Crossroads Country

One of the first things that captured our attention traveling around Georgia’s countryside was the view of EU flags that stand by the side of the country’s flag, an official requirement for EU members. There will be no surprise if Georgia was part of the European bloc. But it is not. Identities and affiliations are complex here.

Georgia is an old civilization that traces its history to pre-Homeric times. It was one of the first kingdoms to embrace Christianity in the fourth century. However, being located at the crossroads between Europe and Asia and surrounded by international powers made Georgia susceptible to invasions and shaped its ethnic composition and national identity.

One of these elements of identity is Orthodox Christianity. On Sunday we visited the Bodbe Monastery, a nineteenth-century chapel that is home to the relics of Saint Nino, a female evangelist who brought Christianity to Georgia in the fourth century. The chapel is an example of the dynamics of the Georgian identity. Despite Georgia's ancient Christian tradition, the current structure is a recent building, having been destroyed and restored many times during its history.

Monuments in Signagi.

In Signagi, Kakheti region, we visited two monuments that testify to Georgia’s complex relationship with the Soviet Union. First was the memorial to the Georgian soldiers fallen during the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet name for the fight against the Nazi invasion in World War II. The second commemorated Georgia’s nonviolent resistance and protests against the Soviet Government in the late ’80s and early ’90s.

The element of resistance to foreign aggression is deeply rooted in Georgian identity. Our guide mentioned several invasions of Georgian territory while we were visiting Signagi, from the Ottomans, the Persians to the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. Few public spaces or conversations with Georgians lack a reference to the Russian occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Occupation bumper sticker.

Often those international powers that occupied Georgia are described in a negative way, as the enemy. That said, Georgia also celebrates its unique identity as a sort of “melting pot” of diverse cultures, religions, and ethnicities, also the consequence of the country’s crossroads location.

-- Branko K., Cohort 4