Anarchism in Georgia

It reached its apex during the 1905 Russian Revolution, after a number of anarchists returned from exile to participate in revolutionary activities, such as in the newly-established Gurian Republic.

As for the anarchist theory of the extinction of the state, the outcry against centralism and for the decentralization of government was the ideal of all progressive-minded people in Georgia and the basis of the country's success.

[1] During the 19th century, national and class consciousness spread throughout the country, leading to a rise in political organizations advocating for nationalist, liberal and socialist ideas.

[4] He escaped his Siberian exile to Switzerland, where he founded a mutual aid fund and established the Russian language Obchtchina newspaper,[6] while also collaborating on Peter Kropotkin's magazine Le Révolté.

[8] At the turn of the 20th century, anarchist and socialist ideas were beginning to flourish in Georgia,[9] as a number of radical activists started to return from exile.

[1] Inspired by the idea of federalism, Cherkezishvili established a "People's University" in Tiflis, where lectures and classes were given in Russian, Georgian, Armenian and Azeri.

In May 1906, Georgy Gogelia edited the anarcho-communist newspaper Golos, which published seven daily issues in the Georgian language before closing due to a lack of subscribers.

In June 1906, Gogelia came together with Mikheil Tsereteli and Varlam Cherkezishvili to edit the Worker newspaper, which published 52 daily issues in the Georgian language up until September 1906, when publication was discontinued due to opposition by the Social Democrats.

[17] Following the collapse of relations between the Committee and the Ottoman Empire, combined with the political amnesty brought on by the February Revolution, the Georgian Legion was disbanded and Georgian dissidents (including anarchists) began to return from exile to the country, now under the control of the Special Transcaucasian Committee - led by Vasily Kharlamov, a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party and a former Don Cossack.

Following the October Revolution, the Georgian Socialist-Federalists failed to win a single seat in the first election to the Russian Constituent Assembly, only gaining 0.93% of the vote in the Transcaucasus.

[21] Although anarchism as a distinct movement had largely ceased to be a relevant political force in Georgia, a number of anarchists held key positions in the Democratic Republic, with Mikheil Tsereteli becoming the first Georgian ambassador to Sweden and Norway, before later teaching as a professor in Tbilisi State University.

Many of the opposition parties, including both the Socialist-Federalists and the Mensheviks, continued to operate underground[25] - coming together to form the Committee for the Independence of Georgia in order to organize resistance to Soviet rule.

Despite the arrest and execution of many of its leading members by the Cheka,[26][27] the Committee went ahead with its plans and launched the August Uprising, which was quickly suppressed by the government forces.

[28] In the "unprecedented" repression that followed, the last holdouts of opposition to the Bolshevik government were defeated,[29] bringing an end to any dissident socialist currents - including Menshevism, Socialist-Federalism and anarchism.