THE GREEKS OF GEORGIA: IGRATION AND SOCIOECONOMIC PROBLEMS
Abstract
Greeks first came to western Georgia in the 8th-7th centuries B.C., yet the ancestors of most of the Greeks now living in the country came in the 19th and 20th centuries. Today, the once large diaspora (which comprised a significant part of Georgia’s population) has shrunk to several thousand people.
The first wave of Greeks from Asia Minor (the Anatolian Greeks) was generated by Czar Irakly II’s economic projects implemented in the 1770s and the policies of the regional countries. Under the Kuchuk-Kaynardji Peace Treaty of 1774 between Russia and Turkey, the Russian Empire acquired a protectorate over the Greeks; this was followed by Greek migration to Russia. It was at the same time that Irakly II invited Greek artisans from the Erzurum and Kars regions to work at the newly opened silver and copper plants in Akhtal and Alaverdi. (About 800 Greeks with families moved to Georgia from the industrial centers of Asia Minor.)
In fact, Russia deliberately created a Christian area in Georgia (where Armenians lived side-by-side with Georgians) which bordered on the Islamic world; this was further promoted by the resettlement of Greek refugees who came in great numbers, especially in the 19th century. Under the Adrianople Peace Treaty which put an end to the Russo-Turkish war
of 1828-1829 Russia was expected to remove its troops from the Erzurum vilayet, a move which would have left the local Greeks who had been on the Russian side during the war unprotected. At General Paskevich’s request, Nicholas I allowed the Greeks to settle in Georgia. They came mainly to the Borchala uezd, which had been completely ruined by Turkish and Daghestani inroads. By 1830, about 18 Greek settlements had appeared in the Tsalka District. Simultaneously, Greeks from the northwestern vilayets of Turkey started moving to the Dmanisi District; they replaced the local Georgian geographic names with the names of the villages they left behind in Turkey. This part of the country still abounds in Turkish geographical names, even though over time some of the villages restored their old Georgian names. In the 1830s, Greeks moved to Samtskhe: 200 Greek families settled in the villages of Tsikhisdjvari (Borzhomi District) and Mikeltsminda (Akhaltsikhe District) depopulated by the Muslim incursions. The favorable living conditions made it much easier to strike root there than in the Tsalka District.
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References
See: I. Garakanidze, “History of Greek Resettle-ment to Georgia (18th-19th Centuries),” in: The Greeks of Georgia, 2000, pp. 28-70 (in Georgian).
See: “Ot’ezd grekov,” Batumi (newspaper published by the Greeks of Ajaria), No. 1-2, January-February 2001.
See: “Den pamiati genotsida Pontiyskogo elliniz-ma,” Eliniki diaspora (publication of the Union of the Greek Communities of Georgia), Nos. 5-6 (V-VI), 2003.
See: M. Pkhakadze, “The Current Settlement Patterns of the Greeks in Georgia,” in: The Greeks of Georgia,pp. 71-83.
See: The State Department of Georgia for Statistics. Results of the First National Population Census of 2002,Vol. 1, 2003, pp. 110-116 (in Georgian). It should be said here that the local Greeks are convinced there are fewer of them still living in Georgia: because of mistakes, some of those who had emigrated were entered on the lists as still living in Georgia.
See: R. Gachechiladze, Population Migration in Georgia and Its Socioeconomic Results, Tbilisi, 1997, p. 37 (in Georgian). To move the Greeks away from Abkhazia, the Greek government carried out a special operation in the course of which Greeks were evacuated by sea: Athens News Agency Bulletin, 19 August, 1993. About the Greeks liv-ing in Abkhazia see the website of Post Factum Radio: [http://www.postfactumk.org/index.php?tim=2-5-2003&ID=103].
See: P. Kotanov, “Kogda zhe nastupit spokoystvie?” Eliniki diaspora, No. 1-2 (I- II), 2005.
See: “Migratsia grekov iz Tsalkskogo rayona dolzhna byt priostanovlena,” Mnogonatsional’naia Gruzia, No. 4,August 2002.
Two different languages used by the same ethnic community have created an identity problem for the local Greeks as one ethnic group. This is not obvious, yet there is alienation between the Greeks of the Black Sea coast and Eastern Georgia.
See: A. Mikaberidze, M. Shakhpazidi, “On the Dialect of the Greeks of Georgia,” in: The Greeks of Georgia,pp. 129-177.
See: N. Djanashia, “General Description of the Tsalka Urums’ Turkic Dialect,” in: The Greeks of Georgia,pp. 178-192.
See: L. Pashaeva, Sem’ia i semeyny byt grekov Tsalkskogo rayona, Tbilisi, 1992, pp. 18-19.
Only a small stretch of road was repaired under the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan project on BP money. It is expected that in the near future the highway that used to connect Armenian-populated Javakheti with Tbilisi will be restored. The road will cross the Tsalka District and will improve its communication with the capital. This project is realized by the Georgian government on American money under the Millennium Challenge program.
See: V. Nekresidi, “Spasibo za pomoshch,” Eliniki diapora, No. 6-7, 1998; V. Kekchidi, “Blagotvoritel’nost,”Eliniki diaspora, No. 4 (IV), 2003.
See: A. Umudumova, “Vsemirny sovet grekov zarubezh’ia prodolzhit svoi prorammy v Gruzii,” Eliniki diaspora,No. 5-6 (V-VI), 2003; A. Papanidi, “Ambulatorii prinimaiut patsientov,” Eliniki diaspora, No. 1-2 (I-II), 2004.
See: K. Diamantopulo, “Grecheskaia programma podderzhki ekonomicheskogo i sotsial’nogo razvitia Gruzii be-ret start,” Eliniki diaspora, No. 4 (IV), 2003; idem, “Iannis Makriotis privez iz Gretsii programmu ekonomicheskoy i sotsial’noy podderzhki naselenia Gruzii,” Eliniki diaspora, No. 5-6 (V-VI), 2003.
See: J. Wheatley, “Obstacles Impending the Regional Integration of the Kvemo Kartli Region of Georgia,” ECMI Working Paper #23, February 2005.
See: Z. Kechakmadze, “The Situation in Tsalka is Aggravated by the Special Services,” Rezonansi, No. 81,15 October, 2002 (in Georgian).
See: M. Narchemashvili, “Why were Internal Troops Moved into Tsalka?” Rezonansi, No. 200, 26 July, 2002;Interview with Chairman of the Tsalka District Administration Georgi Kvaliashvili,” Eliniki diaspora, No. 6-7 (46-47), 2003.
See: Interpress, 14 December, 2004.
See: P. Kotanov, “Stoimost domov znachitel’no vyshe,” Eliniki diaspora, No. 7-10 (VII-X), 2004.
See: I. Zurabishvili, “From Internal Migration to Ethnic Misunderstandings,” Mtavari gazeti, No. 83, 9 April, 2004 (in Georgian).
See: Z. Baazov, “Napriazhennost iz-za neprodumannosti planov po pereseleniiu,” Panorama, No. 7, April 2005.
See: M. Mosiashvili, “Armenians are Keeping Down Migrants from Ajaria,” 24 saati, 2 April, 2003 (in Georgian).
See: N. Molodini, “The Danger of Religious Confrontation in Tsalka,” Akhali versia, 7-8 April, 2004 (in Georgian).
See: Z. Baazov, “Tsalka—rayon neotlozhennykh confliktov,” Kavkazskiy aktsent, No. 8, 16-31 May, 2005.
See: I. Zurabishvili, “Aliens in Their Own Country,” Mtavari gazeti, No. 88, 16 April, 2004.
See: K. Iordanidi, “An Open Letter to the President of Georgia,” 24 saati, No. 136, 10 June, 2004.
See: “Presech vylazki kriminaliteta,” Mnogonatsional’naia Gruzia, No. 3, March 2005.
See: Z. Anjaparidze, Georgia’s Greek and Armenian Communities Decry Resettlement Plans, The Jamestown Foundation, 23 March, 2005.
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