Georgia: Fighting for Freedom

While we were in Paris, organising the basics for our trip, we started thinking about doing some research work about the countries we would visit and their cultural heritage.
Most of them are the result of centuries of developing, invasions, constant metamorphosis, until the final detachment and further independence.
They all derive from something bigger than them, unions, empires, former colonies.

This is the case of Georgia, Armenia, and the 'Stans which we will visit later on.

Today I want to tell you about what I learnt in Georgia, and its constant struggle for freedom and independence through the 20th century.

Georgia managed to get rid of the Russian Empire in February 1918 along with Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic was born.

Three months later Georgia becomes independent and Noe Zhordania becomes the Head of Government.

The country was recognised by eighteen States, including the Triple Entente which Russia was a member.

Russia will invade Georgia only nine months after the Declaration of Independence violating all the terms of the peace treaty and starts setting the basis for the occupation in 1920.

In February Lenin writes a directive to the military headquarters. It explains the necessity to "justify the military operations in the neutral zone and to protect the rebels".

The letter ends with "we expect from the revolutionary-military circle an energetic and prompt action, including the conquest of Tbilisi".

On the 25th of February 1921, the Red Army enters Tbilisi. It's the beginning of the Soviet era.

From the very first day the national liberation fronts were always eager to act against the Red Army.

The Military Council of the 11th Army, along with Bolshevik punitive forces, the so-called "special commission" started a blood-soaked repressive campaign.
At the end of 1921, the National Georgian Army colonel Kaikhosro "Kakutsa" Cholokashvili estabilished important connections with the leaders of the underground organization called Georgian Independence Commission, General Konstantine Apkhazi, Iason Javakishvili, Nikolas Kartsivadze and others.

In August 1922 a further riot in Khevsureti fails for lack of coordination.

As a result of this "betrayal", Apkhazi and other 14 members of the GIC were arrested and shot in 1923.

Between 1921 and 1926 Georgian elite, aristocracy and intelligentsia members were exterminated.

Between 1921 and 1941 72,000 people were assassinated and more than 200,000 were deported.

The 1937 repressions saw the executions of the most important people in Georgian scientific, scholar, and creative fields.

The beginning of the Second World War brought a glimpse of "hope" in a liberation from the Soviet grasp.

After the end of the war, the most important Georgian political emigrates were caught prisoners of Shinsankom.

The Shinsankom was a "special triad" of Georgian SSR Internal Affairs commission. Their main task was to exterminate the members of various liberation fronts who survived the repression raids of the 20s.
Their main targets were the middle class and rich peasants who fought against kulakhs, the aristocracy and the intelligentsia who were an "intellectual uprising" threat, and the surviving offiers, trained against the Soviet regime.

Between 1942 ans 1952 more than 5,000 people were killed and more than 190,000 were deported.

After Stalin's death in 1953, Kruscëv launched a "destalinisation" process, though Kruscëv himself had a role in Ukrainian repressions of 1937-38 and was also a member of the 11th Army which invaded Tbilisi.

An illegal organisation, KETO, was founded in 1953 by the then 14-year-old Zviad Gamsakhurdia and Merab Kostava. Their main goal was to re-uplift the nationalist feeling in young Georgians and they had a crucial role in the March 1956 protests.
They were arrested in that year.

In the 70s Gamsakhurdia and Kostava became members of Amnesty International.

In April 14th, 1978, thousands of people protested again against the USSR, and especially in defense of Georgian language. For the first time, the authorities were forced to step back.

Merab Kostava was released in 1987. This gave a further input to liberation movements. The protests in front of the Government siege in April 1987 were one of the last most delicate moments, and the Soviets repressed protesters one more time.

In 1989 things started to change. The Georgian SSR Supreme Council started recognising the occupation of Georgia and the admission to Bolshevik Russia in 1921. Then the Council had a further metamorphosis.

On the 14th of November 1990, the new Council approved the new independent Georgia's national symbols. The country adopted the name of Sakartvelos Respublika (Republic of Georgia), the ancient national anthem, the coat of arms and the Democratic Republic of Georgia flag were re-estabilished.

Zviad Gamsakhurdia was elected President of the Supreme Council of the soon-to-be Republic of Georgia.

The referendum of March 1991 was decisive: 98% of voters wanted independence.

On the 9th of April 1991 an extraordinary session approved the Declaration of Restoration of the Independent State of Georgia, recognised by the International Community on Christmas day of the same year.

The Rose Revolution in 2003-04 brought further changes in the flag and the general system, sweeping away corruption, reshaping the Parliament and opening its doors to the West.

Georgia is an exquisite example of national integrity, its inhabitants managed to keep their identity in spite of decades of occupation, and in the same time always eagerly open for changes and positive revolutions.

Everyone should consider Georgia as an example to follow to get rid of the rotten core of things.

I want to thank the Simon Janashia Museum in Tbilisi for the inspiration and the informations I gathered for this post.

I apologise in advance for eventual mistakes, in any case let me know where can I make corrections.

Hidden Pearls: Tbilisi

Hello everyone, how are things going?
First of all, thank you very much for reading us...your presence is fundamental for us :)
We're thinking about starting a Youtube channel soon, if you have any recommendations or requests please don't hesitate to contact us :)

We just arrived in Armenia, after six days in Tbilisi.
We were pleasantly surprised by the quiet, relaxing beauty of this town and the overwhelming kindness of Georgians, their sense of hospitality and their neverending patience.

We arrived in Georgia on Saturday 6th, after a 27-hour bus ride from Istanbul. Needless to say that we were exhausted and as this wasn't enough we found ourselves at Ortachala station, exactly on the other side of the city from our guest house.
After a quick walk to Gulia Square we crossed a taxi driver who offered his help, though he didn't have any clue about the directions to our destinations.
But he took us anyway close to Marjanishvili Square, which was only a couple of minutes from the guest house.
The manager waited for us until late at night and the morning after he gave us a map of Tbilisi with his recommendations for the best place to visit or for lunch.
So we headed to Rustaveli Avenue, one of the principal arteries of the city, and Freedom Square, where we had khinkali for lunch.
Khinkali are some sort of dumplings with various fillings inside, and the shape reminds vaguely of Japanese nikuman.
They cost nothing (averagely 0,60 lari, 27 eurocents each) and they're extremely good!

Later on we visited the Georgian National Museum, with the famous collection dedicated to the Soviet Occupation era.

It was really touching and it taught us a lot about the Georgians' determination for a free country, their massive efforts and the suffering they bore even after the declaration of independence in 1991.
I will write a further article about it later on.


We loved it so much we didn't resist and we went back there a couple of days later to see the rest of the museum, which includes a wide collection of jewellery from the 3rd Millennium b.C. to the 4th century AD, prehistoric exhibits from the Bronze to the Iron Age, and an Oriental Art wing with paintings, crafts and other various objects mostly from Iran, China and Japan.

Another great spot is the Narikala fortress uphill, which you can reach either with an intricated staircase from the Old City quarter or via ropeway from Europe Square.
Stefano and I are quite afraid of heights so you can imagine the tragicomical situation as soon as we were drifting in the air!
But the sight of the gigantic Kartlis Deda (Mother of Kartli) from a very close distance, and the view of the hills behind the city, were definitely worth the effort.

There is not much up there too apart from the old semi abandoned fortress though, so we descended by foot and we found ourselves in the freshly restorated Sulphur Bath area.

The sad thing of Tbilisi is seeing dozens of casinos and luxury hotes popping out from everywhere like mushrooms, in a desperate effort to appeal the West more and feeling accepted as a potential EU State.
Georgia always felt more European than Asian from the cultural point of view.

In my opinion is good for Georgia to get rid of everything concerning their old status as "Soviet region" and make space for a brand new era, but they constantly risk to lose their true identity for the sake of conformity with the West.

Despite this, Georgia really is a place to discover and I hope to come back here soon to explore it even better.

Next time I will tell you about Armenia and Yerevan, I personally cannot wait to see the house of one of my favourite composers ever, Aram Khachaturian!
See you soon!


(ugly pics by me, good pics by Steve Genzo)