The Greeks in Georgia , which in academic circles is often considered part of the broader, historic community of Pontic Greeks or—more specifically in this region—Caucasus Greeks, is estimated at between 15,000 and 20,000 people to 100,000 down from about 100,000 in 1989. The community has dwindled due to the large wave of repatriation to Greece as well as emigration to Russia, and in particular Stavropol Krai in the North Caucasus region of southern Russia. The community has established the Union of Greeks in Georgia and there is a Cultural Centre and a newspaper entitled Greek Diaspora.
Pontic Greeks in Batumi in the early 20th century
Ethnic Greek women and children harvesting tea in Chakva, Georgia, between 1905 and 1915. Photograph by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii
The Pontic Greeks, also Pontian Greeks or simply Pontians, are an ethnically Greek group indigenous to the region of Pontus, in northeastern Anatolia. Many later migrated in various waves between the Ottoman conquest of the Empire of Trebizond in 1461 and the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829. Common migratory destinations included other parts of Eastern Anatolia, the former Russian province of Kars Oblast in the Transcaucasus, and the country of Georgia.
Funerary stele of two Greek warriors found on the Black Sea coast, Taman peninsula, 4th century BC
Ancient Greek coin from Sinope, coast depicting the head of a nymph and an eagle with raised wings, 4th Century BC
Sinop fortress in 2011.
Giresun Island, used by Ancient Greek colonists as early as the 5th century BC