Georgian Social Democracy, 1892-1921 - In Opposition and Power

606 Pages·1984·8.944 MB·English

by  Stephen F. Jones

Georgian Social Democr acy: In Opposition
and Power. <r' l V ^
by
Stephen Francis Jones
A Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the
Degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
The London School of Economics
University of London
March 1984
A
ABSTRACT
This thesis deals with the rise of Georgian social
democracy in the 1890s, its accession to power in 1918
as the government of an independent Georgian Republic,
and its fall in 1921 as the result of a Soviet invasion.
Georgian social democracy was overwhelmingly Menshevik,
and in the first chapters of the thesis an attempt is
made to explain the possible reasons for this and for
its mass support among the Georgian people. This involves
a close look at the particular economic and social
conditions in Georgia, the nature of Georgian social
democracy's revolutionary inheritance, and the relationship
between class and nationality in the multinational Caucasus.
Certain chapters are devoted to particular events,
such as the 1905 and 1917 revolutions (Chapters Five and
Seven), and the "Gurian Republic", a mass peasant movement
organised by Georgian Social Democrats (Chapter Four).
Throughout the thesis, comparisons are drawn with
Russian Menshevism and Bolshevism, as Georgian social
democracy, although part of the RSDLP, evolved distinct
theoretical and tactical viewpoints. Chapter Six, dealing
with the period 1906-17, investigates Georgian social
democracy’s relationship with Menshevism in most detail
and looks at the Georgian organisation's position on the
vital debates then raging in the RSDLP on such matters
as legal work, the nature of the coming revolution, party
organisation, terror, and social democracy's relationship
with the peasantry, liberals and other non-proletarian
groups.
The final chapter which deals with the Georgian
Democratic Republic (1918-21) is the most important of
the thesis. It provides a unique opportunity to study
a self-professed Menshevik government in action. The
chapter deals with Georgia's foreign and domestic policies
including relations with Germany, Britain, the Volunteer
Army and Soviet Russia, all of whom claimed to have
interests in the Caucasus.
Of particular interest is the nature of Georgian
Menshevik policy in practice and the extent to which it conformed
with Menshevik theory.
The bulk of the source material for the last chapter
comes from the archives of the Georgian Democratic Republic.
These official government archives are the only ones of
any sovereign state formed after 1917 within the borders
of the old Russian Empire to have been brought out of the Soviet Union,
and thus offer a unique opportunity for historical research.
4
CONTENTS
Page
ABSTRACT 2
CONTENTS 4
A NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION AND DATING 5
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 7
CHAPTER ONE: THE STAGE IS SET 9
CHAPTER TWO: THE RISE OF MARXISM IN GEORGIA 42
CHAPTER THREE: THE SPLIT IN GEORGIA 87
CHAPTER FOUR: THE GURIAN REPUBLIC 132
CHAPTER FIVE: 1905 IN GEORGIA 183
CHAPTER SIX: CONSOLIDATION: 1905-17 220
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE REVOLUTION IN GEORGIA 298
CHAPTER EIGHT: THE GEORGIAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC:
1918-21 387
CONCLUSION 554
BIBLIOGRAPHY 572
A NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION AND DATING
Transliteration from the Russian is based on the
Library of Congress system,but diacritical marks are omitted
For certain names and places I have used the more common
English usage. For example, I have written Kerensky instead
of Kerenskii, Axelrod instead of Akselrod and Trotsky
instead of Trotskii. Where there are both Russian and
Georgian versions of a name or place, the Georgian generally
takes precedent. Thus I have written Zhordania instead
of Zhordaniia and Japaridze instead of Dzhaparidze.
I have made a few exceptions to this rule where a
more common English spelling prevails. For example,
Ordzhonikidze and Djugashvili’ retain their traditional
English spelling and Makharadze, the Georgian Bolshevik
leader, gets an "F" initial (for the Russian 'Filipp')
instead of a "P" (for the^Georgian 'Pilipe'). Most Georgian
place or geographical names are translated from the Georgian
so instead of Abkhaziia and Adzhariia, I have written
Abkhazeti and Ajara. The exception to this is Tiflis,
which is the old Russian version of the Georgian "Tpilisi"
(the capital did not officially attain its more familiar
name "Tbilisi" until 1936).
The transliteration system for the Georgian is set
out below. There are minor exceptions to this system.
Thus I have written Jugeli instead of Jurheli on the grounds
that the former is easier to pronounce and is the version
more commonly used in Western literature.
The dates given are according to the Julian calendar
(thirteen days behind the Western Gregorian calendar)
until (April 18th) May 1st when the Transcaucasian
Government adopted the Gregorian version. Subsequently
all dates, unless otherwise indicated, are according to
the Gregorian calendar. Events in the West and journals
published outside Russia have Western style dating throughout.
There are places in the text where I have wanted
to add my own comments or clarify the meaning of a quotation.
This is signified by my initials, SFJ, enclosed in brackets.
Transliteration Key
Georgian
tS - a li s
-
'i
- b (3 - t
I - g - u
a - e *3 - p
- k
3 - V J
\ - z - rh
£
Oo
- t 3 - q
0
- i *3 - sh
i - k k - ch
- 1 G - ts
- m J - dz
5
- n - ts
m
- o - ch
a
b
- P - kh
*
4 - zh - j
$
- h
- r
7
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Friends, relatives and teachers have all helped
me to complete this study. I would like to thank Professor
D.M. Lang at the School of Oriental and African Studies
for initial encouragement and aid; and the staffs of the
University, Academy, and Public Libraries in Tbilisi,
GSSR, who were consistently helpful. Thanks are also
due to the Georgian community in Paris who gave me access
to unique uncatalogued materials and granted me a number
of interviews. Mr. V. Khomeriki, on the community’s behalf,
gave me permission to consult the archive of the Georgian
Democratic Republic which is deposited at the Houghton
Library, University of Harvard.
Special thanks go to my supervisor at L.S.E., Mr.
Peter Reddaway, without whose patience, understanding
and help (which took innumerable and invaluable forms),
the project would not have been completed. I also wish
to thank my wife and parents who not only helped iron
out errors of translation and grammar, but showed enormous
patience.
I could not have completed the thesis without aid
from various funding bodies. I would like to thank the
Social Science Research Council (now the Economic and
Social Research Council), the University of London Central
Research Fund (who funded my trip to Harvard to consult
the archive of the Georgian Republic) and the Marjory
Wardrop Fund, a trust set up to aid scholars in Georgian
studies which has been my main means of support since
February 1982.
Finally, thanks go to Mrs. Sylvia Greenwood for
her efficiency in typing this thesis.
CHAPTER ONE
THE STAGE IS SET
Georgia, for much of its history was a divided
country subject to wars and invasion as contending empires
strove for dominance in the strategically important
Caucasus.* After a period of glory in the Xlth and
Xllth centuries, a Xlllth century Mongol invasion split
Georgia in two. For the next 600 years, Georgia failed
to restore any prolonged period of unity as its various
princes fought between themselves, and it remained a
collection of feudal kingdoms loosely connected by language
and culture. It was not until the nineteenth century,
under the Russian Tsars, that Georgia became a recognisable
territorial entity once more.
When Catherine II and Erekle (Heraclius) II signed
the Georgievsk treaty in 1783 which recognised Russian
suzerainty in Erekle's kingdom of Kartl' Kakheti (covering
most of eastern Georgia), western Georgia was still
split into small vassal states subject in varying degrees
to the Ottoman Empire. Erekle viewed the treaty as
essential to the survival of his kingdom, which was near
to physical extinction, devastated by internal revolt,
*The Caucasus (in Russian'Kavkaz') and Transcaucasus (Zakavkaz'e)
although often used interchangeably, are not the same. The "Trans-
caucasus" refers strictly to the area between the Greater Caucasian
mountain range and the frontiers with Persia (Iran) and Turkey -
presently occupied by the Soviet republics of Azerbaidjan, Armenia
and Georgia. The Caucasus, on the other hand, includes territory
further north which in Tsarist times was divided into the Kuban,
Terek, Dagestan, ,Chenomor'e and Stavropol' Regions.
war, plague, and most serious of all, a vigorous slave
trade in its subjects. The population was in decline
(no more than 168,929 in 1800),^ commerce was stagnant,
and industry non-existent. The treaty, which guaranteed
the continuation of the Royal Bagratid (Bagrationi)
line and internal autonomy, was overridden by Paul I
in December 1800, and Kartl' Kakheti was incorporated
into the Russian Empire. In a manifesto of September
1801, Alexander I, who succeeded his murdered father,
confirmed the annexation and divided the kingdom into
five districts ( uezdy ). Within ten years the western
provinces of Samegrelo (1803), Imereti (1804) , Abkhazeti
(1809) and Guria (1811 ) all followed suit, although
they were granted considerable political autonomy under
2
their local rulers.
The Tsarist administration in Georgia and the Caucasus^
for the first fifty years was ad hoc. During this period,
as elsewhere in the Empire, local rights, laws, and
customs were generally left intact and natives were
given a share of the administration. There was no
consistent nationality policy in the area, which was
1
.
Cited in D.M. Lang, The Last Years of the Georgian Monarchy.
Columbia, 1957, p.192. At the same time, the western province of
Imereti had 120,000, Guria - 25,000, and Samegrelo - 100,000 making
a total Georgian population of 413,929. By the end of the
XlXth century this figure had grown about four times to one and
a half million. See: F. Makharadze, Gruziia v XIX stoletii (Georgia
in the 19th century). Tbilisi, 1933, pp.66-68.
2
Samegrelo (in Russian - Mingrelia) retained its autonomy until
1859 and Abkhazeti (in Russian - Abkhaziia) until 1864. Imereti (Imeretiia)
had its autonomy removed in 1811 after an attempted revolt by the
kingdom's ruler, Solomon II.