![Russians in Georgia, 2002, RU](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Russians_in_Georgia%2C_2002%2C_RU.svg)
There is a small Russian population in Georgia of less than 0.5% of the total population. For many years,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
was a part of 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. ...
, and later 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 ...
. As the two countries share a border, many
Russians
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118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate)
, region1 =
, pop1 ...
settled in various regions of Georgia. In recent years, the number of Russians living in Georgia has sharply declined. In 2022, thousands of Russians fled to Georgia, especially Russian men of fighting age, in order to escape mobilization in the ongoing
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
.
During the Soviet period, most Russians were urban dwellers and made up a disproportionately high percentage of the urban population. In 1959, there were more than 125,000 Russians in Tbilisi alone (18,1%). In addition to that, Russians made up 36,8% of the population in
Sokhumi
Sukhumi (russian: Суху́м(и), ) or Sokhumi ( ka, სოხუმი, ), also known by its Abkhaz name Aqwa ( ab, Аҟәа, ''Aqwa''), is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the capital and largest city of ...
(making them the largest ethnic group there at the time), 31,6% in
Rustavi
Rustavi ( ka, რუსთავი ) is a city in the southeast of Georgia, in the region of Kvemo Kartli and southeast of capital Tbilisi. It has a population of 130,100 (2021), making it the fourth most populous city in Georgia. Its economy is ...
, 26,8% in
Poti
Poti ( ka, ფოთი ; Mingrelian: ფუთი; Laz: ჶაში/Faşi or ფაში/Paşi) is a port city in Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti in the west of the country. Built near t ...
and 25,6% in
Batumi
Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the second largest city of Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's southwest. It is situated in a subtropical zone at the foot of th ...
. There was also a sizable rural Russian community in
Ninotsminda
Ninotsminda (Georgian: ნინოწმინდა ; Armenian: Նինոծմինդա) is a town and a center of the eponymous municipality located in Georgia's southern district of Samtskhe-Javakheti. According to the 2014 census the town h ...
, consisting mainly of members of the
Doukhobor
The Doukhobours or Dukhobors (russian: духоборы / духоборцы, dukhobory / dukhobortsy; ) are a Spiritual Christian ethnoreligious group of Russian origin. They are one of many non-Orthodox ethno-confessional faiths in Russia a ...
religious group. In many places, Russian served as the lingua franca, as is served as the language of interethnic communication with Georgia's many other minorities. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian was not only abolished as the country's de facto official language, Georgia also faced several wars, economic hardship and ethnic tensions arose. This led to a strong emigration of Russians from Georgia, with their number decreasing from 341,172 in 1989 to 67,671 in 2002 and further declining to only 26,453 in 2014.
History
Ethnic Russians appeared in Georgia in significant numbers after Georgia became part of the Russian Empire in 1803 (
Kartli
Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial role ...
and
Kakheti
Kakheti ( ka, კახეთი ''K’akheti''; ) is a region (mkhare) formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small, mountainous province of Tusheti. Telavi is its capital. The region comprises eigh ...
) - 1878 (
Ajara).
Census data shows that the Russian population had risen from 83 to the high-point of 407,886 between 1926 and 1959 and then began to decline slowly to 341,172 in 1989. Almost all Russians left Georgia during the 1990s due to economic hardships, ethnic tensions and other reasons decreasing percent of Russian population in Georgia from 6.3% in 1989 to 0.5% in 2014.
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Following the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
, an estimated 100,000
Russian citizen
Russian citizenship law details the conditions by which a person holds citizenship of Russia. The primary law governing citizenship requirements is the federal law "On Citizenship of the Russian Federation", which came into force on 1 July 2002.
...
s and residents are estimated to have left
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 ...
by mid-March 2022 as
economic migrants
An economic migrant is someone who emigrates from one region to another, including crossing international borders, seeking an improved standard of living, because the conditions or job opportunities in the migrant's own region are insufficient. Th ...
.
In September 2022 alone 222,274 people entered Georgia from Russia, according to the
Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The arrival of Russians made real estate prices skyrocket in
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...
; in November 2022, average real estate prices were 210% higher than 1 year prior. This has rendered rent unaffordable for Georgian locals, exacerbating pre-existing tensions between Russians and Georgians.
In October 2022, protests were held demanding the introduction of a visa regime with Russia in order to mitigate the economic damage caused by the migration, with the ruling
Georgian Dream
Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia ( ka, ქართული ოცნება – დემოკრატიული საქართველო, ''Kartuli ocneba – Demok’rat’iuli Sakartvelo'') is a social democratic political ...
party dismissing such a step as "irrational".
Abkhazia
A great part of its indigenous population emigrated to
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
after the
Muhajirism, with the result of repopulation of the land with ethnic
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...
and
Pontic Greeks
The Pontic Greeks ( pnt, Ρωμαίοι, Ρωμίοι, tr, Pontus Rumları or , el, Πόντιοι, or , , ka, პონტოელი ბერძნები, ), also Pontian Greeks or simply Pontians, are an ethnically Greek group in ...
. Russians made up 2% of the 100,000
population
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...
of Abkhazia by 1897. Russian population rose between 1926 and 1970 and declined thereafter. Post-independence decline was particularly steep due to the
War in Abkhazia.
References
Censuses
Georgia
See also
*
Russian emigration following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine
Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, more than 300,000 Russian citizens and residents are estimated to have left Russia by mid-March 2022, at least 500,000 by the end of August 2022, and an additional 400,000 by early October, for a t ...
*
Demographics of Georgia
*
Russian diaspora
The Russian diaspora is the global community of ethnic Russians. The Russian-speaking (''Russophone'') diaspora are the people for whom Russian language is the native language, regardless of whether they are ethnic Russians or not.
History
...
*
Georgia–Russia relations
Georgia–Russia relations are the bilateral ties between Georgia and the Russian Federation. The two countries have had no formal diplomatic relations since August 2008, largely due to the Russo-Georgian War and Russian recognition of separatis ...
*
Russians in post-Soviet states
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russians In Georgia
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
Ethnic groups in Georgia (country)