Soviet
Georgia
Bolshevik
Invasion
By 1920, Soviet Russia actively sought
to extend its hegemony to south Caucasia. Sergo Ordzhonikidze coordinated the
Bolshevik policies in the region and was a fervent exponent of sovietization
of Georgia. In April 1920, the 11th Red Army occupied Azerbaijan and
established Soviet authority in Baku. In May, the Bolsheviks crossed the
Georgian state border but were halted in their advance while the diplomatic
negotiations soon led to Russia’s recognition of Georgia’s independence in
May 1920. Nevertheless, in November of the same year, the Red Army occupied
Armenia, where another Soviet government was proclaimed. The Bolshevik
authorities in Moscow then successfully negotiated with Turkey and other
powers promising concessions in return for their approval for an eventual
attack on Georgia.
On 11 February 1921, the Bolsheviks incited an uprising in the Lori district
of Georgia and, portraying it as the workers’ insurrection against the
Menshevik government, the 11th Red Army quickly came to its aid, invading
Georgia on 12 February. In late February, the 9th Red Army invaded Georgia
through Abkhazia and additional Red Army brigades marched through strategic
passes across the Caucasus. On 24 February, after failing to halt the
Bolshevik advance, the Menshevik forces under General Giorgi Kvinitadze left
Tbilisi for a last stand in Batumi; the Bolsheviks occupied the Georgian
capital the following day. The situation was further complicated by Turkey’s
involvement in the war as Turkish troops attempted to capture the strategic
port of Batumi. Although General Kvinitadze routed the Turks in Adjara, the
Menshevik government was unable to turn the tide of the war against the
Bolsheviks and emigrated to Europe. By March 1921, Georgia was effectively
under control of the Bolsheviks.
The government in exile continued its struggle for decades to come, but it was
an uphill battle. Some Georgian statesmen succumbed to the pressure and
committed suicide while others were assassinated by the Soviet secret service.
In 1932, the Soviet Union and France signed an agreement that banned
anti-Soviet émigré groups in France and led to the closure of the remaining
Georgian embassy in Paris. The émigré community, however, continued its
resistance. In 1934, émigré politicians from Georgia, Azerbaijan and North
Caucasus organized the Council of Transcaucasian Confederation that was to
coordinate national-liberation movements in their respective countries. In
late 1930s and early 1940s, several Georgian émigré organizations blossomed
in Germany and the Baltic states, including the Tetri Giorgi paramilitary
unit.
After the coup against the Menshevik government, the Bolsheviks established
the Revolutionary Committee under Philipe Makharadze as the supreme authority
in Georgia. In February 1922, first congress of Soviets of Georgia was
summoned in Tbilisi and adopted the Constitution of the Georgian Soviet
Socialist Republic. The new authorities struggled to establish themselves as a
guerilla war began in various regions. In the summer of 1921, a rebellion in
Svaneti was harshly suppressed but instigated further anti-Bolshevik
outbreaks. In 1922, guerrilla units, led by Kakutsa Cholokashvili and his
shepitsulebi (men of the oath), operated in Kartli, Guria, Khevsureti, Kakheti
and Mingrelia. The same year, Georgian political parties united their efforts
forming an Independence Committtee and a host of regional organizations.
However, the underground organization had been penetrated by the secret police
and, in February 1923, police arrested committeee members and shut down the
underground press. In the subsequent repriasals, hundreds Georgians, including
Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ambrosi, were arrested and exiled,
numerous churches and monasteries closed. In August 1924, a major uprising
began in Georgia but lack of organization and ineffective cooperation between
the rebels precipitated their defeat in bloody clashes with the Soviet
authorities. The uprising was ruthlessly crushed and the Bolsheviks seized an
opportunity to exterminate any potential threats, exiling or executing
hundreds.
The sovietization of Georgia under Joseph Stalin and Sergo Ordzhonikidze was
so brutal that even Lenin opposed its radicalism in the so-called Georgian
Affair, but the process continued after his death unabated. Collectivization
was carried out ruthlessly throughout the 1920s and, in the 1930s, widespread
purges of Georgian society were perpetrated by Stalin’s local lieutenant
Lavrentii Beria, head of the Soviet state security apparatus in Georgia. The
impact of sovietization on the Georgian culture and social environment was
severe and it inculcated a conformist tendency with the Soviet Communist Party
among the survivors. Between 1922 and 1936, Georgia was part of the
Transcaucasian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (ZKFSR), which also
included the neighboring Armenia and Azerbaijan. In 1936, the new Constitution
of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) made Georgia one of the
constituent republics of the USSR.
Despite its oppressive nature, the new Soviet regime also brought rapid
development of Georgian science, culture and economy. Georgia’s agricultural
output greatly increased and new industrial facilities were built in Rustavi,
Chiatura, Zestaponi, Batumi, Tkibuli and others towns. Several hydro-electric
stations, notably Zemo-Avchala and Rioni, were constructed and provided
much-needed electricity. The railroad network was repaired and expanded
throughout the country. After Tbilisi State University was established by the
Menshevik government in 1918, the Soviet authorities founded the Georgian
Polytechnic Institute, Georgian Agricultural Institute, Tbilisi Medical
Institute, pedagogical institutes in Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Batumi, Institute of
Mathematics, Institute of Physics, Tbilisi Academy of Arts, etc. In 1946, the
Georgian Academy of Sciences was established as the premier center of
scientific research in Georgia. In 1930-1934, universal mandatory education
was introduced and three stage education system established.
Georgians in World War II
During the World War II, Georgia mobilized almost 700,000 Georgian residents
(out of total population of 3.5 million), who served with the Red Army on all
fronts of the war; some 350,000 of them perished in the war, exceeding the war
losses of such major powers as the United States and Britain. Over 240,000
Georgians received various medals and orders for their actions during the war
and 137 of them were conferred the highest award of the Hero of the USSR. The
home front concentrated on the production of mineral resources and increased
the output of manganese at the Chiatura mining plants, coal at Tkibuli and
Tkvarcheli plants and metals at the Zestaponi factory. In 1941, Tbilisi
Aviation Factory was established and began producing fighter planes for the
Red Army. Georgia also served as an evacuation center for thousands of
refugees from German-occupied areas in Byelorussia and Ukraine. In 1943, three
Georgian divisions participated in vicious battles in the Crimea and the
Caucasus and several Georgian officers rose to prominence, among them
Konstantine Leselidze, Vladimir Naneishvili, Ermaloz Koberidze, Porpirius
Chanchibadze, etc. Georgians also took active part in the guerilla warfare and
commanded units throughout western USSR and Eastern Europe, notably David
Bakradze, Ivane Shubitidze and Vladimir Talakvadze’s units in Ukraine and
Byelorussia, those of Vladimir Dzneladze and Shalva Kobiashvili in Poland, of
Stefane Khatiashvili, Nikoloz Tabagua and Otar Chkhenkeli in France, and of
Pore Mosulishvili and Noe Kublashvili in Italy.
At the same time, the Georgians also fought in the ranks of the German
Wehrmacht. The Georgian social-democrats, who escaped the rigors of
sovietization in Georgia, rallied in Germany and, ignoring the dangers of
German national socialism, they sought to use the German war machine to
liberate Georgia. Members of the intelligentsia in Georgia also considered
cooperating with the Nazi authorities in order to overthrow the Soviet regime.
However, the Soviet secret service effectively suppressed them and, between
1941-1942, widespread arrests were made leading to the execution of
ringleaders. In 1942-1943, as the number of captured Georgian troops
increased, the German command established the so-called Georgian Legion under
the leadership of Major General Shalva Maghlakelidze as part of the Eastern
Legions (Ostlegionen). The Legion eventually consisted of 8 Georgian
battalions participating in campaigns in the Caucasus, Ukraine and
Byelorussia; one of them was later deployed on the strategic island of Texel
in the German “Atlantic Wall,” where it fought what is often described as
Europe's last battle in late May 1945.
After the war, the Soviet authorities intensified political repression on the
Georgian intelligentsia, especially the dissident groups that demonstrated
nationalistic tendencies. In 1948, several students of Tbilisi State
University were arrested for conspiring against the Soviet government and nine
of them were sentenced to 25 years in Siberia. On 25 December 1951, some
20,000 Georgians, who allegedly had acted against the Soviet regime, were
loaded on railway wagons and resettled to desolate regions of northern Central
Asia, where many of them died; the survivors managed to return to Georgia in
1954. In late 1951, at Stalin’s orders, the so-called Mingrelian Case was
instigated against Lavrentii Beria and claimed many innocent Georgians who
were accused of Mingrelian nationalism and anti-government activities.
Georgia in 1950s through 1970s
The death of Joseph Stalin led to a power struggle in the Kremlin. In the new
triumvirate, the Georgian Beria enjoyed enormous power controlling the
Ministries of Internal Affairs and of State Security. However, in June 1953,
Beria was arrested on charges of foreign espionage and treason and executed.
The new Soviet Premier Nikita Khurschev made key changes in the Communist
leadership of Georgia, appointing his protégé Vasili Mzhavanadze as the
secretary of the Central Committee of the Georgian Communist Party, dismissing
the first secretaries in Batumi and Sukhumi and some 2,000 party officials in
other positions. Stalin’s death also ushered in the so-called “Thaw”
period in the USSR and Khruschev began de-Stalinization process. In February
1956, he made the famous speech at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party
and denounced Stalin’s policies and the “cult of personality.” The
speech was supposed to be secret but rumors about its content leaked.
To the majority of Soviet citizens such revelations came as a great surprise
and it was particularly true in Georgia, where attacks on Stalin often
stressed his ethnicity and gradually evolved into charges against the entire
Georgian nation. The Georgian youth, raised under the Stalinist regime, came
to idolize the late Soviet leader and Khruschev’s sudden criticism of Stalin
was met with deep resentment. Following Khruschev’s speech, on 5 March 1956,
a demonstration was organized near the Stalin monument on the bank of the Kura
River to mark the third anniversary of Stalin’s death. The situation
gradually spiraled out of control and the protesters rapidly grew in numbers,
with their slogans becoming more and more radical. Students played an
important role in mobilizing demonstrators and pushing a more nationalistic
program of demands. As demonstrations paralyzed the entire Tbilisi, the
Georgian Communist leadership was unable to cope with situation and turned to
the Soviet military for help. On 9 March 1956, the Soviet armed forces opened
fire and launched a bloody crackdown on protesters. The exact number of
casualties remains unclear but estimates indicate some 150 killed and hundreds
more wounded and arrested.
The event was quickly covered up without the rest of the Soviet Union learning
about it for years. Following the events of 1956, the issues of the language
and culture assumed unprecedented importance in Georgia, where Georgian sense
of identity merged with the determination to preserve the Georgian language
and culture from foreign domination. Immediately after the massacre, several
national-patriotic groups were established. Merab Kostava and Zviad
Gamsakhurdia organized the underground Gorgasliani, which began publishing
anti-Soviet pamphlets and newspapers. Sighnaghi Youth Guard was set up in
Kakheti and published several issues of Simebi, its antiestablishment journal.
In 1960s, the Union for the Freedom and Independence of Georgia was
established in Tbilisi with the main goal of proclaiming an independent
democratic republic.
By the 1970s, the Georgian Communist Party had the highest percentage of
members per capita of all the republican Communist Parties. Favoritism and
political control facilitated the growth of black marketeering, speculation
and corruption. According to the World Bank study, Georgia ranked twelfth
poorest of the fifteen Soviet republics in terms of official per capita
income, yet savings deposits per capita were sixth highest amongst the
republics. Furthermore, bribe taking was rampant in the education system and,
based on official statistics, Georgia had one of the highest numbers of
advanced degrees awarded per thousand persons, especially in prestigious
fields like medicine and law. Many Georgians joined the Party for no other
reasons than careerism or opportunism. Party connections not only helped with
promotion but also protected those involved in the shadow economy. In fact,
the Georgian Communist Party had become so notoriously corrupt that even
Leonid Brezhnev’ stagnant regime felt obliged to intervene and promote a new
first secretary, Eduard Shevardnadze, to clean up its activities.
Shevardnadze's tenure as the first secretary (1972-1985) was marked by a
vigorous, at times even ruthless, campaign against both corruption and
political opposition. Shevardnadze succeeded in rising industrial and
agricultural output and labor productivity in Georgia and, by 1980, Georgia
was one of the few republics fulfilling its Five Year Plan targets. However,
the emphasis on completion of state plans also resulted in rapid deterioration
in the quality of Georgia products, especially tea and wine. Shevardnadze's
efficient and heavy-handed methods were particularly effectively in disrupting
the Georgian dissident movement, which posed no threat to Soviet power until
Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms.
Rise of National Liberation
Movement
The 1970s also saw a gradual development of the national-liberation movement
led by Georgian dissidents, notably Zviad Gamsakhurdia and Merab Kostava. In
1974, the Action Group for Defense of Human Rights was established and, three
years later, the Georgian Helsinki Group was founded. The power of Georgian
nationalism was revealed in 1978, when the Soviet authorities decided to make
an amendment to the Georgian constitution and remove an article affirming
Georgian as the sole official state language of the republic. On 14 April
1978, thousands of Georgians rallied in the streets of Tbilisi and their
numbers grew by the hour. As the situation escalated, First Secretary Eduard
Shevardnadze personally met with demonstrators and negotiated a peaceful
resolution of situation. The Soviet authorities decided against removing the
disputed clause. The events clearly demonstrated the potency of Georgian
nationalism and contributed to the increasing popularity of the
national-liberation movement.
After Shevardnadze departed to Moscow to take up his post as Soviet foreign
minister, his protégé, Jumber Patiashvili, took charge of the Georgian
Communist Party. The all-Union policy of glasnost (openness) after 1985 meant
that previously dormant nationalist aspirations among the Georgian people
began to make themselves heard. By 1987, several groups which presented
themselves as cultural but which had a strongly nationalist program had
appeared. In fact, such was the popular support for unofficial groups
demanding better protection for the environment or Georgian cultural monuments
that the Communist Party authorities tried to establish their own parallel
organizations to draw off support from the anti-establishment groups. Georgian
intellectuals, especially members of the republican Writer’s Union, launched
a campaign to assert national prerogatives in the face of perceived threats.
They declared that as a result of the imposition of Russian as the medium of
interethnic communication throughout the USSR, the Georgian language was
denied its natural preeminence within home republic. Furthermore, they
stressed that Georgians were forced to disregard their culture and adapt
themselves constantly to the Russian language and Russian culture, which
became a growing challenge for the minorities within the Republic.
The late 1980s saw dramatic events leading to the collapse of Soviet power in
Eastern Europe. Communist authorities fell in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania
and Bulgaria and the process culminated in the unification of Germany in 1989.
At the same time, national movements were on the rise within the Soviet Union,
particularly in the Baltic States and the Transcaucasia. In November 1988, a
massive demonstration gathered in front of government buildings on the
Rustaveli Avenue in central Tbilisi protesting proposed amendments to the USSR
constitution changing the status of the Georgian language and elevating
Russian to the only state language of the republic. Although the amendments
were soon dropped, the situation quickly escalated. Tensions between Georgians
and Abkhazs spiraled out of control when the Abkhaz nationalists called for
Abkhazian independence from Georgia in the early 1989. On 18 March 1989, the
Popular Forum of Abkhazia (Aydgilara) organized a demonstration in Lykhny for
the restoration of Abkhazia's status as an independent soviet socialist
republic (SSR). In response, a series of rallies began on 25 March 1989 in
Tbilisi and demands were made to contain the Abkhazian separatists; gradually
the calls became more radical and eventually they also included the national
independence of Georgia.
The
9th of April Tragedy
On 4 April 1989, some 150 Georgian nationalist activists began a hunger strike
in front of the Supreme Soviet at Rustaveli Avenue. They demanded full
independence for Georgia and complete integration of the Autonomous Republic
of Abkhazia within Georgia. Two days later, tens of thousands went to the
streets of the capital and demonstrated their solidarity. As the rallies
increased in size, the Georgian authorities turned to the Soviet military for
help. On 9 April 1989, demonstrators were attacked by Soviet troops and, in
bloody fighting, 21 demonstrators, mostly women and teens, were killed while
hundreds were left sick for weeks and months from toxic gases. The brutality
of the Soviet forces against the peaceful demonstrators was recorded on tape
and, when broadcasted later that year, it shocked the whole Soviet Union. The
tragic events of April only intensified Georgian nationalism and gave greater
credibility to the national-liberation movements. The nation united around the
cause of independence and, in the months after the tragedy, hundreds of
thousands rallied in the streets of Tbilisi, wearing black as a sign of grief
and carrying national banners.
In response to the tragedy of 9 April, the Communist leadership of Georgia was
replaced. The new First Secretary Givi Gumbaridze, who replaced Jumber
Patiashvili, initially endeavored to calm down the situation but his attempts
to delay the first free elections for the Georgian Supreme Soviet scheduled
for October 1990 actually played into the hands of the opposition. The
opposition parties organized the Committee of National Liberation, which
united the Helsinki Union led by Zviad Gamsakhurdia (Kostava died in
automobile accident in late 1989), National Democratic Party led by Giorgi
Chanturia, Irakli Shengelaia’s Union of National Justice and Irakli
Tsereteli’s National Independence Party. In March 1990, a special conference
of opposition groups was summoned in Tbilisi and the National Forum was
established. However, the opposition parties soon disagreed on a number of
issues. More radical groups established Round Table-Free Georgia, uniting the
Helsinki Union, Society of St. Ilia the Righteous, the Merab Kostava Society,
Traditionalist Union, National-Liberal Union, etc. Other national groups
formed a National Congress and began a new campaign for the national
independence of Georgia.
In the elections of October 1990, the Round Table-Free Georgia bloc, led by
Gamsakhurdia, won a majority of votes and formed the first non-Communist
government of Georgia. Gamsakhurdia's supporters now held the majority in the
Supreme Soviet and in practice the Communist and other deputies deferred to
their proposals for constitutional change. On 14 November 1990, Zviad
Gamsakhurdia was elected chairman of the new Georgian Supreme Soviet. The new
Soviet began abolishing the vestiges of the Soviet authorities, adopted the
first series of national laws and organized a special commission to draft the
new constitution. In March 1991, Georgia boycotted the All-Soviet Union
referendum on the preservation of the USSR and held its own referendum on the
issue of secession from the Soviet Union, resulting in almost 90 percent
voting in favor of independence. At 12:30 p.m. on 9 April 1991, the Supreme
Soviet of Georgia adopted the Declaration of Independence of Georgia. Two
months later, on 26 May 1991, Gamsakhurdia won the first contested direct
elections for the presidency of Georgia, obtaining over 85 percent of the
votes cast. It seemed that the goal of independent Georgian republic was
finally achieved.
