The Dynamics of Foreign Orientation in the Early Modern Period: Russian Involvement and Georgian European Contacts

Abstract

This article analyzes the aspects of Russian- Georgian relations in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, reevaluating the extent to which Georgia’s engagement with Europe was primarily shaped by external influences. The analysis indicates that Russia’s engagement in Georgian matters was complex, involving political factors that occasionally constrained direct support, as well as religious and cultural relations that mirrored the wider confessional dynamics of the era. The Georgian monarchs skillfully navigated complex relationships with diverse partners, maintaining a spectrum of diplomatic and cultural interactions with both Eastern and Western Christian factions.