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G
E O R G I A
Location Georgia
occupies an area of about 70 000 sq km (population 5,5 million) and is thus
twice the size of Belgium and nearly twice as large as Switzerland. It takes up
the central and Western pairs of Transcaucasia. In the West it is open the Black
sea. Georgia is a mountainous country. In the North rises the greater Caucasus
system of mountain ranges and is situated at the boundary of two climatic zones
- moderate and subtropical. There are many rivers and they flow into the Black
and Caspian seas. Borders: in the North - Russia (Krasnodar, Stavropol, Kabardo
Balkania, Northern Ossetia, Dagestan, Chehen-Ingushia); In the south - Armenia,
Turkey; In the south-east - Azerbaijan; in the west - the Black sea. Tbilisi is the capital of Georgia with a population of 1.5
million. Current
Situation The
current president of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze's stated that the current
objective of Georgia is full integration into every European and
Atlantic-European institution. Georgia is already a member of the Council of
Europe, Georgia joined the World Trade Organization in October 1999, making it
only the fourth member of the former Soviet block to be admitted. Georgia aims
to seek membership of NATO. The
action needed to open the economy to western ideas and the restructure society
seemed difficult at the time Georgia declared independence from the Soviet Union
in 1991. There was civil war under the former president Zviad Gamsakhurdia.
The North western region of Abkhazia had broke away under rebel forces
and armed gangs roamed the countryside. This
civil war brought thousands of refugees to Georgia’s capital city, Tbilisi,
seeking jobs, employment, and refuge. The
biggest achievement of the current government is the reestablishment of peace in
the country. Although the current
government brought an end to the domestic crisis its still unable to resolve the
social issues of high unemployment and low energy supplies.
Perhaps the most devastating is the complete lack of social security or
support for the elderly, homeless, or orphaned.
Corruption in Georgia remains rife, which is one reason why the economy
remains relatively unattractive to investors. On the institutional level,
democracy is still fragile. There were suggestions of widespread electoral
violations in October 1999. But many Georgians argued bitterly that there was no
alternative party for which they felt able to vote. The existing political, social, and economic situation:
unemployment, hundreds of thousands of refugees and other critical events
has forced the population into poverty. Pre-existing
standards of living have been destroyed. Children, the elderly, and other
socially unprotected groups have been most affected.
Many are homeless or must rely on the help of others to survive.
People who couldn’t have imagined that they would have to ask for help
now must extend their hand and rely on the charity of others.
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