Transcaucasian countries. The uniqueness of the EGP of Transcaucasia

Transcaucasia (South Caucasus) is a geopolitical region located on the border of Eastern Europe and South-West Asia, lying south of the main, or watershed, ridge of the Greater Caucasus. Transcaucasia includes most of the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus, the Colchis Lowland and the Kura Depression, the Lesser Caucasus, the Javakheti-Armenian Highlands, the Talysh Mountains with the Lenkoran Lowland. Within the South Caucasus there are three independent states: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia. In the same region are: Abkhazia and South Ossetia, whose independence is recognized only by Russia and five other countries. Transcaucasia borders on the Russian Federation in the north, and Turkey and Iran in the south.

Azerbaijan is a state in Eurasia, in the eastern part of Transcaucasia, on the southwestern coast of the Caspian Sea. Population 9,493,600 people, territory - 86,600 km².

Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Transcaucasian region.

It borders with Russia (Dagestan) and Georgia (Kvemo Kartli and Kakheti) in the north, Armenia in the west and Iran in the south.

Part of the territory of Azerbaijan is controlled by the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, part by Armenia.

The capital of the country is the city of Baku.

President – ​​Ilham Aliyev

The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, proclaimed in 1918, is called the first democratic republic in the Muslim world.

Armenia

It is located in the north of the geographical region of Western Asia and the northeast of the Armenian Highlands. It has no access to the sea. It borders with Azerbaijan and the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) in the east. In the southwest with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, which is part of Azerbaijan. With Iran in the south, Turkey in the west and Georgia in the north.

Population 3,018,854 people, territory - 29,743 km².

The capital is Yerevan. The official language is Armenian.

Unitary state, presidential republic.

President - Serzh Sargsyan,

About 98.7% of the population professes Christianity.

Georgia is a state located in Western Asia and the Middle East, in the western part of Transcaucasia on the eastern coast of the Black Sea. Georgia borders Turkey and Armenia in the south, Azerbaijan in the southeast and Russia in the north. The territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are not controlled by the Georgian government and are considered by it, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the European Commission.

Capital – Tbilisi

Form of government – ​​presidential republic

President - Mikheil Saakashvili

Territory - 69,700 km

Population - 4,497,600

Abkhazia is a disputed territory in the northwestern part of the southern slope of the Main Caucasus Range, on the southeastern coast of the Black Sea. According to the international legal status, the Republic of Abkhazia is actually a partially recognized state, according to the administrative-territorial division of Georgia - the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia within Georgia.

The territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are not controlled by the Georgian government and are regarded by it, the United States and the European Commission as parts of Georgia occupied by Russia.

In the north and northeast it borders with Russia (Krasnodar Territory and the Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia); in the southeast and south with the Samegrelo and Zemo Svaneti region of Georgia.

It consists of 7 historical regions (the 7 stars on the state flag remind of this) - Minor Abkhazia, Bzypyn, Guma, Abzhua, Samurzakan, Dal-Tsabal, Pskhu-Aibga. As of October 2012, there are 8 cities and 105 villages in Abkhazia.

In total, representatives of 67 different nations now live in Abkhazia.

Capital – Sukhum

Presidential-parliamentary republic

President – ​​Alexander Ankvab

Population – 240,705

Territory - 8665 km²

South Ossetia is a partially recognized state in Transcaucasia. Landlocked. The issue of the international legal status of South Ossetia is controversial: the independence of the Republic of South Ossetia in 2008-2011. was recognized by Russia and four other UN member states (Nicaragua, Nauru, Venezuela and Tuvalu).

Capital - Tskhinvali Form of government - Presidential Republic

President - Leonid Tibilov

Territory - 3900 km²

Population - 72,000

20. Ethnopolitical conflicts in Transcaucasia (history, causes, prospects for resolution).

This region includes three countries that are former republics of the Soviet Union. On the one hand, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan differ quite significantly from each other. On the other hand, they are close not only geographically. They are also united into one region by the common history of recent centuries and many pressing problems that have common roots. The key country in this part of Asia is Georgia.

Georgia

General information. The official name is the Republic of Georgia. The capital is Tbilisi (1,200,000 people). Area - more than 69 thousand km 2 (118th place in the world). Population - 5 million people (106th place). The official language is Georgian. The monetary unit is l ari.

Geographical position. The country is located in the central and western parts of Transcaucasia. The western part of Georgia has wide access to the Black Sea. Directly borders four countries. In the north and northeast it is Russia, in the east and southeast it is Azerbaijan, in the south it is Armenia and Turkey. The current geographical position of Georgia is not very favorable. It is surrounded by crisis countries and some of their territories, where war continues almost continuously. Particularly extreme is the border between Georgia and the North Caucasus of the Russian Federation.

History of origin and development. BC, the states of Colchis and Iberia arose on the territory of modern Georgia. In the 1st century BC That is, they became dependent on the Roman Empire, and in the 4th century. n. e. accepted Christianity. In the 5th century Iberia (Kartliya) was annexed to Persia. From the 8th century turned into an independent state, which reached its peak in the 12th century. during the reign of Queen Tamara. Later it split into Kartli, Kakheti and Imereti. In the 19th century it was annexed to Russia. The growth of the national liberation struggle led to the revival of an independent state in 1917. However, in 1921. Georgia was occupied by Russian Soviet troops. RUB 31,922 Joined the USSR as part of the Transcaucasian Federation (together with Azerbaijan and Armenia). In 1936 it became a union republic. After the declaration of independence in 1991, acute internal conflicts constantly continue in the state due to attempts to separate the autonomies (Abkhazia, Adjara, South Ossetia), which escalated into a civil war with Russian intervention. Conflicts have become mothballed and entered a chronic stage. Georgia is constantly trying to leave Russia's tutelage and join the EU and NATO.

State system and form of government. Georgia is a unitary state and a presidential republic. The head of state and head of the executive branch is the president. The government is headed by the prime minister. The highest legislative body is parliament. It is unicameral and consists of 235 deputies elected for a term of 4 years. Administratively, Georgia is divided into 10 districts, 2 autonomous republics and 1 autonomous region.

Natural conditions and resources. The relief of Georgia is very diverse. Mountains and plateaus predominate. The highest point in the country, Mount Shkhara (5,068 m), is located in the north of Georgia in the Greater Caucasus Mountains. In the south, a volcanic highland rises to a height of more than 1,000 meters above sea level. In the east of the country, mountain systems are no higher than 2 thousand meters. The western part is occupied by the flat Colchis lowland.

Most of Georgia lies in the subtropical climate zone. In the west, off the Black Sea coast, there are humid subtropics. In winter, the temperature of the coldest month (January) is up to + 6 ° C. The amount of precipitation is up to 2000 mm per year. Further east, the climate becomes more continental. There is less precipitation. Winter is cold and summer is warmer.

A dense river network and deep rivers where there is a lot of precipitation, that is, in the west. The largest rivers Rioni and Kura belong to the basins of different seas. There are frequent floods on the rivers of Western Georgia. There are few lakes in the country.

The soil cover of Georgia is very variegated. In the west, red and yellow soils dominate. In the east there are chestnut, brown and black soils. Brown forest soils formed under the mountain forests. Subtropical podzolic and bog soils are widespread in the Colchis Lowland.

A unique and rich flora. There are endemic and relict species, such as cherry laurel, boxwood, persimmon, etc. Significant forest cover of the territory reaches 35%. There are valuable types of trees - beech, oak, hornbeam, spruce, pine, etc. The forests are home to roe deer, red deer, lynx, and brown bear. In the Caucasus Mountains you can still find chamois, bezokarov goats, and aurochs.

The main mineral resources are manganese ore and coal. There are significant deposits of copper and polymetallic ores. Rich reserves of valuable building materials, in particular tuff and marble. There are numerous sources of thermal waters. The rivers have significant reserves of hydropower resources.

The largest natural resources of Georgia of world importance are recreational resources. Among them, unique mineral healing waters stand out.

Population. The population density in Georgia is 72 people per 1 km2. Natural conditions determine the unevenness of its distribution; settlements are rare in mountainous areas. Almost 90% of the population lives at altitudes not exceeding 1000 m. They occupy only 46% of the country's territory. The urban population predominates - 59%. In addition to the capital, the largest cities include Kutaisi (240 thousand people), Rustavi (156 thousand people). The country has seen a slight increase in population - 2.8%. In addition to Georgians (72% of the population), there are Armenians (8%) and Russians (6%). Orthodox Christians predominate among believers (66%). Muslim Georgians live in Adjara (11%).

Farming. Georgia is an industrial-agrarian state with a specific combination of economic sectors that has developed historically. First of all, this is the mining of manganese ore, the food industry, subtropical agriculture and the recreational complex.

Industry is represented by energy, based on the mining of coal in Tkibuli and Tkvarcheli, and the production of electricity at thermal and hydroelectric power plants. The largest among the latter is the Inguri hydroelectric power station.

Ferrous metallurgy is represented by the Rustavi metallurgical plant and the ferroalloy plant in Zestafoni. They work on local manganese and imported iron ores. There are enterprises for the extraction and enrichment of copper and polymetallic ores. A powerful chemical plant operates in Rustavi, which produces nitrogen fertilizers, synthetic resins, fibers, and caprolactam. There are several enterprises in the woodworking, furniture and pulp and paper industries.

There are six large light industrial factories in the country. They produce silk and cotton fabrics, knitwear, carpets and shoes.

The most part of the Georgian economy is its extensive agro-industrial complex. Here they grow tea, citrus fruits, wheat, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, grapes, tobacco; Cattle (1 million heads) and sheep are raised. Processing branches of the food industry are represented by enterprises of the tea, wine and fruit and vegetable canning industries. Famous Georgian wines, which have no analogues in the world, are produced in Kakheti and Imereti, cognac and champagne - in Tbilisi. Throughout the territory there are numerous factories that produce canned fruit and vegetables. Other branches of the food industry include the bottling of mineral waters, the production of tung and essential oils, the tobacco and butter-cheese industries.

Georgia's transport network is represented by railways (about 1,500 km) and roads (11 thousand km). There are significant seaports of Poti, Batumi, Sukhumi and the Baku-Supsa oil pipeline.

Culture and social development. In the country, 99% of the population is literate. There are 19 higher educational institutions in Georgia. There are 32 theaters and 10 museums. The Gelati Monastery belongs to the world-class historical and cultural heritage. Total in the UNESCO list - C objects. The average life expectancy is 76 years, for men - 69 years. The largest newspaper is Sakartvelos Republic.

On July 22, 1992, diplomatic relations were established between Ukraine and the Republic of Georgia through an exchange of notes. There is an embassy and trade and economic mission of the Republic of Georgia in Kyiv.

Questions and tasks

1. Justify why Georgia is given a key place among the countries of Transcaucasia.

2. Why is the population of Georgia distributed so unevenly?

3. What resources for economic development are there in Georgia?

Traditionally Caucasus is divided into three regions: the Caucasus, North Caucasus And Transcaucasia. Territory Caucasus divided between Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia(incl. Abkhazia And South Ossetia) And Russia.

The Caucasus is not only a natural geographical boundary between Europe and Asia, the Near and Middle East, but also the oldest transport artery and a source of strategic natural energy resources - oil And gas.

Geographical position

The region's territory is about 440 thousand km².

Relief

The Caucasus is located within the Alpine-Himalayan movable belt with active recent tectonic movements and is characterized by a variety of mountain relief. Located in the center of Ciscaucasia Stavropol Upland(highest point - Mt. Strizhament, 831 m), dividing Kubano-Priazovskaya And Tersko-Kumskaya lowlands. In the south of the Ciscaucasia in the interfluve Terek And Sunzhi there are two low mountain ranges - Tersky And Sunzhensky, separated by the Alkhanchurt valley.

Physical card

The Greater Caucasus mountain system is divided into West, gradually increasing from Taman Peninsula before Elbrus(highest point of the Caucasus, 5642 m), high mountain Central(between Elbrus and Kazbek) And Oriental, descending from Kazbek to Absheron Peninsula. In the central part, the mountain system is greatly compressed, and in the west and east it is expanded. Its northern slope is long and gentle, and its southern slope is short and steep. Greater Caucasus Range divides North Caucasus And Transcaucasia. Highest point Alps - Mont Blanc(4807 m) - inferior peaks of the Caucasus: Mizhirgi (5025 m), Kazbek(5033 m), Dzhangi-tau(5058 m), Shkhara(5068 m), Pushkin Peak (5100 m), Koshtan-tau(5152 m) nearest five-thousander, highest point Asia Minor - Ararat(5165 m), inferior to the peaks: Dykhtau(5204 m) Elbrus(5642 m). All five-thousanders of the Greater Caucasus, excluding Kazbek and Shkhara in Georgia, are situated in Kabardino-Balkaria.

To the south of the Greater Caucasus are the Transcaucasian depressions, occupied by the swampy Colchis lowland in the west and the arid Kura-Araks lowland and Alazani plain in the east. The lowlands are separated by the submeridional Likhsky ridge, connecting the Greater and Lesser Caucasus.

To the south of the Transcaucasian lowlands is the Transcaucasian Highlands, which includes the Lesser Caucasus and the Javakheti-Armenian Highlands. The Lesser Caucasus forms a 600-kilometer arc of a series of medium-altitude ridges 2000-2500 m high, separated by intermountain basins. The highest point is Mount Gamish (3724 m). The Javakheti-Armenian Plateau consists of volcanic plateau, dissected by deeply incised canyons, and plains at an altitude of 1500-200 m (?) with volcanic ridges rising above them, separated by intermountain depressions at an altitude of 700-1200 m. The highest point is Mt. Aragats(4090 m).

Elbrus

The rise of mountains (up to 1.5 cm per year) and the lowering of lowlands (2-6 mm per year) cause increased seismicity Caucasus (up to 10 points), especially in the northwestern part of the Javakheti-Armenian Highlands ( last catastrophic earthquake was there in 1988). Meetings are active in the mountains glaciers, avalanche, mudflows, and landslides and rockfalls. Processes are typical on the plains deflation, suffusion and waterlogging. Widely developed karst, especially in the Greater Caucasus ( New Athos Cave, Vorontsovskaya cave system, Snow abyss (one of the deepest in the world, 1370 m), karst plateau Lagonaki).

Plans
The first question: why the Caucasus? Why Chechnya and Dagestan? It's scary, news, terrorists, explosions...
What do we know about the Caucasus? Imagine that the news about Moscow or St. Petersburg would only contain murders, robberies, road accidents, domestic violence, and not a word about life. We would think that living in these cities is scary. But in fact it is true: it is more dangerous in Moscow than in the Caucasus.
The Caucasus has never scared us. I just didn’t get around to going there properly.

In February, our long-awaited daughter Nina was born. From four months m Well, of course, it was worth going to places more convenient for travel. But then Anya’s maternity leave coincided with a catastrophic fall in the ruble, so Europe for a month (and less is not interesting) was out of the question. All this made us look carefully to the east and to the Caucasus, where we actually often looked. At first there were plans to go to the Tien ShanIssyk-kul, but we were afraid of high-altitude acclimatization for a baby and the wild heat. That's for another time.

We have already been to the Caucasus several times. Kirill often visited the Elbrus region as a child; we had already traveled to Armenia, Georgia and Abkhazia, and visited Ossetia and Adygea. This trip was supposed to fill out our general understanding of the Caucasus and Transcaucasia.

Gradually a sketch of the route took shape. Ingushetia, Chechnya, Dagestan, Azerbaijan. There are quite a few artistic monuments in these parts, this is what we planned over and above reimburse in Armenia. We already traveled to Armenia 12 years ago. Now we wanted to see in detail Tavush, Gegharkunik, Vayots Dzor and Syunik. It was planned to travel back and forth through Georgia, only to visit St. Nina in Bodbe.

Some conclusions and impressions
Traveling with three children, one of whom is an infant, is quite a troublesome task. When we traveled to the Balkans with two-month-old Ksenia, we had several teenagers with us who could always pick up a crying child in their arms and free the adults for cooking, getting ready, etc. Now we were alone, and much more worries fell on the shoulders of adults and children than on previous trips. And our camping household has grown: Sanya moved into his own tent, Kirill gave me a Decathlon field kitchen for Christmas. All this needs to be set up, assembled and disassembled later, the time for setting up the camp has increased. Every day Sasha set up his tent, kitchen and inflated all three mattresses. Ksenya set up the table and chairs, carried all the things, and helped in the kitchen. The children took turns being on duty and washed the dishes themselves every day. It would seem that what adults should do, everything has already been done, but not here and there was. Previously, we were always able to sit in silence together after putting the children to bed, talk over tea or wine, discuss our day and plans for the coming one. Now after putting the kids to bed we did the laundry. It also unites, but not as much of a paddle. We were pretty tired, so what? Nina chose a specific regime for herself, waking us up every day at 6 am. This is very convenient when traveling to hot countries; we managed to leave before the fierce sun, but we also had to go to bed early, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to get up later with the younger lark. The conclusion is simple - during a nomadic life, children must help along with adults, otherwise the trip will not be a joy for anyone, and for this they need to be properly organized, which again requires strength, strength, and more strength from parents. I'm afraid this paragraph may look too bleak. Everything is not so bad, but you need to set yourself up correctly in advance and realize your real capabilities, so as not to be disappointed later. For example, we overestimated them. It turned out that we couldn’t go far from the car with the baby: she couldn’t sit in a backpack for a long time, and the stroller couldn’t travel in the mountains. Our favorite overnight trips to the mountains disappeared so much; we carried backpacks just like that. But they compensated the children for this by living at sea and on Sevan. So you need to prepare in advance for bad scenarios. We felt very sorry for Ninochka and constantly adjusted everything to her, so she endured the trip perfectly. No illnesses, scandals or problems. On the second row in the chair all month lay unconditional happiness, blooming with a smile at the first opportunity.

It was all about the peculiarities of traveling with three children, one of whom is not even sitting yet. Now about the Caucasus.

The first general impression is difficult to formulate. You drive for many days through gorges that are completely different from each other, walk through villages, meet temples and mosques, talk with people and are amazed that all this incredible diversity and often even completely incompatible and opposite reality, everything This- Russia . But this unity, of course, was achieved by the sweat and blood of many generations of Russian people, as evidenced by the Caucasus Mountains themselves: there is no place in which battles did not take place during the Chechen wars or the Caucasus wars of the nineteenth century. This is the land of heroes. For the Russian ear, many village names have an overtone of grief. In every village, even in abandoned highland villages, there are monuments to those who died in the Great Patriotic War, even our children fell silent at the lists of the dead and were amazed, crushed by the realized truth. Whether it is Dagestan, Chechnya or Azerbaijan, there are heroes of that war everywhere.

The beauty of the mountains cannot be described, you can try to convey it in photographs, but it is better to see it with your own eyes. The Caucasus is amazing and diverse, it is not inferior to the Alps one iota, but it does not attract so many travelers. Here there is something to discover than to admire alone.
Many borders and terrible roads give travel to the Caucasus the flavor of an expedition.

A region in Asia located south of the Main, or Watershed, Range of the Greater Caucasus. Transcaucasia includes most of the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus, the Colchis Lowland and the Kura Depression, the Karabakh Mountains, the Armenian Highlands, the Talysh Mountains with the Lenkoran Lowland.

Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, as well as partially recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic are located within. It borders on the north with the Russian Federation, on the south with Turkey and Iran. In recent years, the term “South Caucasus” has become widespread in international documents to designate Transcaucasia.

Climate.

and the nature of both parts of Transcaucasia is very different. Eastern Transcaucasia has a continental climate with little precipitation; Western Transcaucasia, on the contrary, has a maritime climate and is irrigated very abundantly. Many areas of Eastern Transcaucasia require artificial irrigation, while in Western Transcaucasia, on the contrary, some places suffer from excess moisture.

Story.

Transcaucasia is a geopolitical region separate from the Caucasus, which since ancient times has represented a link between the countries of the East and the West and was located at the crossroads of trade routes between the Near and Middle East and Europe, migration waves, and armies of conquerors who sought to conquer the ancient and medieval states of Transcaucasia. There were wide trade and cultural ties between these states among themselves and with the neighboring countries of Europe and the East - Iran, India, China, etc. Here in the 9th-6th centuries BC. there was one of the oldest states in the world - Urartu, later Armenia, which during the period of its power covered the entire Armenian Highlands, and closer to our era - the Colchis kingdom, Caucasian Albania (Agvank), Armenia. Masterpieces of architecture and outstanding literary monuments remain from ancient civilizations.

The presence of fertile lands, water resources and a mild climate contributed to the creation of developed agriculture - irrigated agriculture, pasture farming. Trade led to the development of crafts, the construction of cities, and the development of transport. On the other hand, rich lands constantly attracted the attention of strong and warlike neighbors - first it was the Roman Empire, then Byzantium, the Arabs. In the XIII-XV centuries - the Tatar-Mongols and Tamerlane. Transcaucasia then became the object of rivalry between Persia (Iran) and the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). The Middle Ages were a time of endless wars, feudal strife and devastating campaigns of foreign conquerors. The southern neighbors treated Christians - Georgians and Armenians - especially cruelly. It was somewhat easier for the peoples who converted to Islam.

Further developments could lead to virtually complete physical extermination of the Christian peoples of Transcaucasia. Under these conditions, joining Russia at the beginning of the 19th century contributed to the survival of the Transcaucasian peoples and their introduction to the values ​​of European civilization.

The Soviet period in the history of Transcaucasia was marked by a significant rise in industry in the region, the strengthening of economic ties within the USSR, the leveling of the level of socio-economic development of the Transcaucasian republics, an increase in the educational level of the population, and the creation of a large national intelligentsia. At the same time, the level of development of the productive forces remained insufficient for the full use of human resources, especially in rural areas, which led to an outflow of the population to cities and outside the Transcaucasus.

The liberalization of political life and the development of glasnost in the late 1980s and early 1990s led to a sharp rise in nationalism, for which the leadership of the republics turned out to be unprepared. A chain reaction began, which ultimately led to the decision to secede from the USSR. Events in Transcaucasia played an important role in the collapse of the Soviet Union. A series of bloody conflicts occurred between Azerbaijan, Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, Georgia and Abkhazia, Georgia and South Ossetia.

Transcaucasia after the collapse of the USSR.

At the moment, in Azerbaijan, a significant part of foreign exchange income comes to the republic from numerous Azerbaijani citizens engaged in economic activities in Russia. The main export pipeline Baku - Tbilisi - Ceyhan has been built, which will provide Azerbaijan with an alternative access to world hydrocarbon markets.

Armenia is experiencing difficulties communicating with the outside world, being blocked by two neighboring countries - Azerbaijan and Turkey. The country has been at war since the early 1990s. Georgia has to solve a whole tangle of interconnected problems - problems with the economy, the resort Black Sea coast of Abkhazia is inaccessible, social tension in internal Georgia is increased by the presence of several hundred thousand refugees from Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The influence of Transcaucasia on art.

At the end of the 3rd - beginning of the 4th century. in western Transcaucasia - Armenia and Georgia - feudal relations developed, which was facilitated by the adoption of Christianity at the very beginning of the 4th century. Being politically dependent on the Byzantine Empire and the Iranian Sassanid state, the peoples of Transcaucasia accepted the progressive elements of their culture. Along with this, the vibrant, uniquely evolving culture of each of these peoples itself influenced the development of architecture. A particularly large contribution to world architecture was made in the 4th-7th centuries. during the formation of the eastern school of Byzantine architecture, which was then strongly influenced by Transcaucasian architecture. During this era, the architecture of Armenia and Georgia developed in similar ways.