Tbilisi is unique. Throughout the city, one is not merely confronted with the billboards seen all over the world, promoting Coca-Cola, Socar and Sanderson Farms, but the countless posters of an advertising campaign proudly declaring, “I love Tbilisi” and “I love Georgia.” These words are accompanied by striking images of restoration, renovation and huge glass structures transforming the Tbilisi skyline. Is this picture of modernity and rapid development a fair and accurate portrayal of the Georgia that people love? 

Georgia's poets prefer to describe the country's natural beauty. 

'Tavisupleba' (Freedom), the national anthem written by David Maghradze in 2004, describes a land of “bright plains and mountains shared with God,” not of towering offices and hotels built by Sheraton. 

The posters appear to suggest that the anthem's “land between the two seas” has already been washed away by the flood of Western investment. Where does this leave the Georgia of Maghradze, Machavariani and Chavchavadze? The only way to find out is to ask those who know Georgia best: the Georgian people.

Speaking to members of the public on Rustaveli Avenue, there is, without exception, a positive response to the question, “Do you love Georgia?” The Georgian people undoubtedly love their country and, when asked why, Tarieli, 55, gave a typical response: 

“What do you mean, why do I love Georgia? I was born here. I live here. So which country should I love?” 

Some are even more passionate. Tamriko, 73, poured out her emotions:

“Georgia is my first mother, ahead of my mother. I want to die here and have my heart be covered with Georgian soil.” The genuine feeling is unmistakable, but what exactly is this 'Georgia' that people love so much? 

There are numerous ways to define a country. The First Channel’s Saturday night show I Love Georgia deals with history, geography, cinema, theatre and music. Whilst each of these contributes to the idea of Georgia and could be an answer to the question, “What do you love about Georgia?” the most common response from the people of Tbilisi was not any of these, but simply, “Everything!” They embrace everything that Georgia has to offer. To single out one aspect would be to exclude the others. As Sopo, 28, a civil servant, put it:

“The Georgian people, nature, language and culture are all intertwined with one another. The Georgia I love is a combination of all of these.”

When asked to be more specific, the responses people gave had little in common with the advertisements. “Georgia is the country where my parents were born, and their parents, and their parents' parents.” Such references to the past stand in stark contrast to the future-looking Georgia of the campaign. This is emphasised by captions such as, 'Begun in 2009. To be completed in 2011.' This blinkered view could be seen as simply a celebration of the long-awaited emergence of a nation. As one respondent stated, “For so long Georgia has been prevented from raising herself up. Now her time has come.”

However, a more critical observer can detect an attempt to whitewash Georgia's history and paint a picture of Tbilisi as being just another modern European capital with its Chernyshevskian crystal palaces. Guliko, 21, and Sopo, 20, were not alone in dismissing the posters' message: 

“Why should I love a hotel? I love Georgia because it is unique. It is an extraordinary country – a country thirsting for freedom!”

Whereas other European nations have had hundreds of years of independence, Georgia has only been free since 1991. It is thus all the more essential for this nation not to forget its past and its enduring traditions. Georgia has managed to preserve and nurture its identity over centuries of turmoil and it must now be allowed to flourish, not be pushed aside by the bulldozer of anonymous globalisation.

To the credit of the Georgian people, they show no signs of letting this happen. Whilst there is support for the country's development, with Tamriko saying,

“I am interested in seeing what heaven is like but I will be sorry not to see what Georgia will become,” 

not a single person suggested the Argo Hotel or the Multifunctional Hotel Complex in Batumi as a reason for loving their country. People love Georgia because they feel attached not just to their family and friends but to the country itself. A passing policeman expressed his feelings with the words: '”I breathe Georgian air and I walk on Georgian soil.” Therefore, for all the chickens that are being brought in from the USA, as long as no foreign tycoon starts selling imported air, the Georgia that people love will not expire any time soon.