Emigration or out-migration is a new phenomenon
for Georgia that only appeared since the 1990s.
Modern Georgia is quite a typical post-Soviet
country that after its independence has been
seriously affected by external migration. During
the Soviet period ethnic Georgians tended to
remain in Georgia; more than 95% of them stayed
there. Migration was then primarily limited
to internal migration, predominantly directed
towards the capital Tbilisi, and mainly related to
economic development and private purposes, but
also strongly regulated by Soviet rules. There was
some immigration of Russians to Georgia during
Soviet times; by 1989 they made up some six
percent of the Republic’s overall population of
5.4 million.
When the union split, the new emerging
international borders radically changed the situation
and many members of minorities or persons
suffering from economic and social hardships felt
locked in the new independent countries and were
subsequently interested to emigrate. The collapse
of the USSR caused two main changes: 1) internal
Soviet migration suddenly became international
migration, and 2) relative peace among ethnic
groups, safeguarded by the Soviet power turned
into major local conflicts, including wars.
In Georgia a large decrease in population figures
between 1989 and 2002 could be observed. The
2002 population level shows a decline of some
20% from the 1989 census, while Georgia was still
a republic of the Soviet Union. It seems, however,
likely that this was a once-off event linked to the
dissolution of the Soviet Union and the ensuing
political disruption. Part of this decrease is due
to a declining birth rate; but the main reason is
emigration. Russian soldiers returned home and
some other ethnic groups also left in large numbers
– again with the possible intent of returning to their
countries of origin and/or historic homelands.
Analysts suggest that at least half of the people
who left Georgia during the 1990s went to the
Russian Federation, and that many of them may
well have been ethnic Russians. But Georgians did
not leave in large numbers, except from Abkhazia
where anecdotal evidence suggests that a large
proportion of the ethnic Georgian population left
for Russia following the break-away of the region
and were now applying for Russian citizenship.