GEORGIA

On May 26 th 1918, in the middle of the Russian civil war, Georgia declared its independence. Just one year after the Russian Revolution. Nevertheless, the independence did not last long: in February, 1921 Georgia was attacked by the Red Army. The local troops lost the battle and the government fled out of the country. Georgia was incorporated into the Federation of Socialistic Soviet Republics of the Transcaucasus. Some years later it was dissolved and in 1936 it became to be a part of the USSR.

The Georgian radical Iósif Dzhugashvili was prominent among the Russian Bolsheviks, who arose in the Russian Empire after the Revolution of October, 1917. Yugashvili was better known for his nickname Stalin (of the Russian ?????: steel). Stalin reached the highest position in the Soviet state and governed it mercilessly.

From 1941 until 1945, during the Second World War, near 700.000 Georgian fought like soldiers of the Red Army against the Nazi Germany and almost 350.000 of them died in the battles of the Eastern Front. Likewise, during this period the villages of Ingusetia, Karachay, and also the Chechenian and the Balkarios of the northern Caucasus, were deported to Siberia by their supposed collaboration with the Nazi.

Edward Shevardnadze, the Georgian minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR., was one of the creators of the Perestroika during the 1980's. In this period, Georgia developed a vigorous multi-partisan system that strongly encouraged the independence. On October 28 th 1990, the country had the first elections -with several parties- of the Soviet Union.

The current population of Georgia is 4 million. From the fall of the Soviet Union, Georgia has suffered a serious population collapse, as the revolt in Abkhazia, Adjaria and South Ossetia. A fragile economy and few work opportunities allowed that hundreds of Georgians emigrated searching a better life, especially to Russia. The problem worsens furthermore with the low birthrate among the population which resides permanently in the country.

The Georgian economy has developed traditionally around the tourism of the Black Sea, the cultures of citrus fruits, tea and grapes; the mining industry of the manganese and the copper, besides a small industrial sector that produces wine, metals, machinery, chemists and textiles. The country imports the great majority of the needed energy. Its only important source of energy is the hydroelectric power. In spite of the severe damage that the domestic economy has suffered because of the civil war, Georgia - with the help of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank - has done substantial economic advances since 1995, increasing the growth rate of the GNP and reducing the inflation. The economy still has a great budget deficit due to the difficulties in recollecting an income due taxes.

Georgia is setting its hopes in the long term recovering with the development of an international transport corridor across key ports in the Black Sea as Poti and Batumi.

Photos: Google Images

Texst: Based on Wikipedia.