r/AskCaucasus • u/[deleted] • 24d ago

Are the Lazs Georgian?

i see a lot of think like that in tiktok and i dont have idea why they say that

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u/GeorgeBrilliant 24d ago edited 24d ago

If I ask this question to the Georgian people, the answer will be - yes.

But perhaps a few thousand Laz living in Georgia consider themselves ordinary Georgians, while Turkish Laz do not.

The issue here is neither in language, nor in history, nor in genetics, because the Abkhazians living in the territory controlled by Georgia also consider themselves Georgians, but the Abkhazians of Abkhazia do not.

I've also heard from some Armenians and Azerbaijanis that they consider Georgians, and some don't even have a Georgian surname.

Even the Kists would have become Georgians if it weren't for the Wahhabism that has spread in the last few decades.

P.s. The formation of identity depends on many factors, the main one being political influence. This does not mean that Georgians are trying to Georgianize these peoples. This is simply part of the natural process and they are not taught in schools that they are Georgians. The only exception is the issue of Abkhazians, where it is considered that Abkhazians were and are Georgians(even at the school level).

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u/lasttimechdckngths Europe 24d ago

Even the Kists would have become Georgians if it weren't for the Wahhabism that has spread in the last few decades.

... They'd be staying Vainakh still, but be civic nationals at best.

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u/GeorgeBrilliant 24d ago

Linguistically, yes, but in Georgia the linguistic factor is sometimes not a decisive factor (for example, there are facts about Tsova-Tushetians and Abkhazians).

There are Georgianized Kists here, and not a few of them.