Georgia
Beautiful land once ruled by monsters
Background Info
- Capital is Tbilisi
- Time is 9 hours ahead of North Liberty, IA
- Population is 4,931,226
- Currency is Lari
- Leader is President Giorgi Margvelashvili
- GDP is $7,700
- Government is a semi-presidential representative democratic republic
Geography
Mountains
Most of Georgia's terrain is made of mountain, and over a third is forest and brushwood. To the north there is a mountain range well known to be shaped as a natural wall called the Greater Caucasus range, which has a series of mountain belts rising towards the east which often have deep gorges. The highest mountain in Georgia is the Shkhara Mountain which is at 16,627 feet while the other highest are Rustaveli, Tetnuld, and Ushba which reach the hight of over 15,000 feet. Mt. Mkinvari is a valcano northernmost of Bokovoy range with a hight of 16,512 feet.
Rivers and Soil
Near the shores of Black Sea is the Kolkhida Lowlands which is covered in a thick layer of river-borne deposites made from thousands of years of aging. The major rivers of western Georgia, Inguri, Kodori, and Rioni come from the Greater Caucasus and flow into the sea. The Kartli Plain is a plateau that lies between the ancient capitol of Mts'khet'a and large city of Khashuri in central Georgia. The plateau is surrounded by all sides by mountains and deposites of the loess type and extends along the Kura River and all it's tributaries. Swampy coastal plains reach to 10,830 feet in the peak of Didi-Abuli. Many soils are found in Georgia, from grey-browns or red dirt.
Climate and Vegetation
Warm and moist airs come from the Black Sea. But towards the west of Georgia they have humid subtropical, maritime climate, as east Georgia have climates such as moderately humid and a dry subtropical climate. The country has very wet winters and dry summers. Above 11,200 to 11,500 feet of snow and ice year-round, when it melts more replaces and the total reaches up to 11,500 feet. In the summers the temperature reaches around 71°F. The vegetation subtropical Black Sea shores are close to the eternal snow of the mountain peaks. More then a third of the country is covered in forest and brush. Many trees in the country include: oak, chestnut, beech, alder, Caucasian fir, apple, ash, linden, and pear trees. There are not many forests in eastern Georgia, and there are underbrush covering steppes with a layer of feather and beard grass.
History
Medieval
Georgia, like most of the Asian countries, embraced Christianity. They did so about at the ear of 330 after it was brought to them b a holy captive woman named St. Nino. For the next three centuries, Georgia was within the conflict of the Great Roman Empire. The top of Georgia's power was during the reign of Queen Tamar in 1184-1213 who claimed land from current southern Russia, to modern Turkey, to Ganja making the pan-Caucasian empire. The allies of the Caucasians were the Shirvan and the Trabzon. The golden age was over though when the Mongols attacked in 1220. The east was then ruled by the Mongols Il-Khanid dynasty of the line of Hulegu. The west however, remained indipendent under seperate rulers. Between 1386 and 1403, the Turkic conqueror Timur dealt large blows to the economy and culture of Georgia in which they never recovered. The last king of Georgia was in 1412-1443 named Alexander I and his land was divided into small chunks.
U.S.S.R.
Georgia gained rights from the allies in January 1921. But a month later, without leader Lenin's approval but under the orders of Stalin and Grigory Konstantinovich, the Soviet Union entered Georgia and installed a regime. After Georgia was classified as a Soviet republic, Stalin and Grigory were incorporated into the Transcaucasian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic. The Georgian Social Democrates organized a rebellion in 1924, but was devestated by Stalin. After Stalin's death, a second economy started were supplies, goods, and services were not availiable before. Because of the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1980, Georgia moved to independence. After Georgia declared independence on April 9, 1991, they elected Gamsakurdia as president. In late 1991, civil war broke out because of his policies. In January 1992 Gamsakhurdia was found out of and the Military Council took his place, which gave power to the State Council controlled by Eduard Shevardnadze, who is a former Soviet foreign minister and one-time first secretary of the Communist Party of Georgia. In October, 95% of voters for Supreme Council, Georgia’s legislature, elected Shevardnadze to serve as chair, a position then tantamount to the country’s president.
Map of U.S.S.R.
Georgia is #5
Bibliography
Georgia. Digital image. Wikipedia. Web. 16 May 2016.
Lang, David Marshall. "Georgia." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 May 2016. Web. 10 May 2016.
"Georgia." CultureGrams Online Edition. ProQuest, 2016. Web. 5 May 2016.