!GEORGIA Georgia is a country in West Asia. T'bilisi is its capital city. Population of this country in 2003 was 5,126,000 with a population density ie number of inhabitants (per square km) 74. Its surface area is 69,700 sq kms and currency is lari. It was a former Soviet Republic that got independence in Dec, 1991. It is bounded by the Black Sea, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan. This country in known for its natural wealth, variety and beauty. It has a fine warm climate. It was once an independent kingdom, which extended along the southern slopes of the Caucasus, and which, since the beginning of the 20th century, has belonged to Russia under the name of Gruzia, and now formed central portion of Russian Transcaucasia. The Georgians are a people of splendid physique, whose history reaches back to the time of Alexander the Great, and who attained their zenith in the 12th century; subsequently they suffered from Persian and Turkish invasion, and eventually, fell into the hands of Russia, and now an independent country. At present there is a Georgian literature growing, especially in Tiflis, if that is any sign of advance.