ABSTRACT
Georgia is a mountainous state in the Transcaucasus, bordering the Black Sea. It has boundaries with the Russian Federation, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey. In 1918, Georgia became a republic but was invaded in 1921 and incorporated into the Transcaucasian Federation, a constituent republic of the Soviet Union. Following multi-party elections in October 1990, a coalition came to power but its authoritarian policies, which included the imposition of martial law, resulted in an uprising in December 1991. The Georgian National Guard set up a State Council to run the country and in March 1992 Eduard Shevardnaze, the former Soviet foreign minister, returned as its head. The key source of conflict has been the inclusion within the state of three Muslim-dominated areas: the autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, the autonomous Republic of Adzhira, and the autonomous region of South Ossetia. Georgia is also closely involved in plans for pipelines from the Caspian Basin and in the development of the Transcaucasus Corridor.
