SUMMARY
Present-day Georgia was one of the first entities of the Soviet Union, to launch a struggle for independence in the context of the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the glasnost policy of then president Mikhail Gorbachev. The move towards independence was fueled by growing nationalism, directed against the Soviet rule. Between the Georgian parliament’s April 1991 unilateral declaration of independence, and the international recognition of the Republic of Georgia as an independent state in the wake of the disintegration of the Soviet Union on 21 December 1991, UCDP views the Republic of Georgia as a non-state actor.
A leading figure of Georgia’s struggle for independence was Zviad Gamsakhurdia. He played a key role in organizing mass demonstrations for Georgia’s independence in the late 1980s. The basis of his political movement was the Society of Saint Ilia the Righteous. The society was named after Ilia Chavchavadze, a Georgian activist against Russian rule in the late 19th century who is regarded as one of the founding fathers of modern Georgia and the Georgian identity. The nationalist movement in Georgia gained momentum when Soviet forces brutally suppressed a pro-independence rally in April 1989. On 28 October 1990, the first democratic multiparty elections were held in Georgia, resulting in a clear victory of the nationalists over the ruling Communist Party and Gamsakhurdia became Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia. On 15 November 1990, the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic was renamed Republic of Georgia. In a referendum held on 31 March 1991, 90% voted in favor of independence and on 9 April 1991, the Georgian parliament issued the declaration of independence. The Soviet Union did not recognize Georgian independence and Georgia remained part of the USSR until its collapse in December 1991. Georgian independence thus was first recognized on 21 December 1991.
Georgian nationalism in the late 1980s and early 1990s not only aimed at achieving independence from Soviet rule but increasingly also targeted minority communities, which made up around 30% of the population of the ethnically heterogeneous Georgia. The inter-ethnic relations in Georgia had been difficult before, but tensions were muted throughout the Soviet period. During perestroika, these relations deteriorated rapidly when the gradual decline of Soviet power made way for calls for more autonomy and eventually independence for the Republic of Georgia and ethnic minorities within Georgia. Zviad Gamsakhurdia was elected President of the independent, yet unrecognized, Republic of Georgia on 26 May 1991. He was determined not to give away Georgian authority over Abkhazia and South Ossetia and to counter any attempts of ethnic minorities in Georgia to achieve independence.
There were two major armed groups in the self-proclaimed Republic of Georgia, the National Guard and Mkhedrioni. The National Guard, created by the newly elected parliament in January 1991, was supposed to form the core of a future national army. Because of a lack of financial resources, the National Guard consisted of volunteers instead of being based on conscription. The forces engaged in arms trading, extortion and other criminal activities to raise the necessary funds. In the summer of 1991, the troops consisted of about 1000 armed men. The creation of the National Guard was intended to support an independent Georgia, but in fact, the National Guard resisted integration into the structures of the emerging Georgian state and eventually participated in the coup against Gamsakhurdia in December 1991. Similar to the National Guard, also the Mkhedrioni, founded by Jaba Ioseliani, relied on criminal activities for funding. According to its own account, the group’s goal was the protection of Georgia and consisted of some 1000 fighters in summer 1991. Like the National Guard’s leadership, also Ioseliani was critical of Gamsakhurdia.
During the coup against Gamsakhurdia, both of the groups were active under the name National Guard and Mkhedrioni. Furthermore, after the coup in late 1991, the National Guard and Mkhedrioni did not dissolve, but were considered to act under the Government of Georgia.
