Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

     First of all, allow me to greet you and express my immense gratitude to The University of Montana for having organized this highly important, useful and stimulating international conference. It is my pleasure and duty to express my deep thanks to Professor George M. Dennison, President of The University of Montana, and Professor Mehrdad Kia, Assistant Vice-President for Research, and Director of International Programs, for the kind invitation to take part in this scholarly forum. Attending this conference is a great honor for me and a great pleasure as well.

     My paper deals with contemporary Georgia—one of the so-called new independent states. To be sure, it is unrealistic to present a satisfactory analysis of the situation in Georgia in a short paper. Therefore, I shall here restrict myself to an exposition of some concrete aspects.

     The first issue I should like to discuss embraces some aspects of the ethnic and religious situation in Georgia nowadays. Later, I shall touch upon some geopolitical points, already discussed by Professor Guram Chikovani in his highly interesting and valuable paper. I shall close by presenting a few additional comments concerning Georgia’s participation in new major international transit projects.

     Before proceeding with these topics, I should first like to emphasize that Georgia is a small country with a very ancient and rich history and culture, and that the statehood of Georgia is rooted in antiquity.

     Georgia is essentially a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, with all of the benefits and problems that such a situation entails. Besides the ethnic Georgians, who form the dominant nationality and the strongest demographical majority, comprising 70.1% of the country’s population; there are over 70 other nationalities and ethnic groups residing in Georgia.

     From a socio-cultural viewpoint, religious identity is still one of the strongest factors defining values in post-Soviet Georgian society. And this is not surprising. Like other newly independent states in the post-Soviet era, religious feelings in Georgia underwent a period of explosive revival after being suppressed for many decades by the Soviet system, which was characterized, as you know, by the dominance of atheism and intense anti-religious propaganda.

     The overwhelming majority of ethnic Georgians are Orthodox Christians. The overwhelming majority of Armenians living in Georgia are Gregorian Christians. Adherents of the Roman Catholic Church form the next faction of Georgia’s Christian community. There are several Protestant denominations currently active in Georgia. Small communities of both Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews may be found in Georgia.

     I should now like to draw your attention to the Muslims in Georgia, especially because they form the second largest religious community in the country, after Christians. There are Sunni Muslims among the Georgians living in Ajara and Meshkheti regions, all of them preserving their common Georgian language and Georgian ethnic identity.

     Muslim ethnic Georgians form only one part of the Islamic community in Georgia. Azeris make up another major part of the Islamic community in Georgia. The great majority of them are Shia Muslims.

     Overall, there are over 300 thousand Muslims in Georgia today, all of whom are citizens of Georgia, equal in rights. They include both active believers, who are trying to follow all Islamic rules and rituals, and passive adherents, who are more indifferent to religious requirements. The Islamic communities of Georgia are characterized by a strong demographic impulse, much stronger than the other ethno-religious communities.

     In the context of overall religious revival that is especially impressive in the post-Soviet republics, the rise in the level of religious identity of the Muslim citizens of Georgia is noticeable. A number of new mosques have been constructed in Georgia over the past ten years, and many tens of young people have been sent abroad to obtain a higher Islamic education. Most have gone to Turkey, and others to Iran and some Arab countries. All these processes have been funded predominantly by foreign Islamic organizations. Along these lines, special attention should also be paid to the spread of Vahhabism among the Muslim population of Georgia, mainly among the Muslim Kists of the Pankisi Gorge, but also among young Muslims living in Ajara. These developments have given rise to religious discord between the newly emerged Vahhabits and the adherents of traditional Islam.

     Located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Georgia represents a natural corridor between the two continents and has served as a thoroughfare for hundreds of years. This fact has played an important role in shaping Georgia’s statehood, its outlook, culture and traditions. It is reflected in the rich cultural heritage of the Georgian people, that displays the influence of both Western and Eastern cultures. The Georgians identify themselves as a part of Western culture and see their future as tied to Europe and the West. It is an important characteristic feature of the Georgian people. Another significant characteristic is their tolerance. Centuries of multi-ethnic and multi-cultural interactions have made Georgians tolerant of other ethnic groups, other religions, and other cultures. The tradition of tolerance continues to grow to the present day.

     As already noted, Georgia lies at the heart of the South Caucasus, a region of growing strategic importance. Due to her geographical and geopolitical situation, Georgia is acquiring an evermore prominent place in the process of global, political, economic, and cultural dialogue between East and West. Yet, it still retains the role of an important junction where the political, economic, and strategic interests of the major states of the world cross and will cross in the future.

     The future economic growth of Georgia is closely linked to the development of its transport and communication system. The country must be able to use its favorable position to link the Western world with the Caspian Basin and Central Asia’s important deposits of oil and gas, and connect Asian countries to the Black Sea region by a system of highways and railroads.

     It is worth noting that Georgia has a special place in an international program intended to revive the ancient Silk Road. Under the aegis of the European Union, the Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia was launched. The above projects and plans coincide with the construction of the supermodern fiber optic cable system through the South Caspian region. This project will help to create a new economic climate in the Eurasian area, as well as build a new economic architecture based on democratic values. This will intensify the process of Georgia’s world economic integration.

     One of the major pieces of the Transport-Corridor-Europe-Caucasus-Asia project is the building of pipelines This emphasis is quite natural because the basis for attaining real independence, economic well-being, and sovereignty of the countries involved in the project lies in their energy resources. It is clear that one of the main preconditions for effective implementation of the transport corridor project is the unimpeded and safe development of projects to transport Caspian and Central Asian hydrocarbons to the Western world markets through the South Caucasus, including the territory of Georgia. Commissioning of the Western Route Export Pipeline from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea ports of Georgia, and the realization of the Baku-Supsa Early Oil Pipeline Project have marked a decisive first step in this direction. The next and most important stage in the development of Caspian oil and gas transportation is directly linked with the implementation of such new and major strategic projects of the 21st century as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Main Export Pipeline and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzrum South Caspian Gas Pipeline in which Georgia is included since 1999.

     The successful implementation of these major pipeline projects and the further development of the East-West Energy Corridor, which crosses Georgia, will significantly increase the interest of Western nations in the Black Sea, South Caucasus, and Caspian region countries. Their completion will stimulate and intensify mutually beneficial regional cooperation, create a favorable investment climate for attracting foreign investment to Georgia and the other countries of the region, and promote their independent and democratic development and integration into the world community. It is important to emphasize that these large-scale transportation projects are welcomed and supported by the United States of America and by other leading Western countries.

     I should like to close by drawing your attention to a significant fact of Georgia’s contemporary political history. On March 31, 1991, a referendum on Georgia’s independence was carried out and received the support of an overwhelming majority of the population. On the basis of this referendum, on April 9, 1991, Georgia officially declared and proclaimed the restoration of its independent statehood. Just twelve years ago this week, Georgia celebrated the twelfth anniversary of its independence. The years since independence have been a hard struggle with many serious obstacles, several tragic events, and ethno-political conflicts. Complicated social, political, economic and psychological problems have been painful for our people, but are actually quite natural for a newly independent state.

     Today one could say that in Georgia’s new democratic biography, the first twelve years of “childhood” came to an end, and the country entered into the thirteenth year of its new existence. Thus figuratively speaking, Georgia is not a little child, but rather a “teenager.” As you know teenagers have a lot of their own specific problems and difficulties, and Georgia in its teens, will continue to have many such specific problems and difficulties in various fields of political, economic, and social life. I am a realist and I understand that it is very difficult to overcome all of these problems and obstacles. However, I am also an optimist. Georgia’s orientation toward Western models and values; support of market-oriented reform and of civic values; and gradual integration into the international community and global processes is good reason for moderate optimism for the near future, and brighter hopes for the long run.

     We Georgians do indeed have the prerequisites for real optimism: rich natural and mineral resources, an ancient and rich cultural heritage; high intellectual potential; attractive geopolitical location; and finally, a qualified generation of young political and economic leaders to guide our nation towards genuine democratic society in the new 21st century.

     Allow me to close my address by telling you a story. At a symposium on Caucasian Studies, which I attended in Berlin, an elderly German professor had these words to say about Georgia’s present situation and future prospects: “Georgia today is like a small ship on the open sea, moving slowly but persistently towards the distant shores of western freedom and democracy.” For my part, I would like to add that although twelve years have passed since a small Georgian ship left a “red harbor” of its grievous Soviet past, it is still only the beginning of its westward voyage.

     Happy voyage, my dear small ship!