The Democratic Republic of Georgia (DRG; Georgian: საქართველოს დემოკრატიული რესპუბლიკა, romanized: sakartvelos demok'rat'iuli resp'ublik'a) was the first modern establishment of a republic of Georgia, which existed from May 1918 to March 1921. Recognized by all major European powers of the time, DRG was created in the wake of the Russian Revolution of 1917, which led to the collapse of the Russian Empire and allowed territories formerly under Russia's rule to assert independence. In contrast to Bolshevik Russia, DRG was governed by a moderate, multi-party political system led by the Georgian Social Democratic Party (Mensheviks).
Initially, DRG was a protectorate of the German Empire. However, after the German defeat in World War I, the country was partially occupied by British troops, who were sent there to counter a proposed Bolshevik invasion. The British had to leave in 1920 because of the Treaty of Moscow, in which Russia recognized Georgia's independence in exchange for DRG not hosting forces hostile to Russia's interests. Now that Western European powers were no longer present in Georgia, in February 1921 the Bolshevik Red Army proceeded to invade the country, leading to DRG's defeat and collapse by March of that year, with Georgia becoming a Soviet republic. The Georgian Government, led by Prime Minister Noe Zhordania, moved to France where it continued to work in exile. The government-in-exile was recognized by France, Britain, Belgium, and Poland as the only legitimate government of Georgia until the 1930s, when growing Soviet power and political processes in Europe made it impractical to do so indefinitely.
Although short-lived, DRG continues to be an inspiration for modern day Georgia due to its legacy of democracy and pluralism. It has been described as the world's "first social democratic state." DRG was one of the first countries in Europe to grant women the right to vote as enshrined in the Georgian constitution, which was "unusual in most European constitutions at the time". Several women of varying backgrounds were elected to the Georgian parliament, as were representatives of nine ethnicities, including Germans, Russians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, and Jews. DRG also saw the founding of Georgia's first fully fledged university, thereby realizing a longstanding goal cherished by generations of Georgian intellectuals whose efforts were, up to that point, consistently frustrated by the Imperial Russian authorities.
Background
After the February Revolution of 1917 and collapse of the tsarist administration in the Caucasus, most powers were held by the Special Transcaucasian Committee (Ozakom, short for Osobyi Zakavkazskii Komitet) of the Russian Provisional Government. All of the soviets in Georgia were firmly controlled by the Georgian Social Democratic Party, who followed the lead of the Petrograd Soviet and supported the Provisional Government. The Bolshevist October Revolution changed the situation drastically. The Caucasian Soviets refused to recognize Vladimir Lenin's regime. Threats from the increasingly Bolshevistic deserting soldiers of the former Caucasus army, ethnic clashes and anarchy in the region forced Georgian, Armenian and Azerbaijani politicians to create a unified regional authority known as the Transcaucasian Commissariat (14 November 1917) and later a legislature, the Sejm (23 January 1918). On 22 April 1918, the Sejm – Nikolay Chkheidze was the president – declared the Transcaucasus an independent democratic federation with an executive Transcaucasian government chaired by Evgeni Gegechkori and later by Akaki Chkhenkeli.
Many Georgians, influenced by the ideas of Ilia Chavchavadze and other intellectuals from the late 19th century, insisted on national independence. A cultural national awakening was further strengthened by the restoration of the autocephaly of the Georgian Orthodox Church (12 March 1917) and the establishment of a national university in Tbilisi (1918). In contrast, the Georgian Mensheviks regarded independence from Russia as a temporary step against the Bolshevik revolution and considered calls for Georgia's independence chauvinistic and separatist. The union of Transcaucasus was short-lived though. Undermined by increasing internal tensions and by pressure from the German and Ottoman empires, the federation collapsed on 26 May 1918, when Georgia declared independence. Two days later both Armenia and Azerbaijan declared their independence as well.
History
Recognition
Georgia was immediately recognized by Germany and the Ottoman Empire. The young state had to place itself under German protection in the Treaty of Poti and to cede its largely Muslim-inhabited regions (including the cities of Batumi, Ardahan, Artvin, Akhaltsikhe and Akhalkalaki) to the Ottoman government in the 4 June Treaty of Batum. However, German support enabled the Georgians to repel the Bolshevik threat from Abkhazia. German forces were almost certainly under the command of Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein.
Following the German defeat in the First World War, British occupation forces arrived in the country, with the permission of the Georgian government. Relations between the British and the local population were more strained than they had been with the Germans. British-held Batumi remained out of Georgia's control until 1920. In December 1918, a British force was deployed in Tbilisi too.
Georgia's relations with its neighbors were uneasy. Territorial disputes with Armenia, Denikin's White Russian government and Azerbaijan led to armed conflicts in the first two cases. A British military mission attempted to mediate these conflicts in order to consolidate all anti-Bolshevik forces in the region. To prevent White Russian army forces from crossing into the newly established states, the British commander in the region drew a line across the Caucasus that Denikin would not be permitted to cross, giving both Georgia and Azerbaijan temporary relief. The threat of invasion by Denikin's forces, notwithstanding the British position, brought Georgia and Azerbaijan together in a mutual defense alliance on 16 June 1919.
On 14 February 1919, Georgia held parliamentary elections won by the Social Democratic Party of Georgia with 81.5% of the vote. On 21 March, Noe Zhordania formed the third government, which had to deal with armed peasants' revolts incited by local Bolshevik activists and largely supported by Russia. These became more troublesome when carried out by ethnic minorities such as Abkhazians and Ossetians.
However, the land reform was finally well handled by the Georgian Social Democratic Party government and the country established a multi-party system. In 1919, reforms in the judicial system and local self-governance were carried out. Abkhazia was granted autonomy. Nevertheless, ethnic issues continued to trouble the country, especially on the part of the Ossetians, as witnessed in May 1920. Nikolay Chkheidze proposed a white mandate for Georgia, vying to protect Georgia in event of an invasion by the Red Army. Many opposed him though. It is unknown whether or not the Kingdom of Italy wanted to place Georgia under its protection as a white mandate, but they were considering it. Nevertheless, Georgia did not become a mandate, resulting in the Red Army invasion of Georgia.
Downfall
The year 1920 was marked by increased threats from the Russian SFSR. With the defeat of the White movement and the Red Armies' advance to the Caucasus frontiers, the republic's situation became extremely tense. In January, the Soviet leadership offered Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan an alliance against the White armies in South Russia and the Caucasus. The Government of the DRG refused to enter any military alliance, referring to its policy of neutrality and noninterference, but suggested negotiations towards a political settlement of the relations between two countries in the hope that this might lead to recognition of Georgia's independence by Moscow. Severe criticism of the Georgian refusal by Russian leaders was followed by several unsuccessful attempts by local communists to organize mass anti-government protests.
In April 1920, the 11th Red Army established a Soviet regime in Azerbaijan, and the Georgian Bolshevik Sergo Orjonikidze requested permission from Moscow to advance into Georgia. Though official consent was not granted by Lenin and Sovnarkom, local Bolsheviks attempted to seize the Military School of Tbilisi as a preliminary to a coup d'état on 3 May 1920, but were successfully repelled by General Kvinitadze. The Georgian government began mobilization and appointed Giorgi Kvinitadze commander-in-chief. In the meantime, in response to Georgia's alleged provision of assistance to the Azeri nationalist rebellion in Ganja, Soviet forces attempted to penetrate Georgian territory, but were repelled by Kvinitadze in brief border clashes at the Red Bridge. Within a few days, peace talks resumed in Moscow. Under the terms of the controversial Moscow Peace Treaty of 7 May, Georgian independence was recognized in return for the legalization of Bolshevik organizations and a commitment not to allow foreign troops on Georgian soil.
A vote at the League of Nations on granting membership to Georgia was held on 16 December 1920, with the resolution defeated: 10 voted for it, 13 against, and 19 abstained. Georgia gained de jure recognition from the Allies on 27 January 1921. This, however, did not prevent the country from being annexed by the Red Army to Soviet Russia.
After Azerbaijan and Armenia had been Sovietized by the Red Army, Georgia found itself surrounded by hostile Soviet republics. Moreover, as the British had already evacuated the Caucasus, the country was left without any foreign support.
According to Soviet sources, relations with Georgia deteriorated over alleged violations of the peace treaty, re-arrests of Georgian Bolsheviks, obstruction of convoys passing through Georgia to Armenia, and a strong suspicion that Georgia was aiding armed rebels in the North Caucasus. For its part, Georgia accused Moscow of fomenting anti-government riots in various regions of the country, and of provoking border incidents in the Zaqatala region, disputed with the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. The Lori "neutral zone" was another challenge, as Soviet Armenia categorically demanded that Georgia withdraw the troops that had been stationed in the region since the fall of the Armenian Republic.
Government and law
The Act of Independence of Georgia, declared on 26 May 1918, in brief, outlined the main principles of the nation's future democracy. According to this act, "the Democratic Republic of Georgia equally guarantees to every citizen within her limits political rights irrespective of nationality, creed, social rank or sex". The first government, formed the same day, was led by Noe Ramishvili. In October 1918, the National Council of Georgia has renamed the Parliament and announced new elections to be held on 14 February 1919.
During its two-year history (1919–1921), the newly elected Constituent Assembly of Georgia, with Nikolay Chkheidze as president, adopted 126 laws; these included laws on citizenship, local elections, defence, the official language, agriculture, the legal system, political and administrative arrangements for ethnic minorities (including an act about the People's Council of Abkhazia), a national system of public education, and some other laws and regulations on fiscal and monetary policy, railways, and trade and domestic production. On 21 February 1921, facing the onset of Soviet aggression, the Constituent Assembly adopted a constitution of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, the first modern fundamental law in the nation's history, placing emphasis on human rights. Georgia's constitution was regarded as highly progressive for its time and received international praise.
The country was governed as a type of decentralized unitary parliamentary republic with an executive, with the constitution stating that "the state belongs to all the people. Parliament exercises the sovereignty of the nation within the framework of this constitution." The three decentralized regions included the Abkhaz Autonomy, the Autonomy of Muslim Georgia, and the Zaqatala Region, which were granted autonomy in local affairs.
The Chairman of the Government was the chief executive post, approved by the parliament for one-year terms of office (the post could not be held for more than two consecutive terms). The chairman appointed ministers and was responsible for governing the country and representing Georgia in foreign relations. However, the person in the position did not have some privileges common to dual-heads of state and heads of government, such as the ability to dissolve parliament or veto legislation.
The 1919 government of Georgia adopted a law on jury trials. The right to trial by jury for serious criminal, political and print cases was incorporated into the 1921 Constitution. The highest court was the Senate, indirectly elected by the parliament. Any changes to the constitution must have first been approved by 2/3 of the legislature, and then a majority of the voting public in a referendum. Noe Zhordania viewed the decentralisation of the DRG as giving a strong role to local, self-governing assemblies, erobas, that would share power with the national parliament.
Territorial structure
During the Democratic Republic of Georgia, in accordance with the Project for dividing the territory of Georgia into new administrative units (regions), developed by the Self-Government Commission of the Constituent Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1920 (Publication of the Committee of the Union of the elected bodies of local self-government of Georgia No. 2, 1920 (State printing house), Tiflis. – 103 p.; National Library of the Parliament of Georgia, Archive Fund, F 7.876/4 – პროექტი საქართველოს ტერიტორიის დანაწილებისა ახალ საადმინისტრაციო ერთეულებად (ოლქებად)) the division into Governorates and Oblasts was eliminated, uezds and okrugs were preserved, renamed to regions. The names of the regions were mainly proposed by the names of their administrative centers. Minor changes were made to their borders and several former uezds and okrugs were united: Batumi and Artvin okrugs – into the Batumi region, Akhaltsikhe and Akhalkalaki uezds – into the Akhaltsikhe region, Dusheti and Tianet uezds into the Ananuri region. In addition, three autonomous entities were created: Abkhazian autonomy (Sukhumi region), Autonomy of Muslim Georgia (Batumi region) and Zagatala region. Two-level local self-government was introduced: 18 regions and equivalent to regions, the capital of Georgia – Tiflis (Tbilisi) at the regional level and 356 cities and communities at the local level. The southern part of the Ardahan district and the Olta district – if the Democratic Republic of Georgia establishes control over them, will be part of the created Artaani region.
New administrative-territorial units (regions – «olki») of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, created in accordance with the Project, on the basis of existing uezds and okrugs of the Russian Empire, (alternative names of areas are given in brackets):
1 – Tiflis region (Samokalako), capital – Tiflis
2 – Borchaly region (Kvemo Kartli), capital – Ratevani / Ekaterinenfeld (or Kveshi)
3 – Akhaltsikhe region (Samtskhe-Javakheti), capital – Akhaltsikhe
4 – Gori region (Shida Kartli), capital – Gori
5 – Ananur region (Mtiuleti), capital – Ananuri
6 – Telavi region (Shida Kakheti), capital – Telavi
7 – Sighnaghi region (Kiziki), capital – Sighnaghi
8 – Zaqatala region (Saingilo), capital – Zaqatala
9 – Kutaisi region (Kvemo Imereti), capital – Kutaisi
10 – Zestaponi region (Zemo Imereti), capital – Zestaponi / Kvirily
11 – Oni region (Racha), capital – Oni
12 – Tsageri region (Lechkhum-Svaneti), capital – Tsageri
13 – Sukhumi region (Abkhazia-Samurzakano), capital – Sukhumi
14 – Zugdidi region (Zemo Odishi), capital – Zugdidi
15 – Senaki region (Kvemo Odishi), capital – Ahal-Senaki / Novo-Senaki
16 – Ozurgeti region (Guria), capital – Ozurgeti
17 – Batumi region (Adjara-Klarjeti), capital – Batumi
18 – Artaani region (Tao-Artaani), capital – Artaani / Ardagan
19 – Tiflis (Tbilisi) – capital of the Democratic Republic of Georgia.
International recognition
Under the terms of the Moscow Peace Treaty of 7 May, Georgian independence was recognized by Soviet Russia in return for the legalization of Bolshevik organizations and a commitment not to allow foreign troops on Georgian soil.
The independence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia was de jure recognized by Romania, Argentina, Germany, Turkey, Belgium, United Kingdom, France, Japan, Italy, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Siam and Estonia, among other countries.
The Government of the Democratic Republic of Georgia in Exile continued to be recognized by many European states as the only legal government of Georgia for some time after 1921. The Government of the Democratic Republic of Georgia in Exile lasted until 1954 continuing to oppose Soviet rule in Georgia.
Political geography
Georgia's 1918–1921 borders were formed through the border conflicts with its neighbors and ensuing treaties and conventions.
In the north, Georgia was bordered by various Russian Civil War polities until Bolshevik power was established in the North Caucasus in the spring of 1920. The international border between Soviet Russia and Georgia was regulated by the 1920 Moscow Treaty. During the Sochi conflict with the Russian White movement, Georgia briefly controlled the Sochi district in 1918.
In the southwest, the DRG's border with the Ottoman Empire changed with the course of World War I and was modified after the Ottoman defeat in the hostilities. Georgia regained control over Artvin, Ardahan, part of Batum province, Akhaltsikhe and Akhalkalaki. Batum was finally incorporated into the republic after the British evacuated the area in 1920. The Treaty of Sèvres of 1920 granted Georgia control over eastern Lazistan including Rize and Hopa. However, the Georgian government, unwilling to become embroiled in a new war with Turkish Revolutionaries, took no steps to take control of these areas.
The border disputes with the First Republic of Armenia over a part of Borchalo district led to a brief war between the two countries in December 1918. With the British intervention the Lori "neutral zone" was created, only to be reoccupied by Georgia after the fall of the Armenian Republic at the end of 1920.
In the southeast, Georgia was bordered by Azerbaijan, which claimed control of Zaqatala district, and parts of . The dispute, however, never led to hostilities and relations between the two countries were generally peaceful until the Sovietization of Azerbaijan.
The 1919 projects and the 1921 constitution of Georgia granted Abkhazia, Ajaria and Zaqatala a degree of autonomy. Article 107 of the constitution gave autonomy to Abkhazia and Zaqatala. However, due to the Red Army invasion, the exact nature of this autonomy was never determined. It did however serve as the first time in the modern era that Abkhazia was defined as a geographic entity.
The territory of the Democratic Republic of Georgia included some territories that today belong to other countries. It was circa 107,600 km2, compared to 69,700 km2 in modern Georgia. The Soviet occupation of the DRG led to significant territorial rearrangements by which Georgia lost almost a third of its territory. Artvin, Ardahan and part of Batumi provinces were ceded to Turkey, Armenia gained control of Lori, and Azerbaijan obtained Zaqatala district. A portion of the Georgian marches along the Greater Caucasus Mountains was taken by Russia.
Demographics
Forming principally on the territories of the Tiflis and Kutais governorates, as well as the Batum Oblast and Sukhumi Okrug, the Georgian Democratic Republic following the Treaty of Batum consisted of 1,607,000 Georgians, 535,000 Armenians, 200,000 Muslims, and 510,000 others, totalling 2,852,000 inhabitants.