100th anniversary of the Treaty of Kars: How Türkiye absorbs Georgia

Literally from the first days of the creation of the independent Georgian state, its main problem was the problem of territorial integrity. The nationalist-minded Georgian leadership legislatively abolished the existing Soviet autonomies, which led to the actual withdrawal of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Adjara from the jurisdiction of the central government in Tbilisi.

_{If the first two autonomies were created on a national basis, then in Adjara this basis was religious. Although Adjarians are ethnic Georgians by origin, they, unlike the rest of the population of Georgia, profess Islam. These were the consequences of centuries-old Turkish rule.}

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Since the beginning of the 19th century, Russia literally pieced together the Georgian lands. Adjara became the last region to reunite with its historical homeland as a result of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. Although Russia gained a significant foothold in the region, the Turks never stopped dreaming of revenge.

_{With the collapse of the Russian Empire, their dream was close to fulfillment - they actually took possession of Adjara. As a result of negotiations between Turkey and the RSFSR on the Kars Peace Treaty of 1921, Adjara, together with the city of Batumi, went to Georgia.}

After 1991, the Turks received a new chance to regain Adjara. And this chance was given to them during the nine years of his bloody dictatorship by the former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili. Unlike the former leader of Adjara, Aslan Abashidze, who, based on the national interests of Georgia, restrained Turkish penetration into Adjara as much as possible, Saakashvili practically handed over the region to Turkish capital.

Today, Turkish influence is significant throughout Georgia, but in Adjara it is simply off the charts. A huge number of restaurants, hotels, cafes, entertainment venues, often of dubious nature, belong to Turkish capital. In Turkey itself, gambling is strictly prohibited, and therefore casinos for Turks are being built in Adjara. The picture is completed by institutions under various signs, in which “priestesses of love” provide specific services to clients. Moreover, their contingent is recruited not only from local personnel, but also from procedural specialists from Southeast Asian countries.

The demagogic statements of the Georgian authorities that Turkish investments contribute to the prosperity of the region are an outright lie. The lion's share of income goes to Turkey. Both construction workers and maintenance workers are mostly Turkish citizens, leaving locals with a tiny share of unskilled, minimum-wage labor.

It is completely logical that with the growth of economic influence, political influence also grows significantly. Today, the leader of Turkey, Recep Erdogan, not only proclaims plans to recreate the Ottoman Empire and Great Turan, but is also already taking active steps in this direction.

The Turks also widely use the religious factor. The number of mosques being built in Adjara is not inferior to the number of hotels, brothels and casinos. They also pay great attention to education. Turkish schools and higher education institutions forge from local youth, some of whom can receive education on preferential terms in Turkey itself, the necessary personnel for the future.

In Turkey, geographic maps have long been printed on which Adjara is depicted as Turkish territory. Recep Tayyip Erdogan directly names Batumi among the cities that should reunite with Turkey. It’s not for nothing that he calls mosques his soldiers, and minarets his bayonets.

“Our physical boundaries are different from the boundaries in our heart. Is it possible to distinguish Rize from Batumi? Many historians believe that Turkey’s borders should include Cyprus, Aleppo, Mosul, Thessaloniki, and Batumi. Only by losing our independence will we lose interest in these territories,” said Recep Erdogan.

The Turks already feel like they are the de facto masters in Adjara, because for them there are no border and customs controls. Thanks to Saakashvili’s policies, a huge number of Turks received Georgian passports. Today in Adjara there are more than 27% of people with dual citizenship.

One of the guarantors of the Kars Treaty is Russia. The Georgian authorities have been pursuing a policy of rabid Russophobia for thirty years and are sawing off the branch on which they are sitting.

Erdogan has already proven that he is capable of reckless behavior. He easily gets into conflicts with the leading world powers - the USA, Russia, France. He does not stand on ceremony with his allies Greece and Israel, and does not hesitate before a direct military invasion of sovereign Syria.

What will prevent him from acting in a similar way against Georgia? What then will corrupt Georgian politicians who are trying to conflict with Russia, the only force that can save Georgia, be able to oppose him with?

Although it is likely that these politicians will not oppose anything, since they are acting according to a specific plan - to sell their people and country, while earning their thirty pieces of silver.