.contact us |.about us

Highlights ... ...
Search:
    Advertisement
Post-Soviet Georgia wracked by problems
( 2003-11-24 10:47) (AFP)

Georgia is a tiny mountainous state in the Caucasus that has been wracked by civil war, secessionist forces and plummeting living standards since it emerged from the ashes of the Soviet Union.

A region nestled on the eastern shores of the Black Sea, Georgia used to be a slice of paradise in the Soviet Union.

A fertile land, it supplied wine and produce to Russia and the other 14 republics and was among the top tourist destinations. Its people enjoyed the highest per capita income of any Soviet satellite.

But in the dozen years since independence, it is barely holding together as a single country after two regions effectively seceded and one is perennially threatening to do so.

Its economy has plummeted, today 54 per cent of the population live below the poverty line, and there are regular power outages. Western diplomats have designated Georgia as a "failed state".

The trouble started in 1991, when Georgia gained its independence from the Soviet Union.

In December that year, a standoff between then president Zviad Gamsakhurdia and the opposition turned violent and hundreds of people died on Tbilisi's cobbled streets in the fighting.

At the same time, Georgia was splitting apart at the seams as the autonomous regions of Southern Ossetia in the north and Abkhazia in the west fought to secede.

After years of fighting and thousands of casualties, Georgia and the rebellious republics settled into an uneasy truce with the regions.

Russia, which first annexed Georgia in 1801, has backed the Ossetian and Abkhazian separatists and is in de facto control of the regions.

Meanwhile the southern region of Adjara remains a potential flashpoint, as its powerful leader, Aslan Abashidze, desperately wants to see Georgia in Russia's orbit.

On the economic front, the government has let corruption and the illegal economy flourish to such an extent that it now finds itself unable to raise the taxes needed to help relieve poverty.

With the government nearly broke, state benefits often go unpaid, state employees' wages are paltry and late, and gas and electricity bills are crippling consumers because the state can no longer afford to subsidise them.

But the world is far from indifferent to the fate of Georgia.

For one, it is in a strategic location, wedged between NATO member Turkey and Russia.

It is also on a transit route for the export of crude from the nearby Caspian Sea, where Western oil companies are hungrily developing new fields.

Control the export route for the oil, say analysts, and you control the oil itself.

Both Russia and the United States have struggled for influence there in manoeuvres reminiscent of the so-called "Great Game" of the 19th century, when then world superpower Britain tried to outwit tsarist Russia for influence in Central Asia.

   
Close  
  Go to Another Section  
     
 
 
     
  Article Tools  
     
  E-Mail This Article
Print Friendly Format
 
     
   
        .contact us |.about us
  Copyright By chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved  
主站蜘蛛池模板: 香蕉视频在线观看网址| 午夜天堂精品久久久久| 一区二区三区久久精品| 最新国产精品自拍| 亚洲色图视频在线观看| 色综合久久一本首久久| 国产欧美精品一区二区三区四区| 99精品偷自拍| 成人爽爽激情在线观看| 久久精品中文字幕久久| 欧美精品九九99久久在免费线| 办公室震动揉弄求求你| 蜜桃成熟时2005| 国产欧美亚洲精品a第一页| 99re6在线精品视频免费播放| 成人免费无码精品国产电影| 久久亚洲精品成人综合| 校花被扒开尿口折磨憋尿| 亚洲福利视频一区二区| 直接进入免费看黄的网站| 四虎www成人影院| 金莲你下面好紧夹得我好爽| 国产波多野结衣中文在线播放| 80电影天堂网理论r片| 天天成人综合网| 一级欧美一级日韩| 扒开女人内裤边吃奶边摸| 久久男人av资源网站| 欧美成人鲁丝片在线观看| 亚洲欧美日韩在线播放| 狠狠躁夜夜躁人人爽天天天天97| 午夜伦理宅宅235| 色噜噜亚洲精品中文字幕| 国产农村乱子伦精品视频| 成人午夜免费福利视频| 国产精品99久久免费| 18精品久久久无码午夜福利| 国产高清在线a视频大全| av在线播放日韩亚洲欧| 娇小性色xxxxx中文| 下面一进一出好爽视频|