In contrast to Bolshevik Russia, DRG was governed by a moderate, multi-party political system led by the Georgian Social Democratic Party (Mensheviks).

However, after the German defeat in World War I, the country was partially occupied by British troops, who were sent there to counter a proposed Bolshevik invasion.

The Georgian Government, led by Prime Minister Noe Zhordania, moved to France where it continued to work in exile.

The government-in-exile was recognized by France, Britain, Belgium, and Poland as the only legitimate government of Georgia until the 1930s, when growing Soviet power and political processes in Europe made it impractical to do so indefinitely.

[4] Several women of varying backgrounds were elected to the Georgian parliament,[5] as were representatives of nine ethnicities, including Germans, Russians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, and Jews.

[6] DRG also saw the founding of Georgia's first fully fledged university, thereby realizing a longstanding goal cherished by generations of Georgian intellectuals whose efforts were, up to that point, consistently frustrated by the Imperial Russian authorities.

[7] After the February Revolution of 1917 and collapse of the tsarist administration in the Caucasus, most powers were held by the Special Transcaucasian Committee (Ozakom, short for Osobyi Zakavkazskii Komitet) of the Russian Provisional Government.

On 22 April 1918, the Sejm – Nikolay Chkheidze was the president – declared the Transcaucasus an independent democratic federation with an executive Transcaucasian government chaired by Evgeni Gegechkori and later by Akaki Chkhenkeli.

Undermined by increasing internal tensions and by pressure from the German and Ottoman empires, the federation collapsed on 26 May 1918, when Georgia declared independence.

Following the German defeat in the First World War, British occupation forces arrived in the country,[11] with the permission of the Georgian government.

The threat of invasion by Denikin's forces, notwithstanding the British position, brought Georgia and Azerbaijan together in a mutual defense alliance on 16 June 1919.

On 21 March, Noe Zhordania formed the third government, which had to deal with armed peasants' revolts incited by local Bolshevik activists[14] and largely supported by Russia.

However, the land reform was finally well handled by the Georgian Social Democratic Party government and the country established a multi-party system.

In January, the Soviet leadership offered Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan an alliance against the White armies in South Russia and the Caucasus.

The Government of the DRG refused to enter any military alliance, referring to its policy of neutrality and noninterference, but suggested negotiations towards a political settlement of the relations between two countries in the hope that this might lead to recognition of Georgia's independence by Moscow.

In April 1920, the 11th Red Army established a Soviet regime in Azerbaijan, and the Georgian Bolshevik Sergo Orjonikidze requested permission from Moscow to advance into Georgia.

Though official consent was not granted by Lenin and Sovnarkom, local Bolsheviks attempted to seize the Military School of Tbilisi as a preliminary to a coup d'état on 3 May 1920, but were successfully repelled by General Kvinitadze.

In the meantime, in response to Georgia's alleged provision of assistance to the Azeri nationalist rebellion in Ganja, Soviet forces attempted to penetrate Georgian territory, but were repelled by Kvinitadze in brief border clashes at the Red Bridge.

The Lori "neutral zone" was another challenge, as Soviet Armenia categorically demanded that Georgia withdraw the troops that had been stationed in the region since the fall of the Armenian Republic.

According to this act, "the Democratic Republic of Georgia equally guarantees to every citizen within her limits political rights irrespective of nationality, creed, social rank or sex".

On 21 February 1921, facing the onset of Soviet aggression, the Constituent Assembly adopted a constitution of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, the first modern fundamental law in the nation's history, placing emphasis on human rights.

However, the person in the position did not have some privileges common to dual-heads of state and heads of government, such as the ability to dissolve parliament or veto legislation.

– 103 p.; National Library of the Parliament of Georgia, Archive Fund, F 7.876/4 – პროექტი საქართველოს ტერიტორიის დანაწილებისა ახალ საადმინისტრაციო ერთეულებად (ოლქებად)) the division into Governorates and Oblasts was eliminated, uezds and okrugs were preserved, renamed to regions.

[19] The independence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia was de jure recognized by Romania, Argentina, Germany, Turkey, Belgium, United Kingdom, France, Japan, Italy, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Siam and Estonia, among other countries.

Artvin, Ardahan and part of Batumi provinces were ceded to Turkey, Armenia gained control of Lori, and Azerbaijan obtained Zaqatala district.

[30][29] Although the republic had access to almost 200,000 veterans of World War I with skilled generals and officers, the government failed to build up an effective defense system, a factor that greatly contributed to its collapse.

[31] There were two main issues immediately facing Georgia: economic dependence on Russia, and the need to industrialise a largely agrarian society.

[33] As part of the Russian Empire Georgia had been partially industrialised, with natural resource extraction becoming a major feature of exports from the region.

This division of labour between ethnic groups proved difficult to reconcile once the DRG was established, and in the aftermath of the Georgian–Armenian War in December 1918 anti-Armenian sentiment throughout Georgia made the Armenian-dominated business class reluctant to help implement needed changes to improve the economy.

Leaders of the national movement of the late 1980s frequently referred to the DRG as a victory in the struggle against the Russian Empire and drew parallels with the contemporary political situation, portraying a somewhat idealized image of the Georgian First Republic.