Georgia, the Former Soviet Republic

Georgia, the former Soviet republic has been in the news a great deal recently, and yet many people know next to nothing about the nation, its history and its current and historical position in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Russia and the rest of the world. A brief synopsis of the history of Georgia is provided by the CIA World Factbook, as is a map that shows where in the geography of Europe the nation lies.

The region of present-day Georgia contained the ancient kingdoms of Colchis and Kartli-Iberia. The area came under Roman influence in the first centuries a.D. And Christianity became the state religion in the 330s. Domination by Persians, Arabs, and Turks was followed by a Georgian golden age (11th-13th centuries) that was cut short by the Mongol invasion of 1236. Subsequently, the Ottoman and Persian empires competed for influence in the region. Georgia was absorbed into the Russian Empire in the 19th century. Independent for three years (1918-1921) following the Russian revolution, it was forcibly incorporated into the U.S.S.R. until the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. An attempt by the incumbent Georgian government to manipulate national legislative elections in November 2003 touched off widespread protests that led to the resignation of Eduard Shevardnadze, president since 1995. New elections in early 2004 swept Mikheil Saakashvili into power along with his National Movement party. Progress on market reforms and democratization has been made in the years since independence, but this progress has been complicated by Russian assistance and support to the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Some believe that the actions of Russia including the most recent invasion in 2008 are a concerted effort on her part to destabilize the nation and allow it to voluntarily reassert itself as a protectorate of Russia. More diplomatic methods, such as Georgia's entrance in the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) a loose organization of former Soviet nations including Russia seems not to have been enough for Russia in the long-term, especially as Georgia increasingly flirts with rival social and economic interests such as asking for and achieving support from future European Union members Poland, Romania and Bulgaria for sponsorship and support for entrance into the EU, an organization that mirrors Russian desires for its own coalition organization the CIS, of which Georgia is a part.

Georgian military action in South Ossetia in early August 2008 led to a Russian military response that not only occupied the breakaway areas, but large portions of Georgia proper as well. Russian troops pulled back from most occupied Georgian territory, but in late August 2008 Russia unilaterally recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. This action was strongly condemned by most of the world's nations and international organizations.

This work will analyze Georgia in the context of Eastern Europe, first through a thorough assessment of hot spots in the region, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Ajaristan and then within the context of Georgia's involvement with and cooperation with Romania, Poland and Bulgaria. Through this analysis the most pressing question will be; what part will Poland, Romaina and Bulgaria play in the independent development and stabilization of Georgia, following the Russian power play of recognizing two of Georgia's most contested regions Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent nations? "The Confederation has called for military support to Abkhazia in its struggle against Georgia. It is becoming increasingly difficult for Russia's government to remain neutral in Georgia's war against Abkhazia and Southern Osetia"

Georgian Hot Spots

Historically speaking Georgia has been in a position of polarization, as a result of its geographic location between Russia and the Middle East. Concurrently Georgia also hold a significant portion of the coast line of the Black Sea, an area of historical contest regarding both Russia and Turkey. This geographic location has been an aspect of social and political development to a significant degree as social/cultural diversity (especially in geographically isolated and differing locals in the nation) has resulted not in unity but division, as it does in many nations, not the least of which Russia. "Georgia lost its independence as a state when it was annexed to the Soviet Union as one of its provinces. During this long historical period Georgia's consciousness was devastated, and it grew excessively dependent upon the economy of the U.S.S.R. It was isolated from the West and remained backwards in many respects."

When Georgia, like many other post Soviet nations began to attempt social and economic developments that would help it transition from a Soviet controlled nation to an independent and self-supporting nation it dove head first into the soup of European reform. Initially, Georgia was able to resist involvement with Russia in the CIS, but later was pressured into involvement by necessity.

"When the founders of the community of states that was supposed to succeed the collapsing Soviet Union gathered in Bialovieskaia Pushcha in Belarus on December 8, 1991, to sketch out a model for the Commonwealth, Mikhail Gorbachev was still president of the still-existing Soviet Union. However, he was not invited to take part. Not all of the fifteen republics were to be members. Four of them, the Baltic Republics and Georgia, were already lost causes."

Instead Georgia attempted a rapid and independent development of economic and social reform.

In this rapid attempt to transition the nation many issues and elements were skirted, for the sake of progress.

The opportunity to regain state independence came with the collapse of the U.S.S.R. Georgia began nourishing the rather unrealizable ambition to recover its lost ground in a short span of time and regain its place in the world community. Similar to other post-communist countries, Georgia did not hesitate to initiate a process of reforms. and, similar to other countries, Georgia is also experiencing a certain disillusionment with regard to a quick transition to a rapidly developing economy. In its desire to speedily transform into a non-communist economy, the country somehow overlooked the fact that developmental plans need to be adapted to the cultural specificities and developmental needs of each country. The old mentality of revolutionary development surfaced, and less attention was devoted to the strategy of evolutionary socio-economic development. This resulted in an excessively radical course of reforms. The "shock therapy" model, used blindly and spontaneously following the persistent demands of a great number of scientists and politicians, brought about adverse socio-economic consequences and plunged the country into civil war and a series of ethnic conflicts. From the very beginning, the transition process deviated from its original course and took a wrong turn. This was caused by existing internal and external political problems, and was aggravated by natural disasters. And then the civil war and ethnic conflicts contributed to a drastic increase in the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs), whose social protection in this transformation period turned out to be a task of inordinate complexity.

The Civil War in Georgia has its roots in ethnic diversity, and is systematically associated with the aforementioned "hot spots" of the nation and the historical suppression of the ethnic parties within them by the nation itself and by superseding governments that have held control of the nation of Georgia over the years. Ethnic nationalism divides the regions according to varied forms of martyrdom and systematic economic and social repression, not an uncommon event or circumstance in many nations of the region. Yet, this situation has been fed by the Russian involvement and early ascension of Georgia into collaborative regional membership with Russia in the CIS.

"Allen Lynch argues that Russia is setting its sights on regaining predominant influence over the military, political, and economic affairs of the former Soviet Union. He further asserts that within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), 'the role of Russia and the Russian army in shaping political-military outcomes in Moldova and Georgia [both of which joined the CIS in response] and in Tajikistan, not to mention the economic pressure applied to Ukraine in order to achieve concessions on nuclear weapons and the Black Sea Fleet, [this] points to an emerging model for Russia's policy toward the CIS.' 28"

Russian desire to rebuild the region, through an economic and political development, coupled with its systematic involvement in previous ethnic conflict is an essential aspect of the need to develop and work through the goals of Georgia in reconciliation and collaboration, rather than continued conflict between the varied ethnic regions in the nation. This concept will be further developed in the later section on Eastern European attitude toward Georgia, while the current discussion will continue explaining in greater detail the varied cultural and ethnic conflicts in Georgia through a better understanding of the three most essential regions; Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Ajaristan. A brief look at a map of Georgia will locate the regions for discussion as well as simplistically explain why these regions are so essential to the continued development of Georgia. A loss of Abkhazia and South Ossetia would be devastating to the nation, in the case of Abkhazia because of the massive loss of Black Sea shoreline and South Ossetia because it would further strengthen Russia's interior connection to the nation. Lastly, a loss of Ajaristan (Ajaria) would weaken Georgias buffer with Turkey and increase loss of Black Sea shoreline:

In the conflict between the Ossetians and Ingush, the Russian government favored the "always loyal Ossetians" over the discontented Muslim Ingush. The conflicts with the Georgians in the south and the Ingush in the west have fueled the growth of Ossetian nationalism, but the majority hope for autonomy, not full independence, fearing the loss of Russian protection in the volatile region they have inhabited since ancient times. The Ossetians, although needing Russian protection in the mostly Muslim region, continue to work for the unification of their small nation in a single political entity. In 1996, the governments of North and South Ossetia signed a treaty of friendship and cooperation. Relations between the South Ossetians and the Georgian government improved in the late 1990s. The Georgian government of Eduard Shevardnadze proposed in June 1998 a loose federation of Georgia, Abkhazia, Ajaria, and South Ossetia. The two sides signed agreements on economic reconstruction and the return of refugees, but the political situation remains unsettled and Russian peacekeepers remain in the region. An estimated 13,000 of the 60,000 Ingush refugees who fled the violence in North Ossetia had returned to their homes in the Prigorodny region by March 1999, but meetings between Russian, Ingush, and Ossetian of- ficials were unable to resolve the conflict. A deterioration of the situation in the Prigorodny led to extremism on both sides. In September 1999, Merab Chigoev, the head of the breakaway Republic of South Ossetia, accused the Georgian government of reneging on a previous agreement to provide economic aid to South Ossetia. The Georgian authorities cut off power supplies to the region on 1 September, because the South Ossetian government had failed to pay previous energy debts. The conflict jeopardized the negotiations on defining relations between South Ossetia and the Georgian government. The Ossetians in both Russia and Georgia remain one people, with a strong sense of identity. Demands for unification continue to color the political situation in both countries, although relations between the Ossetians and their neighbors have improved since the early 1990s. Currently most Ossetians favor a special relationship between North and South Ossetia, with cultural, political, and economic autonomy for both Ossetian states.

The Ajaristan regional conflict is complex but easily developed as a social and ethnic collective of a group of martyred people (martyred by Russia) that have sought to create an independent state as well as gain increased recognition for losses they have experienced as a result of Russian ethnic cleansing policies of WWII.

The Meskhetians are one of the world's newest nations, a contemporary example of ethnogenesis. There was no Meskhetian ethnic group in the Soviet Union until the 1950s and 1960s. The small nation, which formed following its deportation from its homeland in the Caucasus Mountains, overcame differences in religion, dialect, and culture to form a distinct national group. Its members are the remnants and descendents of various Muslim Turkic, Georgian, and Armenian groups deported from the Turkish border region by Joseph Stalin. United by hardships, common experiences, and their Muslim Shi'a religion, the diverse peoples formed a separate nation in exile. The distinct Meskhetian culture incorporates elements of Muslim, Turkish, and Georgian culture. Many Meskhetians claim descent from the ancient Meskhet tribe, which was mentioned in the ancient chronicles of Herodotus and Strabo. Scholars differ on the issue of the Meskhetian origins; some consider them to be Turkicized Georgians; others, including most Meskhetians, consider them an ethnic Turkic group; a small number consider them ethnic Azeris.

In 1944 around 130,000 Muslims from the Meskhetia region were secretly driven from their homes and herded onto rail cars. The deportees were a diverse group, in terms of both culture and religion. The largest in number were the Meskhi Turks, Sunni Muslims who lived in the Kura River valley of Georgia. There were also Karapapakh Turks, Shi'a Muslims from northern Armenia; Armenian Sunni Muslims called Kemsils; two groups of Kurds (one Sunni Muslim and the other Shi'a Muslim) from southern Georgia and Ajaristan; and smaller numbers of Azeri-speaking Turkmens, Abkhaz,* and Ajars. The vacated districts were settled by "more reliable" Christian Georgians and Armenians. Many of the deportees died of hunger, thirst, and cold on the long journey east. Their Soviet guards dumped them at rail sidings across a vast region, often without food, water, or shelter. Surviving Meskhetian soldiers fighting with the Red Army, numbering over 26,000 of the 40,000 conscripts of 1941, began to return to their homes in the Meskhetian hills in 1945, only to face arrest and deportation. The Meskhetians claim that 50,000 of their people died as a direct result of the deportations and the deprivations suffered in exile. In exile they were required to report every two weeks, like prisoners on parole.

The development of independence on the part of Abkhazia also clearly an aspect of Russian intervention and Soviet social policy demonstrates a similar aspect of attempted control of Georgia's assets by Russia and the subjugation and isolation of the Abkhazia peoples through isolated policies of social order and rapid expansion.

Attitude of Poland, Romania and Bulgaria to Georgia