Capital of the Georgian SSR. Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic

In 1921, the state of “Georgian Democratic Republic” disappeared from the world map and the “Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic” appeared. This transformation occurred gradually, over the course of about a month.

1921

The GSSR was proclaimed on February 16 during the uprising in Shulaveri. When Tbilisi fell on February 25, it was proclaimed seriously and finally, and this date is now considered the official beginning of the existence of this state. On the same day, many institutions of the new government arose - for example, the Georgian Cheka, which was headed by Stalin's childhood friend, his seminary classmate, Georgiy Elisabedashvili. A month later he was replaced by Konstantin Tsintsadze.

On March 16, important negotiations between the Bolsheviks and the Turks will begin in Moscow: it will be decided to give the Turks part of southern Georgia (Artvinsky district), for this the Turks will leave Adjara, but will negotiate its autonomous status - for the sake of the Muslim brothers. On the same day, the Turks were promised to transfer the Nakhichevan Republic (created on the same day) to Azerbaijan.

On March 17, the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Georgia, Grigol Lordkipanidze, will conclude a truce with the Bolsheviks. On March 18 - 19, the Georgian army will oust the Turks from Batumi, after which the Menshevik government will leave the country, and General Mazniashvili will hand over the city to the Red Army.

But Soviet power in Transcaucasia was not yet fully established. The Armenian rebels still held out, and on April 27 they proclaimed the formation of the Republic of Mountainous Armenia. They were soon defeated and on July 9 the leadership of the rebels left for Iran. July 16th was formed Autonomous Republic of Adjara.

On March 28 it was created Soviet Socialist Republic of Abkhazia, and on May 31 the Soviet Georgian leadership recognized it.

In June, Stalin will arrive in Tbilisi, but at a rally at the railway depot he will be greeted with whistles and shouts of “traitor!” Stalin would leave the country, maintaining a persistent hostility towards Georgia itself and its communist leadership.

For the rest of the year and several more, the Bolsheviks were busy drawing borders in the ethnically diverse Transcaucasia. At the same time, they proceeded from the fact that Azerbaijan is a state loyal to Moscow and Turkey, and Georgia and Armenia are still unreliable. Therefore, many controversial issues were resolved in favor of Azerbaijan.

Meanwhile, Stalin and Ordzhonikidze decided to create the Transcaucasian Republic, which would include Georgia and its neighbors as autonomies. The Georgian Revolutionary Committee was surprised to discover that once again Georgia was being erased from the world map. They immediately spoke out against this idea, and Lenin himself supported them. This conflict went down in history as the “Georgian Affair”. The situation began to resemble the “annexation of Georgia to Russia” in 1801: again the Georgian leadership received completely different consequences than they had expected. And so the creators of Soviet Georgia (Makharadze and Mdivani), whom Stalin called “social spiritualists,” now tried to preserve at least something of Georgian independence. Much later, before his execution in 1937, Mdivani would say: “It’s not enough to shoot me, I need to be quartered!” After all, it was I who brought the 11th Army here, I betrayed my people and helped Stalin and Beria, these degenerates, to enslave Georgia.”

The efforts of the Revolutionary Committee were not in vain - the Transcaucasian Republic never appeared. Instead, they made a federation consisting of relatively independent states.

Against the backdrop of these battles, new administrative units continued to emerge. On December 12, Georgian communists created South Ossetia, although the status of the Tskhinvali region remained uncertain for some time.

Soviet Georgia in 1921 is surprising if only because there were no Soviets in it. The elections of these Councils took place only at the end of the year, and on February 25, 1922, on the anniversary of the conquest, the First Congress of Soviets of Georgia opened in Tbilisi. The congress approved Constitution of Georgia and formed a management structure: an executive committee, people's commissariats, etc. appeared.

On March 12, 1922, the Transcaucasian republics finally united into one federation and a Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. It was headed by Ivan Orekhelashvili, an Imereti citizen, a communist since 1903. He would hold this position for 5 years, after which he would be transferred to other responsible positions, and in 1937 he would be shot.

On December 22, 1922, the Transcaucasian Federation signed an alliance treaty with Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, and so the state “Soviet Union” appeared on the world map.

The events of 1921 in Georgia are considered Soviet occupation and the Museum of Soviet Occupation is dedicated to this period of history. Some people don't agree with the term "occupation," but that's what it was. A detailed analysis of this issue can be found in the article about this museum.

Tourism

Meanwhile, while all these historical events were taking place, something secondary, but interesting, happened in Georgia - Georgian tourism and Soviet mountaineering were emerging. The founding father of the new sport was Giorgi Nikoladze, a mathematician, engineer and metallurgist, who worked in Donetsk until 1918, and then returned to Western Georgia and was involved in the creation of the Zestafoni ferroalloy plant. In 1921, he organized the first trip, about which little is known, and in 1922 - the second, with a group of 21 people for 15 days along the route Tbilisi-Kodjori-Tetritskaro-Bolnisi-Asureti-Tabakhmela. In 1923, he also organized the first ascent of Kazbek: on August 27, 18 climbers conquered the famous mountain, which marked the beginning of Soviet mountaineering, and August 27 became the birthday of the new Soviet sport.

Giorgi Nikoladze

insurrection

The first years of Soviet power were the most difficult for Georgia. Almost immediately, supply problems began, which led to famine and epidemics. On June 11, Catholicos Leonid died of cholera and his place was taken by Catholicos Ambrosius (Besarion Helaya), who was almost immediately arrested in the name of fighting religion.

All this did not contribute to the popularity of the new government. The fact that the Bolsheviks gave Klarjeti to the Turks also greatly compromised them in the eyes of the Georgian people. The Sovietization of the country proceeded slowly; only 10,000 people were recruited into the Communist Party. At the same time, the Georgian Social Democrats had not yet been destroyed and there were many of them - almost 60,000 people. All this was superimposed by friction within the Communist Party: Ordzhonikidze and Stalin wanted radical restructuring of society and the extermination of the Mensheviks, and the Georgian communists tried to be more democratic, more tolerant and generally more humane. As we see, the first managed to crush the second. From this moment on, the Bolsheviks began to act more aggressively. All parties are ordered to either cease to exist or demonstrate their loyalty to the new government.

Against the backdrop of all this, uprisings began. In May 1921, the Svans disarmed the Red Army soldiers in Svaneti and began a war that lasted until December. Only with the help of serious reinforcements was this uprising managed to be suppressed. In the same year, Kaikhosro Cholokashvili led an uprising in Kakheti and Khevsureti. The uprising was suppressed, and Cholokashvili fled to Chechnya.

Against this background, a historical event took place: the journey of Komsomol member Zinaida Richter to Far Khevsureti. She became the first Russian person in this region after 1914. Her report became a unique document describing Khevsureti in those turbulent years.

The failures of the uprisings led the National Socialists to think about unification. As a result, in May 1922, an organization known as the “Independence Committee” appeared ( Damoukedeblobis committee, abbreviated Damkon), which was headed by Gogita Pogava, then Nikoloz Kartsivadze, and after his arrest on March 16, 1923 - Kote Andronikashvili.

The Georgian Cheka worked quickly. From November 1922, it was led by Epifan Kvantaliani, whose deputy was Lavrentiy Beria in the same November. The Cheka managed to introduce its agents into the underground and gradually catch the organizers. In February 1923, as a result of Kote Misabishvili’s betrayal, mass arrests were made: Kote Abkhazi, Giorgi Kumsiashvili, Simon Bagration-Mukhransky and others were imprisoned. All of them were executed on May 20, 1923. At the beginning of 1924, Valiko Dzhugeli was caught and executed.

Then it was decided to start the uprising, and it was scheduled for August 29, 1924. However, this uprising was crushed in just three weeks. One of the centers of the uprising was the mining town of Chiatura. The only politicized proletariat in all of Georgia spoke out this time against Soviet power. The Chiatura uprising was led by Colonel Svimon Tsereteli. He had at his disposal several detachments from different parties: 112 fighters from the Social Democrats (+1 machine gun), 12 from the Federalists, 15 from the National Democrats.

In Moscow, the uprising was taken very seriously, and Stalin compared it to the Kronstadt uprising in terms of the level of danger. Additional troops were deployed to Georgia, and the Georgian coast was blocked to prevent foreign assistance. On the very first day, the Red Army attacked Chiatura, Senaki and Abasha and pushed the rebels into the mountains. The Red Army soldiers met stubborn resistance in Guria, the homeland of many Menshevik leaders. Everything was relatively calm major cities and non-Georgian regions of the country.

Cholokashvili tried to raise an uprising in the east and attacked Manglisi, but the Red Army soldiers seriously strengthened themselves in the city, so Cholokashvili retreated, went to Kakheti and from there made a campaign against Dusheti, which was taken. However, it was not possible to keep Dusheti.

Soon, on September 4, the Cheka also identified the headquarters of the uprising, which was located in the Shio-Mgvime monastery. The leaders of the uprising were arrested and agreed to call for an end to the uprising in exchange for a promise to end the Red Terror. However, the Soviet leadership did not comply with this communication and the terror continued. People were shot in the thousands. A special method of execution was invented - right in the carriages, which made it possible to quickly remove corpses. Such a carriage can now be seen in the Museum of Soviet Occupation in Tbilisi.

A carriage from the museum. Apparently, reconstruction. Usually causes great irritation among radical Russian patriots.

This was a dark period in Georgian history. The exact number of victims is still unknown. Approximately 3,000 people died directly in the battles, about 10,000 were shot, and about 20,000 were exiled to Siberia. The repressions went too far - so far that the Politburo ordered that those responsible for the excess be found and punished. Even the incomparable Ordzhonikidze admitted that this was a little too much. On October 7, an amnesty was announced for everyone who voluntarily surrendered, and in 1925, all participants were amnestied. Catholicos Ambrosius was released and it was ordered to slow down the persecution of the church. And yet, the persecution of the socialists quietly continued and already in 1925 - 1926 about 500 people were killed, without trial.

The creator of all repressions, Epifan Kvantaliani, was removed in 1926 for unknown reasons (the case has not been declassified), and his place was taken by Lavrentiy Beria. In 1937, Kvantaliani would be executed.

Cholokashvili fled to Turkey at the end of 1924. His wife and mother were shot. Cholokashvili died in Paris in 1930, in 2005 his body was transferred to Georgia and buried in the Mtatsminda Pantheon.

Georgia in the 30s

The 30s in Georgia began with a symbolic event: directly in 1930, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral on Rustaveli Avenue was demolished.

Rare shot. The cathedral has already been demolished, the bell tower is still in place, the Government House building has not yet been built. Mount Mtatsminda is visible in the background.

The 30s will become the era of Lavrentiy Beria for Georgia. During this time, a lot will change in the country. One of the reasons for the changes was the uprising mentioned above. In Moscow, it was decided that the uprising was the result of an incorrect attitude towards the Georgian people, mainly peasants, and this attitude must be changed. Beria became the creator of change. Stalin met him around 1930, immediately began to trust him and entrusted Beria with the management of Georgia. Beria was required to create Georgian industry, create a proletariat, optimize manganese production, restore tea plantations, and most importantly, crush the Georgian Bolsheviks.

At the end of 1931, Beria became the head of Georgia and Transcaucasia, which was formally expressed in a variety of party titles. The Georgian Bolsheviks immediately disliked Beria and practically boycotted him, so Orakhelashvili personally persuaded them to come to terms with this appointment. And he persuaded him, thereby signing his own death warrant.

Beria coped well with the task. During his reign, tea plantations were restored in Georgia and 35 tea factories were built - which seriously reduced the country's dependence on tea imports. Beria began to carry out collectivization, but do it rationally. Since mechanization agriculture problematic in mountainous areas, the peasants were allowed to keep land plots, and on collective farms they began to grow more profitable things - tobacco, tangerines and elite grape varieties. It became really profitable to work on collective farms and peasants began to join them en masse. Under Beria, almost 80% of the peasants were united into collective farms.

Status of Abkhazia

Since 1921, Abkhazia has been one of the republics of the USSR, and Nestor Lakoba decided everything in it. He did not want collectivization and felt the strength to resist. Stalin put pressure on him from the Kremlin, but Lakoba resisted. He was biding his time and trying to get out. It was during these years that he built a dacha for Stalin in Musser, so that the leader would be closer. Seeing Lakoba’s stubbornness, Stalin decided to use him for his own purposes. He confronted Lakoba with a choice: there would be no collectivization if Abkhazia changed its status as a republic to an “autonomous republic.” And Lakoba agreed. Status meant little in the USSR, and collectivization was not a fun thing.

The change was reluctantly approved by the Abkhaz Congress of Soviets on February 11, 1931, and then by the All-Georgian Congress of Soviets on February 19. On February 18-26, Abkhazians gathered for a protest gathering in the village of Duripsh, but Beria brought in the army and everything became quiet.

As a result, the state of the SSR Abkhazia (red flag with a hammer and sickle) disappeared from the world map and the state of the Abkhazian ASSR (red flag with a blue sun) appeared. The change in status meant that Abkhazia lost the right to secede from the USSR and the right to secede from the Georgian SSR.

Industrialization

Industry also got around to it: in 1933, the Rioni hydroelectric power station was launched and the Zemo-Avchala hydroelectric power station near Tbilisi was finally completed, so that now there were two hydroelectric power stations operating in Georgia. In 1929, it began to be designed, and then the “monster” of Georgian industry was built - the Zestafoni Ferroalloy Plant. Huge amounts of money were invested in the coal and manganese mining industry. The country's economy has noticeably improved, and this immediately affected the attitude of the local population - in general, they became loyal to the Soviet regime.

Having won this loyalty, Beria moved on to exterminating the Georgian communists. Lavrenty Kartvelishvili, Budu Mdivani, Mamia Orakhelashvili, Samson Mamulia and some other leaders of the Georgian communist movement were arrested. Cult characters - Tskhakaya and Makharadze - were left alive, but pushed out of political life.

In those years, Tbilisi itself changed noticeably. In 1934, a master plan for the reconstruction of the city was developed. It was then that the modern Freedom Square became the main square of the city. In the same year, construction began on the Government House, which would eventually become the political center of the country. In 1936, the space on Mount Mtatsminda was turned into a park - this is how the Stalin Park of Culture and Leisure appeared. In 1938, the Kura rivers were drained; Mandatovsky Island disappeared and the famous Dry Bridge appeared.

On November 7, 1933, construction began on the Dynamo Stadium, the main stadium in Georgia. On October 12, 1935, the stadium was officially put into operation. In its first design, the stadium accommodated 23,000 people. (From 1937 to 1953 it was called " Dinami Stadium named after Beria")

Almost all of these projects were led by Archil Kurdiani. He was the chief architect of Tbilisi from 1936 to 1944. It was this man who created the face of Stalin’s Tbilisi. Later he would build a pavilion of the Georgian SSR in Moscow and receive the Stalin Prize for it. ( He will die in 1988 and will not have time to see how the Government House he built will be shot)

In 1939, the main Armenian temple in Tbilisi, the Vank Cathedral, was destroyed.

Vank Cathedral in last days existence. The bell tower on the left side of the frame has survived to this day.

In 1937, another historical event will quietly occur - the Transcaucasian Republic will be liquidated. This measure was discussed at the June plenum of the Party Central Committee in 1936, when the draft Constitution was discussed. It was said that the republic had fulfilled its historical role and there was no longer a need for it. What this role was was not clarified, so historians to this day speculate about the real reasons for the liquidation of the ZFR. Formally, it ceased to exist at the time of the appearance of the USSR Constitution of 1936.

Khanjyan's murder

The era of Beria became known for mysterious deaths. On July 9, 1936, Agasi Khanjyan, the head of the Central Committee of Armenia, died under strange circumstances. He came to Tbilisi (the capital of the Trans-Federation) for a meeting, visited Beria in the evening and shot himself there. According to another version, Beria shot him personally. The details of this story have not yet been clarified. According to one version, Khanjyan deviated into nationalism and began to cover up the Trotskyists. According to another, Beria was jealous of his success and was afraid that Khanjyan would take his place. According to the third, Khyanjan asked Beria to transfer the Javakheti region to Armenia. Even the exact location of this murder is not known, although many people claim that they were somewhere close at that moment.

The story with Khanjyan also shows that in those years Beria ruled in Armenia as if he were at home, he could remove and kill Armenian party leaders.

A certain Amatuni, who was arrested in the year of the Great Terror, was appointed to replace Khanjyan, and the Armenian Communist Party was headed by the Telavi Armenian Harutyunyan. He practically created the appearance of modern Yerevan and Jermuk, survived the deportation of Armenians, was removed from office in November 1953 and died in Tbilisi.

Great Terror

It was under Beria that the era of the “Great Terror” hit Georgia. In the USSR it lasted from 1936 to 1938, and in Georgia it appeared mainly in 1937. This was the year when the state, for reasons that have not yet been clarified, began to exterminate everyone in a row: party leaders, generals, artists, writers and poets. It was a terrible period in the history of the USSR, and its senselessness and reasonlessness only add to its horror.

This year many people were arrested and killed. Let's remember the main ones. Sandro Akhmeteli, director of the Rustaveli Theater. Shot on June 27. Memed Abashidze, writer. Mikheil Javakhishvili, writer. Shot on September 30. I will be Mdivani, party leader. Shot on July 10. Titian Tabidze, poet. Shot on December 16. Dmitry Shevardnadze, artist. Disappeared in the camps. Mikhail Kakhiani, party leader. Shot in December. The same year he committed suicide Sergo Ordzhonikidze- and it is possible that he was killed. Writer committed suicide Paolo Yashvili. Somewhere in Russia, General Hecker, one of the conquerors of Georgia in 1921, was shot. And on June 4 she died a natural death Ekaterina Dzhugashvili, mother of Stalin. She was buried in the Pantheon on Mtatsminda.

These arrests were superimposed by the Greek NKVD Operation, which began at the end of the year. It was ordered to arrest 15,000 Greeks, of which 1,000 were arrested in Adjara and Abkhazia.

The era of Beria will end in August 1938, when Beria will become the People's Commissar of the USSR, and his place will be taken by an inconspicuous person - the Lechkhumite Candid Charkviani. This person will have to be the head of Georgia (secretary of the Georgian Central Committee) throughout the 40s, throughout the war and the post-war era. He will remain in power for a very long time and only the “Mingrelian affair” will bring him down for 52 years.

Candide Charkviani

Stalin's dachas

The Stalin era gave Georgia an original cultural phenomenon - Stalin's dachas. There were many of them built here, about six. Full list looks something like this:

1. Dacha “Cold River” (Gagra paradise) - 2 floors, approx. 500 sq. m., 1933.
2. Dacha “Ritsa” (Gudauta district) - near Lake Ritsa, one floor, 200 sq. m. 1936
3. Dacha “New Athos” (Abkhazia) - 2 floors, approx. 200 sq. m., 1947

4. Dacha “Sukhumi” (Sukhumi paradise) - on the territory of the arboretum, a two-story building, occupies more than 600 square meters. m, up to 20 rooms.

5. Dacha “Mussery” (Gudauta paradise) - one-story dacha, about 300 sq. m. m, 1933.
6. Dacha “Tskhaltubo” (Imereti) - two-story building, more than 200 sq. m. m.

7. Dacha "Borjomi". Built before Stalin, but listed among Stalin's.

These dachas have the same design: two floors, usually green, usually with 3 bedrooms, usually 20 rooms. Now almost all of them are considered museums and excursions are conducted there.

War

The Soviet-German war began far from Georgia, but very soon there was a danger of Turkey entering the war. This country was generally pro-German, and could invade both Georgia directly and Azerbaijan through Iran. Therefore, 4 armies were deployed on the borders of Transcaucasia, two of them on the Georgian-Turkish border. The situation on this border was alarming due to the pro-Turkish Muslim population - the so-called Meskhetian Turks.

Georgia was considered a distant rear; in September 1941, Aircraft Plant No. 31 was evacuated here from Taganrog, and this is how the famous Tbilisi Aviation Plant appeared, which during the war produced Lagi, La-5, and since 1944, Yak-3 fighters.

At the start of the war, 130,000 natives of Georgia served in the Red Army (conscription 1938 - 1940). These were relatively well trained military personnel, but almost all of them died in the first weeks of the war. Then the reservists fought, whose level of training was very conditional. There were many heated discussions about the reliability of soldiers of non-Slavic nationality.

At the very beginning of 1842, an important decision was made on the formation of national units. These once existed in the Red Army, but were abolished by the 1938 reform. Practice has shown that it is more effective to keep privates of the same nationality together. This is how the first Georgian divisions began to appear: first the 392nd and 406th divisions were reorganized, then the 224th Georgian division was formed in Crimea, and later the 414th and 418th were formed in Georgia.

The 224th Division in May 1942 took part in the battles for the Kerch Isthmus, was on the extreme right flank of the front, and there the main part of it died. The battles of those days in Crimea are precisely characterized by the massive participation of national formations that did not fight very well: these were ordinary conscripts of 1941, they had a lower level of education, knowledge of the Russian language and training (compared to young people). Because of this, it was even decided to disband the national divisions, but in the Caucasus it did not come to this. And yet the command tried to send “nationals” to secondary sectors of the front and Turkish border, and keep Slavic units in important directions. This caused concern among the leadership of the republics, who anticipated repression and a tightening of national policies.

The Azerbaijani units were considered the worst. There were few negative reviews addressed to the Georgian divisions, but their level was not very high. The 414th Division was known for its indiscipline, the 394th also caused criticism, and only the 392nd Division of Colonel Georgy Kuparadze performed well. This division fought near Nalchik and found itself isolated after the German breakthrough on October 25, 1942, but managed to break through to its own forces through the Caucasian ridges.

Georgy Kuparadze. Formerly an officer in the army of the Georgian Republic.

In July 1942, the Red Army was defeated near Kharkov, the Germans reached Rostov and took it on July 23. The attack on the Caucasus began. On August 21, the Germans reached Elbrus and raised their flag over it. Battles began for the passes of the Caucasus Range, which were defended by the 46th Army of General Vasily Sergatsky. On August 27, Sergatskov was removed from command and the army was transferred to the Ozurgeti Gurian Konstantin Leselidze. The army consisted of approximately 4 divisions, mostly Slavic. There were only 14,000 ethnic Georgians in the entire army, approximately 6% of its strength. There were exactly the same number of Armenians.

The rotation of generals was carried out by Lavrentiy Beria, who flew from Moscow on August 23 to lead the defense. Under his leadership, work began to strengthen the ridge. The fighting continued throughout the autumn and early winter and only subsided in December. The Soviet leadership took away from this story mainly distrust of the national units and the Caucasian peoples. In two years, on the initiative of Beria, the deportation of Chechens and Meskhetian Turks will begin.

Approximately 700,000 Georgians will die on the fronts of that war. Now almost every village has a large military burial with concrete steles. Sometimes entire memorials were built - for example, in Gurjaani and Sighnaghi.

Georgian Wehrmacht battalions

Revolt on the island of Texel

The Georgian SS battalion "Queen Tamara" was recruited in 1943 from Georgian prisoners of war in Radom, Poland. It was commanded by an ethnic German, Major Breitner. In August, the regiment was transferred to Holland, to the city of Zandvoort. When doubts arose about the battalion's loyalty, it was transferred to the island of Texel - this happened on February 6, 1945. There, on the island, the battalion decided to rebel and call on the British for help. One of the leaders of the uprising was Yevgeny Artemidze. On the night of April 6, the battalion - which then numbered 800 people - rebelled. Almost 400 German soldiers were killed in the first days. Local Dutch partisans joined the Georgian military. However, the Germans managed to hold several pillboxes. Additional units of the German army were brought to the island of Bvli - about 2000 people. After two weeks of fighting, the Germans managed to occupy the main part of the island, but failed to destroy the rebels.

It seems to be the same battalion "Queen Tamara"

The German army in Holland capitulated on May 5, but fighting on the island continued. Canadian units were introduced to the island, but they were unable to stop the battle, which died out only on May 20. This story went down in the history of World War II under the title “The Last Battle of Europe.” The Georgian battalion lost 560 people. 120 local residents died. The Germans lost an unspecified number of soldiers - about 1,000.

In 1953, a monument was erected on the island in memory of this event. The film “Crucified Island” was shot in Georgia in 1968.

The Georgian participants in the event were subsequently transferred to the USSR, where their fate is poorly known. Many ended up in camps. Evgeniy Artemidze escaped the camps, then lived in Manglisi for a long time and died on June 21, 2010, 2 months before I arrived in Manglisi to look for him.

The grave of Evgeniy Artemidze in Manglisi

Deportation of Meskhetians

In 1944, the Soviet government decided to deport to Siberia those peoples that it somehow did not like during the war. In Georgia, the first candidates for eviction were Muslim Meskhetians. They did not commit any serious crimes against the Soviet regime, but they lived too close to the border. In addition, the conflict with the Christian population has not gone away; the region remembered well the horrors of 1918. Muslims were not liked here. And so on July 31, it was ordered to remove all Muslims. Including Armenians and Kurds. On November 15, all Muslims were taken out of their homes, taken to Akhaltsikhe, loaded onto trains and sent to Kazakhstan. Either 90,000 or 110,000 were exported.

Temokorevne - evicted villages.

This radical measure at least eliminated one ethnic conflict in Transcaucasia. Who knows what horrors would have begun here in the 90s if not for this deportation. The Christian population reacted to the eviction with understanding and to this day does not want the Meskhetian Muslims to return. The region gained stability, but for this it was necessary to break the fate of an entire people.

Deportation of Armenians

The eviction of the Meskhetians had at least understandable motives. But then something incomprehensible began: in 1949, the party leadership of Armenia demanded a list of traitors and anti-Soviet elements, and a list of 30 thousand. Objections and bewilderments were not accepted. Arrests took place in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia on the same day. Georgia was overwhelmed by the process - only two echelons of Armenians were taken out. Historians have still not found an explanation for this deportation. This measure probably had an important psychological consequence: in Transcaucasia they realized that an entire people could be put on trial, and that an entire people could be deported to Siberia. Of course, deporting 4 million of the Georgian population would have been technically difficult, and while Stalin was alive, discrediting this population on ethnic grounds was problematic. You have to understand how tense everyone was when Saleen finally died.

"Mingrelian affair"

In the fall of 1951, the story known as the “Mingrelian Affair” began. Stalin was looking for dirt on Beria, and started from afar - with dirt on the Georgian Mingrelians. In those years, they managed to get into many leadership positions - which, however, happens in our time. Since 1948, the Ministry of Justice was headed by Mingrelian Avksentiy Rapava (originally from the village of Kortskheli), who really pushed Mingrelians into all positions.

The case began with the eradication of bribery among senior officials, which gradually developed into a search for traitors to the Motherland. It was assumed that the Mingrelians wanted to seize leadership positions, contact foreign countries and take Georgia out of the Soviet Union. The organizer of the entire process was the Minister of State Security Nikolai Rukhadze. Dozens of people were arrested and confessions were extorted from them, but things went slowly and no obvious incriminating evidence could be extracted. Rapava and all Mingrelians of the Ministry of Justice were arrested.

Konstantin Gamsakhurdia miraculously escaped arrest. But Kandid Charkviani, although not a Mingrelian, was accused of lack of vigilance, removed from the post of Secretary of the Central Committee and exiled to Tashkent. His place was taken by the Gurian Akaki Mgeladze (another confirmation that Stalin especially trusted the Gurians).

It is not known how it would have ended, but in March 1953, Stalin died and the case was closed. Some were later shot anyway, but for a different matter - for example, Avksentiy Rapava was shot in 1955.

Georgia in the era of Mzhavanadze

Stalin passed away in the spring of 1953, which gave rise to some reshuffles in the party leadership of Georgia. Mingrelian Beria pushed Mingrelian Alexander Mirtskhulava (who was arrested a year ago in the “Mingrelian case”) into the first secretaries of the Georgian Communist Party, but in July Beria was arrested, and in September Mirtskhulava was also removed. On September 20, 1953, the Kutaisi Imeretian became the leader of the party and the country. This was "Khrushchev's man." Even during the war, he served somewhere near Khrushchev in Ukraine. Khrushchev’s son later said: “ Until recent years, Vasily Pavlovich was considered a Georgian only by his last name. In 1953, after the death of Stalin and the arrest of Beria, my father was faced with a dilemma: who to send to the troubled republic. A reliable, proven person was needed - that’s where he remembered General Mzhavanadze, who served in Ukraine. He knew Vasily Pavlovich well from the war - this is how the general became Secretary of the Central Committee...».

Mzhavanadze would remain in power for almost 20 years and become the father of Georgian Soviet corruption.

It was during this alarming and eventful year that a new, expanded Joseph Stalin Museum was opened in the city of Gori.

Almost the first major event of the Mzhavanadze era was the shooting of a rally in 1956. It was strange story, when the Soviet government was unexpectedly forced to fight Stalinism. Mzhavanadze could have prevented a lot of things, or at least tried, but he avoided negotiations with the people, so he became to some extent the culprit of what was happening. After the shooting and the victims, he took some measures to calm the people and thereby at least avoided being removed from office - which the second secretary of the party, Georgadze, did not avoid.

In the fall of 1958, Pastenak was persecuted for his novel Doctor Zhivago. On March 17, 1959, the Georgian poet Galaktion Tabidze committed suicide - they said that as a sign of protest. He jumped out of a hospital window. However, there is another version of Tabidze’s death. The artist and writer Shalva Dadiani died in the same hospital on March 15. On the 17th, a group of intellectuals came to say goodbye to him, whose behavior somehow offended Tabidze and he jumped out of the window. Both Dadiani and Tabidze were buried in the Pantheon on Mtatsminda.

In 1961, a second wave of de-Stalinization followed, and it began with the removal of Stalin from the Mausoleum in Moscow. They say that Khrushchev instructed Mzhavanadze to voice the proposal for removal, but he ate two kilograms of ice cream, caught a cold, lost his voice, and under such an excuse avoided the task. They carried Stalin out, and then they began to demolish his monuments. It was then that the monument on the Kura embankment, the site of the 1956 rallies, was dismantled. The monument in Gori was left as an exception. It remained perhaps the only monument to Stalin in the entire USSR.

Khrushchev trusted Mzhavanadze, but for some reason he disliked Khrushchev so much that he joined the anti-Khrushchev conspiracy and even recruited supporters himself. As a result, in 1964, Khrushchev was removed, Brezhnev came to power in the USSR, and Mzhavanadze found himself in the position of his ally in the conspiracy.

Mzhavanadze was retired in 1972. Brezhnev's motives are not known exactly, but it is assumed that he wanted to see someone younger and more active in this post. In those years, Heydar Aliyev made a lot of noise, who in 1969 cleaned out corruption in Azerbaijan. Brezhnev wanted to repeat these purges in Georgia, and Mzhavanadze, at 70 years old, was no longer suitable for this. He was removed, he went to prison m Oskovie and lived there in the country until the end of his life.

Georgia in the first era of Shevardnadze

Jumber Patiashvili

The era of Jumber Patiashvili roughly coincided in time with the Gorbachev era in the rest of the USSR. He became the first secretary of the party's Central Committee in July 1985. Then the Union still seemed indestructible and eternal. Georgia was rich, calm and famous. In 1987, a very significant event happened: Margaret Thatcher came to the USSR for the first time, and besides Moscow, she decided to see something else, and they suggested Georgia to her. On April 1, her plane landed in Tbilisi, where she was met by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Otar Cherkezia.

Circassia, Thatcher and Jumber Patiashvili

Thatcher's visit was a bright, interesting and positive event. Probably the last positive event in the history of Soviet Georgia. And the whole of 1987 was the last calm year. After 1987, the crisis in the USSR grew every day. First of all, it was a crisis of interethnic relations. In Transcaucasia it began in 1988 in Karabakh

Karabakh

January 1988 was the last quiet month of the Soviet Transcaucasus. This was the month when the battle that became the historical basis of the film “9th Company” took place in distant Afghanistan. And in February it began: on February 13, the first rally took place in Stepanakert demanding the annexation of Karabakh to Armenia. In a few days this will lead to the death of the first Azerbaijani, and on February 26 the famous Armenian pogrom will begin in Sumgait.

The Sumgait pogrom is the most important event in the history of Transcaucasia. Sobchak later wrote that it was the fear of a repeat of Sumgait that forced the Soviet leadership to use the army in difficult situations - even in Tbilisi in April 1989.

In those years, Azerbaijan was the most loyal country to the Soviet regime, and Armenia was the most dissident. She simply had more reasons to be dissatisfied. Georgia was somewhere in the middle: its protest movement was still in its infancy. Something important happened in Armenia: the party leadership itself did not fight calls to return Karabakh. It was as if the party itself had rebelled against the existing order. The USSR supported Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijan decided to fight with stupid Soviet methods: “condemn, stigmatize and ban.” But public opinion in the USSR was on the side of the Armenians, so the Azerbaijanis also had cause for discontent.

The head of the Communist Party of Armenia was then Suren Harutyunyan. In fact, he is responsible for the entire history of Karabakh, but in 90 he resigned from his post, moved to Russia and for a long time held various important positions there. Amazing career.

On February 13, the first rally took place in Stepanakert with calls to return Karabakh to Armenia. A few days later, the first Azerbaijani died, and on February 26, the Armenian pogrom began in Sumgait. By the summer, protests spread throughout Armenia and Azerbaijan. On July 5, General Makashov uses the army to disperse the rally at Yerevan airport. In the fall, the Soviet leadership was already using the army en masse to restore order: armored cars appeared in Baku, Yerevan, and almost everywhere.

Against this background, Georgia remained a quiet, peaceful republic, where protest sentiments did not go further than newspaper articles. The first rally took place only in November.

First protests

At the beginning of 1988, the first political organizations already existed in Georgia that were going to fight for the rights of the people, national identity and culture. Almost the very first was the National Democratic Party of Georgia, headed by Gia Chanturia.

The KGB wrote the following description of her:

The creation of the party was announced at a rally on August 30, 1988. From November 30 to December 1 of the same year, the first Constituent Congress of the NPD took place, which determined that its goal was “to restore the independence of Georgia.” Methods of political struggle - a call for national rebellion and the real implementation of this rebellion. The ideological basis of the party is theodemocracy. One of the main principles of the party is not to compromise with the authorities. The chairman of the party, G. O. Chanturia, is one of the active organizers and instigators of all antisocial manifestations in the republic. By nature, he is emotional, unbalanced, and stands out for his ambition and desire for leadership. All these qualities predetermined the fact that the activities of the NPD are subordinated to his dictates.

On May 26, the first small rally of only 500 people took place. The reason was the decree of the USSR government on rallies.

On November 12, a large rally (sanctioned) took place at the Tbilisi hippodrome. Almost 30,000 people gathered. They demanded to cancel the decree on rallies, to allow the military to serve on the territory of Georgia, and even demanded the creation in Georgia national army. This was joined by protests against the construction of the Khudon hydroelectric power station on Inguri. This hydroelectric power station began to be built back in 1980, its fragments are clearly visible on the Mestia highway, and it still creates problems for the Georgian authorities.

However, the protest movement was hampered by a lack of unity. Chanturia had a conflict with Irakli Tsereteli, who created his own party: the “Party of National Independence of Georgia”. In March 1989, its goals were announced: “the overthrow of Soviet power in Georgia, Georgia’s secession from the USSR, the dissolution of the Communist Party, the deployment of UN troops to Georgian territory, entry into the NATO military bloc, the creation of a new government of “independent Georgia.”

This is how the anti-Soviet movement was born, and the Soviet leadership of Georgia watched this with despondency and did nothing. And Patiashvili himself did not show any activity.

Ethnic painting 1989

Georgia of those years was quite ethnically diverse, although 70% of its population were Kartvelian ethnic groups and subethnic groups - which in Russia are called “Georgians”. The largest national minority (437,000 people) were Armenians - they made up 9% of the population. They compactly inhabited two regions, and could, if they wished, create problems for the integrity of the country.

There were two more powerful national minorities in the country - 6% Russians and 6% Azerbaijanis (341,000 and 307,000 people). However, these national minorities did not create problems.

3% of the population were Ossetians (164,000 people). It is in their midst that separatism will begin to grow, which will ultimately result in the first ethnic conflict in Georgia.

2% of the population were Greeks (100,000 people), who also compactly inhabited one area, but did not show any inclinations towards separatism - on the contrary, they were not averse to leaving the USSR for Greece. In the end they left.

And finally, one of the smallest ethnic minorities were the Abkhazians - 95,000 Abkhazians also made up 2% of the country's population. At that time, Abkhaz separatism may have seemed the least serious and the least dangerous.

Patiashvili had to lead the party during the difficult perestroika years. Soviet power was weakening, the Union was approaching collapse. Everyone was dissatisfied with the authorities, and in this atmosphere any spark was enough to start a fire. April 9 became such a spark in Georgia.

April 9

On March 18, 1989, a rally was held in an Abkhaz village calling for secession from Georgia. This event caused outrage throughout Georgia; protest rallies were held in many cities from Sukhumi to Tbilisi. The Soviet government seemed to have nothing to do with it, but at that time it was customary to blame it for everything. On April 4, a large rally is being held in Tbilisi, organized by Irakli Tsereteli, Merab Kostava and Zviad Gamsakhurdia. Started as a protest against the Abkhaz events, it quickly grew into a protest against Soviet power as such: already on April 6, slogans appeared “Down with Soviet power!”

On April 7, Patiashvili ordered the deployment of an army to Tbilisi. On the same day, the situation was reported to Gorbachev, and he sent Eduard Shevardnadze to Georgia. On April 8, approximately 1,500 military personnel were brought into Tbilisi - a regiment from Spitak, a regiment from Ganja, a Tbilisi regiment and riot police. These units were led by Igor Rodionov, commander of the Transcaucasian Military District. Residents of Tbilisi remember how tanks entered Freedom Square and the tankers asked what kind of city this was. It seems that it was the appearance of tanks that turned the sluggish rally into a mass one: instead of the usual 200 - 300 people, the number of participants increased to either 3,000 or 10,000.

Surprisingly, the unit brought in from Ganja was an elite airborne regiment - the 345th Guards Parachute Regiment. The same one that participated in the assault on Amin’s palace in Afghanistan and in the battle for height 3234 (an event known from the film “9th Company”).

April 9 has arrived. At night, at 03:45, Catholicos Ilia II asked the protesters to disperse, as they were in mortal danger. Already at 04:00 or 04:05 the order was given to begin the displacement. The day is not known who gave it away, either Rodionov or someone else. Armored vehicles and soldiers began to advance on the crowd, and tear gas grenades and sapper shovels were apparently used. There are still disputes over the details of what happened. 16 people died, followed by three more, and 183 people were hospitalized.

The curfew lasted for several days. A few days later, on April 13, when there were still tanks and soldiers everywhere, the Avetaran Cathedral was blown up in Tbilisi. This was done to prevent a collapse and is unlikely to be related to the rally, but it is still a surprising coincidence.

Then there was an investigation and trial. Rodionov was removed from his position. Patiashvili resigned. In 2003, he claimed that Shevardnadze also had something to do with what was happening. Tsereteli, Gamsakhurdia, Kostava and Chanturia were arrested, but later released.

The criminal authority Jaba Ioseliani later wrote that it was the events of April 9 that made him think about the helplessness of the people before the state and suggested the need to create self-defense forces (“Mkhedrioni”).

April 9 became the official “Day of National Unity” in Georgia. In memory of this day, the adjacent park was renamed “Park 9 April”. “9 April” streets later appeared in many cities of Georgia.

This is how the transitional era of Jumber Patiashvili ended loudly. He will return to politics in 1995 and become a dangerous competitor to Shevardnadze, in 2003 his support will seriously help Saakashvili overthrow Shevardnadze, then he will go into opposition and will be a presidential candidate in 2008.

Fergana

A month and a half later, an event occurred that was somewhat indirectly related to Georgia. On May 16, in the small Uzbek village of Kuvasay, fights began between Uzbeks and Meskhetian Muslims. The same ones who were once evicted from Georgia. On June 3, in the village of Tashlak, fights escalated into a war with houses set on fire and military personnel attacked. On the same day, riots broke out in Margilan and Fergana. The army and police coped with the situation only by June 11. As a result, 103 people died, 757 houses and 27 government buildings were burned, and 275 cars were destroyed. 16,282 Meskhetians were evacuated from the Fergana Valley. The word “Fergana” has acquired eerie associations for a long time.

These events somewhat aggravated the problem associated with the situation of the Meskhetians. Conversations began again about the need for their return to Georgia.

With the consent of the Mensheviks, German and Turkish troops occupied Georgia in June 1918; in December they were replaced by British troops, who remained here until July 1920. In February 1921, the Bolsheviks launched an armed uprising and, with the help of the Red Army, overthrew the Menshevik government and established Soviet rule in Georgia.

On February 25, 1921, the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgian SSR) was formed.

From March 12, 1922 to December 5, 1936, the Georgian SSR was part of the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (TSFSR) as part of the USSR; On December 5, 1936, it entered directly into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

The Georgian SSR included: the Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia (in 1921-1931, from 1931 as the Abkhaz ASSR); Adjarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic; South Ossetian Autonomous Region.

The Georgian economy was part of the all-Union socio-economic system. In the first days after the victory of Soviet power in Georgia, industry was nationalized, railways, banks, land. The republic carried out industrialization and collectivization of agriculture. Collectivization in rural areas was carried out especially brutally; tens of thousands of people (party activists, intellectuals, specialists and anyone suspected of dissatisfaction with the regime) died in the process of mass purges.

As a result of industrialization, entire new industries were created, including mechanical engineering, oil production, chemicals, etc.

During the Great Patriotic War, several national Georgian divisions were formed on the territory of Georgia, participating in the battle for the Caucasus, in the battles for the liberation of the Taman Peninsula, Crimea and other fronts. Georgia supplied a significant amount of weapons, ammunition, uniforms and food.

In total, about 700 thousand people from Georgia (a fifth of the republic’s population) took part in the war, about 350 thousand of them died.

In the post-war period (1950-1970), Georgia made significant progress in development. Such industries as hydropower, coal, manganese and copper mining, ferrous metallurgy (production of ferroalloys, cast iron and steel), mechanical engineering (machine tool building, instrument making, production of trucks, electric locomotives, sea vessels), oil refining, production of building materials (cement, slate, blocks), chemical (production of mineral fertilizers and chemical fiber) and textile (silk, wool, cotton). The food industry developed (tea production, bottling mineral water, including carbonated, etc.) and textile (production of silk, cotton and woolen fabrics) industry.

On Black Sea coast The infrastructure of the sanatorium and resort facilities was developed.

In the 1970s In Georgia, a dissident movement arose led by Zviad Gamsakhurdia and Merab Kostava. The course towards perestroika, proclaimed in the late 1980s. Mikhail Gorbachev, led to a rapid change of leaders of the Georgian Communist Party.

In the multi-party elections to the Supreme Council of Georgia on October 28, 1990, the coalition of Zviad Gamsakhurdia “Round Table - Free Georgia” won. Gamsakhurdia was elected Chairman of the Supreme Council in November 1990.

On March 31, 1991, a referendum was held on the restoration of state independence of Georgia. 90.5% of voters took part in the referendum, of which 98.93% voted for state independence.

On April 9, 1991, based on the results of a popular referendum, the Supreme Council of the Republic adopted the Act on the Restoration of State Independence of Georgia, which declared the Act of Independence of 1918 and the Constitution of 1921 valid. The post of President of Georgia was introduced.

On April 14, 1991, at an emergency meeting of the first session of the Supreme Council, Zviad Gamsakhurdia was elected the first president of independent Georgia; on May 27, 1991, he was elected president of Georgia in general direct secret elections (86.5% of voters voted for him).

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

Plan:

Introduction

• 1 History of the Georgian SSR
  • 1.1 Background
  • 1.2 Establishment of Soviet power
  • 1.3 Georgia as part of the TSFSR
  • 1.4 Georgia within the USSR
  • 1.5 Declaration of independence of Georgia
  • 1.6 Independent Georgia
• 2 Economy of the Georgian SSR
• 3 Population of the Georgian SSR
• 4 Science of the Georgian SSR
• 5 Culture of the Georgian SSR
Notes

Introduction

Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic(cargo. საქართველოს საბჭოთა სოციალისტური რესპუბლიკა ) - one of the republics of the Soviet Union, of which it was a part from December 30, 1922 (via the TSFSR) to April 9, 1991.

The Georgian SSR was formed in 1921. From March 12, 1922 to December 5, 1936 it was part of the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. The only and ruling party - Communist Party Georgia.

The Georgian SSR was located in the northwestern part of Transcaucasia. The neighboring republics were: the RSFSR in the north, the Azerbaijan SSR in the east and southeast, and the Armenian SSR in the south. The republic also had a section bordering Turkey.

The Georgian SSR included:

• Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia (December 16, 1921-February 19, 1931, from February 19, 1931 as the Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic).
• Adjarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
• South Ossetian Autonomous Region

On November 14, 1990, the Georgian SSR was renamed Republic of Georgia. On March 31, 1991, a referendum was held and following its results, on April 9, 1991, Georgia, led by Zviad Gamsakhurdia, one of the first union republics, declared independence from the USSR.

1. History of the Georgian SSR

1.1. Background

After the October Revolution in Russia, on November 28, 1917, the Transcaucasian Commissariat led by the Mensheviks was created in Tbilisi. He pursued a policy of separatism from Soviet Russia. In February 1918, the Transcaucasian Commissariat created a new body of state power - the Transcaucasian Seim, which declared the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic, which disintegrated on May 26 (June 8), 1918 into three new states: the Georgian Democratic Republic, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, and the Republic of Armenia.

On May 7, 1920, the Georgian Republic entered into an agreement with the RSFSR, according to which it had to sever all ties with the Russian counter-revolution, withdraw foreign military units from Georgia, and legalize Bolshevik organizations.

On February 16, the Revolutionary Committee was created in Shulaveri, headed by A. A. Gegechkori, V. E. Kvirkvelia, F. I. Makharadze and others. On February 18, Georgia was proclaimed a Soviet Socialist Republic. The Revolutionary Committee of Georgia turns to the head of the RSFSR V.I. Lenin for military support.

On February 25, 1921, units of the 11th Red Army, together with detachments of Georgian rebels, overthrew the Menshevik government.

May 1925 Mdivani B. becomes chairman of the Revolutionary Committee.

On March 4, Soviet power was established in Abkhazia, and the independent Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia was formed.

On March 16, 1921, in Moscow, the RSFSR and Turkey signed an agreement under which Turkey renounced Batumi and the northern part of Adjara. According to the agreement, Adjara is recognized as part of the Georgian SSR. 2 days later, on March 18, the Menshevik government of Georgia was expelled from Batumi (Adjara).

1.3. Georgia as part of the TSFSR

Order of the Red Banner of the Georgian SSR 1923.

On December 16, 1921, the SSR Abkhazia and the SSR Georgia signed a Union Treaty, according to which Abkhazia, on a contractual basis, was part of the SSR Georgia.

Since March 12, 1922, Georgia was part of the Federative Union of Socialist Soviet Republics of Transcaucasia (FSSSRZ), which on December 13, 1922 was transformed into the Transcaucasian Federation.

Georgians played a huge role among the leadership of the USSR. Among the most famous Georgian political figures are I.V. Stalin, L.P. Beria, G.K. Ordzhonikidze and others.

On February 19, 1931, the Abkhaz SSR as part of the Georgian SSR was transformed into an autonomous republic of Georgia.

On March 15, 1935, for the outstanding successes achieved by the working people of the republic in the field of agriculture and industry, the Georgian SSR was awarded the Order of Lenin.

1.4. Georgia within the USSR

Georgian SSR (1939)

According to the new Constitution of the USSR of 1936, the Georgian SSR, the Armenian SSR and the Azerbaijan SSR became part of the USSR as independent union republics. The Transcaucasian Federation was abolished.

During the Great Patriotic War, the peoples of the Georgian SSR stood up to defend their Motherland. About 700 thousand natives of Georgia took part in the war, which amounted to 1/5 of the population of the republic. 137 citizens living in the Georgian SSR were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for their military exploits. Over 240 thousand were awarded orders and medals.

In March 1944, in connection with the abolition of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, the border areas of Checheno-Ingushetia (Itum-Kalinsky district, western part Sharoevsky district, southern part Galanchozhsky, Galashinsky and Prigorodny districts of the then Chechen Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic), as well as the southeastern part of the North Ossetian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. These territories became parts of the Dushetsky and Kazbegi regions of the GSSR. In 1957, when the Chechen Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was restored, these territories were returned to the RSFSR.

In December 1965, for the great successes achieved by workers in the development of the national economy and cultural construction, the Georgian SSR was awarded the second Order of Lenin.

1.5. Declaration of independence of Georgia

In the 1970s, a movement of dissident separatists emerged in Georgia, led by Zviad Gamsakhurdia and Merab Kostava. On April 14, 1978, mass demonstrations took place in Tbilisi to protest against the deprivation of the Georgian language as the state language.

On October 28, 1990, elections to the Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR are held, in which the nationalist bloc of Zviad Gamsakhurdia wins.

On November 14, 1990, a session of the Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR took place, where Zviad Gamsakhurdia was elected chairman of the Supreme Council. By the decision of this session the country changed its name to “ Republic of Georgia", were accepted as national flag, coat of arms and anthem of the Georgian democratic republic. Gamsakhurdia proclaimed a course towards a unitary state without autonomies.

On March 31, 1991, a referendum was held in the Georgian SSR on “the restoration of state independence of Georgia on the basis of the Act of Independence of May 26, 1918.” The majority of voters voted in favor.

On April 9, 1991, based on the results of the referendum, the Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR adopted an act restoring the state sovereignty of Georgia as the legal successor of the Georgian Democratic Republic. The act of restoring independence declared the validity of the Constitution of the Georgian Democratic Republic of 1921. However, after the collapse of the USSR, Georgia was recognized by UN members as a former Soviet republic.

De jure, Georgia remained part of the USSR until its final collapse on December 26, 1991. In February 1992, the Military Council of Georgia decided to abolish the Constitution of the Georgian SSR of 1978 and transition to the Constitution of Georgia of 1921.

1.6. Independent Georgia

On January 6, 1992, as a result of an armed coup, the first President of Georgia, Gamsakhurdia, was removed. The civil war began. The leadership of the country was headed by Eduard Shevardnadze.

On August 24, 1995, based on the constitution of the Georgian Democratic Republic of 1921, a new Constitution of Georgia was adopted, according to which the name of the country was changed to Georgia .

2. Economy of the Georgian SSR

Zhinvali reservoir on Aragva

The economy of the Georgian SSR was part of the economy of the USSR. The currency in the Georgian SSR was the Soviet ruble.

In 1928, 183 thousand workers and employees worked in the Georgian SSR. Until 1970, this value increased to 1 million 490 thousand people, of which 385 thousand people were employed in industry. Thus, the working population has increased more than 8 times. The economy of the Georgian SSR focused on industry and agriculture.

The republic's industry was based on rich mineral and hydropower resources and agricultural products. The Zemo-Avchala hydroelectric station, the Rioni hydroelectric station, the Sukhumi hydroelectric power station, the Chitakhev hydroelectric power station, the Tkvarcheli and Tbilisi thermal power stations were built. The republic produced up to half of the world's manganese production, which was mined at the Chiatura manganese deposit.

• Industrial production by year

3. Population of the Georgian SSR

Population of the Georgian SSR

Year	Population, thousand people	urban	rural	urban (%)	rural (%)
1913 (end of year estimate)	2601	666	1935	26	74
	2677	594	2083	22	78
	3540	1066	2474	30	70
	4044	1713	2331	42	58
1970 (January census)	4686	2240	2446	48	52

4. Science of the Georgian SSR

The main scientific institution of the Georgian SSR was the Academy of Sciences of the Georgian SSR, formed in 1941 on the basis of the Georgian branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences and a number of research institutions that previously existed at Tbilisi State University.

The woman symbol of Georgia as part of the Trans-SFSR. 1922 stamp

5. Culture of the Georgian SSR

Cinematography was actively developing in the Georgian SSR. The most famous actors include Vakhtang Kikabidze, Sergo Zakariadze, Veriko Andzhaparidze and many others. Georgian directors are also famous, for example, Georgiy Danelia, Otar Ioseliani, Tengiz Abuladze and others.

In the Georgian SSR, republican newspapers were published: “Komunisti” (in Georgian), “Zarya Vostoka” (in Russian), “Council of Kurchustany” (in Azerbaijani), “Sovetakan Vrastan” (in Armenian), Koxә d Madinxә (in Assyrian).

On May 21, 1921, the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic concluded an agreement with the RSFSR on a military-economic union. The Constitution of the Georgian SSR was adopted by the First All-Georgian Congress of Soviets (February 25 - March 4, 1922); At the same time, the Central Executive Committee of the Soviets was elected, which created the government of Georgia. In July 1921, the Adjara Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed as part of Georgia (Adjara was annexed to Russia in 1878). The Abkhazian SSR became part of Georgia in December 1921 on the basis of a “union treaty”. In April 1922, the South Ossetian Autonomous Region was created as part of Georgia.

On March 12, 1922, the GSSR became part of the Federal Union of Socialist Soviet Republics of Transcaucasia (FSSSR), which on December 13 was transformed into the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (ZSFSR). As part of the latter, on December 30 of the same year, Georgia became part of the USSR. On December 12, 1936, the Georgian SSR became an independent union republic within the USSR. At this time, the first secretary of the Communist Party of Georgia was L.P. Beria (1931-1938). On his initiative and with the consent of I.V. Stalin, in 1931 the decision was implemented to downgrade the status of the Abkhaz SSR to an autonomous republic.

In February 1937, at the extraordinary Eighth All-Georgian Congress of Soviets, a new constitution of the Georgian SSR was adopted, according to which the unicameral Supreme Council, elected for 4 years, became the highest body of state power in the republic. In the Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Georgian SSR was represented by 32 deputies, and the Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, the Adjarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and the South Ossetian Autonomous Okrug, which were part of it, had independent representation in the Council of Nationalities: Abkhazia and Adjara - 11 deputies each, South Ossetia - 5 deputies. In general, the governing bodies of the Georgian SSR functioned according to the same scheme as in other Soviet republics.

During the Great Patriotic War, the territory of Georgia was not directly affected by hostilities. According to official statistics, almost 20% of its population fought at the front, more than half of them died. In 1944, about 100 thousand Meskhetian Turks were deported from southern Georgia to Central Asia. During the same period (or a little later) Greeks, Kurds, Hemshins, Laz and others were also deported. According to some reports, the total number of people deported from Georgia exceeded 200 thousand people.

The Georgian SSR was in a special position within the Soviet Union. This was caused by objective factors. Firstly, Joseph Stalin was born in Georgia. In addition, there were other Georgians in the supreme power in the USSR, such as Grigory Ordzhonikidze and Lavrentiy Beria. Political activity in the Georgian SSR has always been very high, and the cult of Stalin, for obvious reasons, was especially strong.

Special position

A favorable economic regime was created in the Georgian SSR. The Republic annually received substantial subsidies from the Union budget. The per capita consumption level in Georgia was 4 times higher than the same production indicator. In the RSFSR, the consumption rate was only 75% of the production level.

After Nikita Khrushchev's famous report on February 14, 1956, exposing the cult of personality, mass uprisings began in Tbilisi. Already on March 4, people began to gather at the monument to Stalin in the Georgian capital, the communist Parastishvili climbed onto the pedestal of the monument, drank wine from a bottle and, breaking it, said: “Let Stalin’s enemies die just like this bottle!”

Peaceful rallies took place for five days. On the night of March 10, wanting to send a telegram to Moscow, a crowd of thousands headed to the telegraph. Fire was opened on her. According to the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs, during the suppression of the unrest, 15 people were killed and 54 were wounded, 7 died in hospitals, 200 people were arrested.

Throughout the Union, the dismantling of monuments to Stalin began, only in Gori, in the homeland of the “leader of the peoples,” with the special permission of Khrushchev, the monument was left. For a long time it remained the most famous monument to Stalin, but it was also dismantled in our time, on the night of June 25, 2010. By order of Mikheil Saakashvili.

Georgia cannot help but be associated with wines, and Georgians in the cultural field of the Soviet Union invariably acted as a toastmaster and a connoisseur of long, beautiful toasts. The Georgian SSR was one of the main and oldest wine-producing regions of the Soviet Union, and Georgian wines became an internationally recognized brand. It is known that at the Yalta Conference, Stalin treated Winston Churchill to Georgian wine “Khvanchkara”, after which the British minister became a devoted connoisseur of this brand.

Stalin himself loved the wines “Kindzmarauli”, “Khvanchkara” and “Majari”.

High-quality table and fortified wines were produced in Georgia. The production of grape wines was carried out by Samtrest enterprises, which included exemplary state farms: Tsinandali, Napareuli, Mukuzani, Kvareli in Kakheti and Vartsikhe in the western part of Georgia. The champagne wine factory produced Soviet champagne and grape wines. By the 1960s, 26 brands of wine were produced in Georgia: 12 dry table wines, 7 semi-sweet wines, 5 strong wines, 2 sweet dessert wines.

Due to optimal climatic conditions The Georgian SSR was a real tourist mecca of the Soviet Union. For Soviet citizens, Georgian resorts replaced Turkey, Egypt, and other hot foreign countries. In the resort of Abkhazia, which was part of the Georgian SSR, there were the most fashionable resorts of the USSR, Pitsunda and Gagra.

IN Soviet era Georgia was the best training base for Soviet skiers. Also, Georgia in general and Svaneti in particular became the main mountaineering bases of the Soviet Union.

Alpiniads and peak ascents were periodically held here Caucasus Mountains. A great contribution to the development of Soviet mountaineering and rock climbing was made by Mikhail Vissarionovich Khergiani, 7-time champion of the USSR and Honored Master of Sports of the Soviet Union.

Georgian tea In addition to wine, the Georgian SSR was famous for its tea. Its quality, according to William Pokhlebkin, was competitive (at the global level), although with reservations. Despite the fact that attempts to establish and organize tea production have been made in Georgia since mid-19th century, its quality left much to be desired, and the volume of plantations did not reach 900 hectares.

In the early 1920s, young plantations were planted in Georgia, and active and fruitful breeding work began. In 1948, Ksenia Bakhtadze managed to develop artificial hybrid varieties of tea: “Gruzinsky No. 1” and “Gruzinsky No. 2”. For them she was awarded the Stalin Prize. The later variety “Georgian selection No. 8” was able to withstand frosts down to -25. This variety became a real sensation.

Eric Smith also noted that Georgians played a significant role in the formation of the shadow economy of the Soviet Union, shaping the market of the late USSR according to the type of “diaspora competition”.