There is a widespread point of view in Russia that our country "saved" Georgia from the Ottoman Empire and Persia, which for many centuries divided the Georgian principalities. And it is precisely on this point of view that the offense at the behavior of the Georgian leadership is based - they say, how is it, we saved them, and they turned out to be so ungrateful and have now turned Georgia into one of the most bitter opponents of Russia in the post-Soviet space. In fact, in Georgia itself, the replacement of the Ottoman Empire and Persia with Russia was perceived only as a “change of masters”. And Georgia promised to serve each of the "masters" in due time and even served faithfully, and then the "master" changed and the previous overlord-country began to mock in every possible way, at the same time extolling the new "master".
Georgia under the rule of the Ottomans and Persians
The territory of modern Georgia, divided between numerous kingdoms and principalities, in the Middle Ages was the object of the expansion of the two largest powers of Western Asia - the Ottoman Empire and Persia. The Ottomans controlled the western territories of Georgia, close to the Black Sea coast, and the Persians controlled the eastern territories, bordering on Azerbaijan. At the same time, both the Ottomans and the Persians did not particularly interfere in the internal affairs of the subordinate territories. The Ottoman Empire retained the Georgian principalities, limiting itself to collecting tribute, and Persia turned the Georgian territories into provinces that had equal status with the Persian provinces proper.
By the way, it was in Persia that the Georgian aristocracy felt most comfortable. At the shah's court there were many Georgian princes who converted to Islam and served their master, the Persian shah. Georgian troops took part in numerous military campaigns organized by Persia. In the Ottoman Empire, Georgians were also treated loyally, many representatives of the Georgian nobility, having converted to Islam, organically fit into the Ottoman hierarchy, becoming military leaders and court dignitaries. Finally, Egypt was ruled by Mamluk dynasties of Georgian origin.
By the way, the Islamization of the Georgian territories proceeded at a much more rapid pace in the Ottoman Empire. And if we compare the Islamization of the Georgian and Armenian populations, then the Georgians, of course, became Islamized more actively - the Lazes living in the northeast of modern Turkey were completely Islamized, the Adjarians were largely Islamized, in Meskhetia and Javakheti, the Islamized Georgians became the main component in the formation of the Meskhetian Turks, or "Ahiska", as they are called in Turkey itself. The Georgian nobility, imitating the Turks and Persians, converted to Islam, or at least were called new names and titles reminiscent of Turkish and Persian. This continued until the 18th century, when both the Ottoman Empire and Persia began to weaken, which the shrewd Georgian rulers, who were in vassal dependence on these Muslim powers, could not help but notice.
As Andrei Epifantsev writes, the weakening of the Ottoman and Persian powers was the main reason for the “disappointment” of the Georgian nobility in the former “masters”. And if earlier there were no claims either to the Sultan or to the Shah, now they suddenly turned into oppressors of the Georgian people. And the Georgian kings and princes, sensing that they remained "ownerless", turned their gaze towards Russia, which was gaining strength. Moreover, Western Europe, mired in constant wars, at that time did not show any interest in Transcaucasia - it was the "deep" East, the fiefdom of the Turks and Persians.
How Georgia asked for Russia
The initiative of the Georgian-Russian relations belonged precisely to the Georgian kings and princes, who began to send embassies to Russia, one after another. In order to attract the attention of the Russian sovereigns, who at that time, in principle, were not interested in Transcaucasia, the Georgian tsars and princes remembered about Orthodoxy. Previously, Orthodoxy did not in the least prevent them from serving the Turkish sultans and the Persian shahs, but now embassies have flocked to Russia, describing the horrors of oppression of Orthodox Georgians by the Gentiles - Turks and Persians.
In the 80s of the 18th century, Irakli II (pictured) was the king of Kartli and Kakheti. He was considered a vassal of the Persian Shah, therefore, when in 1783 Prince Grigory Potemkin and princes Ivan Bagration and Garsevan Chavchavadze in Georgievsk signed an agreement on the vassalage of Kartli-Kakheti to Russia, in Persia this act of Irakli was perceived with a very big negative. Moreover, Irakli was treated very well at the Shah's court - he was brought up in Persia, was friends with Nadir Shah, carried out all sorts of assignments of the Shah at the head of the Georgian army. In fact, what Heraclius II did in relation to Persia was called and is called betrayal.
However, Heraclius' uncleanliness manifested itself not only in relation to Persia. Already in 1786, three years after the conclusion of the Treaty of St. George, Irakli signed a non-aggression pact with the Ottoman Empire. What does this mean? By the time the treaty was signed with the Ottomans, Irakli had been formally for three years in the position of a vassal of the Russian Empress Catherine II and did not have the right to conduct an independent foreign policy. But the Kartlian king not only violated this condition, but also agreed to a separate treaty with the Ottoman Empire, which was the main enemy of Russia in the south and was constantly at war with Russia.
Naturally, St. Petersburg reacted very harshly to Irakli's act - relations with him were interrupted, and Russian troops were withdrawn from Georgia, which were brought in there to defend the country. Meanwhile, Aga Mohamed Khan Qajar (pictured) came to power in Persia, who, taking advantage of the problems in relations between Russia and Georgia, in 1795 undertook a grandiose campaign in Kartli-Kakheti. The Krtsanisi battle was completely lost by the Georgian army, which is not surprising - Irakli was able to send only 5 thousand soldiers against the 35 thousand army of the Persians. Twenty thousand inhabitants of Georgia were taken into slavery by the Persians.
Heraclius, who miraculously escaped during the battle, withdrew from public affairs. After his departure, Russia sent its troops to Eastern Georgia and the Persians were forced to retreat. In 1796, a 30,000-strong Russian army drove the Persian army out of Georgia. The new Tsar George XII applied for the admission of Kartli and Kakheti to the Russian Empire. His example was followed by other principalities located on the territory of modern Georgia.
Georgia as part of Russia
Although it is customary to call Georgia's stay in Tbilisi as part of Russia and the Soviet Union exclusively an occupation, in reality this was not at all the case. Therefore, we are talking about Georgia as part of Russia, and not under the rule of Russia. To begin with, the Georgian aristocracy was completely equal in rights with the Russian nobility. This led to a sharp increase in the number of Georgians in the Russian military and government service, despite the fact that the very share of Georgians in the population of the Russian Empire was scanty.
It is worth noting that the attitude towards the Georgian aristocracy has always been even more loyal than towards its own, Russian aristocracy. A lot of things were forgiven the Georgian nobles, they were carefully courted, promoted to important posts, and given high military ranks. Actually, the same policy was observed in the Soviet Union, where the national republics had incomparably great privileges.
In addition, there was a kind of idealization of Georgia and Georgians in Russian culture. This line, by the way, was also inherited during the Soviet era - a fashion for Georgian culture was formed - from painting to kitchen, from literature to clothing. Many Russian noblemen, imitating Georgians, and Caucasians in general, wore clothes of the Caucasian type, poets admired the beauty of Georgian women and the customs of Georgian men. So the "new owner" turned out to be an even more profitable option for Georgia than the Ottoman Empire and Persia.
Moreover, the absence of religious differences allowed Georgians not to change their faith while in the state service. The list of Georgians who have achieved all-Russian glory, the highest state posts, who have been realized in Russia as artists and musicians, directors and actors, scientists and politicians, is huge. In fact, Russia also played the role of a bridge, thanks to which the world received information about Georgia, about Georgian culture. Many people are familiar with the culture of Laz, Chveneburi or Fereydans - ethnic groups of Georgians living in Turkey (Laz and Chveneburi) and Iran (Fereydans)? The same fate would await the Georgians if they remained in the Eastern empires - only professional ethnographers and historians specializing in Western Asia would have an idea of their culture.
New "change of owners"
Within the Soviet Union, as already mentioned, Georgia had a very privileged position. This manifested itself in the economy - the republic was considered one of the richest in the USSR, and in politics - Tbilisi enjoyed rights and "indulgences", which, perhaps, no other union republic had. Nobody offended the Georgians, did not push them out of power - for example, Eduard Shevardnadze took the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, despite the fact that he spoke Russian with a strong accent, which made it much more difficult to understand his speeches.
The biography of a certain Shalva Maglakelidze testifies to the extent to which the Soviet government patronized the Georgians. This former leader of the Georgian Republic of 1918-1920 emigrated after Georgia became part of the USSR, and during the Second World War became one of the founders and commanders of the Georgian Legion, received the rank of Major General of the Wehrmacht. After the war, Shalva Maglakelidze was a military adviser to the President of the Federal Republic of Germany.
In 1954, KGB agents kidnapped him in Munich and took him to the USSR. There, the "ardent fighter against the Bolsheviks and the Russian occupation" immediately "repented", with his characteristic "heroism" accused all colleagues in the Georgian emigration of working for American and British intelligence, after which he was released and Maglakelidze lived quietly in Georgia for another twenty-two years, worked as a lawyer, and died already in old age, in 1976. Here is such an amazing story! Imagine that General Vlasov or Ataman Shkuro was "chided" a little, after which they were allowed to live out their days in Voronezh or Ryazan, and even work, say, as teachers in military schools or military departments. Can you imagine this?
Nevertheless, when the Soviet Union began to weaken in the late 1980s, Georgia immediately began to think about "independence." As a result, having received this independence, the country immediately found itself in a state of complete political and economic chaos. As a result of bloody armed conflicts, Abkhazia and South Ossetia fell away from Georgia. The population was rapidly becoming impoverished, a mass emigration of Georgians began to the very hated Russia, from which they had just sought independence.
The "new masters" in the person of the United States and NATO turned out to be interested only in opposing Georgia to Russia and using its territory for military purposes, nothing more. But the pro-Western forces in Tbilisi still do not understand that the West does not need Georgia and is not interested, any support for this country is carried out only in the context of its opposition to Russia.
And now Georgia is gradually becoming disillusioned with the "new owners" who, in reality, do not give the country almost anything. Do many American or British tourists go to Georgia? Are Georgian wines in demand in France or Italy? Do Georgian singers and directors have an equally large audience in the UK? The answer to these questions need not even be named.
