The Georgian government is lobbying many European and Asian governments that use the name Gruzia (inherited from the Russians) to refer to the country to change to using Georgia instead. Some Georgians see the exercise as pointless:

Davit Muskhelishvili, a well-known Georgian historian, is among those who argue that “Gruzia” is not a Slavic term. But even if it was, he said, the current flurry of debate was a waste of time and effort.

“I can’t say what kind of sense it might make in political terms, but it’s ridiculous,” he said. “What difference does it make whether Poles call us ‘Georgia’ or ‘Gruzia’?”

———————-

But Davit Zurabishvili, a member of Georgia’s opposition Republican Party, said Georgia’s “Gruzia” initiative was setting a bad example by putting a priority on words, rather than deeds, in shaping the country’s foreign policy.

“It’s the usual thing. Every country is called something different by different countries, according to tradition,” Zurabishvili said. “To place such importance on this and point to it as a regrettable relic of the Soviet past is ridiculous. I strongly suspect that this is a private fixation of [President] Mikheil Saakashvili.”

Personally, I like the classical name of Iberia. When it comes to such things, I don’t have any strong objection if a certain government wants its country called by another name. In this case, the change seems likely to create a lot of headaches and inconvenience for the other countries that have been asked to make this change, which is why several have refused to cooperate. While I can almost understand the reason for it, it is a pointless symbolic protest against Georgia’s own past.