There is a small Russian population in Georgia, making up to 0.7% of the total population in 2014,
[https://www.geostat.ge/en/modules/categories/739/demographic-and-social-characteristics] but rising to more than 3% by the end of 2022, and declining by 31,000 persons in 2023.
[ For many years, ]Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
was a part of the Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
, and later the Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. As the two countries share a border, many Russians
Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...
settled in various regions of Georgia. In 2022, thousands of Russians fled to Georgia, especially Russian men of fighting age, in order to escape mobilization in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
.
During the Soviet period, most Russians were urban dwellers and made up a disproportionately high percentage of the urban population. In 1959, there were more than 125,000 Russians in Tbilisi alone (18.1%). In addition to that, Russians made up 36.8% of the population in Sokhumi
Sukhumi or Sokhumi is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the Capital city, capital and largest city of Abkhazia, a partially recognised state that most countries consider a part of Georgia (country), Georgia. The ...
(making them the largest ethnic group there at the time), 31.6% in Rustavi, 26.8% in Poti
Poti ( ka, ფოთი ; Mingrelian language, Mingrelian: ფუთი; Laz language, Laz: ჶაში/Faşi or ფაში/Paşi) is a port city in Georgia (country), Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast in the mkhare, region of ...
and 25.6% in Batumi
Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second-largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast ...
. There was also a sizable rural Russian community in Ninotsminda, consisting mainly of members of the Doukhobor religious group. In many places, Russian served as the lingua franca, as is served as the language of interethnic communication with Georgia's many other minorities. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian was not only abolished as the country's de facto official language, Georgia also faced several wars, economic hardship and ethnic tensions arose. This led to a strong emigration of Russians from Georgia, with their number decreasing from 341,172 in 1989 to 67,671 in 2002 and further declining to only 26,453 in 2014.[
]
History
Ethnic Russians appeared in Georgia in significant numbers after Georgia became part of the Russian Empire in 1803 ( Kartli and Kakheti) - 1878 ( Ajara).
Census data shows that the Russian population had risen from 83 to the high-point of 407,886 between 1926 and 1959 and then began to decline slowly to 341,172 in 1989. Almost all Russians left Georgia during the 1990s due to economic hardships, ethnic tensions and other reasons decreasing percent of Russian population in Georgia from 6.3% in 1989 to 0.5% in 2014.
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, an estimated 100,000 Russian citizens and residents are estimated to have left Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
by mid-March 2022 as economic migrants
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...
. Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...
; in November 2022, average real estate prices were 210% higher than 1 year prior. This has rendered rent unaffordable for Georgian locals, exacerbating pre-existing tensions between Russians and Georgians.[
In October 2022, protests were held demanding the introduction of a visa regime with Russia in order to mitigate the economic damage caused by the migration, with the ruling Georgian Dream party dismissing such a step as "irrational".][After A Frosty Reception, Tbilisi's Wartime Russians Are Beginning To Leave]
RadioFreeEurope RadioLiberty, 21 January 2024.
Abkhazia
Russians made up 2% of the 100,000 population
Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...
of Abkhazia by 1897. Russian population rose between 1926 and 1970 and declined thereafter. Post-independence decline was particularly steep due to the War in Abkhazia.
References
Censuses
Georgia
See also
* Russian emigration following the Russian invasion of Ukraine
* Demographics of Georgia
*Russian diaspora
The Russian diaspora is the global community of Ethnicity, ethnic Russians. The Russian-speaking (''Russophone'') diaspora are the people for whom Russian language is the First language, native language, regardless of whether they are ethnic Russ ...
* Georgia–Russia relations
* Russians in post-Soviet states
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russians In Georgia
Ethnic groups in Georgia (country)