Why was Georgia the Richest Soviet Republic? Cold War DOCUMENTARY

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Our historical documentary series on the history of the Cold War continues with a video on why Georgia was among the richest Soviet Republics. Dive deep into the intriguing history of the Georgian SSR within the Soviet Union. Explore how political shifts, including Stalin's influence and Khrushchev's destalinisation, shaped the republic's unique economic landscape. From the privileged tourism industry to the surprising disparities in wealth, this video dissects the hidden truths behind the perceived affluence of Soviet Georgia.
Uncover the clandestine world of the shadow economy that thrived under the radar, revealing the interconnected web of corruption, black markets, and informal networks. Discover how the Georgian SSR became a hotbed of hidden trade, where party officials and enterprising individuals operated a quasi-capitalist system within the socialist framework.
Witness the rise of corrupt businessmen, the disproportionate influence of party membership, and the tangled web of illicit deals that propelled certain individuals to unprecedented wealth. Understand the societal values and cultural nuances that facilitated the growth of this shadow economy, defying official statistics and reshaping the republic's economic reality.
From the attempts to curb corruption by leaders like Shevardnadze to the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union and its catastrophic aftermath on Georgia's economy, follow the tumultuous journey that led to the present-day challenges in Georgian politics. Join us in unraveling the complex tale of power, wealth, and enduring legacies that continue to shape Georgia's post-Soviet landscape.
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#coldwar #Georgia #USSR

[@TheColdWarTV]

Play War Thunder now with my link, and get a massive, free bonus pack including vehicles, boosters and more: playwt.link/thecoldwar

[@diegoyanesholtz212]

Do an episode on the russian mafia or other criminal groups that had and operated in the USSR?

[@deshaun9473]

Hi. I have a friend (I'm more than a bit precocious) who grew up in the 50s and 60s in the early Cold War. We often discuss things that happened in her life back in those days. But, she totally dismissed the idea of the Cold War as this global conflict. She said it was just "a war of words and threats." What do you think about that?

[@crazyviking24]

Tbilisi was built on a hot mineral springs originally. So it is not surprising that it is a tourist destination.

[@CarefreeMan]

*Odd that you've been here for 14 hours, despite the video being posted only 1 hour ago.*

[@TheColdWarTV]

Patreon and KZbin members get early access to our videos...the perks of membership!

[@CarefreeMan]

@@TheColdWarTV *I had a feeling that was the cause. Thanks for clarifying!*

[@crazyviking24]

@@TheColdWarTV Definitely worth the cost

[@TheColdWarTV]

don't think of it as a cost...think of it as an investment in my future! Oh, and your entertainment :D

[@ville82]

Visited Georgia earlier this year, absolutely awesome country with great scenery, food and wine. Everything worked great and people were friendly.

[@Algimantaz]

I heard there’s lots of trash in the streets and generally looks unkempt

[@benjaminr6153]

@@AlgimantazI dunno, I thought Georgia was mostly gorgeous. Well worth a visit😊

[@user-su5cm1kh9n]

They're so friendly that they're actually willingly crawling back into russian orbit. A bit of a disgrace tbh, considering 2008 was not so long ago - they should know/remember better. The fact that they glorify the sob Dyugashvili even more than putlerite serfs is at nother issue with them.

[@MrDididevi]

@@user-su5cm1kh9n georgians live on their land with their lows for 3000 years. also, they write a lot for 1600 years and they remember everything. do not teach georgians how to do politics

[@user-qu6qg7sk4v]

​@@MrDidideviThey weren't born yesterday but that doesn't mean the tribe is at the forefront of human development does it? Sacralization of Stalin should be frowned upon just as that of Hitler. Rusophilia, too

[@ivarkich1543]

For ethnic minorities in the USSR, the corruption was regarded as a kind of form of their national resistance. I grew up in Soviet Latvia, and I remember that adults stole from the state enterprises, where they worked, as much as possible without any remorse. They said: "It's not a sin to steal from the [Soviet] state." They remembered the years of Stalin's terror when many people lost everything during arbitrary expropriations by the state in forms of "nationalization" and "colletivization". So, stealing from the state was widely regarded as a just revenge for it.

[@kiuk_kiks]

Very good & insightful commentary.

[@ianhomerpura8937]

Given that the US did the same, mostly in the form of eminent domain, has something similar been done in the US?

[@Neversa]

My grandpa used to steal oil and spare parts from his work at a bus station. Everyone did this, just not everyone admits it

[@stefanodadamo6809]

Ethnic Russians did just the same too.

[@ianhomerpura8937]

@@Neversa given how Russia has become a petrostate, it might be even worse nowadays.

[@Maxi46er]

Im a Pontic Greek from Georgia.

[@serendipity1999]

Yes, it is true that during Soviet times Georgia was richer. I am an ethnic Azerbaijani from Georgia. And the elders in the family say that Azerbaijanis from Azerbaijan lived poorly at that time. Houses were bigger (in azeri villages of Georgia) and the standard of living in Georgia were higher. Even the border villages of Azerbaijan came to Georgia to shop because they could not find some products in local markets. And then there were popular phrases especially among azeris from Georgia that were in Russian: широко шагает Азербайджан (this part of quotes belongs to Brejnev) за масло бегут в Gürcüstan (Gürcüstan is Georgia in azerbaijani). In short, this means we are developing quickly, but we are running to Georgia for butter)))

[@gigachaduneli1121]

Russia to georgia in 1921: haha you will never be free from me churka Russia to georgia in 1970-80s: nooo stop robbing me and getting rich😭😭😭

[@Boo0095]

Say thanks to the Bolshevik policies, where Russians and Russian culture were suppressed. The Bolsheviks robbed Russians and fed national minorities at the expense of Russians.

[@mnemonicpie]

Lol typical Georgian is proud of the robberies committed by his people😂

[@himdarius]

My uncle while working in furniture factory had side hustle making furniture for special people out of factorys resources. he was always bragging about how he was making so much money he never bothered to take his salary what was in Lithuanian CCCP.

[@puschelhornchen9484]

I wonder if Vasil Mzhavadnadze was ever fed up with people asking him about his choice of facial hair dressing. 😂

[@guramtabidze2796]

hahaa

[@gwiazdapioun2127]

Speaking of summer resorts of Georgia, I'd love to watch an episode on their neighbours from across the pond (that is, the Black Sea), namely, Bulgaria, which was quite a popular tourist destination within the Eastern Block; pretty much every person from my parents' generation that I know has been there at least once before the end of the Cold War. I myself went there last summer, to the Sunny Beach resort near Nesebar, and I was somewhat surprised to hear that the resort was already established in late 1950s; maybe given the fact that our country had to be rebuilt pretty much from scratch after WW2, and suffered from the tight grip of Stalinism, it never occured to me that somewhere else, people were already thinking of things such as summer tourism.

[@whiskeysk]

took me a while to realize "kudasai" was meant to be Kutaisi....

[@mishutoful]

The influence that a little republic exerted on the whole of the Soviet Union cannot be exaggerated

[@augustuslunasol10thapostle]

True for how small it is it’s shocking the influence it exerted it made sense for soviet Ukrainians to have been leaders of the USSR for half the time it was alive after all second largest republic in the USSR but little Georgia? No one really expects that from such a small republic

[@Boo0095]

Because the Bolshevik policy itself consisted of the complete suppression of the Russian people and their culture and at the same time full support for national minorities. The Bolsheviks were mostly non-Russian. The Bolsheviks used the Russians as a cash cow. This is precisely why the Russians fed these republics, but lived poorer than them. That’s why it’s funny when they try to accuse the Russians of colonialism, if the Russians fed national minorities, built industry, schools and hospitals for them, name the colonialists who lived worse than the captured nations? There are no such colonialists .

[@Boo0095]

Because the Bolshevik policy itself consisted of the complete suppression of the Russian people and their culture and at the same time full support for national minorities. The Bolsheviks were mostly non-Russian. This is precisely why the Russians fed these republics, but lived poorer than them. That’s why it’s funny when they try to accuse the Russians of colonialism, if the Russians fed national minorities, built industry, schools and hospitals for them, name the colonialists who lived worse than the captured nations? There are no such colonialists .

[@mishutoful]

@@Boo0095 why then are Russian the only ones with Soviet nostalgia while, say, Georgians fought to destroy it and despise it today.

[@alexrazmislevich7265]

​@@mishutoful"fought"

[@georgiaballanimationandmapping]

"tsalkubo" and "kurasai" are the funniest pronunciations of Tsyaltubo (tskaltubo) and Kutaisi

[@NewSouthWalse]

Great episode, love these per Republic breakdowns which cover their most distinctive feature which then allows the topic be contrasted across the union.

[@BTScriviner]

I love how your videos give such a nuance to the monolithic USSR I remember learning about during my school days.

[@skeetrix5577]

cant get enough of soviet and cold war history thank you for making it entertaining been watching your channel since the beginning when you had big books on your table in front of the camera glad you quickly got rid of those lol 😅

[@landmonitor-lsd5634]

Love your channel - I think we are similar ages and I recall the tail end of the USSR. You capture a lot of subtle historical trends and your backgrounds are on-point. Keep up the good work! If maximizing your free time leaks into hunting xenomorphs, I’d love to have a historical chat mixed with Aliens quotes!

[@grahambuckerfield4640]

‘That Georgia’s always on my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my mind’. Back In The USSR, The Beatles, 1968. (Trivia; the jet noise at the start of the song is from a Vickers Viscount turboprop airliner on finals to Heathrow, amplified.)

[@alexg3744]

One little oversight. The city name Kutaisi is to be pronounced ku-ta-yi-sii, not ku-tai-sai.

[@mastersafari5349]

I was wondering the whole time wtd is "Kutaisay"? 😅

[@Duececoupe]

Another winner! As always, phenomenal work! 👍🏻👌🏼👏🏻🍻

[@AColonelPanic]

The timing on this video is perfect. I'm going to Tbilisi in a week 😁

[@brokenbridge6316]

I liked this video. Please do more video's on the other Soviet Republics.

[@goobdoober2537]

Wow I always knew the USSR had a shadow economy but I never knew how the effects continued on after the USSR ended

[@omnidroid70]

@@napoleonbonaparte4396is this not effectively what the video argues?

[@rizkyadiyanto7922]

just like francophone countries in africa.

[@Alex-lg6nz]

Everywhere country always had and will have a black market economy.

Very interesting Video. Thank you

[@giorgi5675]

"თავისუფლბეა ისე არ მოდის, თავისუფლება ლომთა ხვედრია!"

[@giorgikolxicolchian9581]

კი "თავისფალი" ხარ დღეს :)) ამერიკის მონა ხარ, ინდუსტრიის და წარმოების გარეშე, სინამდვილეში მონა (იაფი მშახელი) დასვალეთისთვის :)) განათლების მოგიშალეს, ინდუსტრია გაგინადგურეს , გასაღების ბაზარი ხარ უცხოური პროდუქტისთვის :)) თავისუფალი მარტო გიჟია , ხოდა გიჟები ხართ და იმიტომაც ეწევით თვითმკვლელობას :))

[@fredbergotte]

Excellent video!

[@vonunterberg4313]

Are there links with sources? It would make the videos more useful :)

[@stefanodadamo6809]

Short answer: mafia.

[@KKKK-pt2dw]

Thanks!

[@petterbirgersson4489]

I like the style of the mustache of Vasil Mzhavadnadze.

[@smhorse]

​@@RevenantCX: ....can't think why 😂

[@ekmalsukarno2302]

The Cold War, can you please make a video on Argentina during the era of Juan Peron. It would mean a lot to me if you made a video on this topic, not only because Juan Peron ruled Argentina during the early years of the Cold War, but also because your audience will understand how Argentina's economy, politics and society all ended up the way they are today.

[@HerrKurt]

Agreed

[@matiasd5216]

Hola amigo. Hablamos mucho acá sobre perón y sus presidencias pero nunca ponemos eso en el marco de la guerra fría. Tampoco lo hacemos con las dictaduras militares. Quizás sea interesante abordar este tema del alineamiento geopolítico de los gobiernos peronistas. Saludos desde Laboulaye, Córdoba.

[@rizkyadiyanto7922]

juan peron caused all this? thats like blaming colonialism for every problem in africa.

[@matiasd5216]

@@rizkyadiyanto7922 I totally agree on the conection described by the OP. The mess we are in now has a fundamental cause in peron's first 2 precidencies, his regimes and the people he chose to have around. Thousands disappeared and great state violence and corruption by the military regimes that came after, were not as bad as peron's legacy.

[@americameinyourmouth9964]

3:55 Technically not true. The Germans barely penetrated Georgia pushing south of Mt. Elbrus gaining a few miles of Georgia. A footnote of history I will admit.

[@GK-zi4je]

And, also, it is quite incorrect to say that Georgia was unaffected by the WW2 since approximately 700 000 Georgians fought in the war, and half of them died, which is one of the highest between all of the countries involved in the war per population.

[@ekesandras1481]

@@GK-zi4je they put GULag and NKVD victims into the figures of war victims, to cover up Stalin's crimes. That's why the number is so high although there was no fighting on Georgian soil.

[@lashachakhunashvili1399]

The village of Pskhu in Abkhazia was the only place the Germans invaded within Georgia.

[@flawyerlawyertv7454]

Wow! Impressive. I didn't know this.

[@Hession0Drasha]

Which were the wealthiest people in the whole eastern bloc? Each ssr vs each country...

[@alehaim]

I wasn't expecting to hear Mark Galeotti mentioned

[@amanb8698]

Georgia has natural resources, relatively mild to good weather, mineral hot springs, good food, and beautiful women, it's no wonder Russians and Soviets with wealth/political power during the Soviet area flocked there to live.

[@chrisdiaz4876]

Tell me more about these Georgian girls sir, I must know!

[@effexon]

sad that russia wants to bring "freedom" to russian speaking places.

[@sababugs1125]

Natural resources, not really

[@giopa110888]

You have no idea what Georgia has.

[@dmamet7564]

This is coming from a Georgian, what recourses?

[@FikAb]

In Rus Empire Tbilisi was the Imperial city, unlike Azerbaijan's Baku. Moreover, Georgians are Orthodox Christians, what made them more favourable to Russians than Muslim majority nations of Caucausus. During the Soviet regime, richer republics "shared" with poorer ones. For instance, gold was extracted in Azerbaijani Kalbajar region, but the production was in Georgia. The extracted natural resourse was transported to another republic.

[@mnemonicpie]

Georgian prince was one of the three commanders of the Russian armies during Napoleon invasion

[@FikAb]

@@mnemonicpie Muslims were banned to serve in the Imperial Russian army. During Soviet regime population of Muslim majority states were serving mostly as engineers and etc

[@viktorias63]

​@@mnemonicpiedoubt that Gorgians take pride in anything to do with country that invaded them two times in the last 30 years

[@sacWeapons]

@@viktorias63 Georgia started the war look it up

[@David-dc4xt]

​@@viktorias63we only have hate towards russia and russians

[@INSANESUICIDE]

I enjoy War Thunder, but I think it a bold claim to say the game is relaxing, I've woken up covered in sweat just vaguely remembering hearing the RWR going haywire in the dream that woke me up..

[@INSANESUICIDE]

@@stonecodfish2365 Yoghurt

[@cmurderfrumpbottoniv8647]

lmfao, he is prolly in rank one biplanes. o7 I'll see you in the sky comrade.

[@chrisdiaz4876]

I still have a lot of trauma from my War Thunder days, legit felt schizophrenic back in the day.

[@INSANESUICIDE]

@@chrisdiaz4876 Did you ever do a point based event? Or even worse.. crafting event?

[@theeyeofthebeholder7099]

Great video, I really appreciate you know the difference between the ‘blat’ and the ‘blyad’ ‘:)

[@fluffypants]

Good video sir👌

[@Numba003]

It would be very nice to visit the Caucasus region one day. From the pictures I've seen, it's beautiful, and it has such a rich cultural history. Anywho, thank you for another excellent episode! I would enjoy more content on the Caucasus region in the future. God be with you out there everybody. ✝️ :)

[@GK-zi4je]

Great video! It will be awesome if you make more videos about Georgia and other states in the Soviet Union.

[@sabercruiser.7053]

Great work 👏👏🙌🙌 thank you 🙏🤲

[@rnklv8281]

Interesting video. During the Cold War era we Americans seemed to use the term Russia to describe (as a "whole") the Soviet Union, forgetting (or not realizing) that it comprised of several different ethnic people/cultures (becoming more evident when the USSR was dissolved). With Georgia being part of a union of Soviet socialist republics, I'm assuming it could not just succeed (against the will of the Soviet Central Commitee) from this union, much like in the United States we are a union of 50 states, and a state cannot just succeed (against the will of our Federal Government) from our Constitutional Republic. No matter what political or economic system people are under, they just seem to want to better their lives.

[@loneprimate]

You mean "secede", not "succeed".

[@scottkrater2131]

If you think the Soviet Union and the US were the same, you're obviously not American. Georgia was forcibly annexed by Russia. No state existed out of the US, with the exception of Texas, that was an independent Republic for a few years before they became, voluntarily, an actual state.

[@rnklv8281]

Not saying the political/economic systems of the United States and the Soviet Union were the same, just that it would have been difficult for any of the Soviet Socialist Republics to leave the Soviet Union, much like it would be difficult for any of the 50 states to secede ( I, spelling it right this time) from the United States. @@scottkrater2131

[@MrDididevi]

the history of the state of georgians counts 3300 years. georgian literature is 1600 years old and it's full of masterpieces. georgia was annexed by russia. 20% of georgia is still occupied by russia. so, russia is next

[@rizkyadiyanto7922]

​@@scottkrater2131hawai? ex-mexican empire states?

[@lashachakhunashvili1399]

3:56 The German forces did actually reach Georgia and the only place they occupied (in the entire South Caucasus) was an insignificant village of Pskhu in the mountains of Abkhazia.

[@FirstnameLastname-py3bc]

In Soviet Union to get a university diploma you had to be a party member, that's why high party membership (plus other benefits, very few subscribed to ideology in 70s and onwards, including high ranking officials)

[@FirstnameLastname-py3bc]

@@nails11 I'm from Georgia. (About ideology - if they followed it they would have been as strict as stalin because the system that ideology presupposes could be hold only with strong motivation and or fist) Well there were degrees in Diplomas, Red Diploma was highest quality basically. For Bachelor to get lower "quality" diploma you didn't need to be a party member, but Red Diploma and degrees above Bachelor needed party membership (source: first prime minister of Georgia, on why he had a party membership while he was a dissident). Those memberships were not anything real, didn't entail anything except formality and formal (in a bad sense of the word) declaration of beliefs in Communism. Very few in villages got membership - because it gave nothing for them. In my opinion lower membership of Uzbekistan and those eastern countries was because of those republics being mainly rural, agricultural Imagine them being in 70s what Mongolia today is

[@wiktorberski9272]

Really interesting material. I was aware about corruption in USRR, but no its scale could be really surprising

[@paulmattt]

Very interesting episode.

[@Black_berry894]

Georgian SSR ( Soviet Georgia) isn't a country because it's a constituent republic of a country called Soviet Union ( USSR).

[@user-bf5ie9vw5q]

France in EU, don't country?

[@Black_berry894]

@@user-bf5ie9vw5q I know 🇫🇷 is in EU.

[@David-dc4xt]

Check ussr founding document. Georgia was one lf the founders of ussr

[@caseclosed9342]

So the USSR and the United States both had a part of their country named Georgia…🤔

[@David-dc4xt]

USA invented the name to call its region. In ussr officially Georgia was one of its founders and successfully freed itself from the russian imperialism. Georgia mate is one of the oldest countries and georgians one of the oldest nations in the world.

[@hieunguyenrileygekko]

i remember i read somewhere about a former KGB agent saying the USSR dissolution was largely because of Yuri Andropov's corruption crackdown campaign according to that point of view, the Soviet economy reached its peak during Brezhnev era due to corruption and black market, things that incentivised productivity output but the KGB itself (the most efficient bereau of the state) was meant to protect the state and the ideology at all cost so KGB men like Andropov could be extremely idealistic and naive about socialism and communism, they couldnt fully understand the complexity of an economy it can also explaine why KGB men and hardline communists tried to save the union without knowing they were speeding up its downfall

[@saturn_in_blue]

FYI, Georgia still has the largest grey market (untaxed, unregulated, but technically legal) economy in the world (adding an additional 70% approximately to "official" GDP figures), though the corruption issue has been tackled relatively well and Georgia ranks well globally for corruption overall. Also, please hire someone Georgian next time to teach you how to pronounce the names. You butchered it so bad it was impossible to even tell who you were talking about and what cities.

[@mikheildzagnidze9863]

Georgia was one of the only two soviet republics directly bordering NATO (Turkey). Keeping Georgians happy and satisfied was extremely important for Moscow and Soviet Security. so that would "close eyes" on black market, corruption and many other things happening in Georgia that would not be allowed in other republics.

[@lonelywoker]

First: Georgia did not join USSR by its free will, independent Georgian Democratic Republic (1918-1921) was invaded by Bolshevik armies on 12th February of 1921, and the war lasted more than month and several weeks. Georgia was defeated and occupied by Bolshevik Russia. Second: Shevardnadze was 10 times more corrupt than Mjhavanadze.

[@viktorias63]

I don't think any country became part of USSR by choice

[@lonelywoker]

@viktorias63 It is true, but term "Sovetisation" somehow softens that aggressive, violent, forceful creation of USSR.

[@user-io6nz5kh3y]

That's a lie. Most of the old Bolshevik are Georgians Stalin, Sergo Ordzhonikidze, Enudkidze, even Mikoyan who was Armenian spent most his revolutionary time in Georgia and Azerbaijan,also Kamenev half Georgian.

[@lonelywoker]

@@user-io6nz5kh3y What is a lie? Most of the old Bolsheviks were ethnically Jews, so you want to blame Jews for the crimes that were committed by the Bolsheviks? It does not matter were some of old Bolsheviks ethically Georgians, what really matters is that Bolsheviks had no significant support of Georgian population from 1917 to 1921, the year when Georgia was occupied by Bolshevik armies. In fact from 1918 to 1921 dominant political force in Georgian Democratic Republic, which was more democratic than most of the countries of that period, were Social Democrats so called “Mensheviks” prominent figures like Noe Zhordania, Noe Ramishvili, Nikolay Chkheidze, Akaki Chkhenkeli and many others. Bolsheviks tried several unrests and revolts in Georgian Democratic Republic but without success, until military aggression against Georgian Democratic Republic on 12 of February 1921. War lasted until 17 of March 1921, in the end Georgia was forcefully occupied by the Bolsheviks and this occupation continued until 9 of April of 1991. It was in ethnically Georgian Bolsheviks interest to conquer Georgia, because if Georgia would not be in USSR why had little chance to have somewhat significant political careers in Russian Bolshevik Party and in leadership of USSR. Georgian Democratic Republic was victim of Bolsheviks military and political aggression.

[@geoberaia6007]

@@user-io6nz5kh3y The Bolsheviks were Russian revolutionaries of Georgian origin, the Mensheviks won in Georgia and began to rule independent Georgia

[@mike-df3qo]

Georgian here, absolutely great video, the sad part about all this is that the normal, middle class people didn't get any of those priviledges, people who knew people did, the ones in the black market... Anyone else was just as poor as any other republic

[@Marlon044]

what I know of georgia is from playing dcs world ;p

[@TheDavidlloydjones]

Program begins at 2:25.

[@phyarth8082]

Are estimates in Latvia done where economist made calculations how much materials got republic for "free" gas, oil, metals some heavy machinery and how much they got back as final production from raw materials into final products it was 170%, it produced more 70% that it got back. Finland is ultrarich country just because it escaped free energy and materials temptation from Soviet Union. Biggest expenses most for Latvia was military industrial complex production and 5 mechanized Soviet Union divisions located on Latvia soil that it must feed and serviced. Georgia on other hand have been -80% subsidized by Moscow. Citrus and tea the only other 20% that was profitable and demanding. When Ziguli first mass produced car came from production line in black-markets car cost 6500 rubles 95% buyers been from Georgia. Georgia was state inside the state. No laws been applied. Economic inequality is engine of capitalisms 800 million t-shirts to produce to buy one Boeing in China, in our days even sui@ide is to expensive, someone must pay for that.

[@clementkong8133]

David, do an episode on Chernobyl and demystify all the myths please.

[@streampunk6932]

Overall a great video, but there are some few things I have to add. Georgia didn't join the USSR. Georgia gained independence in 1918, it held elections and chose Social-Democratic party as a government, Russia recognized Georgian independence, but as it always happens with Russia they didn't respect their own words and invaded Georgia in February 1921 from 5 different sides and legitimately chosen government had to flee from the country leaving Georgia occupied by Russia. In 1924 there was a massive uprising all around Georgia against the Bolsheviks, but it failed. Georgia didn't have any privileges under Stalin. The only privilege was that everybody wanted to visit Georgia, party higher ups wanted to have villas in Georgia and this of course played well for the local population, but Georgia went through purges and oppression just like everyone else. In fact, both current territorial problems of Georgia was created by Stalin who gave autonomies to those regions that Russia uses today to not let Georgia develop, or join NATO and the EU. Corruption and Mafia was also created by Stalin and it is still a massive problem for Georgia, it now exists as a mentality that takes lives of many people every year. Georgia gained more privileges towards the end of the USSR, during Shevardnadze, but this was already just after people became more nationalistic and to keep Georgians comfortable and that didn't work and Georgia was the first country within the USSR where protests started and people were murdered on the streets and what eventually led to the independence and here is the important part that led to Georgia's civil war. One side wanted decolonization and creation of new Georgia, but for the better, Georgia chose to continue from 1921 constitution and reinstate the independence, it was smart diplomatic move that led to the world recognizing Georgia within it's borders that Russia doesn't recognize.

[@user-bf5ie9vw5q]

30 years have passed, what are our achievements? there is not a single normal film, there is virtually no talent left, the artists are all swearing, the economy and industry are going down, how many hydroelectric power stations have been built? Now think about it, if it weren’t for the Soviet period, where would we be now? In war and despair!!! Our nation has multiplied, at least for a short time, but what now? are dying out!!!

[@ethanpf449]

You should do a video on the Profumo scandal in the UK it’s very interesting

[@DottorHealer]

So you are telling me I should stop playing WT for 6 months

[@HD-np7eb]

It's interesting to see a state in USA become Soviet Republic

[@matiasd5216]

Some cities in Usa are named Moscow. Make jokes about it too.

[@ankokunokayoubi]

​@@matiasd5216they also have cities named Rome, Paris and Palestine in US 😂

[@perfectallycromulent]

so it's "special rules for special people" plus corruption that allowed a small part of a nation to outperform the rest? never heard of that temporary solution.

[@dansmith4077]

Comment for the algorithm

[@chad12345678]

Should do an episode in rashidov and his scandals.

[@DF-ss5ep]

Did Stalin being georgian contribute to his ascencion to leadership?

[@georgianguy3191]

BASED

[@DarthDread-oh2ne]

I hate empress Elizabeth of Russia for what She did to Ivan the fifth.

[@mnemonicpie]

But she built the winter palace, c'mon

[@DarthDread-oh2ne]

@@mnemonicpie She locked up A infant and forced A man, who, clearly wasn't qualified for the job to come over.

[@TheGiusha]

This is a great video, truly, but for the love of god, please use Google translate to get a sense of how to pronounce Georgian names.

[@zurikodzuliashvili9556]

There is no single name pronounced even close to how they should be. I had to think really hard about who he was talking about every time he mentioned these glorious people.

[@johnnyscifi]

Its unwise to blame an economy system for the coruption of humans. It festers everywhere

[@Crazy_Talk96]

Greed always leads to the continuation of poverty.

[@punadoretirado01]

The mustache georgian man (Stalin)

[@lhpoetry]

I'm not sure I like this "shadow economy" term...there is a difference between "the black market" and a "grey/informal economy," which is the backbone of the middle class in most of the developing world. Mafia cartels and businesses and family farms or selling your homemade wine are kinda different. I am surprised that smuggling wasn't brought up here more...the Caucasus' are huge in smuggling to this day. When you have sanctioned Iran, protectionist Turkey, CIS Customs' Unions, and war-torn Iraq, unofficial Abkhazia and Ossetia, the Kurds, and Syria bordering each other...there is lots of money to be made...

[@SomeStrangerOnTheInternet]

WE WERE!?

[@MegrelMamba]

Since the middle ages....we were rich?

[@bmp456]

I had no clue Atlanta was behind the Iron Curtain!

[@bmp456]

@@napoleonbonaparte4396 take a joke

[@nikkojeremias1738]

Because they produce and sell food?

[@tomtom3889]

Because it’s the only warm part of the ussr.

[@michaelsamuel9841]

Crimea warm to

[@data544]

@@michaelsamuel9841Crimea significantly lacked/lacks a proper irrigation, the only sufficient source of water was supplied from Nova Kakhovka dam (currently Destroyed) via 300 km long channel, so it couldn’t produce the required crops in large quantities plus the climate is more arid, whereas Georgia has subtropical climate, with fertile ground and abundant water resources so it became a breadbasket for the exotic products such as tea, citruses, wine, in the Soviet Union.

[@MrDididevi]

because georgians are traditionally good in surviving

[@nikkojeremias1738]

@data544 sounds like your playing sid meir's civilization 6 though, I agree on your statement.

[@MBW323]

Growing up in Georgia I remember late soviet times (perestroika and such like). If we compare the Georgian SSR to some godforsaken parts of the soviet empire where people rode reindeer, that could be right. Otherwise, it was a poor and corrupt republic. When my granddad first bought black and white TV in the early 70s there was not even a signal to watch it (in the central part of east Georgia). Power outages were commonplace and food stamps were distributed among workers. So, fuck the soviet union and anything associated with it, including this notion of 'richness'

[@androidbox3571]

It is where Stalin came from, figure it out.

[@bigsarge2085]

✌️✌️

[@ironheart5830]

I just wondering why Georgians(along with Armenians) are allowed to maintain theirs Alphabet while other languages in Soviet union are force to change into Cyrillic alphabets.

[@gigachaduneli1121]

They tried once and got massive protests in georgia. Alphabet is something no conqueror ever touched.

[@ironheart5830]

@@gigachaduneli1121 Is it because of Stalin himself is Georgian ??

[@TheColdWarTV]

The languages of the Georgian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR, and Armenian SSR were each Constitutionally protected as the sole state languages in those republics as part of their 1936 Constitutions. Part of keeping the republics under control, within the USSR.

[@ironheart5830]

@@TheColdWarTV But Azerbaijani change theirs alphabet from Arabic to Latin and later Cyrillic why ???

[@gigachaduneli1121]

@@ironheart5830 it happened i 1978. So not because of stalin.

[@ZenexTheZealous]

Calling the USSR an Empire is an insult to Rome.

[@nikushachanturia]

USSR controlled 4 times the territory of the peak Roman Empire

[@danyvarna5094]

@@nikushachanturia, remove the uninhabited areas and compare for percent of worlds population, and GDP, and it turns out that you are wrong. :-)

[@nikushachanturia]

@@danyvarna5094 I assume you don't know what the word "empire" means, but it's alright you will grow up read some books

[@MrDididevi]

true. georgians experienced both

[@Provo_N]

eksqoose me sir i dont thank the united states state of georgia was ever communist!!

[@zurabavaliani8101]

You completely ignored that fact that Georgian language was being replaced by Russian and entirely blame Stalin as the reason of the protest. Stalin was the trigger but Language was the cause.

[@TheColdWarTV]

Separate video on that

[@abcMW1989]

In Moldavian SSR was worse: in addition to the Russification process, they changed the alphabet, and created a Moldavian ethnicity that must be separated from Romanians. They created a sophisticated narrative around that. Also, the Romanian language was butchered, and only a Russian-style pronunciation was enforced. The Moldavian case is pretty telling in regards to how an imperial force can engineer a subdued society.

[@zurabavaliani8101]

@@abcMW1989 True.... many republics and autonomous regions were created and given the Russian version of history to trigger conflicts. The cat that in Transistria has more Russian, Ukrainain population says it all.

[@mat3714]

Algorithm

[@Oberschutzee]

georgian ussr wasn't the richest, the baltic soviet republics were the richest

[@Diagorasofmelos20]

I am Georgian and I can confidently say that Russia is the worst country and they are not happy about the success of other countries, Georgians knew this better! Georgians have always strived for civilization, and despite the wealth and power from the Soviet Union period, there was still freedom and independence in our morals, so our path is now to Europe, and the Soviet dark era will never return!

[@A_10_PaAng_111]

Stalin was Georgian

[@HerrKurt]

Yes true

[@kingdomofgeorgia1751]

His mother was Georgian, but not sure about his father. Mentally, he was Russian and called Georgians nationalists. He destroyed Georgia and built Russia.

[@omarhaq9635]

It was Stalins birthplace if it wasn’t for him and His georgian ways the USSR would not be powerful

[@kenseitakesi4521]

I maximise my free time by not working

[@mrrobotovi5374]

russia not even once

[@giorgikolxicolchian9581]

and today we are poorest country with no industry, our exports are slaves (cheap workers) thank's to "freedom" , in reality we are western colony

[@giorgijioshvili9713]

ugh i hate vatniks like you crying about how rich we were during good old soviet times

[@mnemonicpie]

Don't give up bro, you're one step from becoming the EU nation! You will receive European gas/electricity prices and a million of dumb policies which will ensure you won't be a strong sovereign state ever again.

[@fabreezethefaintinggoat5484]

bc stalin

[@Boo0095]

*The USSR is unique in that it is an empire in reverse. Often they try to shift responsibility and blame for the occupation onto the Russian people, and this is not correct. In fact, Russia and the Russian people fed these national republics with subsidies, the Russians built hospitals, schools, and industries for these national republics. If it were not for the Russians, then many, especially the Central Asian republics, would have remained in the Middle Ages. And after that they have the audacity to hate Russians. If you do not believe, then study the national policy of the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks themselves were largely non-Russian. The Bolsheviks tried in every possible way to belittle the Russian people, to make Russians into a cash cow in order to feed national minorities at the expense of the Russians. When supplying food, the priority was given to the national republics, and the Russian territories where ethnic Russians lived were at the end of the spectrum. That is why, while the Russians stood in line for food, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Uzbeks, Kazakhs could easily buy food and they had full shelves shops. When people from the West try to accuse Russia and the USSR of colonialism, it is simply ridiculous.*

[@colder5465]

Jajaja. The answer is very simple. Absolutely. In the late USSR you could steal and have clandestine enterprises almost everywhere in the country (with more or less freedom, naturally) but you could sell your clandestine produce and stolen goods on a large scale only in Soviet (jajaja) Georgia. There was a joke then: you are at the main railway station in Tbilisi (the capital of Georgia). The announcer says through PBS: Attention! The train departs for the Soviet Union! As soon as the Communism fell and the USSR was dissolved, there was no need for a middleman for selling the produce. And - suddenly! - Georgia and Georgians became unnecessary in the economic chain. Their own produce had become largely compromised: Georgian tea became a synonym for outright shit. For some time Georgia tried staying on top through its wide known organised crime taking its roots in Soviet times. Very few know that a lot of Russian Mafia criminals were in fact ethnic Georgians. But with time they became unnecessary, too. And now it's a usual small rather poor typical asian country.

[@DerDop]

That’s how Russian mafia started. The west was dealing cocaine, Russians were dealing apples from Georgia to Moscow and Peter.

[@DerDop]

Also, with the exception of a few cities, Russia is also poor.

[@MaddoScientisto-fb3kb]

I mean, Georgian tea is one of the most northern types, which doesn't help it's taste and growth potential, that's a typical problem for a postcolonial economy - most Soviet-era enterprises existed precisely because of autarkic nature of the Soviet economy and were never intended to compete globally. There would have been no tea industry in Georgia would it have not been occupied by the Soviets (at least not to that scale - there were some experimental plantations populated with Chinese tea species during Russian Empire period, but they were not very successful and thus remained small in size). There were, for example, paper mills near Tbilisi despite Georgia not really having a domestic lumber/forest industry which is necessary to sustain such low-value-added enterprise, such a situation was only possible because of subsidized Russian lumber prices as well as artificially low transportation fees. Also I would not say that Georgia is a "usual poor Asian" country as it's one of the fastest-growing economies in the world with good track record in reforms and overall institutional quality, which is rarely seen in most countries in the world, let alone Asian ones. It's doubtful to describe it as an Asian too - Georgia is an Orthodox nation with cultural values more akin to it's religious peers like Romania, Serbia etc., which you would never call Asian, right? So why make an exception for Georgia

[@Mrgunsngear]

🇺🇸

[@beepboop204]

[@muratqitaku56]

Wait it was richer than Russia and Ukraine?