Georgian American
Encyclopedia
Georgian Americans are citizens
of the United States
who are of Georgian
ancestry.The precise number of Georgian Americans is unknown because during their main stage of immigration - early 20th century - Georgians were mistakenly thought to be Russian as it was only recently that Georgia
was freed from the Russian Empire
.
are thought to have come to the United States
as performers. One group came in 1890 as part of a troupe of Cossack
horsemen hired by Buffalo Bill Cody and his Wild Congress of Rough Riders. The number of Georgians coming to the U.S. saw an increase after the political upheavals following the Russian Revolution
when the Georgian nobility and intellectuals, including those residing in other parts of the Russian Empire, fled the country. A second wave of immigration of Georgians to the U.S. followed the Red Army invasion of Georgia
when the remaining nobility and members of the intellectual class fled the country fearing deportation and imminent death in Russian Siberia
.
put in place restrictions on travel, both in and out of the Union. Despite this, some Georgians managed to flee to the U.S. during World War II
, especially those who lived in liberated parts of Eastern Europe, as well as members of the military personnel who were stationed abroad. Following WWII, emigration from Soviet Georgia was virtually nonexistent until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, following which an estimated one-fifth of the country's population left. Unlike the first half of the 20th century, this final wave of emigration was not limited to the nobility, intellectuals, or military personnel.
Citizenship in the United States
Citizenship in the United States is a status given to individuals that entails specific rights, duties, privileges, and benefits between the United States and the individual...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
who are of Georgian
Georgian people
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
ancestry.The precise number of Georgian Americans is unknown because during their main stage of immigration - early 20th century - Georgians were mistakenly thought to be Russian as it was only recently that Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
was freed from the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
.
Early stages of immigration
The earliest recorded GeorgiansGeorgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
are thought to have come to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as performers. One group came in 1890 as part of a troupe of Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
horsemen hired by Buffalo Bill Cody and his Wild Congress of Rough Riders. The number of Georgians coming to the U.S. saw an increase after the political upheavals following the Russian Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
when the Georgian nobility and intellectuals, including those residing in other parts of the Russian Empire, fled the country. A second wave of immigration of Georgians to the U.S. followed the Red Army invasion of Georgia
Red Army invasion of Georgia
The Red Army invasion of Georgia also known as the Soviet–Georgian War or the Soviet invasion of Georgia was a military campaign by the Soviet Russian Red Army against the Democratic Republic of Georgia aimed at overthrowing the Social-Democratic government and installing the Bolshevik regime...
when the remaining nobility and members of the intellectual class fled the country fearing deportation and imminent death in Russian Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
.
Immigration during and following the Soviet Union
Emigration from Georgia was brought to a halt when in the 1920s and 30s the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
put in place restrictions on travel, both in and out of the Union. Despite this, some Georgians managed to flee to the U.S. during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, especially those who lived in liberated parts of Eastern Europe, as well as members of the military personnel who were stationed abroad. Following WWII, emigration from Soviet Georgia was virtually nonexistent until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, following which an estimated one-fifth of the country's population left. Unlike the first half of the 20th century, this final wave of emigration was not limited to the nobility, intellectuals, or military personnel.
Most notable Georgian Americans
Notable Americans of Georgian descent include:- Alexander KartveliAlexander KartveliAlexander Kartveli 1896–1974, born Kartvelishvili) was a famous and influential aircraft engineer and a pioneer of American aviation history. Kartveli achieved important breakthroughs in military aviation in the time of turbojet fighters...
- one of the most important aircraft designers and succesful aviation innovators - General John Shalikashvili — a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of StaffChairman of the Joint Chiefs of StaffThe Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is by law the highest ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, and is the principal military adviser to the President of the United States, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council and the Secretary of Defense...
. Born to a Georgian lieutenant-colonel, who fled to Poland and then to the U.S. following the Bolshevik invasion of Georgia. Former NATO supreme commander of Europe under President ClintonClintonClinton is an English family name, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton. Clinton has frequently been used as a given name in the United States since the late 19th century, probably originally in honor of DeWitt Clinton or one of his famous relatives...
and responsible for the transformation of the US Army into a much more effective fighting force. - George BalanchineGeorge BalanchineGeorge Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
— one of the founders and balletmasters of the New York City BalletNew York City BalletNew York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Leon Barzin was the company's first music director. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company...
. A son of a Georgian composer Meliton BalanchivadzeMeliton BalanchivadzeMeliton Balanchivadze was a Georgian composer and one of the founders of Georgian classical music. His two sons, George Balanchine and Andria Balanchivadze, had illustrious careers, the former as a leading choreographer in the United States, and the latter as Soviet Georgia’s foremost classical...
who initially emigrated to Russia. - Andrew Sidamon-EristoffAndrew EristoffAndrew P. Sidamon-Eristoff is a Republican Party politician from New York City who currently serves as New Jersey State Treasurer under Governor Chris Christie...
— a Republican Party politician serving as New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
State TreasurerNew Jersey Department of the TreasuryThe mission of the New Jersey Department of the Treasury is to formulate and manage the state's budget, generate and collect revenues, disburse the appropriations used to operate New Jersey state government, manage the state's physical and financial assets, and provide statewide support services to...
. Descended from the Georgian noble house of Sidamon-Eristavi, members of which emigrated to the U.S. following the Russian Revolution and the Bolshevik invasion of Georgia. - Svetlana Alliluyeva-Stalin (Lana Peters)Svetlana AlliluyevaSvetlana Iosifovna Alliluyeva , later known as Lana Peters, was the youngest child and only daughter of Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin and Nadezhda Alliluyeva, Stalin's second wife...
— the only daughter of Joseph StalinJoseph StalinJoseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
who defected to the United States in the 1960s. - Prince Georges V. MatchabelliGeorges V. MatchabelliPrince Georges V. Matchabelli or Giorgi Machabeli was a Georgian prince and diplomat, who fled Soviet Georgia and immigrated to the United States after the 1921 Bolshevik takeover of Georgia....
— an American perfumer and a former diplomat who emigrated to the U.S. following the Bolshevik invasion of Georgia.