xa xa xa

hetalia art blog of @ottomanliest mostly ocs, historical hetalia, & caucasus + east slav stuff

[kavkasia]

hey jade I know you said you're busy but 👉👈 could you tell us more about your georgia of? i love the vibes I get from him and I'm not very well versed in the history of the caucasus so I'd love to hear more about him 👀

You know the way to my heart... ❤️

I’m going to ramble, so if you want me to expand on anything don’t be afraid to send an ask about it! I’m just trying to compact my notes and not write one giant paper LOL.

NAME

Human Name: Giorgi (Ilias Dze / Ilyich) Davitashvili

Giorgi — His first name actually started as a joke (Georgia... Giorgi... very clever) but it also works well. The patron saint of Georgia is Saint George: a military saint which has been popular in Georgia for centuries (parts of Georgia post-Christianization are believed to have combined the cult of Saint George with the cult of the pre-Christian moon god Armazi). Giorgi is also the most common male name in Georgia and the name of many Georgian kings.

Ilias Dze / Ilyich — He doesn’t actually use his patronymic anymore, but during the USSR he did have one because Obligatory Russification Time™. It’s after Prince Ilia Chavchavadze, a major contributor to the revival of the Georgian national movement in the late nineteenth century and widely considered to be the “Father of the Nation”.

Davitashvili — A Georgian surname roughly meaning “David’s child”. It’s a reference to the Bagratoni King David IV of Georgia (also known as David the Builder) who is famous for keeping the Seljuk Turks out of Georgia at the Battle of Didgori. It was under his reign that Georgia began to experience its Golden Age and much of the Caucasus region fell into Georgian hands.

AGE

He is around 2500 years old (physically he is in his mid-late 40s).

He considers himself to be an ancient nation like Armenia and Iran. Not that he’s wrong! It’s just not often acknowledged by others who aren’t familiar with him.

PERSONALITY

[steals bits of this from my RP blog because I got tired from linking wikis in an upcoming section oops]

MBTI: ESFP

• hospitable • sociable • stubborn • prideful • short-tempered • charismatic • confident • passionate • brave • spontaneous • lazy • sincere • boisterous •

Ok, listen. He is a bit of an asshole I’m not going to lie LMAO.

He is the type of guy that argues a point even when he knows jack shit about it (he knows more than a professional!!).

He has an opinion on everything.

He is super prideful to the point where he genuinely believes his culture is superior and his language/food/people/etc. are the best.

He has a bit of a temper (the kind that just jumps out with some build up) and he is sensitive to feeling slighted.

He is a flirt but it is not cool at all. He is an attractive guy (I have a reason lol) but he uses the worst pick up lines.

At the same time:

He is very devoted and loves genuine relationships. If you gain his favour he will do almost anything for you (there is also the reverse of this though).

He is so hospitable he is famous for it.

He treats his guests with the utmost respect.

He can be very chivalrous towards women (but it can come from a sexist place oops).

He is very friendly once you break through his initial serious shell.

He loves jokes and anecdotal humour.

Miscellaneous:

He loves rugby, wrestling, football, singing, dancing, wine, this movie, and eating absurd amounts of (hopefully Pasanauri) khinkali.

He hates rules, not having enough money for cigarettes, if you put on a seat belt when he’s driving, criticism, refusal, and being called “Gruzia.”

He also plays the panduri.

TIMELINE

Before I start, I have to say Giorgi is not a collective personification of Georgia. Giorgi is actually the personification of the Kartlians! He just has the title of Georgia and so represents the nation on the international level (and also the domestic level depending on the situation).

Start (~5th century BC)

I pinpoint his “birth” to be around when several Anatolian tribes settled in Eastern Georgia and merged with the local tribes. He had a couple caretakers who were like siblings or sibling-parents.

Kingdom of Iberia (Kingdom of Kartli) (302 BC–580 AD)

In this period he gets baptized, starts loving God and Jesus (becoming the second nation in the world to adopt Christianity) and says no to paganism (but lowkey-highkey pagan practices were kept up for a long time).

Also, Iberia is the Greco-Roman name that is used for the area. When you see Iberia, know that it’s Kartli.

Principality of Iberia (588–888)

He is just trying to live his life but the Byzantine Empire and Sassanid Iran are ruining everything by fighting over the area. He also continues to love God and Jesus.

Kingdom of the Iberians (888–1008)

Lots of politics. Honestly, I hate it here.

Kingdom of Georgia (1008–1490)

The Battle of Didgori happens during this period and it was the best moment of his life. He has several amazing rulers including King Tamar. Lots of wars against the Byzantine Empire, various Turkic states and more. Eventually, the kingdom breaks up.

Kingdom of Kartli (1478–1762)

Here he gets fucked over by Safavid Iran multiple times and also works as a weird slave soldier too so life is great.

Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti (1762–1801)

He has a short marriage to Kakheti that ends after he gets completely fucked over by Russia and then forcibly annexed into the Russian Empire.

Georgia Governorate (apart of the Russian Empire) (1801–1917)

There were actually several governorates in this period but for the sake of simplicity I’m going to list it as that one.

I have a small write up about the time here.

Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic (1918)

The Caucasus splits off from Russia. Giorgi represents Georgia and the TDFR (Armenia and Azerbaijan are also there as co-representatives of the TDFR). The Entente will later say they need to stick together but they forget one crucial detail:

Democratic Republic of Georgia (1918–1921)

Georgia splits off from the TDFR. Time to create a republic with a socialist government! Amazing! Too bad he’s the wrong kind of socialist according to the Bolsheviks and gets brutally stomped by the Red Army in 1921! 

All his neighbours want to fight in this period as well. The Entente also won’t commit to helping Georgia until it’s too late because they were suspicious of him after he had been forced to ask the German Empire for protection in 1918.

Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (1921–1991)

Listen, the USSR was terrible, but at least Georgia was actually one of the nicer Soviet republics because he won the geographic lottery. He even got stereotyped as being the rich republic.

We just aren’t allowed to talk about Russification or the purges or the discrimination or the fact they would only print Georgia’s most iconic piece of literature in Russian.

(Oh, it’s also my headcanon that until 1936 he shared the title of USSR with the other republics.)

Georgia (1991–present)

1990s sucked. 2000s sucked. 2010s sucked. 2020 sucks.

Summary:

NOTABLE RELATIONS

Ukraine

Best friend. Best girl. His Suliko. He loves her.

(I also have way too many dumb AUs for them 😭)

Lithuania

Other best friend. They call each other by their proper names because fuck Russian names. Also, this video is them (Giorgi is the wrestler).

Kakheti

They were married at one point in time. He is closest to her out of all the other Kartvelian regions (it’s the Eastern Georgian solidarity).

Armenia

He is like a brother but they only really acknowledge that when they’re in a good mood or when one wants something from the other. It’s a love-hate relationship that has gone on for centuries.

Russia

Azerbaijan

They are... okay. They go from tolerating to disliking each other pretty quickly. He hates when he hangs out with her and Turkey and they only speak Turkish to each other so he ends up being a third wheel that didn’t want to be here in the first place but his economic situation means he has to show up.

Iran

They had major issues but things are fine now, I guess.

Okay, Giorgi actually still has some issues, but Iran just wants to come over for a vacation sometimes.

EU and NATO

BUT YEAH UM... that’s Giorgi. This is all mostly surface level stuff so again, if you want me to expand on anything just ask. Thank you for the ask and ily. ❤️

[kavkasia]

It’s Georgian Independence Day!

[kavkasia]

Iryna and her Zaporozhian Cossack boyfriend Mykola. ❤️

During the 16th century, Mykola emerged as the Zaporozhian Sich (a Cossack State in Southern Ukraine). This state was formed by Ukrainians who had fled Polish rule, and they would play an important rule in halting foreign incursions into the Polish Commonwealth. The tensions between Poland and the free Cossacks ultimately resulted in a Cossack uprising against Polish rule, which would culminate in the Cossack liberation of Kyiv. With Iryna liberated from Poland, she and Mykola would come to represent the newly declared Cossack Hetmanate.

Unfortunately, issues between them would arise. Mykola’s starchly independent spirit and growing resentment towards Iryna’s dominance in the state would spur arguments, and foreign powers would soon find ways to exploit their problems. There would be civil wars and periods of foreign rule amid attempts to reunify their state, but the unfortunate end ultimately was the Russian Empire annexing Ukraine and explicitly ordering the execution of the defiant Mykola.

He lived and went on to stay a headache of a region.

[kavkasia]

🎶✨when u get this u have to put 5 songs u actually listen to, publish. then, send this ask/tag 10 of your favourite followers (non-negotiable, positivity is cool) 🎶✨

Tagged by @thesnackthatneversmilesback ! Thank you for thinking of me. ❤️🥺

Steeltown — Big Country (1984)

Galaktioni — Niaz Diasamidze & 33A (1999)

Luna de Miel en la Mano — Virus (1985) (thanks Flopy)

Nightshift — Commodores (1985)

Tinseltown in the Rain — The Blue Nile (1984)

(I included the years out of personal curiosity and… 💀 My taste landed in 1984-1985.)

[kavkasia]

I Ilkhan-hate you.

The 13th century was an interesting time period for Georgia and Armenia, as the pair were two of the three notable Christian vassals of the Mongols. While the Ilkhanate respected Giorgi for his battle prowess and warrior lifestyle, he still thought of himself as much better. Giorgi himself never would like the Ilkhanate, but at least he was able to reap one (1) benefit in being able to get revenge on the Abbasids while he was a part of the Mongol army.

[kavkasia]

South Italy sketch for funsies.

[kavkasia]

Byzantine Armenia, my love.⁣

Making a major component of the Byzantine army, Armenians played a very important role in the Eastern Roman Empire. They were found in all areas of Roman life, from military leaders to scholars to traders to politicians, with several even becoming emperor (though having to become Roman to do so).⁣ Sargis himself was often a mercenary for Byzantium/Theodora, playing the role of her bodyguard at points. They often worked together and became quite close, with palace gossip often speculating how far the relationship truly went between their sacred personification and her knight “Sergios.”⁣

However, this isn’t to say things were perfect between them. Political and religious differences often put them at odds with each other, and Theodora was not always the kindest to those who were non-Roman (Armenians were about the bare minimum for being a “civilized people” in Byzantium).⁣ Despite the power Armenians had cultivated within the military over centuries, they were eventually replaced and left as a divided people. This division would come back to bite Theodora, as it turns out that effectively nuking your main guard isn’t a great idea. The Eastern Roman Empire would be invaded by the Turks, and the Armenian borderlands were powerless to stop it. In the end, a weakened Sargis would survive the fall and bitterly celebrate her decline.

[kavkasia]

A meme redraw featuring Georgia and Austria because I couldn’t stop thinking about it (original meme under the cut).

[kavkasia]

The former Kingdom of Imereti — Irakli Tabidze.

[kavkasia]

Georgia as Valiko ‘Mimino’ Mizandari from the Soviet film “Mimino.”

Vakhtang Kikabidze, the actor who played Mimino, passed away on January 15. Known for his singing and acting, he was a beloved figure throughout Georgia, Ukraine, and the rest of the former-USSR. Kikabidze was also staunchly against Russian imperialism, and he used his platform to be an advocate for both Georgia and Ukraine until the very end.

I’ve enjoyed Kikabidze’s work since my early days of researching Georgia, so I wanted to make a small (albeit somber) tribute to a lovely artist who deserves the praises that Georgia and other nations are giving him.⁣

[kavkasia]

All girls do is play hockey, eat hot vepřo knedlo zelo, and beat Canada 5-2 in their opening game.

Czechia played for gold at the World Junior Championship for the first time since 2001. While they ended up losing 3-2 to Canada in overtime, they played such good games that I still wanted to do a little something. 💙🤍❤️

Czechia OC/Růžena belongs to @melondramatics.

[kavkasia]

A 1911 cabinet photo of Růžena Palacková.

Czechia OC by @melondramatics​. Coloured version under the cut.

[kavkasia]

Long time no post! Here is a snippet from my current WIP of early 1700s Georgia/Kartli.

[kavkasia]

@wildwestaliaweek​​ | Day 5: Historical

The Caucasus does not have much of a connection to the Wild West aside from one character — the Georgian region of Guria.

A people known for their riding feats, Gurian men and women were recruited from the Caucasus to perform in American Wild West shows (notably Buffalo Bill’s Wild West) between the 1890s and 1920s. Show organizers promoted the Georgian riders as Russian Cossacks, as at the time Georgia was part of the Russian Empire and the Cossacks had a wider reputation.

Late Western historian Dee Brown noted that the Georgians won widespread recognition and significantly influenced cowboys.

“Trick riding came to rodeo by way of a troupe of Cossack daredevils …” he noted. “Intrigued by the Cossack’s stunts on their galloping horses, Western cowboys soon introduced variations to American rodeo. Colourful costumes seem to be a necessary part of trick riding, and it is quite possible that the outlandish western garb which has invaded rodeo area can be blamed directly on Cossacks and trick riders.”

Character-wise, Zurab (Guria) visited America for a short time. He was able to show off in front of Alfred before returning home to tell the other Georgians about seeing tall buildings and “moving rooms” (elevators).

Alternative image and more information under the cut!

The act usually began with Georgian dances and songs, and then was followed by stunt riding.

“They stood in the saddle, on their feet and on their hands and kicked their legs as the horses flew madly around. They rode standing in their saddles with their faces facing their horses tails and chased each other to capture a handkerchief carried in their mouth…” (The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 9, 1893).

The performance of the Georgians was incredibly popular at the time, so much so that it is said to be comparable to the popularity of Native Americans and cowboys. Fans of the Georgian trick riders came to include Queen Victoria, Woodrow Wilson, and Theodore Roosevelt.

The First World War and the Bolshevik takeover of Georgia put an end to the import of Georgian riders to America. Many who returned home would be imprisoned, exiled, or sworn to secrecy about their time in the West (with any Western possessions and memorabilia destroyed).

[kavkasia]

Melancholic Belarus.

[kavkasia]

Ukraine in her days as a little Ruri-kid.⁣⁣

[kavkasia]

The year is 1918, the Caucasus trio has recently split up after attempting to be a single nation for one (1) month, and there's no way they would ever be in the same room like this.