Republic of Georgia (disambiguation)

Republic of Georgia may refer to several political entities or historical periods associated with the country of Georgia in the South Caucasus.

The term has most commonly been used in English to describe the modern Georgian state and its predecessors, colloquially used to differentiate the country from the U.S. State of Georgia. In historiography, the term "Republic of Georgia" has been applied to successive political entities governing the country.

Historical use

In academic literature, the concept of successive “republics” of Georgia is sometimes employed as a framework to periodize the country’s modern political development. However, the numbering and classification of these republics vary among authors and are not standardized.

The expression "First Republic" is used in media and literature to refer to the Democratic Republic of Georgia (1918-1921), the first independent Georgian state of the 20th century. Some scholars and commentators also use the term "republic" to describe later republican phases, including the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, the early post-Soviet state following the restoration of independence in 1991, and subsequent constitutional or political periods. Historians, including Stephen Jones, have disputed the appellation of "Second Republic" to Soviet Georgia, arguing that Georgia during that time was not governed independently.

On 14 November 1990, the Supreme Council of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, elected previously in the republic's first multiparty elections under Soviet rule, officially renamed the country Republic of Georgia by passing the Changing the Name of the Georgian SSR Act. On 3 January 1992, the Military Council that took power following the 1991-92 coup d'état proclaimed the restoration of the 1921 Constitution, confirming the country's legal name as Republic of Georgia. The appellation was formally dropped in 1995 when the new Constitution chose simply Georgia as its formal constitutional name.

Republic of Georgia

Below is a list of political entities that have been called, either formally or in academic work, Republic of Georgia:

• Democratic Republic of Georgia (1918-1921), also known as the "First Republic", the independent entity that governed Georgia between the Russian Revolution and the 1921 Red Army invasion;
• Republic of Georgia (1990-1992), also known as the "Second Republic", the entity that declared Georgia's independence in 1991 and existed during the presidency of Zviad Gamsakhurdia;
• Republic of Georgia (1992-1995), also known as the "Third Republic", which existed in a transitory period before the Constitution was adopted in 1995;
• Georgia (1995-2004), also known as the "Fourth Republic", the entity existing immediately following the adoption of the 1995 Constitution, under the presidency of Eduard Shevardnadze;
• Georgia (2004-), also known as the "Fifth Republic", the modern Georgian state, existing under the constitutional framework established following the Rose Revolution.

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