History UsefulNotes / GeorgiaCaucasus

* Hélène Carrère d'Encausse, born Zourabishvili (a family of Georgian refugees who fled the Bolsheviks), French historian and member of the Académie française who specialized in all things USSR and Russia.

'''Famous Georgians'''

** President: Salome Zurabishvili

** Prime Minister: Irakli Garibashvili

* '''Area:''' 69,700 km (26,900 sq mi) (119th)

* '''Area:''' 69,700 km
(26,900 sq mi) (119th)

There are two breakaway regions, UsefulNotes/{{Abkhazia}} and UsefulNotes/SouthOssetia, both backed by Moscow. During the Soviet period, both regions enjoyed autonomous status (Abkhazia as an Autonomous Republic, South Ossetia as an Autonomous Oblast), 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. During the chaos of the Georgian Civil War that broke out in 1991, both Abkhazia and South Ossetia decided to break away. The Abkhazian war led to the mass expulsion of ethnic Georgians from Abkhazia and many deaths, with atrocities on both sides. Meanwhile, Georgia also lost control over South Ossetia, although many Georgians remained there after they agreed on a peace treaty. However, tensions remained long after the war, culminating in Georgian troops invading South Ossetia to "restore peace and order" in August 2008. 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 full-scale Russian invasion of Georgia. The result of ''that'', in turn, led Georgians to leave South Ossetia as well. To this day, Abkhazia and South Ossetia are only recognized by Russia and a few of its allies, while the rest of the international world recognize them as Georgian territories. They also have significant ties with the breakaway UsefulNotes/{{Moldova}}n territory of UsefulNotes/{{Transnistria}} (which, on the contrary, is not recognized by any UN member). 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. Ties between Georgia and Russia remain strained; the two have no formal diplomatic relations, aside from an Interests Section in Russia's [[UsefulNotes/{{Switzerland}} Swiss]] embassy. In October 2012, the then-newly elected Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili pledged to try to mend Georgia's severely damaged relations with Russia.

[[caption-width-right:328:"ატლანტა"-ს ვერ იპოვი.]]

Not ''[[UsefulNotes/GeorgiaUSA that]]'' [[TheDeepSouth Georgia]] [[note]]although that line is referenced in "Back in the USSR", and it spawned a lot of jokes about Russians in UsefulNotes/{{Atlanta}} during the 2008 invasion[[/note]]--Georgia ('''Georgian:''' საქართველო Sakartvelo, '''Russian:''' Грузия ''Gruziya'') is a country state located right smack in between Eastern UsefulNotes/{{Europe}} and West UsefulNotes/{{Asia}}. It is situated in UsefulNotes/TheCaucasus, and its national capital is Tbilisi. Formerly the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn 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 at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. It has been invaded by [[AncientRome Romans]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Iran}} Persians]], Arabs, UsefulNotes/{{Mongol|ia}}s, Seljuks, [[UsefulNotes/{{Turkey}} Ottomans]], UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}ns and basically every major forces of nearby regions. Because many of these invaders happened to be [[UsefulNotes/{{Islam}} Muslim]], UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}} became tightly associated with nationality, and Georgia gained the nickname "Gatekeeper of Christianity".

The country underwent a peaceful revolution in 2003, deposing Eduard Shevardnadze, former Soviet foreign minister. Russian forces have now been withdrawn. Georgia was a pro-American state for a time, 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 UsefulNotes/{{Iraq}}, and sent 4,000 troops to aid in the Iraq War.

There are two breakaway regions of UsefulNotes/SouthOssetia and UsefulNotes/{{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 many 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. 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 UsefulNotes/{{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.

Georgia is known as the homeland of wine. The 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 countries to develop polyphonic music, with three 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 guests are amazed by the love and respect the strange people show them. Due to the importance of Christianity, its 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 a 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 to 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, Cyprus, Kazakhstan and Russia.[[note]]The most commonly used of the several competing Europe-Asia geographical boundary lines passes along the spine of the Caucasus range, putting most of Georgia in Asia but slivers of the north in Europe; note, however, that "most commonly used" does not mean "used by the majority" - not even close.[[/note]]

* Ioseb 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 UsefulNotes/JosefStalin.

!! Georgia provides examples of:

* DavidVersusGoliath: Short summary of most of its history
* 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.
* OurElvesAreDifferent: It's sort of a gag that "Georgians are Elves" due to having a unique alphabet that strongly resembles Tengwar and other [[Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium LoTR]] Elvish scripts and exotic language [[note]]Georgian, similarly to Finnish (on which Tolkien based Quenya) is an agglutinative language with few linguistic relatives. However, unlike Finnish, Georgian uses consonants on a massive scale that... creates monstrosities listed below. Plus Finnish is at least related to UsefulNotes/{{Estonia}}n and UsefulNotes/{{Hungar|y}}ian along with a few dozen regional ethnic tongues in UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}. Meanwhile, Georgian is only related to ''three'' other languages, mainly clustered in and around Georgia itself, none of which have anywhere near as many speakers as the country's main language.[[/note]]. Bonus points for being an old civilization and most of the country being covered in forests... and being quite arrogant, looking down upon their neighbors.[[note]]Then again, being surrounded by Islamic HordesFromTheEast (they still use old Byzantine fashioned "barbarian" in Troparions during liturgies at the church, while in most other languages it is translated merely as "adversaries") tend to make you one.[[/note]]
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: This 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) and since Georgian is an agglutinative language (meaning that it massively uses suffixes and prefixes) it ends up creating abominations such as gvp'rtskvni ("you peal us"). 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.
* VestigialEmpire: During the Middle Ages, Georgia was a strong regional power and controlled the entire area from Sinope to Ardabil. Georgian kings even fashioned themselves as "Autocrats of all the East and the West", being Byzantine wannabes.[[note]]They actually were suzerains of the Empire of Trebizond.[[/note]] Even the Mongols couldn't manage to break it, only partially subordinating its eastern and southern areas as tributaries. However, things got bad after ''eight'' invasions by Tamerlane that ruined the kingdom. And things went from bad to worse after the fall of Constantinople, which meant that they lost their natural ally and organically connected nation, Byzantium, resulting in them being surrounded by hostile Muslim hordes. After nearly 300 years of bloodbath and misery, it was annexed by Russia, briefly regained independence, was annexed by ''communistic'' Russia,[[note]]A large portion of leaders of which were actually Georgian.[[/note]] and again regained independence in 1991. Nowadays they are slowly regaining their regional power status, though having lands occupied by a foreign power doesn't really help.

* 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 ''Film/JasonAndTheArgonauts'', 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.

* Will be featured as the main setting of ''[[VideoGame/SniperGhostWarrior Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3]]''.

* Nelly Virsaladze from ''{{Manga/Saki}}'' is from Georgia (sometimes referred to as Sakartvelo), having won the junior high world Mahjong championship she becomes the captain for the Mahjong team of a Tokyo high school.
* Fiction might not be the right word, but the Trio take a trip to Georgia (and neighbouring Azerbaijan) as part of their road trip from the shores of the Black Sea to the shores of the Caspian in season three of ''Series/TheGrandTour''. Apart from getting up to their usual antics in Stalin's home town of Gori pronounced the country to be a "hidden gem".

* '''Area:''' 69,700 km
(26,900 sq mi) (119th)

** Chairperson of the Parliament: Archil Talakvadze

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 many 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. 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.

Not ''[[UsefulNotes/GeorgiaUSA that]]'' [[TheDeepSouth Georgia]] [[note]]although that line is referenced in "Back in the USSR", and it spawned a lot of jokes about Russians in UsefulNotes/{{Atlanta}} during the 2008 invasion[[/note]]--Georgia ('''Georgian:''' საქართველო Sakartvelo, '''Russian:''' Грузия ''Gruziya'') is a country state located right smack in between Eastern UsefulNotes/{{Europe}} and West UsefulNotes/{{Asia}}. It is situated in UsefulNotes/TheCaucasus, and its national capital is Tbilisi. Formerly the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn 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 at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. It has been invaded by [[AncientRome Romans]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Iran}} Persians]], Arabs, UsefulNotes/{{Mongol|ia}}s, Seljuks, Ottomans, UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}ns and basically every major forces of nearby regions. Because many of these invaders happened to be [[UsefulNotes/{{Islam}} Muslim]], UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}} became tightly associated with nationality, and Georgia gained the nickname "Gatekeeper of Christianity".

Not ''[[UsefulNotes/GeorgiaUSA that]]'' [[TheDeepSouth Georgia]] [[note]]although that line is referenced in "Back in the USSR", and it spawned a lot of jokes about Russians in UsefulNotes/{{Atlanta}} during the 2008 invasion[[/note]]--Georgia ('''Georgian:''' საქართველო Sakartvelo, '''Russian:''' Грузия ''Gruziya'') is a country state located right smack in between Eastern UsefulNotes/{{Europe}} and West UsefulNotes/{{Asia}}. It is situated in UsefulNotes/TheCaucasus, and its national capital is Tbilisi. Formerly the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn 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 at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. It has been invaded by [[AncientRome Romans]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Iran}} Persians]], Arabs, UsefulNotes/{{Mongol|ia}}s, Seljuks, Ottomans, UsefulNotes/{{Russian}}s and basically every major forces of nearby regions. Because many of these invaders happened to be [[UsefulNotes/{{Islam}} Muslim]], UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}} became tightly associated with nationality, and Georgia gained the nickname "Gatekeeper of Christianity".

Not ''[[UsefulNotes/GeorgiaUSA that]]'' [[TheDeepSouth Georgia]] [[note]]although that line is referenced in "Back in the USSR", and it spawned a lot of jokes about Russians in UsefulNotes/{{Atlanta}} during the 2008 invasion[[/note]]--Georgia ('''Georgian:''' საქართველო Sakartvelo, '''Russian:''' Грузия ''Gruziya'') is a country state located right smack in between Eastern UsefulNotes/{{Europe}} and West UsefulNotes/{{Asia}}. It is situated in UsefulNotes/TheCaucasus, and its national capital is Tbilisi. Formerly the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn 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 at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. It has been invaded by Romans, Persians, Arabs, Mongols, Seljuks, Ottomans, Russians and basically every major forces of nearby regions. Because many of these invaders happened to be Muslim, Christianity became tightly associated with nationality, and Georgia gained the nickname "Gatekeeper of Christianity".

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.

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.

Not ''[[UsefulNotes/GeorgiaUSA that]]'' [[TheDeepSouth Georgia]] [[note]]although that line is referenced in "Back in the USSR", and it spawned a lot of jokes about Russians in UsefulNotes/{{Atlanta}} during the 2008 invasion[[/note]]--Georgia ('''Georgian:''' საქართველო Sakartvelo, '''Russian:''' Грузия ''Gruziya'') is a former Soviet state located right smack in between Eastern UsefulNotes/{{Europe}} and West UsefulNotes/{{Asia}}. It is situated in UsefulNotes/TheCaucasus, and its national capital is 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 at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. It has been invaded by Romans, Persians, Arabs, Mongols, Seljuks, Ottomans, Russians and basically every major forces of nearby regions. Because many of these invaders happened to be Muslim, Christianity became tightly associated with nationality, and Georgia gained the nickname "Gatekeeper of Christianity".

* The five first missions of the first game in the ''VideoGame/GhostRecon'' series (released in 2001) take place in Georgia (and the rest takes place in other former Soviet Republics). The country has been invaded by Russian ultranationalists and Ossetian separatists backed by them, and the Ghosts are sent to help liberate it. A Georgian specialist, machine-gunner Guram Osadze, joins the Ghosts after said missions are completed. The most disturbing thing about the game is the date of its events... ''2008'', the very same year as the RealLife war with Russia out of yet another Ossetian crisis. There's also a blatant case of ArtisticLicense regarding the apparently ''[[GratuitousRussian Russian]]'' signs in the war-torn streets of Tbilisi.

* Ioseb 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 UsefulNotes/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 didn't know any other languages). The Russian he spoke, he spoke with a thick Georgian accent for all of his life. 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. However, his family was actually Mingrelian, an ethnic minority in Georgia that is a distinct subgroup among the Georgian majority. The Soviet government classified them as a part of the Georgian ethnicity beginning in the 1930s, and they have a different language, although it's close to Georgian (most of the Mingrelians know both languages).

Not ''[[UsefulNotes/GeorgiaUSA that]]'' [[TheDeepSouth Georgia]] [[note]]although that line is referenced in "Back in the USSR", and it spawned a lot of jokes about Russians in UsefulNotes/{{Atlanta}} during the 2008 invasion[[/note]]--Georgia ('''Georgian:''' საქართველო Sakartvelo, '''Russian:''' Грузия ''Gruziya'') is a former Soviet state located right smack in between Eastern UsefulNotes/{{Europe}} and Western UsefulNotes/{{Asia}}. It is situated in UsefulNotes/TheCaucasus, and its national capital is 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 at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. It has been invaded by Romans, Persians, Arabs, Mongols, Seljuks, Ottomans, Russians and basically every major forces of nearby regions. Because many of these invaders happened to be Muslim, Christianity became tightly associated with nationality, and Georgia gained the nickname "Gatekeeper of Christianity".

* '''Capital and largest city:''' Tbilisi

* '''Highest point:''' Shkhara (5201 m/17,064 ft) (27th)

* 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.

->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.

* OurElvesAreDifferent: It's sort of a gag that "Georgians are Elves" due to having a unique alphabet that strongly resembles Tengwar and other [[Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium LoTR]] Elvish scripts and exotic language [[note]]Georgian, similarly to Finnish (on which Tolkien based Quenya) is an agglutinative language with few linguistic relatives. However, unlike Finnish, Georgian uses consonants on a massive scale that...creates monstrosities listed below. Plus Finnish is at least related to UsefulNotes/{{Estonia}}n and UsefulNotes/{{Hungar|y}}ian along with a few dozen regional ethnic tongues in UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}. Meanwhile, Georgian is only related to ''three'' other languages, mainly clustered in and around Georgia itself, none of which have anywhere near as many speakers as the country's main language.[[/note]]. Bonus points for being an old civilization and most of the country being covered in forests... and being quite arrogant, looking down upon their neighbors.[[note]]Then again, being surrounded by Islamic HordesFromTheEast (they still use old Byzantine fashioned "barbarian" in Troparions during liturgies at the church, while in most other languages it is translated merely as "adversaries") tend to make you one.[[/note]]

One interesting thing about Georgia is that it's not clear on which continent it is. According to 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, Cyprus, Kazakhstan and Russia. This page is listed as Europe because the historic and general consensus of the Georgians themselves is that they and the country are European.[[note]]The most commonly used of the several competing Europe-Asia geographical boundary lines passes along the spine of the Caucasus range, putting most of Georgia in Asia but slivers of the north in Europe; note, however, that "most commonly used" does not mean "used by the majority" - not even close.[[/note]]