[The Avon Lady]

Originally Posted by Dmitry Markov

AL maybe you have strange sources of information - Georgia has on its own free will joined Russian Empire. The main reason for that was threat of Iran Invasion and - very important thing those days - Georgians are orthodoxes as Russians so it was logical that smaller orthodoxal people joins the larger beyond the face of mutual foe. Leading role in this process was played by Georgian colony in Moscow. Later Georgian tzar Vakhtang VI have found shelter in Russia during Turkish attacks. In 1795 Iran's shah Aga Magomet-khan invaded Georgia and ruined Tbilisi - it was reason for Russia to join the war against Persia as we had Georgievsky traktat with Kartli (the way Georgia was named that days). Pavel I signed Georgia's entrance in Russia by will of dying Georgy XII.

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