Russian-backed insurgents. Here are some background notes courtesy of BBC.
Read on. Haruna.
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 a the US and a revived Russia. It has also faced a tough challenge from
two separatist regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Overview
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.
Anti-government protesters rally outside Parliament in November 2007, days
before riot police dispersed gatherings
In recent years Moscow's key rival, the US has a major interest in security
and stability 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 is being
watched closely by the Kremlin, as are Georgia's aspirations to join NATO and the E
U. Tensions between Moscow and Tbilisi are never far from the surface and
have flared sporadically since Mikhail Saakashvili became Georgian president.
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. The rupturing of
trading ties caused the 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 that Georgia has started
receiving an increasing proportion of its gas from Azerbaijan.
Moscow has also banned imports of Georgian wine and mineral water. It insists
that it did so on health grounds but Tbilisi is equally adamant that the
reasons were political. As relations deteriorate, Russia has shown that it will
not flinch from tightening the economic screw.
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.
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.
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