History of Georgia | How Old is Georgia?

How Old Is Georgia?

This question is difficult to answer. The Kingdom of Georgia was first unified in the 11th century. Georgia emerged as a republic in 1917, following the events of WWI. The Georgia we know today became its own sovereign nation in 1991, after the chain of events that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. This makes Georgia as old as 1000 years, or as young as 31 years.

The Current State of Georgia

Georgia resides in the eastern caucus region, bordering Russia. Like most other countries of the eastern bloc, it has its history tied with both the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and Modern Russia. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the land was divided and returned to some of the eastern bloc countries. For Georgia in particular, this meant taking back their identity and unifying under a single banner. The peace was short-lived, as escalating tensions between Georgia and Russia have been increasingly difficult since 2008. Russia has invaded the territory multiple times, slowly annexing land from the Georgians. The regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are currently Russian-occupied and are making a bid to create their own republic.

This is not unlike the current state of events that are happening in Ukraine. The Russian modus-operandi has been the same since the early days of settling the muscovite river. Russians seek to conquer land slowly, by purchasing or conducting smaller-scale military operations to claim nearby land. Over hundreds of years, this has made them the largest land mass in the world.