Current Historical Policy in Georgia

The article presents an analysis of Georgia’s historical policy in the 21st century. It identifies two key narratives of historical policy in Georgia: traditional affiliation with European civilization and the presence of an enduring Russian threat. The author states that these ideas have become the basis for the formation of civic identity in Georgia and today exist inseparably in the country's domestic political discourse. The efforts of Georgian political elites to create the image of a hostile other in the person of Russia have strengthened the “Russian-Georgian myth” in the collective memory of the people as a legacy of the negative imperial past. At the same time, as a result of the consistent abolition of deep historical, cultural and religious ties between Russia and Georgia, positive Russian themes have been ousted from the official agenda. It is concluded that the neutral-negative trend in Georgian historical policy has changed to a negative one after the young generation of bureaucrats came to power in 2003. The above-mentioned ideological and value orientations are reflected in Georgia’s strategic documents on foreign policy and have become the foundations of its modern foreign policy.