Nineteenth Century Georgia: Part I and II Study Notes II

Abolition of the Kingdom of Kartl-Kakheti and Russian Administrative Changes

• The Manifesto of Alexander $I$:

  • The formal abolition of the Kingdom of Kartl-Kakheti was executed through a manifesto issued by the Russian Emperor Alexander $I$.
  • This manifesto was dated $12$ September $1801$.
  • The document arrived in Georgia in the spring of $1802$.
  • On the second day of Easter, the manifesto was formally read to the members of the Georgian royal family and the mobility (Tavad-aznauroba) at the Sioni Cathedral.
  • To prevent any potential protest from the Georgians, Russian military commanders took the precaution of surrounding the Sioni Cathedral with an armed military blockade.

• Initial Resistance:

  • Despite the military presence, a small group of Kakhetian nobles managed to break through the blockade and return to Kakheti.
  • They initiated armed uprisings against Russian rule, demonstrating that Georgians immediately protested the loss of national independence.

• New Administrative Structure:

  • The form of government was changed from a monarchy to an imperial administration.
  • The country was placed under the authority of a appointed Commander-in-Chief (Mtavarmmartebeli).
  • Eastern Georgia was divided into $5$ districts, referred to as "mazra."
  • Each district was headed by Russian officers known as "Kapitan-ispravnikebi."

Exile of the Bagrationi Dynasty and the Abolition of Church Autocephaly

• Exile of the Royal Family:

  • To prevent internal unrest and the possibility of a restoration, Russia decided to relocate members of the Bagrationi royal house to Russia.
  • Between $1803$ $-$ $1805$, members of the royal family were exiled to major Russian cities.
  • In exchange for their relocation, they were granted significant salaries and pensions.

• Abolition of the Church Autocephaly:

  • Parallel to the destruction of statehood, Russia targeted the independence of the Georgian Church.
  • In $1811$, the Patriarchal See of Mtskheta was abolished.
  • From this point until $1917$, the Georgian Church was governed by an Exarch appointed by the Russian Holy Synod.
  • The First Exarch: The Georgian Bishop Varlam Eristavi was appointed first to soften the blow and mitigate the extreme dissatisfaction caused by the loss of autocephaly.
  • The Transition to Russian Exarchs: Three years later, Varlam Eristavi was removed and replaced by the Russian Teofilaqte Rusanov. Subsequent Exarchs were consistently Russian. These figures showed no interest in the hardships of the Georgian people or the country. They deliberately oppressed the Georgian clergy and forced many to leave the church.

The $1804$ Mtiuleti Uprising and the Governance of Pavel Tsitsianov

• The Mtiuleti Uprising ($1804$):

  • Highlanders of Eastern Georgia revolted due to intolerable conditions and endless Russian demands.
  • The population in the Aragvi valley was forced by Russian officials and military to continuously repair and widen the Military Road to accommodate regular Russian troop movements.
  • Insults to the population served as the breaking point; specifically, two women were reportedly forced into a yoke (the wooden crossbar used for oxen) by Russian soldiers.
  • Participants included Mtiulians, Mokhevians, Khevsurs, Pshavs, and even Ossetians from the Truso valley.

• Leadership and Conclusion of the Revolt:

  • The rebels called upon the sons of King Erekle, Parnaoz and Iulon Bagrationi.
  • Iulon was captured on the way, but Parnaoz reached the rebels via Kakheti and took command.
  • The rebels took advantage of the absence of Commander-in-Chief Pavel Tsitsianov, who was on a campaign in the Erivan Khanate, and captured Dusheti and Stephantsminda.
  • Once Tsitsianov returned to Tbilisi, he led a punitive expedition. The rebels could not withstand the regular Russian army.
  • The government retaliated harshly; Parnaoz Bagrationi and his noble supporters were captured and exiled to Russia, while hundreds of others were imprisoned.

• The Appointment of Pavel Tsitsianov (Tsitsishvili):

  • Russia appointed him to win the hearts of local feduarls because he came from a Russified Georgian noble family.
  • Russia explicitly refused to appoint Peter Bagration because he was a member of the Bagrationi dynasty, fearing his appointment would create illusions that the Bagrationis were returning as rulers of Georgia.
  • Tsitsianov remained a steadfast defender of Russian imperial interests throughout his tenure.

The $1812$ Kakheti Uprising and Subsequent Rebellions

• Causes of the $1812$ Kakheti Uprising:

  • The prolonged Russo-Iranian War ($1804$ $-$ $1813$) devastated the Kakhetian peasantry.
  • Russians demanded draft animals (oxen, buffalo, horses) and forced the provision of bread to the army at prices significantly below the real value.
  • The situation was worsened by a plague outbreak in $1811$.
  • Mistreatment and the insulting of women by Russian soldiers triggered the final revolt.

• Course and Suppression:

  • Prince Alexander Bagrationi, the son of Erekle, joined the uprising.
  • The rebels were ultimately defeated in the battles of Sholda and Manavi in the autumn.
  • Alexander Bagrationi fled to Shatili and then to Dagestan. Shatili was subsequently razed to the ground by the Russians.
  • Punishment was ruthless: several hundred people were executed without trial, villages and vineyards were burned, and survivors were sent to life-long hard labor in Siberia. A heavy contribution of bread and money was imposed on the Kakhetian peasantry.

• The Imereti Uprising ($1819$ $-$ $1820$):

  • This was a reaction to the church reforms of Exarch Teofilaqte Rusanov.
  • Rusanov ordered an inventory of West Georgian church property to be taken to the Russian treasury.
  • Bishops of Kutaisi and Gelati opposed this and called for rebellion. Ivane Abashidze, grandson of King Solomon $I$, led the movement.
  • The revolt spread to Guria and Samegrelo. It was suppressed by a large Russian army in $1820$, leading to imprisonments and exile to Siberia.

Geopolitical Conflicts and Demographics

• The Imereti Kingdom:

  • Abolished in $1810$. The last king, Solomon $II$, resisted and lost the war against Russia. He fled to Turkey and died in $1815$. Buried in Trebizond, his remains were repatriated to Gelati, Georgia, in $1990$.

• Fortifications and Wars:

  • In $1804$, Russians occupied Kulevi near Poti and built the fortress Redut-Kale to control the Black Sea coast.
  • Russo-Iranian War ($1804$ $-$ $1813$): Napoleon promised to return East Georgia to Iran via the Treaty of Finckenstein ($1807$), but later withdrew support. Iran lost and ceded East Georgia.
  • Russo-Turkish War ($1806$ $-$ $1812$): Russia briefly pushed Turks out of Poti and Akhalkalaki but returned them under the Treaty of Bucharest ($1812$) to focus troops against Napoleon.

• Demographic Engineering:

  • After victories over Turkey and Iran, Russia settled non-Georgian populations in historical Georgian lands (approx. $30,000$ Armenian families, $6,000$ Greek families, plus Russians).
  • Georgians were forbidden from settling there.
  • Muslim Georgians were expelled to the Ottoman Empire, a process known as "Muhajiroba."

Administrative Shifts and the Viceroyalty of Mikhail Vorontsov

• Changes in Administration:

  • In $1840$, the territory was reorganized into the "Georgia (Kartl-Kakheti)-Imereti Governorate" and the "Caspian Province."
  • In $1844$, the position of Commander-in-Chief was replaced by the Viceroy (Mefisnatsvali).
  • The Viceroy answered directly to the Tsar and held nearly unlimited power in Georgia.

• The Tenure of Mikhail Vorontsov ($1844$ $-$ $1854$):

  • Vorontsov implemented a flexible, "appeasement" policy.
  • Cultural Developments: Establishment of the Georgian Theater ($1850$) under Giorgi Eristavi, opening of a public library, and the founding of newspapers.
  • The Noble Strategy: Many Georgian nobles lacked written documentation for their estates due to historical invasions. Vorontsov validated the titles and privileges of approximately $30,000$ individuals who had pending lawsuits, winning their loyalty.
  • Social Impact: This policy fractured the resistance. Previously, all classes (nobles, church, peasants) fought together. Vorontsov's "appeasement" brought the nobility to the Russian side, causing them to abandon the national movement.

The $1832$ Conspiracy and the Late Principalities

• The $1832$ Conspiracy:

  • Motivated by the Decembrist revolt in Russia ($1825$) and the Polish uprising ($1830$).
  • Three ideological groups:$1.$ Monarchists (led by the Bagrationis) seeking traditional monarchy.         $2.$ Proponents of a Constitutional Monarchy.         $3.$ Republicans led by Solomon Dodashvili.
  • Dodashvili's comrade, Monk Filadelfos Kiknadze, wrote a charter entitled "Akti Goniuri."
  • The conspiracy was betrayed on $9$ December $1832$ by Iese Palavandishvili. Members were exiled; Solomon Dodashvili died in exile.

• The Crimean War ($1853$ $-$ $1856$):

  • Russia was defeated. The Treaty of Paris ($1856$) banned Russia from having a military fleet or coastal fortresses on the Black Sea.
  • Russia ceded Kars but retained Georgia.

• Final Abolition of Autonomous Principalities:

  • Guria ($1828$)
  • Samegrelo ($1857$)
  • Svaneti ($1858$)
  • Abkhazia ($1864$)

The $1877$ $-$ $1878$ Russo-Turkish War and Recovery of Adjara

• Course of the War:

  • Russia sought revenge for the Crimean defeat. Operations occurred on the Balkan and Caucasian fronts.
  • The Russian army, heavily reliant on the Georgian National Militia, crossed the border in $1877$, taking Artani and later Kars.
  • By January $1878$, Shavsheti was captured, setting the stage for the liberation of Adjara and Batumi.

• Diplomatic Outcomes:

  • The Treaty of San-Stefano ($1878$) initially ended Ottoman rule over much of the Balkans and Transcaucasia.
  • The Congress of Berlin ($1879$) modified these terms. Adjara was returned to Georgia, but Batumi was declared a free trade city ("Porto-franko").
  • The Russian army and Georgian militia entered Batumi on $25$ August $1878$.

The Tergdaleulebi and the National Movement of the $1860s$

• The Goal of the "Men of the $60s$ ":

  • Initial aim: Autonomy within Russia.
  • Ultimate aim: Creation of an independent national state.

• Defense of Language and Culture:

  • The Three Treasures: Ilia Chavchavadze identified the three essential pillars as "Language, Homeland, and Religion."
  • They opposed Russian officials like Kirile Yanovsky, who restricted the use of the Georgian language.
  • Literacy Society ($1879$): The "Society for the Spreading of Literacy Among Georgians" was founded. The first chairman was Dimitri Kipiani, succeeded by Ilia Chavchavadze. It opened Georgian primary schools and published textbooks, like Iakob Gogebashvili's "Dedaena" in $1876$.

• Journals and Persecution:

  • Key journals: "Sakartvelos Moambe" ($1863$) and "Iveria" ($1877$).
  • The Death of Dimitri Kipiani: In $1886$, after an expelled student Ioseb Laghiashvili killed the rector of the Tbilisi Seminary, Exarch Pavle publicly cursed Georgia. Kipiani wrote a protest letter demanding the Exarch leave. Kipiani was exiled to Stavropol and murdered there in $1887$. He was buried at Mtatsminda, and Akaki Tsereteli dedicated the poem "Gantiadi" to him.

Political Stratification and the Three "Dasi"

• First Dasi: Led by Ilia Chavchavadze, Akaki Tsereteli, Iakob Gogebashvili, Vazha-Pshavela, and Alexander Kazbegi. They focused primarily on national issues.
• Second Dasi: Led by Niko Nikoladze, Serge Meskhi, and Giorgi Tsereteli. They prioritized social issues. Niko Nikoladze later became the Mayor of Poti.
• Third Dasi (Marxism):
  • Emergence of the Social-Democratic Party. Georgian Marxists favored the European model. Key figures: Egnate Ninoshvili, Silibistro Jibladze, Pilipe Makharadze, Noe Zhordania, and Nikoloz (Karlo) Chkheidze.
  • Conferences: Zestafoni ($1892$) and Tbilisi ($1893$).
  • The split of $1903$: The party merged with the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party and split into Mensheviks (led by Noe Zhordania, favoring parliamentary methods) and Bolsheviks (including Mikha Tskhakaya, Lado Ketskhoveli, and Joseph Stalin, favoring underground terror).

Emerging Parties and Imperial Reforms

• Social-Federalist Party ($1904$): Led by Archil Jorjadze. Envisioned Georgia as an autonomous unit in a Russian Federation with communal land ownership and a national parliament.

• National-Democratic Party ($1906$): Established by Ilia Chavchavadze and allies, aiming for full independence from Russia. Chavchavadze was murdered in $1907$ at Tsitsamuri.

• The Reforms of Alexander $II$ ($1856$ $-$ $1881$):

  • Serfdom: Abolished in Russia in $1861$ and Georgia in $1864$.
  • Judicial Reform ($1864$ $-$ $1896$): Created a unified court system for all classes, established judicial independence, introduced trial by jury, and the right to a lawyer. Note: The reform excluded the Baltics, Poland, Belarus, Siberia, and the Caucasus originally.
  • Local Government: Creation of "Dumas" (cities) and "Erobis" (districts) to handle local budgets, education, and infrastructure.
  • Military Reform: Service term reduced from $25$ to $6$ years. University graduates were exempt.
  • Education Reform ($1863$): Universities granted autonomy to elect rectors and deans. All social classes could attend, though women were excluded.