Prehistory The oldest traces of
archaic humans in what is now Georgia date from approximately 1.8 million years ago in the form of the
Dmanisi hominins, a subspecies of
Homo erectus representing the oldest-known fossils of hominins in
Eurasia. Buffered by the
Caucasus and benefiting from the
Black Sea ecosystem, the region seems to have served as a
refugium throughout the
Pleistocene, while the first continuous primitive settlements date back to the
Middle Paleolithic, close to 200,000 years ago. During the
Upper Paleolithic, settlements developed mostly in Western Georgia, in the valleys of the
Rioni and
Qvirila rivers. Signs of agriculture date back to at least the
6th millennium BC, especially in Western Georgia, while the
Mtkvari basin became stably populated in the
5th millennium BC, as evidenced with the rise of various cultures closely associated with the
Fertile Crescent, including the
Trialetian Mesolithic, the
Shulaveri–Shomu culture, and the
Leyla-Tepe culture. Archaeological findings show that settlements in modern-day Georgia were responsible for the first use of fibers, possibly for clothing, more than 34,000 years ago. It also hosts the earliest known
sites of winemaking (dating to ) and the
first signs of gold mining (
3rd millennium BC). The
Kura-Araxes,
Trialeti-Vanadzor, and
Colchian cultures coincided with the development of proto-Kartvelian tribes that may have come from
Anatolia during the expansion of the
Hittite Empire, including the
Mushki,
Laz, and
Byzeres. Some historians have suggested that the collapse of the Hittite world in the
Late Bronze Age led to an expansion of the influence of these tribes to the
Mediterranean Sea, notably with the
Kingdom of Tabal.
Antiquity converted the nation to Christianity in the 4th century. The classical period saw the rise of a number of Georgian states, including
Colchis in western Georgia, where
Greek mythology located the
Golden Fleece sought after by the
Argonauts. Archaeological evidence points to a wealthy kingdom in Colchis as early as the 14th century BC and an extensive trade network with
Greek colonies on the eastern Black Sea shore (such as
Dioscurias and
Phasis), though, the entire region would be annexed first by
Pontus and then by the
Roman Republic in the first century BC. Eastern Georgia remained a decentralized mosaic of various clans (ruled by individual
mamasakhlisi) until the 4th century BC when it was conquered by
Alexander the Great, eventually leading to the creation of the
Kingdom of Iberia under the protectorate of the
Seleucid Empire, an early example of advanced state organization under one king and an aristocratic hierarchy. Various wars with the
Roman Empire,
Parthia, and
Armenia made Iberia regularly change its allegiance, though it remained a Roman client state for most of its history. In 337, King
Mirian III adopted Christianity as the state religion of Iberia, beginning the Christianization of the Western Caucasus region and solidly anchoring it in Rome's sphere of influence by abandoning the ancient
Georgian polytheistic religion heavily influenced by
Zoroastrianism. However, the
Peace of Acilisene in 384 formalized the
Sasanian control over the entire Caucasus, though Christian rulers of Iberia sought to rebel at times, leading to devastating wars in the 5th–6th centuries, most famously under the rule of King
Vakhtang Gorgasali who expanded Iberia to its largest historical extent by capturing all of western Georgia and building a new capital in
Tbilisi.
Medieval unification of Georgia towers of
Ushguli and
Mestia. In 580, the Sasanian Empire abolished the Kingdom of Iberia, leading to the disintegration of its constituent territories into various feudal regions by the
early Middle Ages. The
Roman–Persian Wars plunged the region into chaos, with both
Persia and
Constantinople supporting various warring factions in the
Caucasus, however, the
Byzantine Empire was able to establish control over Georgian territories by the end of the 6th century, ruling Iberia indirectly through a local
Kouropalates. In 645, the Arabs invaded southeastern Georgia, starting an
extended period of Muslim domination in the region; this also led to the establishment of several feudal states seeking independence from each other, such as the
Emirate of Tbilisi and the
Principality of Kakheti. Western Georgia remained mostly a Byzantine protectorate, especially following the
Lazic War. , a
UNESCO World Heritage Site The lack of a central government in Georgia allowed the rise of the
Bagrationi dynasty in the early 9th century. Consolidating lands in the southwestern region of
Tao-Klarjeti, Prince
Ashot I (813–830) used infighting between Arab governors to expand his influence to Iberia and was recognized as Presiding Prince of Iberia by both the
Abbasid Caliphate and the Byzantine Empire. Though Ashot's descendants formed competing princely lines,
Adarnase IV managed to unify most Georgian lands (except for Kakheti and Abkhazia) and was crowned
King of the Iberians in
888, restoring the monarchy abolished three centuries prior. In Western Georgia, the
Kingdom of Abkhazia benefited from the weakening of Byzantium in the region to unify various tribes and become one of the most powerful states of the Caucasus in the 8th century. In the 9th-10th centuries, Abkhazia grew its influence through several military campaigns and came to control much of Iberia and competing with the Bagrationi. Dynastic conflicts eventually weakened Abkhazia in the second half of the 10th century while in Tao-Klarjeti, Prince
David III used his influence within
Byzantine Anatolia to empower the Bagrationi. Bagrat III, heir of the Bagrationi dynasty, successively became King of Abkhazia (978), Prince of Tao-Klarjeti (
1000), and King of the Iberians (1008), allowing him to unify most Georgian feudal states and be crowned in 1010 as
King of Georgia.
Golden Age and Division For much of the 11th century, the nascent Georgian kingdom experienced geopolitical and internal difficulties, with various noble factions opposed to the centralization of the Georgian state. They were often backed by the Byzantine Empire, which feared a dominion of the Caucasus region by the Bagrationi dynasty, and in some instances fuelled internal conflict through aristocratic families seeking more power. However, ties between Byzantium and Georgia were normalized when the two countries faced a new common enemy, the rising
Seljuk Empire in the 1060s. Following the decisive Byzantine defeat at the
Battle of Manzikert in 1071, Constantinople started to retreat from eastern Anatolia and entrusted Georgia with its administration, placing Georgia
at the forefront of war with the Turks in the 1080s. The Kingdom of Georgia reached its zenith in the 12th to early 13th centuries. This period during the reigns of
David IV (r. 1089–1125) and his great-granddaughter
Tamar (r. 1184–1213) has been widely termed as the
Georgian Golden Age. This early Georgian renaissance, which preceded its Western European analog, was characterized by impressive military victories, territorial expansion, and a cultural renaissance in architecture, literature, philosophy and the sciences. The Golden Age of Georgia left a legacy of great cathedrals, romantic poetry and literature, and the epic poem ''
The Knight in the Panther's Skin'', considered a national epic. David IV suppressed dissent of feudal lords and centralized power in his hands to effectively deal with foreign threats. In 1121, he decisively defeated much larger Turkish armies during the
Battle of Didgori and abolished the
Emirate of Tbilisi. , the first woman to rule Georgia. The 29-year reign of Tamar, the first female ruler of Georgia, is considered the most successful in Georgian history. Tamar was given the title "king of kings" and succeeded in neutralizing her opposition, while embarking on an energetic foreign policy aided by the downfall of the rival powers of the Seljuks and Byzantium. Supported by a powerful military élite, Tamar was able to build on the successes of her predecessors to consolidate an empire that dominated the Caucasus, and extended over large parts of present-day Azerbaijan, Armenia, eastern Turkey, and northern Iran, and used the vacuum of power left by the
Fourth Crusade to create the
Empire of Trebizond as a Georgian vassal state. The revival of the Kingdom of Georgia was set back after Tbilisi was captured and destroyed by the Khwarezmian leader
Jalal ad-Din in 1226, followed by devastating invasions by Mongol ruler
Genghis Khan. The Mongols were expelled by
George V the Brilliant (r. 1299–1302), known for reuniting eastern and western Georgia and restoring the country's previous strength and Christian culture. After his death, local rulers fought for their independence from central Georgian rule, until the total disintegration of the kingdom in the 15th century. Georgia was further weakened by several disastrous invasions by
Timur. Invasions continued, giving the kingdom no time for restoration, with both
Qara Qoyunlu and
Aq Qoyunlu Turkomans constantly raiding its southern provinces.
Tripartite division faced
feudal warfare and Ottoman invasions. The Kingdom of Georgia
collapsed into anarchy by 1466 and fragmented into three independent kingdoms and five semi-independent
principalities. Neighbouring large empires subsequently exploited the internal division of the weakened country, and beginning in the 16th century, various Ottoman and Iranian forces subjugated western and eastern regions of Georgia, respectively. This pushed local Georgian rulers to seek closer ties with Russia. In 1649, the
Kingdom of Imereti sent ambassadors to the Russian royal court, with Russia returning the favour in 1651. In the presence of these ambassadors,
Alexander III of Imereti swore an oath of allegiance to Tsar
Alexis of Russia on behalf of Imereti. Subsequent rulers also sought assistance from Pope
Innocent XII but without success. The rulers of regions that remained partly
autonomous organized rebellions on various occasions. As a result of incessant
Ottoman–Persian Wars and deportations, the population of Georgia dwindled to 784,700 inhabitants at the end of the 18th century.
Eastern Georgia, composed of the regions of
Kartli and
Kakheti, had been under Iranian
suzerainty since the
Peace of Amasya signed with neighbouring rivalling Ottoman Turkey (
Safavid Georgia). With the death of
Nader Shah in 1747, both kingdoms broke free and were reunified through
a personal union under the energetic king
Heraclius II, who succeeded in stabilizing Eastern Georgia to a degree. was caught between rival regional powers. In 1783, Russia and the eastern Georgian
Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti signed the
Treaty of Georgievsk, which made eastern Georgia a protectorate of Russia, guaranteed its territorial integrity and the continuation of its reigning Bagrationi dynasty in return for prerogatives in the conduct of Georgian foreign affairs. Despite its commitment to defend Georgia, Russia rendered no assistance when the
Iranians invaded in 1795,
capturing and sacking Tbilisi and massacring its inhabitants. Although Russia initiated a
punitive campaign against Persia in 1796, the Russian Imperial authorities subsequently violated key promises of the Georgievsk Treaty and in 1801 proceeded to annex eastern Georgia, while abolishing the Georgian royal
Bagrationi dynasty, as well as the
autocephaly of the
Georgian Orthodox Church.
Pyotr Bagration, one of the descendants of the abolished house of Bagrationi, later joined the Russian army and became a prominent general in the Napoleonic wars.
Within the Russian Empire On 22 December 1800,
Tsar Paul I of Russia, at the alleged request of the Georgian King
George XII, signed the proclamation on the incorporation of Georgia (Kartli-Kakheti) within the Russian Empire, which was finalized by a decree on 8 January 1801, and confirmed by Tsar
Alexander I on 12 September 1801. The
Bagrationi royal family was deported from the kingdom. The Georgian envoy in
Saint Petersburg reacted with a note of protest that was presented to the Russian vice-chancellor, Prince Kurakin. , numerous Georgians, like
Ivane Andronikashvili, rose high in the imperial army ranks. In May 1801, under the oversight of General Carl Heinrich von Knorring, Imperial Russia transferred power in eastern Georgia to the government headed by General
Ivan Petrovich Lazarev. The Georgian nobility did not accept the decree until 12 April 1802, when Knorring assembled the nobility at the
Sioni Cathedral and forced them to take an oath on the
Imperial Crown of Russia. Those who disagreed were temporarily arrested. In the summer of 1805, Russian troops on the Askerani River near Zagam defeated the Iranian army during the
1804–13 Russo-Persian War and saved Tbilisi from reconquest now that it was officially part of the Imperial territories. Russian suzerainty over eastern Georgia was officially finalized with Iran in 1813 following the
Treaty of Gulistan. Following the annexation of eastern Georgia, the western Georgian
kingdom of Imereti was annexed by Tsar Alexander I. The last Imeretian king and the last Georgian Bagrationi ruler,
Solomon II, died in exile in 1815, after attempts to rally people against Russia and to enlist foreign support against the latter, had been in vain. During the
Russo-Turkish Wars, numerous Georgians commanded Russian armies against the Turks, including
Ivane Andronikashvili,
Ivane Jambakurian-Orbeliani, and
Ivane Bagration of Mukhrani. As result of these military campaigns against the
Ottoman Empire, from 1803 to 1878 several of Georgia's historic territories previously lost to the Turks – such as
Adjara – were recovered and also incorporated into the Russian Empire. The principality of
Guria was abolished and incorporated in 1829, while
Svaneti was gradually annexed in 1858.
Mingrelia, although a Russian protectorate since 1803, was not absorbed until 1867. Russian rule offered the Georgians security from external threats, but it was also often heavy-handed and insensitive. By the late 19th century,
discontent with the Russian authorities grew into a national revival movement led by
Ilia Chavchavadze. This period also brought social and economic change to Georgia, with new social classes emerging: the emancipation of the
serfs freed many peasants but did little to alleviate their poverty; the growth of
capitalism created an urban working class in Georgia. Both peasants and workers found expression for their discontent through revolts and strikes, culminating in the
Revolution of 1905. Their cause was championed by the
socialist Mensheviks, who became the dominant political force in Georgia in the final years of Russian rule.
Declaration of independence troops marching in Batumi, Georgia in 1920. Following
World War I, Britain replaced
German troops in Georgia. After the
Russian Revolution of 1917, the
Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic was established with
Nikolay Chkheidze acting as its president. This weak and short-lived federation also included neighbouring Armenia and Azerbaijan. The
Menshevik Social Democratic Party of Georgia won the parliamentary election and its leader,
Noe Zhordania, became prime minister, with
Nikolay Chkheidze as parliamentary president. Despite the subsequent Soviet takeover, Zhordania continued to be recognized as the legitimate head of the
Georgian Government by France, UK, Belgium, and Poland through the 1930s. The 1918
Georgian–Armenian War, which erupted over parts of disputed provinces between Armenia and Georgia populated mostly by Armenians, ended because of British intervention. In 1918–1919, Georgian general
Giorgi Mazniashvili led an
attack against the
White Army led by Moiseev and Denikin to claim the
Black Sea coastline from
Tuapse to
Sochi and
Adler for independent Georgia. In 1920
Soviet Russia recognized Georgia's independence with the
Treaty of Moscow but the Russians effectively discarded this treaty only a year later, when the Red Army
attacked Georgia in 1921 and formally annexed it into the Soviet Union in 1922. DRG was
one of the first countries in Europe to grant women the right to vote as enshrined in the Georgian constitution, which was "unusual in most European constitutions at the time". Several women of varying backgrounds were elected to the Georgian parliament.
Soviet Socialist Republic In February 1921, during the
Russian Civil War, the
Red Army advanced into Georgia and brought the local Bolsheviks to power. The Georgian army was defeated, and the Social Democratic government fled the country. On
25 February 1921, the Red Army entered Tbilisi and established a government of workers' and peasants'
soviets with
Filipp Makharadze as acting head of state. Georgia was incorporated into what would soon become the
Soviet Union. Soviet rule was firmly established only after local insurrections were defeated. Georgia would remain an unindustrialized periphery of the USSR until the
first five-year plan (1928–1932), when it became a major centre for textile goods. was among those forced into exile by Bolshevik takeover
Joseph Stalin, an ethnic Georgian, was prominent among the Bolsheviks, ultimately becoming the
de facto leader of the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death on 5 March 1953. Fellow Georgians such as
Lavrentiy Beria and
Vsevolod Merkulov likewise held powerful positions in the Soviet government. Stalin's
Great Purge between 1936 and 1938 led to thousands of Georgian dissidents, intellectuals, and other presumed threats to Soviet authority being executed or sent to
Gulag penal labor camps, severely truncating the nation's cultural and intellectual life. During
World War II,
Germany led an
Axis invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 with the aim of conquering all territory up to the
Ural Mountains. As the initial operation stalled, the Axis launched the
Fall Blau offensive in 1942 to take control of strategic Caucasian oil fields and munitions factories; ultimately, Axis troops were stopped before reaching Georgian borders. Over 700,000 Georgians—constituting about 20 percent of the population—fought in the
Red Army to repel the invaders and advance towards Berlin; an estimated 350,000 were killed. After
Stalin's death,
Nikita Khrushchev became the leader of the Soviet Union and implemented a policy of
de-Stalinization. Khrushchev's purges were met with
riots in Tbilisi that had to be dispersed by military force. This violent turn of events that compromised Georgian loyalty to the Soviet Union contributed to the nation's consolidation.
1978 Georgian demonstrations saw the return of mass anti-Soviet protests, but this time government backed down. Throughout the remainder of the Soviet period, Georgia's economy continued to grow and experience significant improvement, though it increasingly exhibited blatant corruption and alienation of the government from the people. With the beginning of
perestroika in 1986, the Georgian Soviet leadership proved so incapable of handling the changes that most Georgians, including
rank and file communists, concluded that the only way forward was a break from the existing Soviet system.
Independence, civil wars and the
War in Abkhazia in August–October 1993 Starting in 1988, mass protests erupted in Georgia in favour of independence, led by
Georgian nationalists such as
Merab Kostava and
Zviad Gamsakhurdia. The following year, the
brutal suppression by Soviet forces of a large peaceful demonstration held in Tbilisi on 4–9 April 1989 proved to be a pivotal event in discrediting the continuation of Soviet rule over the country. In October 1990, the first multi-party
elections were held in Soviet Georgia, which were the first multi-party elections in the entire Soviet Union, in which the opposition groups were registered as formal political parties. The
Round Table—Free Georgia coalition led by Zviad Gamsakhurdia secured victory in this election and formed a new government. On 9 April 1991, shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the
Supreme Council of Georgia after a
referendum held on 31 March. Georgia was the first non-
Baltic republic of the Soviet Union to officially declare independence, with Romania becoming the first country to recognize Georgia in August 1991. On 26 May, Gamsakhurdia was elected president in the
first presidential election with 86.5% of the vote on a turnout of over 83%. Gamsakhurdia was soon deposed in a
bloody ''coup d'état, from 22 December 1991 to 6 January 1992. The coup was instigated by part of the
National Guard and a paramilitary organization called "
Mkhedrioni" ("horsemen"). The country then became embroiled in a bitter
civil war, which lasted until December 1993. Simmering disputes within two regions of Georgia,
Abkhazia and
South Ossetia, between local separatists and the majority Georgian populations, erupted into widespread inter-ethnic violence and wars. Supported by Russia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia achieved de facto'' independence from Georgia, with Georgia retaining control only in small areas of the disputed territories. and was elected as head of state in
that year's elections, later as president in
1995. During the
War in Abkhazia (1992–1993), roughly 230,000 to 250,000 Georgians were expelled from Abkhazia by Abkhaz separatists and North Caucasian militants (including Chechens). Around 23,000 Georgians fled South Ossetia. In 1994, Georgia was facing an economic crisis, with severe shortages of basics such as bread, water, electricity and heat.
Rose revolution and UNM government in 2003 In 2003, Shevardnadze (who won re-election in 2000) was deposed by the
Rose Revolution, after Georgian opposition and international monitors asserted that the 2 November
2003 parliamentary elections were marred by fraud. The revolution was led by
Mikheil Saakashvili,
Zurab Zhvania and
Nino Burjanadze, former members and leaders of Shevardnadze's ruling party. Mikheil Saakashvili was elected as President of Georgia in 2004. Following the Rose Revolution, a series of reforms were launched to strengthen the country's military and economic capabilities, as well as to reorient its foreign policy westwards. According to the US
Department of State, Georgia moved "from a near-
failed state in 2003 to a relatively well-functioning market economy in 2014...[and] Through dramatic police and institutional reforms, the government has eradicated low-level corruption". The new government's efforts to reassert Georgian authority in the southwestern autonomous republic of
Adjara led to a major
crisis in 2004. The country's newly pro-Western stance, along with accusations of Georgian involvement in the
Second Chechen War, resulted in a severe deterioration of
relations with Russia, fuelled also by Russia's open assistance and support to the two secessionist areas. Despite these increasingly difficult relations, in May 2005 Georgia and Russia reached a bilateral agreement by which Russian military bases (dating back to the Soviet era) in
Batumi and
Akhalkalaki were withdrawn. Russia withdrew all personnel and equipment from these sites by December 2007 while failing to withdraw from the
Gudauta base in Abkhazia, which it was required to vacate after the adoption of the
Adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty during the
1999 Istanbul summit.
Russo-Georgian War Relations between Georgia and separatists in
Abkhazia and
South Ossetia have been tense since the
dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Relations between Russia and Georgia
severely deteriorated into the April 2008
Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis. The
Russo-Georgian War of 2008 resulted in parts of Abkhazia and South Ossetia falling under the control of Russian-backed separatists, with Russian military bases being established in
those regions. A bomb explosion on 1 August 2008 targeted a car transporting Georgian peacekeepers. South Ossetians were responsible for instigating this incident, which marked the opening of hostilities and injured five Georgian servicemen, then several South Ossetian militiamen were killed by snipers. South Ossetian separatists began shelling Georgian villages on 1 August. These artillery bombardments caused Georgian servicemen to return fire periodically. On 7 August 2008, the Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili announced a unilateral
ceasefire and called for peace talks. More attacks on Georgian villages (located in the South Ossetian conflict zone) were soon matched with gunfire from Georgian troops, who then proceeded to move in the direction of the capital of the
self-proclaimed Republic of South Ossetia (
Tskhinvali) on the night of 8 August, reaching its centre in the morning of 8 August. According to Russian military expert
Pavel Felgenhauer, the Ossetian provocation was aimed at triggering Georgian retaliation, which was needed as a
pretext for a Russian military invasion. According to Georgian intelligence and several Russian media reports, parts of the regular (non-peacekeeping) Russian Army had already moved to South Ossetian territory through the
Roki Tunnel before the Georgian military action. Russia accused Georgia of "aggression against South Ossetia" and began a large land, air and sea invasion of Georgia under the pretext of a "
peace enforcement" operation on 8 August 2008. Tskhinvali was seized by the Russian military by 10 August. Russian forces occupied Georgian cities beyond the disputed territories. During the conflict, there was a campaign of
ethnic cleansing against Georgians in South Ossetia, including destruction of Georgian settlements after the war had ended. The war displaced 192,000 people, though many were able to return to their homes after the war. One year later, around 30,000 ethnic Georgians remained displaced. In an interview published in
Kommersant, South Ossetian leader
Eduard Kokoity said he would not allow Georgians to return. The
President of France,
Nicolas Sarkozy, negotiated a ceasefire agreement on 12 August 2008. Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as separate republics on 26 August. The Georgian government severed diplomatic relations with Russia. Russian forces left the buffer areas bordering Abkhazia and South Ossetia on 8 October and the
European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia was dispatched to the buffer areas. Since the war, Georgia has maintained that Abkhazia and South Ossetia are
occupied Georgian territories.
Georgian Dream government (2012–present) , founder and honorary chairman of
Georgian Dream. In preparation for the
2012 parliamentary elections, Georgia implemented constitutional reforms to switch to a
parliamentary democracy, moving executive powers from the President to the Prime Minister. The transition was set to start with the 2012 parliamentary elections and to be completed with the
2013 presidential elections. The
2012 Georgian parliamentary election marked the defeat of the
United National Movement and the victory of the
Georgian Dream party — the first peaceful electoral transfer of power in Georgia. The first year marked the contentious "cohabitation" period between the new Georgian Dream government and President Saakashvili, who retained his post until the
presidential election in October 2013.
Giorgi Margvelashvili, nominated by Georgian Dream, won the election and succeeded Saakashvili, further solidifying the power of Georgian Dream.
Bidzina Ivanishvili, a businessman who founded the Georgian Dream, served as its first Prime Minister before resigning in 2013. However, he continued to be the most influential person within the party, despite not holding any position until 2018. As for Saakashvili, he left Georgia shortly after the 2013 election and was convicted in 2018 in absentia on corruption charges and abuse of power, which he denied. Saakashvili continued to be the chairman of the
United National Movement party from abroad, which now became the main opposition party Georgian Dream won the
2016 parliamentary elections, achieving a constitutional
supermajority of 115 out of 150 seats. In the
2018 presidential election, the Georgian Dream party backed independent
Salome Zurabishvili, who won in the second round, becoming the first woman in Georgia to hold the office in full capacity. This was the last direct election of a Georgian president, as additional constitutional reforms removed the popular vote. In 2019,
protests erupted over the visit of Russian MP
Sergei Gavrilov and his participation in the
Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy. The protesters demanded electoral reform to change the
mixed proportional-majoritarian voting system which they alleged greatly benefited the ruling party in the 2016 election. The ruling party conceded on some demands and condemned Gavrilov's visit. After international mediation to overcome the deep political crisis in the run-up to the
2020 parliamentary elections, an amended electoral system was adopted, specifically for those elections. As result of the lowered threshold, nine parties were elected to parliament. Georgian Dream secured 48 percent of the votes, nearly the same as four years earlier, which translated into 90 out of 150 seats due to the more proportional electoral system with a highly reduced number of
majoritarian districts. However, the opposition made accusations of fraud, triggering another round of
political crisis, lasting months. The opposition and protesting citizens demanded a new vote. The political crisis was temporarily resolved by an EU brokered agreement in April 2021, from which both the ruling Georgian Dream and the opposition United National Movement withdrew a few months later. During the
Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Georgia provided diplomatic and humanitarian support for Ukraine but did not join other countries in imposing sanctions on Russia. Since the beginning of the war, Georgia has topped the list of countries to which
Russian exiles moved. Russians, just like many foreigners, were allowed to stay in Georgia for one year without a visa, though many Georgians began to view the presence of more Russian citizens in Georgia as a security risk. Shortly after the outbreak of the war, Georgia applied for membership of the EU at the same time as Ukraine and Moldova. While the latter two received the candidate status a few months later, Georgia was given conditions to receive the candidate status, which predominantly focused on judicial reforms, rule of law, de-oligarchization and addressing the highly polarized political and media climate. at
Heroes Square In the following months, the relations with the
European Union worsened, and the Georgian Dream party turned from the pro-European social democratic one into the Eurosceptic and socially conservative party. In March 2023 Georgian Dream attempted to adopt the
Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence, which requires
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to register as "agents of foreign influence" if they receive more than 20 per cent of their funding from abroad. The discussions of the bill were determined amidst the protests and pressure from the
US State Department,
United Nations and
European Union. A similar bill was introduced in April 2024 and adopted the next month. In December 2023, despite not having fulfilled most conditions, Georgia was granted EU-candidate status. Instead, these criteria and additional ones, such as free and fair 2024 parliamentary elections, were made conditional for Georgia to move ahead to the actual accession talks. The alleged irregularities and fraud in the 26 October
2024 Georgian parliamentary elections led to a
political crisis and
protests. The crisis was exacerbated after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced the temporary suspension of the
accession process of Georgia's EU membership until 2028, citing blackmail. Another round of political crisis developed amidst the inauguration of the ruling party candidate
Mikheil Kavelashvili as the new president by the parliamentary electoral college, which the previous president
Salome Zourabichvili, who went into opposition to the ruling party during the
2020–2021 Georgian political crisis, described as illegitimate and refused to recognize the transfer of power. == Geography ==