and Nauru, Nicaragua, and Venezuela]]) have officially recognized South Ossetian and Abkhazian independence, with the West generally lining up in Georgia's corner. As a final poignant cap to this, in 2010, a major Georgian television news network broadcasted an [[Radio/TheWaroftheWorlds Orson Wells]]-style hoax stating Russia had invaded Georgia, and that the political opposition had killed the President. In October 2012, the newly elected Prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili pledged to try to mend Georgia's severely damaged relations with Russia.

A third region just north of Armenia known as Samtskhe-Javakheti, populated largely by ethnic Armenians, has also been pushing for autonomy (since the region has been subject to severe neglect, forced ethnic integration, and kept in poverty by an apathetic Georgian government), leading to some instability, ethnic clashes and shaky relations with Armenia as a result. Though Armenia has shown concern for the plight of the people of Javakh, a repeat of the war those two countries had over the region back in 1918 isn't too likely as landlocked Armenia needs Georgia for importing and exporting, and it already has its hands full with Turkey and an increasingly threatening Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, the province of Ajaria, with it's large Turkish population, has had radicals wanting it to become part of Turkey. Georgia otherwise has fairly stable relations with all three countries, aside from Armenia and Azerbaijan often trying to convince it to take sides in their conflicts.

There are two breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, both backed by Moscow. During the Soviet period, both regions enjoyed autonomous status, which meant among other things, their own language media (such as an Abkhazian newspaper and language institute), and different representation in the Supreme Soviet. When Georgia departed from the Soviet Union, it became clear that both regions would lose their prior arrangement. A war in the early 1990s in the latter led to the mass expulsion of ethnic Georgians from that area and a lot of deaths, with atrocities on both sides. This has led to tension between the two neighbours, culminating in [[UsefulNotes/GeorgiansWithDragunovs Georgian troops]] invading South Ossetia to "restore peace and order" in August 2008. However, due to the indiscriminate shelling by Georgian forces, they ended up killing several Russian peacekeepers in the area, as well as dozens of South Ossetian civilians. This was considered an act of war by Moscow, and led to a massive and disproportionate Russian retaliation against Georgia, also claiming Georgian atrocities against ethnic Russians in South Ossetia. Russia ([[AndZoidberg and Nicaragua]]) have officially recognized South Ossetian and Abkhazian independence, with the West generally lining up in Georgia's corner. As a final poignant cap to this, in 2010, a major Georgian television news network broadcasted an [[Radio/TheWaroftheWorlds Orson Wells]]-style hoax stating Russia had invaded Georgia, and that the political opposition had killed the President. In October 2012, the newly elected Prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili pledged to try to mend Georgia's severely damaged relations with Russia.

Due to importance of Christianity, it's elements are everywhere, most notably almost all of the old architecture consists of churches; that said, Georgia has long had a large minority of Muslims, who remain to this day, although many of their number have spread across the Muslim world and assimilated there (a good number in the 19th century joined the armies of the neighboring Circassians and ended up in high places across the Arab world). All in all, the Georgian culture was always western-oriented, but with big eastern influences, creating an unique culture.

One interesting thing about Georgia is that it's not clear on which continent it is. According some sources, it's Europe, according to others - Asia (German Post, for example, considers it to be in Asia, as it costs more to send things to Asia than to Europe, But Organizations for European cooperation etc. considers it to be in Europe).

Not ''[[RayCharles that]]'' [[TheDeepSouth Georgia]] [[note]]although that line is referenced in "Back in the USSR", and it spawned a lot of jokes about Russians in {{Atlanta}} during the 2008 invasion[[/note]]-- Georgia ('''Georgian:''' საქართველო Sakartvelo) is the former Soviet state, known to the locals as with its capital at Tbilisi. Formerly the Georgian SSR, it became independent with the collapse of the USSR. But the history of country goes much further back. It was mentioned in Greek myths as "Kolkhis" and since then it has always been a target of many empires due to its strategic location. It has been invaded by Romans, Byzantians, Persians, Arabs, Mongols, Seljuks, Ottomans, Russians and basically every major forces of nearby regions. Mostly it was Muslim countries though, because Georgia served as a "Gatekeeper of Christianity" throughout the history, leading to the fact that Christianity was associated with nationality, it was the main difference between invaders and Georgians. Most of the time, rather than being attacked directly, enemies found more clever, indirect ways for conquest.

Due to importance of Christianity, it's elements are everywhere, most notably almost all of the old architecture consists of churches. All in all, the Georgian culture was always western-oriented, but with big eastern influences, creating an unique culture.

The country underwent a peaceful revolution in 2003, deposing Eduard Shevardnadze, former Soviet foreign minister. Russian forces have now been withdrawn. Georgia is a pro-American state, with plans to join {{NATO}} soon and has a street in Tbilisi named after George W. Bush. It was a member of the Multinational Coalition in Iraq, and sent 4,000 troops to aid in the Iraq War.

* Elena Satine, although she started on a variety show at the age of 6 in Georgia, she later emigrated to the US and is much better known for her role in ''Series/Revenge''.

* Eduard Shevardnadze ([[IncrediblyLamePun not to be confused with]] Film/EdwardScissorhands), Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union known for helping bring about an end to the ColdWar in the [[TheEighties late 1980s]]. When TheGreatPoliticsMessUp happened, he ran for (and won) the post of President of Georgia, a job he lost in 2004 during the "Rose Revolution" protests.

There are two breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, both backed by Moscow. During the Soviet period, both regions enjoyed autonomous status, which meant among other things, their own language media (such as an Abkhazian newspaper and language institute), and different representation in the Supreme Soviet. When Georgia departed from the Soviet Union, it became clear that both regions would lose their prior arrangement. A war in the early 1990s in the latter led to the mass expulsion of ethnic Georgians from that area and a lot of deaths, with atrocities on both sides. This has led to tension between the two neighbours, culminating in [[UsefulNotes/GeorgiansWithDragunovs Georgian troops]] invading South Ossetia to "restore peace and order" in August 2008. However, due to the indiscriminate shelling by Georgian forces, they ended up killing several Russian peacekeepers in the area, as well as dozens of South Ossetian civilians. This was considered an act of war by Moscow, and led to a massive and disproportionate Russian retaliation against Georgia, also claiming Georgian atrocities against ethnic Russians in South Ossetia. Russia ([[AndZoidberg and Nicaragua]]) have officially recognized South Ossetian and Abkhazian independence, with the West generally lining up in Georgia's corner. As a final poignant cap to this, in 2010, a major Georgian television news network broadcasted an [[Radio/TheWaroftheWorlds Orson Wells]]-style hoax stating Russia had invaded Georgia, and that the political opposition had killed the President. In October 2012, the newly elected president Bidzina Ivanishvili pledged to try to mend Georgia's severely damaged relations with Russia.

There are two breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, both backed by Moscow. During the Soviet period, both regions enjoyed autonomous status, which meant among other things, their own language media (such as an Abkhazian newspaper and language institute), and different representation in the Supreme Soviet. When Georgia departed from the Soviet Union, it became clear that both regions would lose their prior arrangement. A war in the early 1990s in the latter led to the mass expulsion of ethnic Georgians from that area and a lot of deaths, with atrocities on both sides. This has led to tension between the two neighbours, culminating in Georgian troops invading South Ossetia to "restore peace and order" in August 2008. However, due to the indiscriminate shelling by Georgian forces, they ended up killing several Russian peacekeepers in the area, as well as dozens of South Ossetian civilians. This was considered an act of war by Moscow, and led to a massive and disproportionate Russian retaliation against Georgia, also claiming Georgian atrocities against ethnic Russians in South Ossetia. Russia ([[AndZoidberg and Nicaragua]]) have officially recognized South Ossetian and Abkhazian independence, with the West generally lining up in Georgia's corner. As a final poignant cap to this, in 2010, a major Georgian television news network broadcasted an [[Radio/TheWaroftheWorlds Orson Wells]]-style hoax stating Russia had invaded Georgia, and that the political opposition had killed the President. In October 2012, the newly elected president Bidzina Ivanishvili pledged to try to mend Georgia's severely damaged relations with Russia.

* Katie Melua, a singer

* Meliton Kantaria, the UsefulNotes/GreatPatrioticWar soldier who raised the Victory Banner over the Reichstag in 1945.
* Lavrenti Pavles dze Beria, Stalin's right-hand man and the head of the NKVD StateSec. His brutal methods are only second to Stalin's own.

* Eduard Shevardnadze ([[IncrediblyLamePun not to be confused with]] EdwardScissorhands), Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union known for helping bring about an end to the ColdWar in the [[TheEighties late 1980s]]. When TheGreatPoliticsMessUp happened, he ran for (and won) the post of President of Georgia, a job he lost in 2004 during the "Rose Revolution" protests.

Not ''[[RayCharles that]]'' [[TheDeepSouth Georgia]] [[note]]although that line is referenced in "Back in the USSR", and it spawned a lot of jokes about Russians in {{Atlanta}} during the 2008 invasion[[/note]] -- the former Soviet state, known to the locals as საქართველო (Sakartvelo), with its capital at Tbilisi. Formerly the Georgian SSR, it became independent with the collapse of the USSR. But the history of country goes much further back. It was mentioned in Greek myths as "Kolkhis" and since then it has always been a target of many empires due to its strategic location. It has been invaded by Romans, Byzantians, Persians, Arabs, Mongols, Seljuks, Ottomans, Russians and basically every major forces of nearby regions. Mostly it was Muslim countries though, because Georgia served as a "Gatekeeper of Christianity" throughout the history, leading to the fact that Christianity was associated with nationality, it was the main difference between invaders and Georgians. Most of the time, rather than being attacked directly, enemies found more clever, indirect ways for conquest.

* Meliton Kantaria, the GreatPatrioticWar soldier who raised the Victory Banner over the Reichstag in 1945.

Not ''[[RayCharles that]]'' [[TheDeepSouth Georgia]] [[hottip:* :although that line is referenced in "Back in the USSR", and it spawned a lot of jokes about Russians in {{Atlanta}} during the 2008 invasion]] -- the former Soviet state, known to the locals as საქართველო (Sakartvelo), with its capital at Tbilisi. Formerly the Georgian SSR, it became independent with the collapse of the USSR. But the history of country goes much further back. It was mentioned in Greek myths as "Kolkhis" and since then it has always been a target of many empires due to its strategic location. It has been invaded by Romans, Byzantians, Persians, Arabs, Mongols, Seljuks, Ottomans, Russians and basically every major forces of nearby regions. Mostly it was Muslim countries though, because Georgia served as a "Gatekeeper of Christianity" throughout the history, leading to the fact that Christianity was associated with nationality, it was the main difference between invaders and Georgians. Most of the time, rather than being attacked directly, enemies found more clever, indirect ways for conquest.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gg-map.gif

Not ''[[TheDeepSouth that]]'' [[TheDeepSouth Georgia]] [[hottip:* :although that line is referenced in "Back in the USSR", and it spawned a lot of jokes about Russians in {{Atlanta}} during the 2008 invasion]] -- the former Soviet state, known to the locals as საქართველო (Sakartvelo), with its capital at Tbilisi. Formerly the Georgian SSR, it became independent with the collapse of the USSR. But the history of country goes much further back. It was mentioned in Greek myths as "Kolkhis" and since then it has always been a target of many empires due to its strategic location. It has been invaded by Romans, Byzantians, Persians, Arabs, Mongols, Seljuks, Ottomans, Russians and basically every major forces of nearby regions. Mostly it was Muslim countries though, because Georgia served as a "Gatekeeper of Christianity" throughout the history, leading to the fact that Christianity was associated with nationality, it was the main difference between invaders and Georgians. Most of the time, rather than being attacked directly, enemies found more clever, indirect ways for conquest.

There are two breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, both backed by Moscow. During the Soviet period, both regions enjoyed autonomous status, which meant among other things, their own language media (such as an Abkhazian newspaper and language institute), and different representation in the Supreme Soviet. When Georgia departed from the Soviet Union, it became clear that both regions would lose their prior arrangement. A war in the early 1990s in the latter led to the mass expulsion of ethnic Georgians from that area and a lot of deaths, with atrocities on both sides. This has led to tension between the two neighbours, culminating in Georgian troops invading South Ossetia to "restore peace and order" in August 2008. However, due to the indiscriminate shelling by Georgian forces, they ended up killing several Russian peacekeepers in the area, as well as dozens of South Ossetian civilians. This was considered an act of war by Moscow, and led to a massive and disproportionate Russian retaliation against Georgia, also claiming Georgian atrocities against ethnic Russians in South Ossetia. Russia ([[AndZoidberg and Nicaragua]]) have officially recognized South Ossetian and Abkhazian independence, with the West generally lining up in Georgia's corner. As a final poignant cap to this, in 2010, a major Georgian television news network broadcasted an [[TheWaroftheWorlds Orson Wells]]-style hoax stating Russia had invaded Georgia, and that the political opposition had killed the President. In October 2012, the newly elected president Bidzina Ivanishvili pledged to try to mend Georgia's severely damaged relations with Russia.

[[AC: The Georgian Flag]] (post 2003)

->The flag is based on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_George%27s_cross Saint George's Cross]], in honor of its patron saint. Its main differentiation from other flags of its type are four [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolnisi_cross Bolnisi Crosses]] on each quarter, representing Christianity in Georgia.