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Where is Tbilisi?

Tbilisi is in the heart of Georgia, its exact location slightly to the southeast of the country’s geographic center.

While not a coastal city, two major bodies of water are nearby: the Tbilisi Reservoir, an artificial lake created next to the city that has become a popular recreation area, and the Kura River, known locally as the Mtkvari. The river was once navigable; now, extensive use by farming operations have made the river impossible to travel fully via boat.

Neighboring countries to Georgia include Russia to the north, Turkey to the southwest, Armenia to the south, and Azerbaijan to the southeast. Additionally, there are two areas within Georgia that are disputed: South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which have both proclaimed their independence but remain largely unrecognized by the international community.

what happened after its founding?

A whole lot. As the area is strategically advantageous, many empires throughout history have tried to get their hands on Tbilisi.

Before all that, however, King Dachi of Iberia moved the capital of the whole empire to this new city, constructing a wall around its perimeter to keep out intruders.

As we’ll soon see, this didn’t work out too well. The following centuries had Tbilisi moving from the hands of the Iberians to the Persians to the Byzantine Empire/Khazars to the Arabs then back to the Khazars before returning to the hands of the Arabs, who held it for about 200 years before it was sacked by the Seljuk Turks.

This seemingly endless exchange of ownership lasted around 500 years, with each new empire adding a new architectural and cultural element to the city. Finally, the Georgians had enough, and King David IV of Georgia fought the Seljuks to declare Tbilisi the capital of a new, unified Georgian state.

Georgia’s Golden Age

For about a century (1122-1226), Tbilisi really came into its own as a city.

Its economy exploded, and it became increasingly known for its cultural output. This period, though relatively brief, is a shining mark on the history of the city; numerous works of art and literature were produced during this time that made Tbilisi known across the globe. This is why that hundred-or-so year period is now referred to as “Georgia’s Golden Age” or the “Georgian Renaissance.”

An illustration by Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1717).

The Russian Revolution

The Russian Revolution marked a change across the world — a change especially felt in Tbilisi.

In the first years following the revolution, no one was quite sure what the city — or even the entire country of Georgia — was to become. An interim government was set up in the region that united Georgia with Armenia, Azerbaijan, some parts of Turkey, and a few Russian borderlands. This was to be called the “Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic,” and its capital could be found in Tbilisi.

Was this the final answer to the question of what was to be done with a post-Russian Revolution Tbilisi?

Of course not. The new government was a disaster, and Georgia declared their independence after only a month, with the federation fully dissolving a few days later. Georgia began operating as an independent country, establishing more institutions like universities for the betterment of its people. But this, too, was not to last.

Here Come the Soviets

In 1921, the Soviet Bolsheviks invaded and established Georgia as a new Soviet Socialist Republic alongside Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Apparently not learning their lesson from the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic, the Soviets attempted to unite the three nations into one unified constituent republic to consolidate their economies. This new federation was given the catchy title of “The Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic,” or the “Transcaucasian SFSR” for short, and Tbilisi served as its capital.

These unified nations would be part of the initial group of four republics to sign the treaty in 1922 establishing the Soviet Union. But the Transcaucasian SFSR only lasted for a brief period, with the three nations dividing into individual Soviet Socialist Republics in 1936.

Industrialization swept rapidly through Tbilisi. New factories were constructed, and after just a few years of Soviet rule, the city again came to be seen as a strong force in the fields of politics, culture, and more.

For as much good as the Soviets did in reestablishing Tbilisi on the international map, their presence in the region remains controversial even to this day. People were sent to gulags and war; others faced persecution for their ideas.

Still, many firmly believed in Marxist-Leninist thought, and when the Georgian-born Stalin took over as leader of the USSR, support in the region held strong. 

The 1956 Tbilisi Riots

Following his death, much of the USSR had to reckon with the impact that Stalin’s rule had over the spread of nations. Knowledge of his crimes and the cruelty of many of his policies was widespread, but for some, these crimes were seen as necessary to pursue the ultimate Soviet Communist goal.

When Nikita Khrushchev took over the USSR, he responded to this reckoning by beginning a de-Stalinization process, rolling back some of the more authoritarian policies implemented during Stalin’s rule.

Some Georgians who saw Stalin as a local figure to be proud of took this as a personal affront, and on the third anniversary of Stalin’s death on March 4th, 1956, many of Tbilisi’s youth poured into the city center to honor the man.

What started as a celebration of his life quickly became a rebellion against the government. The crowd grew bigger by the day, and tensions increased between locals, government figures, and police. These tensions culminated on March 9th, when troops began firing upon the protesters. No one is sure how many died as no official report was ever made, but estimates are between 100 and 800 people.

The massacre began a long, slow process where Georgia felt increasingly distanced from the Soviet Union. This was also manifested in other protests, such as the peaceful 1978 demonstrations and another massacre, the April 9th tragedy in 1989, which began as a peaceful protest.

The Later Soviet Years

Toward the end of the Soviet period, Tbilisi became a tourist hotspot. The Old Town was reconstructed, and the city even hosted the Soviet Union’s first ever rock and roll festival.

But Georgia was not handling perestroika well.

After Jumber Patiashvili took over as ruler of the Georgia SSR, tensions between locals and the government in Moscow hit an all-time high. Nationalist movements arose, with an increasing number of people proposing independence as the only solution to the issues that still plagued the country. In 1990, democratic parliamentary elections were held, and by 1991, the nation had declared its independence.

A photo from my recent trip to Tbilisi.

THE MODERN DAY

Today, Tbilisi is again seen as an on-the-rise cultural capital, a hub for music, fashion, art, and more.

I’ve written about the many great vegetarian and vegan restaurants in the city, but the internet is filled with recent articles about its techno scene and the rise of youth movements in the city.

Additionally, Georgian wine, famous in the Soviet Union, has now reentered the international market, and I can personally vouch that it is delicious.

Tbilisi is one of my favorite cities in the entire world, and I cannot recommend a visit strongly enough!

What excites you most about Tbilisi? Leave a comment down below!

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