Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region, on the Black Sea coast. Sometimes considered a transcontinental country, it is located at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, and today it is generally considered part of Europe. Georgia is located in the Southern Caucasus region of Eastern Europe. In the southeast, it borders Azerbaijan, in the south with Armenia and Turkey, and in the north with Russia.
The western part of Georgia meets the Black Sea, which physically connects Georgia to the European Union. The former capital of Georgia, Tbilisi, was founded in the 5th century. Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bordered to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the south-east with Azerbaijan.
Georgia covers an area of 69,700 square kilometers and has a population of about 3,7729 million. Georgian historical chronicles date the creation of the Georgian alphabet in the reign of King Farnavaz I. In general, the forests of eastern Georgia are between 500 and 2000 meters (between 1640 and 6,562 feet) above sea level, and the alpine zone extends between 2000 and 2,300 meters (between 6562 and 7546 and 9843 and 11,483 feet). In the summer of 1805, Russian troops on the Askerani River, near Zagam, defeated the Iranian army during the Russo-Persian War of 1804-1813 and saved Tbilisi from reconquest now that it was officially part of the imperial territories. The Greater Caucasus Range plays an important role in moderating Georgia's climate and protecting the nation from the penetration of cooler air masses from the north.
Since taking office as patriarch, numerous churches and cathedrals have been built and restored in Georgia. Since the beginning of the 21st century, visible positive developments have been observed in the Georgian economy. As a result of the presidential elections, Eduard Shevardnadze, until then de facto leader of Georgia, was officially elected president, a position he would hold until November 23, 2003. Georgian railways represent an important transport artery for the Caucasus, as they represent most of the route connecting the Black and Caspian Seas. Like many other countries that gained independence from the Soviet Union, Georgia has experienced economic crisis and internal unrest during the nineties.
Basketball has always been one of the most prominent sports in Georgia, and Georgia had some very famous members of the Soviet Union's national team, such as Otar Korkia, Mikheil Korkia, Zurab Sakandelidze and Levan Moseshvili. The medieval Georgian chronicles present an eponymous ancestor of the Kartvelites, Kartlos, Jafet's great-grandson, whom medieval chroniclers believed was the root of the local name for their kingdom. Throughout the rest of the Soviet period, Georgia's economy continued to grow and experience significant improvement, although it increasingly showed flagrant corruption and an alienation of the government from of the people. One of the most unusual dining traditions is the supra, or Georgian, table, which is also a way to socialize with friends and family.
Georgia gained short-lived independence from tsarist Russia in 1917, when Russia plunged into revolutionary chaos when the Democratic Republic of Georgia was established, with a provisional government. Erekle proved unable to defend Georgia from invaders with his forces alone, so he appealed to orthodox Russia for support. In the 1980s, the independence movement grew rapidly, leading to Georgia's secession from the Soviet Union in April 1991.
