Georgia: the area of the territory without Abkhazia and South Ossetia

One of the countries of Transcaucasia is Georgia. The area of the territory of this state for history has changed more than once. And now this country controls not all the lands that it claims. Nevertheless, in many directories, these virtually uncontrolled regions appear as Georgia. The area of the territory without Abkhazia and South Ossetia still corresponds more to the real state of things. Let's find out what the area of the country is without these republics and how its territory was formed.

History of formation of the territory of Georgia

One of the oldest states of Transcaucasia is Georgia. The area of this country was formed over hundreds of years, and even millennia.

The first states in Georgia appeared in antiquity. It was Colchis (covering the Black Sea coast of the country) and Iberia (was in the center). The last state was formed in the III century BC. It was located in the center of the country and was the core from which Georgia was formed in the future.

The area of this state was approximately half the Georgian territory. In later sources Iberia begins to be called as the kingdom of Kartli. In the I c. BC. The kings of Iberia and Colchis recognize their dependence on Rome. In the first half of the 4th century AD in Kartli (Iberia), Christianity became the state religion.

In subsequent centuries, the territory of Georgia was actually divided into zones of influence of Byzantium (Colchis) and Persia (Iberia). Sometimes even these territories completely lost their independence and were part of the above mentioned states. In the middle of the VII century, the Arabs conquer Persia and most of Georgia. The Georgians managed to completely free themselves from the Arabs only in the tenth century.

But after liberation from the Arabs, Georgia was a set of independent states. To unite them in one power succeeded the rulers of the Bagratid dynasty, who originally ruled in the kingdom of Tao-Klarjeti. The kings of this dynasty managed to drive the Arabs out of Tbilisi and make this city their capital. After that they united the whole territory of modern Georgia and even annexed to it the lands that are not part of the modern Georgian state.

Georgia acquired the greatest power under King David the Builder and Queen Tamara (XII-XIII centuries), during the reign of which even emperors of the Trebizond Empire recognized vassalage. It was the Golden Age of political power and culture that Georgia has ever experienced. The area of its territories has gone far beyond the limits of modern borders.

But nothing is eternal. After the Golden Age, a series of wars broke out between representatives of the ruling house. The Mongolian invasion in the 20s of the 13th century shook the power of the Georgian state. Eventually the Georgian kings recognized the vassal dependence on the Mongols and agreed to pay tribute. Finally, a series of aggressive campaigns by the Central Asian ruler Tamerlane overwhelmed the united Georgian state. These campaigns led to a complete depletion of the Georgian economy and its disintegration into several independent states. Over time, most of these principalities were forced to recognize a vassalage dependence on the Ottoman Empire or the Persian power of the Safavids. On the territory of Georgia there was a struggle between these two great monarchies. In the end, according to the peace treaty signed in the middle of the 16th century, the principalities of Kakheti and Kartli were given to Persia, and Imereti to the Ottomans.

In the 17th century, a new powerful state - the Russian Empire - entered the Caucasus arena. In a series of wars with the Ottoman Empire and Persia, it establishes control over much of the Caucasus. In the meantime, the principalities of Kartli and Kakheti are united in one state. The ruler of the united Kartli-Kakheti kingdom of Irakli II accepts in 1783 Russian citizenship. And in 1801, after the death of the next Georgian king, Kartli-Kakheti state is finally part of the Russian Empire.

Now, being a part of the empire, modern Georgian territories were part of the Tiflis and Kutais provinces, roughly corresponding to the territory of the Kartli-Kakheti and Imereti kingdoms, as well as the Batumi region.

Formation of the Georgian state in modern borders

The area of Georgia, roughly coinciding with its current borders, began to form after the fall of the monarchy in the Russian Empire in 1917. Already in November 1917, the Transcaucasian Commissariat was formed in Tiflis (modern Tbilisi), representing the coalition government of the provinces of Transcaucasia (Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan).

In April 1918, on its basis, the Transcaucasian Democratic Federal Republic was established. But already in May, under the pressure of Turkey, this state broke up into three independent republics, one of which was the Democratic Republic of Georgia. The territory of this state covered not only modern Georgia, but also Abkhazia, South Ossetia, as well as parts of Armenia and Turkey. It is from this state that modern Georgia is leading its statehood.

However, it did not last long. Already in 1921 the Bolshevik troops captured Georgia. Here, the Georgian SSR was formed with its capital in Tbilisi. In the same year, the Adjara SSR was designated as the subject of the GSPC. Based on the concluded union treaty, the Abkhazian SSR is part of Georgia, and a year later another autonomy is formed - the South Ossetian Autonomous District. In the same year of 1922 the GSSR, the Armenian SSR and the Azerbaijan SSR form a federation - the ZFSFR. At the end of 1922, the latter is part of the USSR. However, in 1936, the ZFSFR was disbanded and all three republics that were part of this association, including Georgia, became direct subjects of the USSR.

In the late 80s of the last century, Georgia was one of the first republics to take a course toward secession from the USSR. This was declared by the republican Supreme Soviet in 1989, when Soviet troops dispersed a rally demanding the secession of Georgia from the Soviet Union. In April 1991, Georgia proclaimed complete separation from the USSR.

But the autonomous territories within the GSPC - the Abkhaz ASSR and the South Ossetian AO, wished to remain in the USSR. This led to a conflict between Georgia and the armed formations of these republics. The war was stopped only in 1993, thanks to the mediation of Russia and the deployment of a peacekeeping contingent. In fact, Abkhazia and South Ossetia became independent states, although legally this fact was not recognized by any country in the world. Georgia continued to consider these territories as its own.

The modern stage

In 2008, a new armed conflict broke out between Georgia on the one hand and Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Russia on the other. As a result of this conflict, Georgia completely lost control over South Ossetia and Abkhazia, officially recognized by Russia.

At this the formation of the territory of Georgia in the form as it exists now has been completed. That is why now, in the calculations, the area of Georgia without Abkhazia and South Ossetia is taken into account.

The territory of Georgia

Now it's time to find out what the area of Georgia is in the square. Km without Abkhazia and South Ossetia. So, let's find out the answer to this question.

The total area of Georgia with all the territories it claims to be is 69.7 thousand km ² . By this indicator, this country ranks 119th in the world. But we are primarily interested in the area of Georgia in the square. Km. Without South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Considering that the territory of Abkhazia is 8.6 thousand km ² , and the territory of South Ossetia is 3.9 thousand km ² , it is not difficult to calculate their total area - 12,5 thousand km ² . Thus, the area of Georgia without these regions is 57.2 thousand km ² . This is already the 122nd place among all the states of the world.

Population

We found out on the site of what size is Georgia. The area of the territory and the population of the country are very interrelated parameters. Therefore, in order to have a complete picture, we will find out how many inhabitants in this Transcaucasian country.

Currently, the indicated state is inhabited by 3,729,500 inhabitants. The thirtieth place in this indicator is among other countries in the world Georgia. The area and population of this Transcaucasian state were listed without taking into account Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Population density

Knowing these indicators of the population and the area of the country, it is not difficult to calculate the density of the population of Georgia. At the moment it is 68 people. On 1 square. Km.

For comparison, the density of the population in neighboring countries Azerbaijan and Armenia are 111 and 101.5 people per square kilometer, respectively. Km. Thus, this indicator is smaller in Georgia than in neighboring countries.

Composition of population

Now let's analyze the ethnic and religious composition of the population that lives on the territory of Georgia, that is, people occupying the area of the country.

The main ethnic group is the Georgians. They make up 83.4% of the total population of Georgia without regard to Abkhazia and South Ossetia. This characterizes it as a country with a significant predominance of one nationality. The second place is occupied by Azerbaijanis - 6.7%, followed by Armenians - 5.7%. But the Russians are already considerably behind the number of the above-mentioned ethnic groups. Their specific weight is only 1.9%. Ossetians in the country are about 1%.

All other ethnic groups that inhabit Georgia are less than 1% of the total number of inhabitants. These include Yezidis (Kurds), Ukrainians, Greeks, Chechens, Avars, Kists, Abkhazians, Assyrians and some other nationalities.

The overwhelming majority of Georgians profess Orthodox Christianity - 83.4%. Quite a lot of Muslims also, mainly in Adjara - 10.7%. Among other religious groups it is necessary to single out the parishioners of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholics, Protestants, Yezidis, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews.

Administrative division

Now let's find out which territorial units modern Georgia shares. This state actually consists of 9 regions (mkhare), one autonomous republic (Adzharia), as well as one city of state significance (Tbilisi). In addition, legally, Georgia, according to its legislation, includes AR Abkhazia, but in fact, Georgia does not control this territory.

The list of the nine edges is the following: Samtskhe-Javakheti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Lower Svaneti, Imereti, Guria, Samegrelo-Upper Svaneti, Kakheti, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Shida Kartli, Kvemo-Kartli.

In addition, administrative units of higher order (krais and autonomous republics) are divided into administrative units of lower order (municipalities and cities of republican (regional) importance). At the moment, there are 67 municipalities and fourteen cities of regional importance in Georgia. But in fact, under the control of Georgia there are only 59 municipalities and 11 regional settlements.

It should be noted that until 2006, administrative entities, now called municipalities, were called, as in the Soviet Union, regions.

The area of individual regions of Georgia

Now let's find out which territory is occupied by the hotel regions that are part of such a state entity as Georgia. The area of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara with its capital in Batumi, which is located in the extreme south-west of Georgia, is 2.9 thousand km ² .

The Samegrelo-Upper Svaneti region is located in the northwestern part of Georgia on the border with Abkhazia on the territory of 7.4 thousand km ² . The main city of this region is Zugdidi.

The administrative center of the province of Guria is the city of Ozurgeti. This territorial unit has an area of 2.0 thousand km ² , and is located in the south-west of the country.

Racha-Lechkhumi and Lower Svaneti are located in the north of the country on the territory of 4.6 thousand km ² . The main settlement here is the city of Ambrolauri.

The land, whose name corresponds to the name of the ancient kingdom of Imeretia, has an area of 6.6 thousand km ² and is located in the central part of Georgia with a shift to the west. The administrative center of this region is the city of Kutaisi.

The region with a complex name of Samtskhe-Javakheti has an area of 6.4 thousand km ² . It is located in the south of the country. The main city here is Akhaltsikhe.

The Shida-Kartli region has an area of 4.8 thousand km ² . The main city in this region is Gori. The region is located in the north-central part of Georgia on the border with South Ossetia. Under the laws of Georgia, about half of the territory of this region is just the South Ossetian land, and most of South Ossetia is part of the region of Shida-Kartli. But when calculating the area of this region, we took into account only the territory, which is actually controlled by the Georgian authorities.

The region with a poetic name Mtskheta-Mtianeti has a territory of 6.8 thousand km ² in the northeast of Georgia, but in fact controls 5.8 thousand km ² , since the rest is located in South Ossetia. The main city of the region is Mtskheta.

The region of Kvemo-Kartli is located in the southeast of Georgia. It has an area of 6,500 km ² . The administrative center is Rustavi.

The region of Kakheti is located in the easternmost part of the country. It has the dimensions of 11.3 thousand km ² . The administrative center here is the city of Telavi.

The city of state importance Tbilisi also has its own territory. Of course, it is much smaller than the territory of the edges and is only 720 km ² . The total number of residents in the capital of Georgia is 1.1 million people. The city is located in the central part of the state with a shift to the southeast.

Thus, as we see, the largest regions of Georgia are the Kakheti (11.3 thousand km ² ) and the Samegrelo-Upper Svaneti (7.4 thousand km ² ). The smallest in the regions of Georgia, without taking into account the city of state importance Tbilisi, the edge of Guria (2.0 thousand sq. Km.) And Adjara AR (2.9 thousand sq. Km.).

General conclusion

We learned what the area of Georgia is in thousand km2. In determining this indicator, you need to know one very important nuance. There are territories that the Tbilisi government refers to Georgian, but that do not actually control Georgia. The area of the country, respectively, in Georgian sources is overstated in comparison with the real state of affairs.

Thus, we found that at the moment the area of this country, not taking into account the virtually uncontrolled South Ossetia and Abkhazia, is 57.2 thousand km ² .