In 1799, a Russian regiment entered Georgia. In 1800, Russia and France came to terms. Acquiring strength, Paul I violated the terms of the Treaty. Deciding to abolish the, Kartli (Iberia)-Kakhetian Kingdom, he annexed it to Russia. Giorgi XII died in December 1800. According to the agreement, Giorgi's son David was to become King of Kartli (Iberia)-Kakheti. But by that time - December 18, 1800 - a manifesto, promulgated in St. Petersburg and Moscow on January 18, 1801, had already been signed. According to the manifesto, the Kingdom of Kartli (Iberia) and Kakheti was declared a gubernia (province) of Russia. The manifesto was published in Tbilisi on Feb. 16, 1801. The abolition of the Kartli (Iberia)-Kakhetian Kingdom and its annexation to Russia was finally endorsed by a manifesto of Tsar Alexander I on September 12, 1801.

The tsarist regime was established in Georgia. The country was divided into uezds (districts) with Russian officers responsible for maintaining law and order. Russian became the official language. Georgia found herself under military-political administration. The peasantry suffered under double oppression - feudal and national. Unrest began to brew among the peasants, culminating in uprisings against the social and political tyranny of Russia. In 1804, an uprising flared up in Mtiuleti, spreading to Samachablo, Pshavi, Khevsureti, some lowland districts and parts of Kakheti. Many insurgents lost their lives. Detachments of Russian troops carried out heavy reprisals, sacking and burning villages. In 1812, the peasants of Kakheti rose and, taking Telavi, Sighnaghi, Dusheti and Pasanauri, blocked the Georgian Military Highway. The uprising was quelled only a year later. In 1819-1 820 there was a rising in Guria and Imereti. The 1832 conspiracy of the nobility was also aborted; the conspirators demanded national liberation and independence of Georgia. But “mother Russia” was stronger and bigger…

On October 25 (November 7), 1917, the Bolshevik party staged a coup in Russia and established Soviet power. The leading political parties of the Trans-Caucasian refused to recognize the new power and on November 17, set up a local administration, the Trans-Caucasian Commissariat. Soon the Trans-Caucasian Federation was established, but it was short-lived. On May 26, 1918, the National Council of Georgia declared Georgia’s independence. Georgian statehood, lost 117 years earlier, was restored. The Georgian Democratic Republic was recognized by many states of the world. On May 7 1920, the Georgian government signed a peace treaty with Russia. This treaty was violated on February 25, 1921, when the Red Army occupied and sovietized Georgia. The practically annexed Georgia joined the USSR (1922), continuing as the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic until 1990.