Country profile: Georgia
Story from BBC NEWS:
/country_profiles/1102477.stm
Published: 2009/04/11 13:44:26 GMT
Situated at the strategically important crossroads where Europe meets
Asia, Georgia has a unique and ancient cultural heritage, famous
traditions of hospitality and cuisine and an alphabet which is entirely
its own.
Over the centuries, Georgia was the object of rivalry between Persia,
Turkey and Russia, before being eventually annexed by Russia in the
19th century.
Since emerging from the collapsing Soviet Union as an independent state
in 1991, Georgia has again become the arena of conflicting interests,
this time between the US and a revived Russia. Tense relations with
Russia have been further exacerbated by Moscow’s support for the
separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Georgia’s previous, and rather brief, interlude of independence after
the 1917 Bolshevik revolution in Russia ended when it was invaded by
the Soviet Red Army in 1921 and incorporated into the Soviet Union a
year later.
The US now has a major strategic interest in the country, having
invested heavily in an oil pipeline from Azerbaijan via Georgia to
Turkey. The Georgian armed forces have been receiving US training and
support.
Increasing US economic and political influence in the country has long
been a source of concern for the Kremlin, as have Georgia’s aspirations
to join NATO and the EU.
Tensions between Moscow and Tbilisi are never far from the surface and
in August 2008 flared up into an armed conflict triggered by clashes
between Georgian troops and South Ossetian separatist forces.
Post-Soviet years
Following the collapse of communism in the USSR in 1991, Georgians
voted overwhelmingly for the restoration of independence and elected
nationalist leader Zviad Gamsakhurdia as president. However,
Gamsakhurdia was soon overthrown by opposition militias which in 1992
installed former Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze as the
country’s new leader.
During his 11 years in office, the Georgian people felt increasingly at
the mercy of poverty, corruption and crime. He was ousted in November
2003 following mass demonstrations over the conduct of parliamentary
elections.
Once a relatively affluent part of the USSR, with independence Georgia
lost the cheap energy to which it had access in the Soviet period. As
relations between Georgia and Russia deteriorated, Moscow did not
flinch from tightening the economic screws, and the rupturing of
trading ties caused the Georgian economy to nose-dive.
Georgia has been heavily dependent on Russia for its energy supply.
Like some other republics of the former Soviet Union, it saw the price
of gas supplied by the Russian gas giant Gazprom rise sharply in
January 2006. Gazprom has since doubled the price again. It is no
coincidence that20Georgia has started receiving an increasing proportion
of its gas from Azerbaijan.
Breakaway regions
Since independence, the people of Georgia have endured periods of civil
war and unrest as well as violence related to the independence
aspirations of the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Both regions have close ties with Moscow, which in August 2008
announced that it was formally recognising their independence.
Russian peacekeepers have operated there since the early 1990s. They
are regularly accused by Tbilisi of siding with the separatists. The
Georgian parliament has demanded that the Russian peacekeepers in both
regions be replaced by an international force. The UN operates a
military observer mission alongside Russian peacekeepers in Abkhazia.
Russia has had troops stationed in Georgia for over two centuries.
After protracted discussions, it agreed in 2005 to withdraw from its
two remaining bases, one in Ajaria and the other in southern Georgia,
by the end of 2008. Their presence has been another source of tension
between Tbilisi and the Kremlin.
Full name: Georgia
Population: 4.4 million (UN, 2008)
Capital: Tbilisi
Area: 69,700 sq km (26,911 sq miles)
Major languages: Georgian, Russian
Major religion: Christianity
Life expectancy: 67 years (men), 75 years (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: 1 lari = 100 tetri
Main exports: Scrap metal, wine, fruit
GNI per capita: US $2,120 (World Bank, 2007)
Internet domain: .ge
International dialling code: +995
President: Mikhail Saakashvili
Mikhail Saakashvili was elected president in January 2004, and won a
second term in an early election in January 2008, called in response to
opposition protests.
In 2004, Mr Saakashvili led the ”Rose Revolution” protests which
forced his predecessor as president, Eduard Shevardnadze, to resign,
riding a wave of popular anger at a parliamentary rigged election.
He won an overwhelming majority in the subsequent presidential
election, in what OSCE observers described as a "welcome contrast" to
the parliamentary poll.
Soon after that, Mr Saakashvili consolidated his position when his
National Movement-Democratic Front won a resounding victory in
parliamentary elections.
He faced a major challenge towards the end of 2007 when a one-time
ally, former defence minister Irakli Okruashvili, accused him of
corruption and of plotting a murder.
The accusations triggered a wave of protests. Mass demonstrations were
held in Tbilisi demanding elections. The opposition accused him of
being authoritarian and not doing enough to alleviate poverty.
Mr Saakashvili sent in the riot police, imposed a state of emergency
and alleged there was a hidden Russian hand in the unrest.
He also brought forward presidential elections to 5 January 2008,
proceeding to win an outright victory with more than 50% of the vote.
Mr Saakashvili further consolidated his position when his party won a
landslide victory in parliamentary elections in May 2008.
And the outbreak of armed conflict with Russia in August 2008 led many
Georgians who had previously accused Mr Saakashvili of exhibiting
authoritarian tendencies to rally behind him.
His long-term prospects are less certain, as in future Georgia is
likely to be far worse off – both strategically and economically – as a
result of the war.
A protégé of Mr Shevardnadze early in his career, Mr Saakashvili grew
disillusioned by widespread corruption in high places. He became
justice minister in 2000 and launched a high-profile campaign against
it, sparking a major public row with Mr Shevardnadze.
On becoming president Mr Saakashvili vowed to restore Georgia’s
territorial integrity by returning the breakaway regions of Abkhazia
and South Ossetia to the fold. Moscow’s links with both have been a
constant bone of contention.
His ambition to take Georgia into Nato and the EU further soured
relations with the Kremlin.
Mr Saakashvili was born in Tbilisi in 1967. He trained as a lawyer in
the US and other countries and became a member of the Georgian
parliament in 1995. He speaks several languages, including fluent
English.
Prime Minister: Nikoloz "Nika" Gilauri
A business manager and long-serving minister, Nika Gilauri became prime
minister in February 2009. He succeeded Grigol Mgaloblishvili, who
resigned on health grounds a
fter only three months in office.
Born in Tbilisi in 1975, Mr Gilauri studied business and finance in
Ireland and the United States, and worked as a manager abroad and in
Georgia.
He joined the government as energy minister in 2004, after the election
of President Mikhail Saakashvili, and went on to negotiate major gas
supply deals with Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey.
He took over as finance minister in September 2007, combining the job
with the newly-created post of first deputy prime minister in Mr
Mgaloblishvili’s government from November 2008.
Mr Gilauri said that his priorities would be to tackle unemployment,
further democracy and work to bring Abkhazia and South Ossetia under
Georgian control. He repeated previous governments’ commitment to
Georgia’s integration with NATO.
His first major step was to dismiss Kakha Bendukidze, an entrepreneur
who made a fortune in Russia in the 1990s and later spearheaded
Georgia’s privatisation drive, as head of the Georgian State
Chancellery.
Mr Bendukidze’s role in the deregulation of the Georgian economy had
made him a regular target of opposition criticism and had also brought
him into conflict with Mr Gilauri.
Television is the main source of news for most Georgians. There are
dozens of cable TV operators and a handful of major commercial
stations.
Private broadcasters compete for a share of the small, but growing,
advertising market. Newspaper readership is generally low.
A government-funded public broadcaster, Georgian Public Broadcasting,
has replaced the former state radio and TV. The state has relinquished
other media assets, including newspapers and a news agency.
The constitution provides for freedom of speech, and journalists often
criticize officials. A 2004 law decriminalized libel and slander.
However, some journalists and international bodies say self-censorship
is practised. There have been reports of physical attacks on
journalists in the regions.
In November 2007, Reporters Without Borders voiced "deep concern" about
the suspension of news programmes on private TV stations under a state
of emergency, as well as the closure of opposition-leaning Imedi TV,
which remained off the air for five months.
The press
Sakartvelos Respublika (Republic of Georgia) – daily, former government
mouthpiece
24 Saati (24 Hours) – private daily, set up by Rustavi group
Rezonansi (Resonance) – private, daily
Alia (Repatriation) – private, thrice-weekly
Akhali Versia (New Version) – private, thrice weekly
Kvilis Palitra – private, weekly
Georgian Times – English-language, weekly
Georgia Today – English-language, weekly
Georgian Messenger – English-language daily
Svobodnaya Gruzia (Free Georgia) – Russian-language daily, formerly
state-run
Archive of Georgian newspapers – in Georgian
Television
Georgian Public TV – operates two networks
Rustavi-2 – major private network
Imedi TV – private network
Mze TV – major private network
Radio
Georgian Public Radio – operates two networks
Radio Imedi – private, national news and speech network
Fortuna FM – private, music-based
Mtsvane Talgha (Green Wave) – national network linked to
non-governmental organisations
News agencies/internet
Prime-News – private, English-language pages
Kavkasia-Press – private
Civil Georgia – news site run by United Nations Association of Georgia