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?
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.
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)))
Just a question, It does not really make sence to me that the factory was given input for 10 cookies but they made 14. Also the people could not have been that poor beccause otherwise they would not be able to even by the things from the black market.
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.
@@Рашка-у8й 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
@@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
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.
@@davitzviadadze8582 Mountainous tsalka region, the seeked refugge there to avoid Turkish pogroms and killings after the Greek independece war in 1821 and Russo-Turkish war of 1854 from Amissos and Argiroupoli of Euxine Pontus
Great episode, love these per Republic breakdowns which cover their most distinctive feature which then allows the topic be contrasted across the union.
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.
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.
@@gkonchoshvili 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.
@@ekesandras1481There was no fighting on the Georgian soil, but Georgian Red Army troops fought extensively in all campaigns of WW2, bloodiest of them all was the battle for Kerchi in Crimean Peninsula, where approximately 120,000 ethnic Georgian troops lost their lives
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
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 .
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 .
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.
As an American it’s also odd for me to think about the 1950s and not associate it subconsciously with the white picket suburbs that they’re so famous for here in the states. A time of unprecedented wealth and prosperity following the worst war in human history, very different outcome than most countries after the Second World War.
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!
thats my home town,man i cant explain how my soul is calm there,i live france currently and when i put foot in kutaissi im in another world i swear,everything is different there,everyone and everything loves you there....
‘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.)
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 😅
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 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
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.
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.
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.
@@DanielTech-q4n 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.
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
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.
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 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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Yeah, I'm Georgian and have known from my grandparents too that Georgia was best off during the Soviet period and one of the highest standard Soviet republics. Its rich cinematography and monumental architecture reflects that too. So for me it is extremely strange how Georgians actually took the dissolution of the Soviet Union extremely rebeliously and de-sovietized one of the quickest. A lot of people really love the Soviet period of Georgia, but a lot of others *REALLY* hate it. For me personally, Georgia absolutely peaked during the Soviet era, with 90% of its greatest monuments, people and artistic creations coming from that period.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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. ✝️ :)
In 1954, a fifteen‑year old Georgian lad, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, together with eight other friends, created his first underground patriotic organization in Tbilisi. They call it Gorgasliani, dedicate it to the national cause, and declare that “the consciousness of citizenship, and later the statehood that must define the mind and conscience of the nation, can only be restored on the basis of nationality....” Ahead of their time, by a few decades, these young lads represented new thinking that was the avant‑garde of the national liberation movements that would arise in the Soviet Union in the 1980s and 1990s. A friend of his from those early days recalls what Zviad told him at the time: “I have to destroy the Soviet Union and free Georgia.” Such nationalist sentiments were rare at the time and limited to a very small group of people. Moreover, such thoughts were usually expressed in indirect form, and this organization had nothing to do with defending Beria's legacy.
Since 1970s each Yugoslav republic was connected with Soviet republics and the capitals of those reupblics were sister cities. In that order Slovenia was connected with Georgia (Ljubljana and Tbilisi), (North) Macedonia with Uzbekistan (Skopje and Tashkent), Montenegro with Armenia (Titograd or Podgorica with YErevan), Bosnia and Herzegowina with Azerbaijan (Sarajevo and Baku). Sadly I don't have accurat information regarding Serbia and Croatia. Zagreb, the capital of Croatia is twinned with Sankt Peterburg (Leningrad) since 1967, so I guess that's from the same period as other Yugoslav republics established connections.
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.
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!!!
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.
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)
@@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
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.
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'
Georgians were quick to take advantage of shortages in the Soviet Union. Many of them will take a morning flight to Moscow with a suitcase full of pork meat or flowers for March 8th, sell their goods outside the airport and then take the flight back home in the evening.
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.
Saying gagngsterism in the Georgian ssr means that, some group of people listened not only to the state, but also to other persons who had a social authority. In Georgian ssr was one the lowest crime index in the whole ussr and beyond it as well. by the 1989 yr, gdp per capita was higher than in the most developed europian countries at that time!
If the Soviet Union had used Georgia as a bench mark they could have opened up like China did. If that happened we would be talking about the USSR economic rise and not the CCP today.
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.
*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.*
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...
You see the differences in a country like Georgia that was a true Soviet State, versus the Baltics that were just occupied by the Soviets. It also explains why the Baltics immediately threw out all the Soviet garbage after the occupation and wanted as little to do with Russia as possible. Georgia choose a different path and we see the results today.
true soviet state? georgia was annexed into the USSR by the 11th red army, its not like it joined voluntarily in 1921, the RSFSR actually recognized their independence in 1920 after they lost a war with georgia in abkhazia. not to mention how it was the 4th country to leave the USSR in 1990. "we see the results today" in what way? russia is currently occupying parts of georgia because they wanted to join NATO and the EU.
@@epepepe7178 not really, the same way they still wanted close ties to Russia, even today, Russians are welcome.to travel to their former Republic, and Georgia is happy to make money of them. They are making money off mother Russia, and the Ukraine war. Facts tell the real story, not the spin. The fact is we in the EU should not allow Georgia candidate status
@@tnickknight do you think they wanted close ties with russia in 2008 when they invaded georgia? or in 1991 when the russian backed coup d'etat was going on? or in 1992 when the russian backed abkhazians were genociding georgians in their own homes? the reason the russians are free to travel there and the reason georgia still does business with them is because of corruption and kremlin backed politicians, nothing more nothing less, to say georgia as a whole with not only its politicians but the people as well want "close ties with russia" as if russian 'peacekeepers' didnt just kill another georgian citizen near the occupation line no more than 2 weeks ago is nothing short of disrespectful.
@@tnickknight Not really, that's because pro-russian government decided to do so. Georgians clearly remember 9 April 1989 events, when soviet army bloodily suppressed anti-soviet rallies, remember 2 wars - in 1992-93 and 2008. There's a clear divide between pro-russian 50+ eldery (not really Russian, nostalgic about soviet times exactly) Georgians and pro-european youth. Most people, as polls show, are STRONGLY pro-EU and pro-NATO, strongly against 360 visa-free regime with Russia and many want Russians out, because prices skyrocketed for everything because of them. But when it comes to business practices and capitalism in general, lack of labour ethics, lack of education, that's the reason that depsite being angry about too much russian influence, they are too weak to solve this issue. Unlike peoples of Baltics, for example with different labour ethics and mentality.
@@tnickknightGeorgians are the most numerous per-capita volunteer fighters in Ukraine. True, Russian oligarch who happens to be an ethnic Georgian controls the government hence the official decisions of the country now, but the population is hugely anti-Russian. However, there's still a hard path to walk on for Georgians because unlike the Baltics, they don't have NATO as a guaranteed defender. We had our share of wars with the Russian war machine. By the way, Georgian part of 30's terror was one of the biggest among other republics. They wiped out whole generations who still had some anti-Soviet stance and it is logical what came after. The Baltics never went through the 30's terror. Anyways, despite all these, Georgia, alongside the Baltic countries was one of the first "rebels" against the USSR and we paid with blood for it in 1989 on the 9th of April. P.S. Baltics has been "welcome to live" to mother Russia and Russians all these years, slightly more than travel, right?
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.
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.
@@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.
Technically, Georgia never "joined" the USSR. It was invaded and had its internationally recognized government (including by the invading Russian SFSR) overthrown in 1921
Corruption was everywhere in the USSR. Russians did not have agriculture and therefore they had food, unlike Georgians. You should stop reading Russian propaganda. And You made some big mistakes😆 1. Lazishvili was an economic criminal(and not a thief in the law) because he worked in the Soviet system with a capitalist system. He produced goods, employed people, and paid good wages. And Jaba Ioseliani and Tengiz Kitovani were criminals. They stole, killed, and raped. They worked after Georgia left the USSR. 2. 18:25 The Georgian language was always the official status of the Georgian language. Georgia was the only country in the Soviet Union where Russian was never the official language. Therefore, the Georgian language never stopped developing, as it happened in other republics. Shevardnadze wanted to change this status and accepted the rebellion in 1978. 3. Shevardnadze did not fight corruption. He fought with people who had money and simply gave it to his relatives. 4. Georgia did not join the USSR of its own free will, the independent Georgian Democratic Republic (1918-1921) was invaded by Bolshevik armies on 12th February 1921, and the war lasted more than a month and several weeks. Georgia was defeated and occupied by Russia.
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.
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Do an episode on the russian mafia or other criminal groups that had and operated in the USSR?
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?
Please text What font used in this video?
Tbilisi was built on a hot mineral springs originally. So it is not surprising that it is a tourist destination.
*Odd that you've been here for 14 hours, despite the video being posted only 1 hour ago.*
Patreon and RUclips members get early access to our videos...the perks of membership!
@@TheColdWarTV *I had a feeling that was the cause. Thanks for clarifying!*
@@TheColdWarTV Definitely worth the cost
don't think of it as a cost...think of it as an investment in my future! Oh, and your entertainment :D
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.
Very good & insightful commentary.
Given that the US did the same, mostly in the form of eminent domain, has something similar been done in the US?
My grandpa used to steal oil and spare parts from his work at a bus station. Everyone did this, just not everyone admits it
Ethnic Russians did just the same too.
@@Neversa given how Russia has become a petrostate, it might be even worse nowadays.
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)))
Just a question, It does not really make sence to me that the factory was given input for 10 cookies but they made 14. Also the people could not have been that poor beccause otherwise they would not be able to even by the things from the black market.
Visited Georgia earlier this year, absolutely awesome country with great scenery, food and wine. Everything worked great and people were friendly.
I heard there’s lots of trash in the streets and generally looks unkempt
@@AlgimantazI dunno, I thought Georgia was mostly gorgeous. Well worth a visit😊
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.
@@Рашка-у8й 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
@@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
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.
Im a Pontic Greek from Georgia.
Me too
where pontic Greeks come from georgia which region?
That's cool.
They come from the pontus region in turkey@@davitzviadadze8582
@@davitzviadadze8582 Mountainous tsalka region, the seeked refugge there to avoid Turkish pogroms and killings after the Greek independece war in 1821 and Russo-Turkish war of 1854 from Amissos and Argiroupoli of Euxine Pontus
Great episode, love these per Republic breakdowns which cover their most distinctive feature which then allows the topic be contrasted across the union.
"tsalkubo" and "kurasai" are the funniest pronunciations of Tsyaltubo (tskaltubo) and Kutaisi
Kurasai-ზე მოვკვდი იმდენი ვიცინე, sounds like a japanesse pronounciation.
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.
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.
@@gkonchoshvili 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.
The village of Pskhu in Abkhazia was the only place the Germans invaded within Georgia.
@@ekesandras1481There was no fighting on the Georgian soil, but Georgian Red Army troops fought extensively in all campaigns of WW2, bloodiest of them all was the battle for Kerchi in Crimean Peninsula, where approximately 120,000 ethnic Georgian troops lost their lives
@@nick_g1126 Correct!
The influence that a little republic exerted on the whole of the Soviet Union cannot be exaggerated
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
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 .
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 .
@@Boo0095 why then are Russian the only ones with Soviet nostalgia while, say, Georgians fought to destroy it and despise it today.
@@mishutoful"fought"
I wonder if Vasil Mzhavadnadze was ever fed up with people asking him about his choice of facial hair dressing. 😂
hahaa
It was quite popular Soviet style
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.
As an American it’s also odd for me to think about the 1950s and not associate it subconsciously with the white picket suburbs that they’re so famous for here in the states. A time of unprecedented wealth and prosperity following the worst war in human history, very different outcome than most countries after the Second World War.
Bloc not block.
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!
took me a while to realize "kudasai" was meant to be Kutaisi....
thats my home town,man i cant explain how my soul is calm there,i live france currently and when i put foot in kutaissi im in another world i swear,everything is different there,everyone and everything loves you there....
@@Hustla_nothing feels like home more than your true home
‘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.)
Jet noise produced by turboprop engines? Hm.
I love how your videos give such a nuance to the monolithic USSR I remember learning about during my school days.
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 😅
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.
Georgian prince was one of the three commanders of the Russian armies during Napoleon invasion
@@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
@@mnemonicpiedoubt that Gorgians take pride in anything to do with country that invaded them two times in the last 30 years
@@viktorias63 Georgia started the war look it up
@@viktorias63we only have hate towards russia and russians
I liked this video. Please do more video's on the other Soviet Republics.
One little oversight. The city name Kutaisi is to be pronounced ku-ta-yi-sii, not ku-tai-sai.
I was wondering the whole time wtd is "Kutaisay"? 😅
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.
Tell me more about these Georgian girls sir, I must know!
sad that russia wants to bring "freedom" to russian speaking places.
Natural resources, not really
You have no idea what Georgia has.
This is coming from a Georgian, what recourses?
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.
I don't think any country became part of USSR by choice
@viktorias63 It is true, but term "Sovetisation" somehow softens that aggressive, violent, forceful creation of USSR.
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.
@@DanielTech-q4n 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.
@@DanielTech-q4n The Bolsheviks were Russian revolutionaries of Georgian origin, the Mensheviks won in Georgia and began to rule independent Georgia
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
Wow I always knew the USSR had a shadow economy but I never knew how the effects continued on after the USSR ended
@@napoleonbonaparte4396is this not effectively what the video argues?
just like francophone countries in africa.
Everywhere country always had and will have a black market economy.
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.
Agreed
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.
juan peron caused all this? thats like blaming colonialism for every problem in africa.
@@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.
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.
Which were the wealthiest people in the whole eastern bloc? Each ssr vs each country...
The timing on this video is perfect. I'm going to Tbilisi in a week 😁
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
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😭😭😭
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.
Lol typical Georgian is proud of the robberies committed by his people😂
Russia to georgia in 1991 - nooo, why we are so poor?
Čurka is word for central asians, if u want insult caucasians u use khadzhiy
@@slobodanvukanovic8319 no. Churka is also for caucasians.
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.
Yeah, I'm Georgian and have known from my grandparents too that Georgia was best off during the Soviet period and one of the highest standard Soviet republics. Its rich cinematography and monumental architecture reflects that too. So for me it is extremely strange how Georgians actually took the dissolution of the Soviet Union extremely rebeliously and de-sovietized one of the quickest. A lot of people really love the Soviet period of Georgia, but a lot of others *REALLY* hate it. For me personally, Georgia absolutely peaked during the Soviet era, with 90% of its greatest monuments, people and artistic creations coming from that period.
Great video, I really appreciate you know the difference between the ‘blat’ and the ‘blyad’ ‘:)
Are there links with sources? It would make the videos more useful :)
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.
You mean "secede", not "succeed".
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.
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
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
@@scottkrater2131hawai? ex-mexican empire states?
So the USSR and the United States both had a part of their country named Georgia…🤔
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.
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. ✝️ :)
I like the style of the mustache of Vasil Mzhavadnadze.
@@RevenantCX: ....can't think why 😂
Another winner!
As always, phenomenal work! 👍🏻👌🏼👏🏻🍻
In 1954, a fifteen‑year old Georgian lad, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, together with eight other friends, created his first underground patriotic organization in Tbilisi. They call it Gorgasliani, dedicate it to the national cause, and declare that “the consciousness of citizenship, and later the statehood that must define the mind and conscience of the nation, can only be restored on the basis of nationality....” Ahead of their time, by a few decades, these young lads represented new thinking that was the avant‑garde of the national liberation movements that would arise in the Soviet Union in the 1980s and 1990s. A friend of his from those early days recalls what Zviad told him at the time: “I have to destroy the Soviet Union and free Georgia.” Such nationalist sentiments were rare at the time and limited to a very small group of people. Moreover, such thoughts were usually expressed in indirect form, and this organization had nothing to do with defending Beria's legacy.
Since 1970s each Yugoslav republic was connected with Soviet republics and the capitals of those reupblics were sister cities. In that order Slovenia was connected with Georgia (Ljubljana and Tbilisi), (North) Macedonia with Uzbekistan (Skopje and Tashkent), Montenegro with Armenia (Titograd or Podgorica with YErevan), Bosnia and Herzegowina with Azerbaijan (Sarajevo and Baku). Sadly I don't have accurat information regarding Serbia and Croatia. Zagreb, the capital of Croatia is twinned with Sankt Peterburg (Leningrad) since 1967, so I guess that's from the same period as other Yugoslav republics established connections.
Georgian SSR ( Soviet Georgia) isn't a country because it's a constituent republic of a country called Soviet Union ( USSR).
France in EU, don't country?
@@Александр-у1р1е I know 🇫🇷 is in EU.
Check ussr founding document. Georgia was one lf the founders of ussr
@@David-dc4xt no it wasnt, it was conquered
Short answer: mafia.
Corruption*
Great video! It will be awesome if you make more videos about Georgia and other states in the Soviet Union.
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.
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!!!
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.
He pronounced it pretty well mostly
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)
@@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
Very interesting Video. Thank you
Wow! Impressive. I didn't know this.
Excellent video!
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.
Thanks!
I have to see Georgia before i die. It is such a unique place. This is anecdotal but every georgian ive ever met ive liked.
So you are telling me I should stop playing WT for 6 months
Really interesting material. I was aware about corruption in USRR, but no its scale could be really surprising
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'
Georgians were quick to take advantage of shortages in the Soviet Union. Many of them will take a morning flight to Moscow with a suitcase full of pork meat or flowers for March 8th, sell their goods outside the airport and then take the flight back home in the evening.
I wasn't expecting to hear Mark Galeotti mentioned
It's interesting to see a state in USA become Soviet Republic
Some cities in Usa are named Moscow. Make jokes about it too.
@@matiasd5216they also have cities named Rome, Paris and Palestine in US 😂
I knew those hillbillies were up to something!
what I know of georgia is from playing dcs world ;p
Great work 👏👏🙌🙌 thank you 🙏🤲
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.
Program begins at 2:25.
Saying gagngsterism in the Georgian ssr means that, some group of people listened not only to the state, but also to other persons who had a social authority. In Georgian ssr was one the lowest crime index in the whole ussr and beyond it as well. by the 1989 yr, gdp per capita was higher than in the most developed europian countries at that time!
Comment for the algorithm
If the Soviet Union had used Georgia as a bench mark they could have opened up like China did. If that happened we would be talking about the USSR economic rise and not the CCP today.
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.
Did Stalin being georgian contribute to his ascencion to leadership?
*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.*
You should do a video on the Profumo scandal in the UK it’s very interesting
Calling the USSR an Empire is an insult to Rome.
USSR controlled 4 times the territory of the peak Roman Empire
@@nikushachanturia, remove the uninhabited areas and compare for percent of worlds population, and GDP, and it turns out that you are wrong. :-)
@@danyvarna5094 I assume you don't know what the word "empire" means, but it's alright you will grow up read some books
true. georgians experienced both
David, do an episode on Chernobyl and demystify all the myths please.
So youre saying the secret ingredient is crime?!?!
The richest yet STILL poorer than independent Finland.
Really tells a lot.
Very interesting episode.
send your sound guy for training plz
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...
Greed always leads to the continuation of poverty.
I bet it has to do with Coca-Cola.
Did you know you can clean anything with Buffalo Rock ginger ale?
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.
Its unwise to blame an economy system for the coruption of humans. It festers everywhere
You see the differences in a country like Georgia that was a true Soviet State, versus the Baltics that were just occupied by the Soviets. It also explains why the Baltics immediately threw out all the Soviet garbage after the occupation and wanted as little to do with Russia as possible. Georgia choose a different path and we see the results today.
true soviet state? georgia was annexed into the USSR by the 11th red army, its not like it joined voluntarily in 1921, the RSFSR actually recognized their independence in 1920 after they lost a war with georgia in abkhazia. not to mention how it was the 4th country to leave the USSR in 1990. "we see the results today" in what way? russia is currently occupying parts of georgia because they wanted to join NATO and the EU.
@@epepepe7178 not really, the same way they still wanted close ties to Russia, even today, Russians are welcome.to travel to their former Republic, and Georgia is happy to make money of them. They are making money off mother Russia, and the Ukraine war. Facts tell the real story, not the spin. The fact is we in the EU should not allow Georgia candidate status
@@tnickknight do you think they wanted close ties with russia in 2008 when they invaded georgia? or in 1991 when the russian backed coup d'etat was going on? or in 1992 when the russian backed abkhazians were genociding georgians in their own homes? the reason the russians are free to travel there and the reason georgia still does business with them is because of corruption and kremlin backed politicians, nothing more nothing less, to say georgia as a whole with not only its politicians but the people as well want "close ties with russia" as if russian 'peacekeepers' didnt just kill another georgian citizen near the occupation line no more than 2 weeks ago is nothing short of disrespectful.
@@tnickknight Not really, that's because pro-russian government decided to do so. Georgians clearly remember 9 April 1989 events, when soviet army bloodily suppressed anti-soviet rallies, remember 2 wars - in 1992-93 and 2008. There's a clear divide between pro-russian 50+ eldery (not really Russian, nostalgic about soviet times exactly) Georgians and pro-european youth. Most people, as polls show, are STRONGLY pro-EU and pro-NATO, strongly against 360 visa-free regime with Russia and many want Russians out, because prices skyrocketed for everything because of them.
But when it comes to business practices and capitalism in general, lack of labour ethics, lack of education, that's the reason that depsite being angry about too much russian influence, they are too weak to solve this issue. Unlike peoples of Baltics, for example with different labour ethics and mentality.
@@tnickknightGeorgians are the most numerous per-capita volunteer fighters in Ukraine. True, Russian oligarch who happens to be an ethnic Georgian controls the government hence the official decisions of the country now, but the population is hugely anti-Russian. However, there's still a hard path to walk on for Georgians because unlike the Baltics, they don't have NATO as a guaranteed defender. We had our share of wars with the Russian war machine. By the way, Georgian part of 30's terror was one of the biggest among other republics. They wiped out whole generations who still had some anti-Soviet stance and it is logical what came after. The Baltics never went through the 30's terror. Anyways, despite all these, Georgia, alongside the Baltic countries was one of the first "rebels" against the USSR and we paid with blood for it in 1989 on the 9th of April.
P.S. Baltics has been "welcome to live" to mother Russia and Russians all these years, slightly more than travel, right?
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.
They tried once and got massive protests in georgia. Alphabet is something no conqueror ever touched.
@@gigachaduneli1121 Is it because of Stalin himself is Georgian ??
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.
@@TheColdWarTV But Azerbaijani change theirs alphabet from Arabic to Latin and later Cyrillic why ???
@@ironheart5830 it happened i 1978. So not because of stalin.
Could someone please explain if and how this part of Georgian history leads to its invasion by Putin in 2008?
BASED
Because they produce and sell food?
Because it’s the only warm part of the ussr.
Crimea warm to
@@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.
because georgians are traditionally good in surviving
@data544 sounds like your playing sid meir's civilization 6 though, I agree on your statement.
georgian ussr wasn't the richest, the baltic soviet republics were the richest
Should do an episode in rashidov and his scandals.
Wait it was richer than Russia and Ukraine?
It was Stalins birthplace if it wasn’t for him and His georgian ways the USSR would not be powerful
This is a weird thing to say, butbyoung Stalin was kind of a handsome prick.
I had no clue Atlanta was behind the Iron Curtain!
@@napoleonbonaparte4396 take a joke
Technically, Georgia never "joined" the USSR. It was invaded and had its internationally recognized government (including by the invading Russian SFSR) overthrown in 1921
@Akatosh86 Stalin might like a word.
russia not even once
Corruption was everywhere in the USSR. Russians did not have agriculture and therefore they had food, unlike Georgians. You should stop reading Russian propaganda. And You made some big mistakes😆 1. Lazishvili was an economic criminal(and not a thief in the law) because he worked in the Soviet system with a capitalist system. He produced goods, employed people, and paid good wages. And Jaba Ioseliani and Tengiz Kitovani were criminals. They stole, killed, and raped. They worked after Georgia left the USSR. 2. 18:25 The Georgian language was always the official status of the Georgian language. Georgia was the only country in the Soviet Union where Russian was never the official language. Therefore, the Georgian language never stopped developing, as it happened in other republics. Shevardnadze wanted to change this status and accepted the rebellion in 1978. 3. Shevardnadze did not fight corruption. He fought with people who had money and simply gave it to his relatives. 4. Georgia did not join the USSR of its own free will, the independent Georgian Democratic Republic (1918-1921) was invaded by Bolshevik armies on 12th February 1921, and the war lasted more than a month and several weeks. Georgia was defeated and occupied by Russia.
Since the middle ages....we were rich?
The mustache georgian man (Stalin)
I hate empress Elizabeth of Russia for what She did to Ivan the fifth.
But she built the winter palace, c'mon
@@mnemonicpie She locked up A infant and forced A man, who, clearly wasn't qualified for the job to come over.
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
ugh i hate vatniks like you crying about how rich we were during good old soviet times
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.