Georgia History

General history

Starting from that 6. Century v. Chr. colonized ionische Greeks the western (Kolchis) and the eastern (Iberien) part of the region. Approximately in 4. Century n. Chr. Georgien was christianisiert. Up to 7. The Persian realm and Byzanz struggled century for the rule over Georgien. Then the Arabs conquered and in the 11. Century the Turkish Seldschuken this region. In early 12. Century could the Turks again be driven out and Georgien to a kingdom be united. In 14. Century was destroyed this kingdom by the Mongols; later the east at Persia and the west came to the Osmani realm. Center 18. Century developed a new Georgian kingdom, which however 1783 came under Russian protectorate and 1801 were annektiert by Russia.

After the Russian revolution Georgien explained itself in May 1918 for independent. 1921 occupied troops of the Red Army the country, and Georgien was integrated as autonomous Soviet republic of the Transkaukasi socialist federal Soviet republic (SFSR). When the Transkaukasi SFSR dissolved 1936, Georgien became as Georgian (Grusini) socialist Soviet republic part of the Soviet Union. Georgien explained its independence in the course of the decay of the Soviet Union in April 1991.

Georgien was exposed to the USSR serious internal disputes up to the last year of the existence. With the policy of the Glasnost (openness), the Soviet president Mikhail Gorbatschow (1985-1991) the Abchasier and the ossetischen nationalists began to operate in Georgien propaganda for more autonomy in the late eighties. Tensions between the Georgian government and the inhabitants of these enclaves increased, after the Georgian highest Soviet a law had discharged 1989, which placed the Georgian language over all other languages of the republic. After Südossetien 1990 had explained itself as to sovereigns a republic, the Georgian highest Soviet terminated the autonomy of the republic. Followed fights between Georgiern and Osseten, which continued, until a peacekeeping force consisting of Russians, Georgiern, Süd- and Nordosseten was sent.

A second conflict developed in May 1991 briefly after the elections of the first president of the country, Swiad Gamsachurdia. He was fallen in January 1992 after reproaches of the corruption, the violation of human rights and the misuse of power. Gamsachurdia and its Gefolgsleute undertook several attempts to back-conquer the city Tiflis and in October 1993 they threatened Kutaissi. The revolt was interrupted temporarily, after Gamsachurdia obviously committed 1993/94 suicide to the turn of the year.

A third conflict began between Georgian and abchasischen troops, after the abchasische highest Soviet had explained independence Abchasiens in July 1992. Georgien troops sent after Abchasien to protect and military units pursue allegedly in order supplying ways, the Gamsachurdia the loyalty held. Shortly thereafter heavy engagements with the abchasischen side broke out. This received support from ethnical used peoples of the Caucasus on Russian national territory. The Georgian armed forces lost substantially at soil, until in July 1993 an agreement over an armistice was made. The ABC hares broke this agreement and drove out in October 1993 the Georgian militia as well as about 200,000 Georgian refugees. In the same month the Georgian government of the community of independent states followed, in order to win Russia for the military support. To maintain obtained in February 1994 an agreement, which permitted it Russia, three military bases in Georgian area. 1994 became Georgien member in a peace program, which planned a limited military co-operation with the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO).

With the presidency elections from November 1995 Eduard Shevardnadze succeeded. Its party, the 1993 created citizen union, became with the parliamentary elections held at the same time strongest Kraft. A revolt of approximately 200 soldiers, who demanded the resignation of Shevardnadze, was terminated in October 1998.

Occupation Suchumis
The declaration of independence of the Georgian province Abchasien from 26 July 1992 was not recognized by president Shevardnadze. At expiration of the ultimatum, which requested the abchasischen parliament president Ardsinba to the resignation, Georgian tanks occupied the abchasische capital Suchumi on 17 August.

In April 1996 the European union and Georgien signed a co-operation agreement. In January 1999 the parliamentary meeting of the Council of Europe decided unanimously to take up Georgien to that so far 40 member states comprehensive Council of Europe. From the parliamentary elections from October 1999 followed again the citizen union with the absolute majority of the mandates, led by president Shevardnadze, as clear winners; the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Euro criticized however numerous irregularities with the elections.

In January 2000 Georgien and Turkey agreed on the building of one approximately 1,700 kilometer are enough for pipeline from the Kaspi sea to the Mediterranean. With the presidency elections from April 2000 Eduard Shevardnadze in the office of the head of state was confirmed. In June 2000 Georgien became as 137. Member taken up to the world trade organization (World Trade Organization). The relations with Russia worsened temporarily among other things because of the according to plan not running departure of Russian troops of Militärbasen in Georgien and because of the military aid for Georgien in the fight against the international terrorism, assured by the United States.

In September 2002 the building for years of the planned Baku Tbilissi Ceyhan pipeline (BTC) began, which was approximately to transport one million barrel of kaspischen crude oil of Baku starting from 2005 per day over the Georgian Haupstadt Tiflis into the Turkish Mediterranean port Ceyhan.

After the parliamentary elections from 2 November 2003 Shevardnadze for its party alliance lodged a complaint „for a new Georgien” the choice victory, and well two weeks after the elections the Georgian electoral committee awarded to the government alliance with 21,3 per cent of the voices officially the victory. However both international choice observers and the Georgian opposition of the party of the president stated by Mikhail Saakaschwili accused substantial election fraud as well as organizational errors; the opposition recognized the election result not on and initiated already after becoming known the first election results briefly after the elections protest demonstrations, which were continued in the days and weeks following on it and still intensified. Negotiations between the opposition and the president ended without result; the opposition demanded the repetition of the elections and increasingly also the resignation of the president. During the constitution of the new parliament on 22 November 2003 trailers of the opposition stormed parliament building, sold the delegates of the government alliance and the presidents themselves and appointed the past parliament president Nino Burdschanadse the transition president. Shevardnadze characterized this as Putsch and imposed the state of emergency. When in the consequence however also a large part of the security forceses had changed over for opposition, Shevardnadze withdrew on 23 November as president; late „rose revolution so mentioned” to a successful end had come. Up to preferred new elections of the president Burdschanadse - now officially legitimized - took over the office of the transition president. The highest court Georgiens a little later cancelled a majority of the results of the parliamentary elections and made thereby the way freely for a new election also the parliament.

From the preferred presidency elections on 4 January 2004 the past opposition leader Saakaschwili with approximately 90 per cent of the voices followed as unquestioned choice winners. International choice observers had praised the elections as comparatively fair and duly. Saakaschwili announced a rigiden fight against the grassierende corruption. Its contrary to its predecessor course aligned west, its proximity to Europe and the USA it let the fear arise however that the relationship Georgiens to Russia could worsen.

To 28. March 2004 the parliamentary elections were partly repeated from November 2003 according to the decision of the highest court. Clear winner became the alliance stated by Saakaschwili from his own party, the national movement, and the democratic party of Nino Burdschanadse, which had now the absolute majority of the mandates.

Political history

Eduard Shevardnadze Eduard Shevardnadze was from 1985 to 1990 ministers of foreign affairs of the Soviet Union and contributed in this function crucially to coming off the two-plus four-contract and thus to the reunification of Germany. Starting from 1992 he officiated then as president of its homeland Georgien, until 2003 the opposition forced him to the resignation.

One of the substantial goals relating to domestic affairs Saakaschwilis was it to restore the national unit Georgiens thus the abtrünnigen provinces Abchasien, Adscharien and Südossetien, which had verselbständigt themselves to a large extent since the early nineties to bring back under control of the central power. It made the beginning with the province Adscharien comparatively wealthy owing to its black sea port Batumi. Over Batumi oil exports made of central Asia and imported goods for far parts of the Caucasus region run to large extent; the tariffs and other proceeds from in and export did not arrive however into the Georgian national budget, but the selected, meanwhile however quite wonderful and diktatorisch governing adscharische president Aslan Abaschidse kept it under its order. Starting from March 2004 the struggle for power between Saakaschwili and Abaschidse intensified itself threateningly, until finally Saakaschwili in May Abaschidse for set off avowed; Abaschidse withdrew a little later on his part. To have accelerated Abaschidses step likes a repetition „of the rose revolution”: Thousands of demonstrators went into Batumi for weeks again and again against Abaschidse on the road, and at the end also the security forceses followed the demonstrator, so that Abaschidse had hardly more a power base. In the consequence Saakaschwili Adscharien up to the holding of free elections of the direct government subordinated by the Georgian government.