Half a million Georgians “lost” in Russia

How has the Georgian Diaspora reduced?

Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively to VK

The general census of population of Russia was the most important event not only for Russia, but also for neighboring countries. Of course demographic dynamics in the biggest and the most important country of the post-Soviet area is significant for all post-Soviet countries, including Georgia.

The Georgian Diaspora exists in Russia since the 16th century, and since that time it has only increased. But the results of the last census of population appeared to be unexpected. The statistics says that there are much less ethnic Georgians in Russia than Russian and Georgian politicians state to be. Within the confrontation between Russia and Georgia, the Russian top officials (including President Putin) often reminded their colleagues from Georgia that “from 700 thousand to a million Georgians” live in Russia.

At the same time, the Georgian opposition criticizing the authorities for a strict position toward Moscow, doesn’t miss an opportunity to remind: near a million of Georgians live in Russia and their fate should be considered within structuring of relations with Moscow. The arguments are logical and convincing: according to American NDI, the absolute majority of Georgian citizens don’t like the current relations with Moscow and Tbilisi.

But statistics is an obstinate thing. According to official data, in 2010 157 803 Georgians lived in Russia. It is not little for the four-million ethnic group. But the question remains: where are others from “a million of Georgians”?

If the census touched only Russian citizens, we could suggest that others (Georgians who are not citizens of Russia) were not registered. But the general census of population means census of all residents of the country despite their legal status.

The second explanation is that the majority of Georgians live in Russia illegally. They didn’t participate in the census hiding from the experts who came to every flat and house. If it is so, then representativeness of the census (it is carried out every 10 years according to rules and the regulations of the UN) is doubtful. If we admit that the census “has missed” so many residents within one certain group of the society, there is a question: can it reflect reality toward other groups and the population in general?

The third explanation: the majority of Georgians hide their ethnicity. Possibility of the fact that people decided to change their ethnic identity exists, but in this case we must assume that “in Russia such a regime came in office which made ¾ of representatives of a certain ethnic group change or hide their identity.” Fortunately, it is not so.

The simplest explanation: there has never been a million of Georgians in Russia, and the number is only an argument in the confrontation between Moscow and Tbilisi. But the contribution of 158 thousand Georgians living in Russia to economy of Georgia is fantastic! Annually they transfer in general more than $550 million from Russia to Georgia. The current budget of Georgia is a bit more than $4 billion.