Synopsis
The Armenian and Azerbaijani communities are comparatively the largest among the ethnic minorities
existing in Georgia. Since the 1920s, the Georgian authorities have been continually destroying the non-Georgian religious monuments located in the country. The monuments that have fallen prey to this policy particularly include over 300 Armenian Apostolic, Catholic and Orthodox churches as well as monasteries, cemeteries and mosques. Since the years of Zviad Gamsakhurdias presidency, these acts have been accompanied with the policy of forcing the non-Georgian inhabitants to repudiate their original family names and to replace them with Georgian ones.
existing in Georgia. Since the 1920s, the Georgian authorities have been continually destroying the non-Georgian religious monuments located in the country. The monuments that have fallen prey to this policy particularly include over 300 Armenian Apostolic, Catholic and Orthodox churches as well as monasteries, cemeteries and mosques. Since the years of Zviad Gamsakhurdias presidency, these acts have been accompanied with the policy of forcing the non-Georgian inhabitants to repudiate their original family names and to replace them with Georgian ones.