Georgia is situated at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is bordered by Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, and the Black Sea. Strategically located directly east of the Black Sea, Georgia is largely mountainous and controls much of the Caucasus Mountains and the routes through them. The government system is a republic; the chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. Georgia has a mixed economic system which includes a variety of private freedom, combined with centralized economic planning and government regulation.

Tbilisi is the capital of the country of Georgia. Its cobblestoned old town reflects a long, complicated history, with periods under Persian and Russian rule. Its diverse architecture encompasses Eastern Orthodox churches, ornate art nouveau buildings and Soviet Modernist structures. Looming over it all are Narikala, a reconstructed 4th-century fortress, and Kartlis Deda, an iconic statue of the “Mother of Georgia.”