Kutaisi, Georgia

Kutaisi is Georgia's second city in Imereti region of Western Georgia, with a population of about 230,000(1989). It was the capital of the ancient state of Colchis. In 975-1122 Kutaisi was the capital of the united Georgian Kingdom, in the 15th century-1810 - the capital of Imeretian Kingdom. In 1810 the Imeretian Kingdom was occupied by the Tsarist Russia. Before Georgia's independence in 1991, followed by the country's economic collapse, Kutaisi was major industrial centre. Today, many inhabitants of the city have to leave and work abroad in order to make a living. Small-scale trade is prevailing among the rest of population. The climate in Kutaisi is humid. The summer is hot. The winter is cold and often with a heavy fall of snow. In spingtime, when snow is melting in nearby mountains, the storming Rioni River in the middle of the city is heard far beyond its banks. The rain is falling in every season of the year. Because of the many gardens in the city centre and the high leafy trees alongside the sidewalks of its streets and boulevards, Kutaisi is painted in bright green in the spring and in yellow-red in the autumn.