Georgia Today

by David Zenian WASHINGTON, August 27 — Thousands of Armenians, mainly women and children, are fleeing the escalating civil war in the western Georgian Black Sea province of Abkhazia, leaving their homes, shops and other personal property at the mercy of looters. Worst affected were predominantly-Armenian inhabited villages like Shahoumianovskaya and Gulripchi, where dozens of homes were looted and torched.

by David Zenian KARZAKH, Georgia — "The sad days, like winter," wrote one of the fathers of Armenian folklore, "come and go. " These words of optimism, written in the 1890's by a Karzakh native and immortalized by generations of Armenians around the world, took a different meaning this year when thousands gathered in this remote village June 27 to mark the 146th anniversary of poet Serop Levonian, or Kousan Jivani.

TBILISI, Georgia — Many Armenians still remember a speech last year by ousted Georgian President Zviad Gamsakhurdia describing the dozen-or-so ethnic groups in the country as nothing but guests. "Imagine the impact the speech had. Armenians have been living in Georgia for centuries, and suddenly we were nothing but guests. The intense chauvinism of the Gamsakhurdia days were frightening," says an Armenian businessman.

by David Zenian Tbilisi, Georgia — There are no tollbooths along the 150 mile-long road from Yerevan to Tbilisi. There are no gas stations either. But be prepared to be stopped by Azeri farmers scrutinizing cars with Armenian license plates, or armed bands manning mobile "road tax" stations. The journey, which can take up to six hours, is an education in itself. The breathtaking scenery compensates for the potholes and the narrow mountain roads as the scars of conflict unveil along every other mile of the way.

by David Zenian Tbilisi, Georgia — If name recognition is important in international politics, then the former Soviet republic of Georgia could not dream of a better man at the helm than Eduard Shevardnadze. If it wants a man with experience in local affairs, the answer is the same too. "Anyone with similar credentials, and especially in a country like Georgia, could easily turn into a dictator ... but not Shevardnadze," a western diplomat said recently. "Shevardnadze is too experienced to become a victim of his own popularity."

by David Zenian Tbilisi, Georgia — The tombs of literary and musical giants Gomidas, Raffi, Gabriel Sountougian, Hovhannes Toumanian and Magar Yegmalian are only some of the reminders of an Armenian heritage dating back to when Yerevan was nothing but a small dusty city. The 136-year-old Bedros Atamian theater and the ornate cliffside balconies stand witness to what was once the most prominent center of Armenian business and culture in the Caucasus.

by David Zenian Tbilisi, Georgia— For a country with three ports on the Black Sea, Georgia is as dependent on the goodwill of its neighbors as landlocked Armenia. Stores in downtown Tbilisi, like others in the countryside, are mostly empty. Power outages are as common as in Yerevan, and for the most part, hot water is in the past tense. Unemployment is on the rise, and so is inflation.

by George Bournoutian The term "Georgians" refers to the collective name of a closely-related group of people, who live in the mountains and plains of southwest Transcaucasia. As a whole, however, the Georgians call themselves "Kartveli" and their land "Sakartvelo". The Russians call them "Gruzini", the Turks "Gurcu", the Iranians "Gorji", and the Armenians "Vratsi".