Georgia

Georgia – The ancient Georgian kingdoms of Colchis and Iberia 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 annexed by the Russian Empire in the 19th century. Independent for three years (1918-1921) following the Russian revolution, it was annexed by Russians and Turks with the major part of the country being forcibly incorporated into the USSR 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 two ethnic conflicts in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and the so called South Ossetia (Tskhinvali region). These two territories remain outside the control of the central government and are ruled by de facto, unrecognized governments, supported by Russia. Russian forces are deployed in both regions.

Date when the country joined PfP: Georgia signed the Framework Document in 1995 becoming a member country of PfP initiative.

National Links:

· Parliament - http://www.parliament.ge/

· President - http://www.president.gov.ge/

· Government - http://www.government.gov.ge/eng/

· Ministry of Defense - http://www.mod.gov.ge/

· Ministry of Internal Affairs - http://www.police.ge/

· Ministry of Foreign Affairs - http://www.mfa.gov.ge/?lang_id=ENG

· National Bank - http://www.nbg.ge/

Reference:

WikiPedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia

CIA Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gg.html