Georgian Americans ( ka, ქართველი ამერიკელები, tr) are
Americans
Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many Multi ...
of full or partial
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
ancestry. They encompass ethnic Georgians who have immigrated to the U.S. from
Georgia, as well as other areas with significant Georgian populations, such as
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
.
The precise number of Americans of Georgian descent is unknown. This is because 19th and 20th century U.S. immigration records often did not differentiate between various ethnic groups originating from the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, which had slowly annexed Georgia starting from year 1801 and of which it remained a part until 1918.
History
Early stages of immigration
The earliest recorded
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
immigrants to the US were the
Georgian horsemen. One group came in 1890 as part of a troupe of
Cossack
The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
horsemen hired by
Buffalo Bill Cody
William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years in ...
and his Wild Congress of Rough Riders.
The number of Georgians coming to the U.S. saw an increase after political upheavals of the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
forced the Georgian nobility and intellectuals, including those residing in other parts of the Russian Empire, to move to the U.S. In just several years, another wave of immigration of Georgians was triggered by the
Red Army invasion of Georgia
The Red Army invasion of Georgia (15 February17 March 1921), also known as the Soviet–Georgian War or the Soviet invasion of Georgia,Debo, R. (1992). ''Survival and Consolidation: The Foreign Policy of Soviet Russia, 1918-1921'', pp. 182, 361 ...
, which led to the exodus of intellectuals who were in fear of deportation and imminent death in Russian
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
. A notable example of pre-Soviet immigration of ethnic Georgians is that of
George Balanchine
George Balanchine (;
Various sources:
*
*
*
* born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...
, whose immediate family was split between U.S. and
Soviet Georgia
The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgian SSR; ka, საქართველოს საბჭოთა სოციალისტური რესპუბლიკა, tr; russian: Грузинская Советская Соц ...
.
Immigration during and following the Soviet Union
Emigration from Georgia was brought to a halt in the 1920s and 1930s, when the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
put in place restrictions on travel, both in and out of the Union. Despite these restrictions, some Georgians managed to flee to the U.S. during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. These were primarily ethnic Georgians who lived in liberated parts of
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...
, as well as members of the Georgian military who were stationed or otherwise resided abroad. Such was the case with
John Shalikashvili, a son of a Georgian officer, who would rise to become the
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: app ...
and
Supreme Allied Commander
Supreme Allied Commander is the title held by the most senior commander within certain multinational military alliances. It originated as a term used by the Allies during World War I, and is currently used only within NATO for Supreme Allied Comm ...
.
Following World War II, emigration from Soviet Georgia was virtually nonexistent until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, after which an estimated one-fifth of Georgia's population left due to economic hardships. Unlike the first half of the 20th century, this final wave of emigration was wide-reaching and not limited to intellectuals or military personnel.
Population
There are several concentrations of Georgians throughout the United States including the
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...
(especially in Connecticut),
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
,
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
,
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, the
Washington metropolitan area, the
Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, among others.
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...
has sizeable Meskhetian Turk population, the majority of whom are from Georgia. During the 1970s, many Georgian Jews immigrated to
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York.
Assimilation
Georgian-Americans created several organizations in order to maintain their culture. In 1924, organizations of Georgian-Americans were founded in the cities of San Francisco and New York. These organizations held cultural and social events, and has helped other immigrants. Between 1955 and 1975, the American press was very active in Georgia. ''Kartuli Azri'' (Georgian Opinion) was the most popular newspaper and its maintenance was based primarily on donations from Americans in Georgia. Although, over the years, Georgians have adapted to American culture, Georgian Americans still retain aspects of Georgian culture.
Some members of the Georgian-Jewish community in New York keep their ancestral
Judeo-Georgian language.
Notable people
A List of Georgian Americans. The list includes American-born people of
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
descent and immigrants to the United States who are now American citizens.
*
Alex d'Arbeloff
Alexander Vladimir d'Arbeloff (December 21, 1927 – July 8, 2008) was the Georgian-American co-founder of Teradyne, a multibillion-dollar Boston, Massachusetts-based manufacturer of automatic test equipment (ATE).
Early life
He was born to a ...
, entrepreneur
*
George Arison
George Arison (born Irakly Areshidze in 1977) is a List of Georgian Americans, Georgian-born American businessman, investor and political activist. He is the founder and co-chief executive officer, CEO of Shift Technologies, Shift, an online, peer ...
, entrepreneur
*
Teymuraz Bagration
Prince Teymuraz Bagration of Mukhrani (21 August 1912 – 10 April 1992) was a Georgian-Russian nobleman and an émigré in the United States where he served as President of the Tolstoy Foundation, a New York-based charitable organization.
Life
...
, nobleman, President of the Tolstoy Foundation
*
George Balanchine
George Balanchine (;
Various sources:
*
*
*
* born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...
, one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers; co-founder and balletmaster of
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...
*
Valery Chalidze
Author and publisher Valery Nikolaevich Chalidze (russian: Вале́рий Никола́евич Чали́дзе; ka, ვალერი ჭალიძე: 25 November 1938 – 3 January 2018) was a Soviet dissident and human rights activis ...
, author and publisher
*
David Chavchavadze
David Chavchavadze (May 20, 1924 – October 5, 2014) was a British-born American author and a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer of Georgian-Russian origin.
Life and death
Chavchavadze was born in London to Prince Paul Chavchavadze ...
, author
*
Lasha Darbaidze, honorary counsel of Georgia
*
David Datuna
David Datuna ( ka, დეივიდ დათუნა; February 10, 1974 – May 23, 2022) was a Georgian-born American artist who lived in New York City. His ''Viewpoint of Millions'' series explores the sources and meaning of cultural iden ...
, artist
*
Yana Djin, poet
*
Wachtang Djobadze, historian
*
Vernon Duke
Vernon Duke ( 16 January 1969) was a Russian-born American composer/songwriter who also wrote under his birth name, Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for "Taking a Chance on Love," with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche (1940), "I Can't ...
, composer and songwriter
*
Andrew Eristoff
Andrew P. Sidamon-Eristoff (born February 20, 1963) is an American Republican Party lawyer, politician and government official from New York City who served as New Jersey State Treasurer under Governor Chris Christie from January 2010 until his ...
, politician
*
George Finn
George Finn ( ka, გიორგი აგიაშვილი; born January 21, 1990) is a Georgian-American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films ''LOL'', ''Time Lapse'' (2014) and '' Tbilisi, I Love You'' (2014)
Early life
G ...
, actor
*
Gregory Gabadadze, physics professor, New York University
*
Michael Gregor, aircraft engineer
*
Dimitri Jorjadze
Prince Dimitri Aleksandrovich Jorjadze ( ka, დიმიტრი ჯორჯაძე) (26 October 189826 October 1985) was a Georgian nobleman, Ambassador Hotel executive, and race car driver.
Biography
Dimitri (Mito) Jorjadze was born in t ...
, race car driver
*
Alexander Kartveli, aircraft designer of the 20th century
*
Kola Kwariani, wrestler
*
Giorgi Latso
Giorgi Latso (born Giorgi Latsabidze, ka, გიორგი ლაცაბიძე, ; 15 April 1978) is a Georgian-American concert pianist, film composer, arranger, adjudicator, improviser and Doctor of Musical Arts. He is listed on the lis ...
, classical concert pianist, composer and doctor of musical arts
*
Khatuna Lorig, archer
*
Georges V. Matchabelli
Prince Georges Vasili Matchabelli ( ka, გიორგი მაჩაბელი) (July 23, 1885 – March 31, 1935) was a Georgian perfumer. A nobleman and diplomat, he emigrated to the United States after the 1921 Soviet invasion of Georgia.
...
, perfumer and a former diplomat
*
George Papashvily
George Papashvily ( ka, გიორგი პაპაშვილი; August 23, 1898 – March 29, 1978) was a Georgian-American writer and sculptor. He was one of the most famous Georgian (emigrants) artists of the 20th century.
Life
George Pa ...
, writer and sculptor
*
Tamir Sapir
Tamir Sapir (born Temur Sepiashvili, ka, თემურ სეფიაშვილი; 1946/1947 – September 26, 2014) was a Georgia (country), Georgian-born, Georgian-American businessman, real estate developer and investor. He was the foun ...
, businessman
*
Yuri Sardarov, actor and producer
*
Elena Satine, singer
*
John Shalikashvili, general
* Othar Shalikashvili, colonel
*
Regina Shamvili
Regina Shamvili is an American concert pianist and an artist of the United States Department of State, born in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Shamvili graduated from both the Tbilisi State Conservatory and the Moscow Conservatory. Studied with suc ...
, classical pianist
*
Constantine Sidamon-Eristoff Constantine Sidamon-Eristoff (June 28, 1930 – December 26, 2011) was an American born Georgian aristocrat and the New York City highway commissioner during the administrations of John V. Lindsay.
Early life
Constantine was born in New York City ...
, aristocrat
*
Levan Songulashvili
Levan Songulashvili ( ka, ლევან სონღულაშვილი; born August 17, 1991) is a Georgian-born New York-based visual artist; painter, draughtsman, installation and multimedia video artist.
Biography
Songulashvili was ...
, artist
*
Elizabeth Stone, Paralympic swimmer
*
Alexander Tarsaidze Alexander Tarsaidze ( ka, ალექსანდრე ტარსაიძე, ''Alek'sandre Tarsaidze''; russian: Александр Георгиевич Тарсаидзе, ''Aleksandr Georgievich Tarsaidze'') (1901–1978) was a Georgian- Am ...
, writer and historian
*
Anna Tatishvili
Anna Tatishvili ( ka, ანა ტატიშვილი, tr, ; born February 3, 1990) is a Georgian-American former professional tennis player.
In her career, Tatishvili won eleven singles and eight doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. ...
, tennis player
*
Alexander Toradze, classical concert pianist
*
Cyril Toumanoff, historian and genealogist
*
Jerzy Tumaniszwili
Jerzy Tumaniszwili ( ka, გიორგი თუმანიშვილი, Giorgi Tumanishvili) (June 21, 1916 – December 9, 2010) was a Polish naval commander of a Georgian aristocratic descent. A World War II veteran and later an émigré t ...
, aristocrat
*
George Coby, businessman, inventor and chemist
See also
*
Georgia–United States relations
Relations between the countries of Georgia and the United States continue to be very close and encompass multiple areas of bilateral cooperation. One of the key U.S. allies in Eastern Europe, Georgia was the third largest troop contributor i ...
References
Further reading
*
* Bridges, Peter. "Georgia and America–Early Contacts." ''American Diplomacy'' (2011)
online* Wertsman, Vladimir F. "Georgian Americans." in ''Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America,'' edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 2, Gale, 2014), pp. 197-206
online
External links
Georgian Association in the United States of AmericaGeorgian America Foundation
Tvistomi Association - Georgian Community Organization in New YorkTvistomi Medical Group, New York
{{Asian Americans
American people of Georgian (country) descent
Georgian diaspora
Georgian (country) American
Middle Eastern American