Archeological data points to the existence of the Neolithic culture in the territory of Georgia since 5000 BC till the Christian era. In the closing centuries of pre-Christian era Georgia's culture came under a strong influence of Greece from the west and Persia from the east. The adoption of Christianity as an official religion by King Mirian in 354 contributed to strengthening multilateral ties with Byzantium. Although Arabs invaded Tbilisi in 645, Georgia managed to preserve high degree of its independence, its language and religion. In 813 King Ashot established the Bagrationi royal dynasty which ruled until 1801.
David the Fourth (the Builder) laid a foundation of the golden age in Georgia's history. He managed to drive out Turks, integrate all Georgian provinces and extend Georgia's political and cultural influence to the south towards Armenia and to the east towards the Caspian Sea. The golden age reached its heights under the rule of Queen Tamara in 1184 - 1213. At that time, Georgia was well known to the Christian west, which considered Georgia its ally in crusade wars; Georgia’s influence extended over the Trapison Empire, part of the North Caucasus. Literature and philosophy were flourishing, several academies were functioning and democratic institutions were emerging in Georgia.
Georgia's decline started after the Mongol invasion (1236). After the fall of Constantinople, Georgia was left alone against Turkey and Persia, which were trying to conquer and divide it or, at least, subject it to their influence. Georgia gradually fell apart into kingdoms and fiefdoms. In 1801 by a manifesto of Russian Emperor Aleksander I, strengthened with the military force, Georgia was abolished as a kingdom and it became part of the Russian Empire and Russia's 200-year rule began. In 1811, Russia's administration abolished autonomy of the Georgian church, gained in 567 under the rule of King Vakhtang Gorgasali.
By the end of the 19th century Georgia had quite developed trade and industry. Russia introduced European culture into Georgia. Georgian nobility received education in Russian and European universities. Western and Russian social-democratic ideas started spreading in Georgia in 1900s and an active revolutionary movement with intelligentsia and significantly strengthened proletariat taking a leading part emerged. In 1918 Georgia declared its independence. The power was in the hands of the strongest Social-Democratic (Menshevik) political party. However, Georgia’s independence lasted only three years. In 1921 Soviet Russia annexed Georgia and handed over the power to the Bolshevik government.
During the Soviet era, Georgian people experienced all the misfortunes which happened in the Soviet Union. Communist repressions affected the best part of Georgian intelligentsia. A lot of Georgians were killed in the WWII. Meanwhile, the country was undergoing the process of industrialization and urbanization. Under the socialist system, education and health care were available to everyone; Illiteracy was eliminated; Georgia had the highest share of people with higher education. In the last decades of the Soviet era the corruption, alike in other Soviet republics, spread all over the economic activity of Georgia. Under the ineffective command economy, which ignored the principle of competitiveness, it was necessary to pay money to obtain investments as well as to sell products. At that time, Georgia was known as a republic with a strong underground economy.
After the break up of the Soviet Union Georgia lost its economic ties and markets for products. It lacked market-oriented institutions and experienced personnel. The situation was aggravated by the civil war and military aggression from separatist regimes that were backed up by Russia, turning 300,000 people into refugees. All these led Georgia to extreme economic hardships. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Georgia was ruled by the national liberation movement led by Zviad Gamsakhurdia. In 1991, Zviad Gamsakhurdia’s government declared the country’s independence, and afterwards, Georgia became the member of the United Nations and secured the status of an independent entity in international relations. However, Gamsakhurdia’s government failed to retain power. In the beginning of 1992, as a result of an armed riot, Gamsakhurdia and his government were ousted from the country. The military government of the country invited Eduard Shevardnadze, who started ruling the country together with leaders of the military riot, Jaba Ioseliani and Tengiz Kitovani. Later on, Shevardnadze managed to legitimize his position through elections and put his former allies (military leaders) in jail. From 1995 to 2003 Shevardnadze’s government failed to carry out a structural reform in the country. The corruption was rife, reaching unbelievable scales, and the economic growth stopped. An attempt to rig elections in 2003 triggered a nationwide protest, which resulted in Shevardnadze’s resignation. A new political force, the National Movement, led by Mikheil Saakashvili, won in the elections. This event entered into history under the name of Rose Revolution and initiated a wave of democratic changes across the former Soviet Union.
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