Strategically located at the crux of ancient spice routes from Russia, Asia and the Middle East, post-Soviet satellite Georgia has always cultivated and maintained a fascinating, steadfastly distinctive culture all its own. From its one-of-a-kind language and alphabet, with no ties to any other, to its wildly inventive amalgam of culinary influences - Georgia is utterly unique. Since breaking from the USSR in 1991, the country has zigzagged along a tumultuous political road - beginning with a decade full of corruption and power outages led by Edward Shevardnadze, followed by the hairpin turn leadership of hyper-Western, progressive Mikael 'Misha' Saakashvili, who cleaned up and modernized the country, while loudly attracting attention from the US and Europe. Today, with Misha out of the picture, and the nation losing traction with the West, Georgia is more vulnerable than ever to the pressures pushing down on them from Putin’s Russia directly to the north.
Anthony Bourdain was broadcast on SBS ONE at Sunday 16 February 2020, 03:00. This episode was initially placed on Wednesday 27 November 2019.