Gurian Republic
Encyclopedia
The Gurian Republic or the Gurian peasant republic is a conventional term used to denote the revolutionary events that took place in the western Georgia
n province Guria
(then part of the Imperial Russia) prior to and during the Russian Revolution of 1905
.
Underdeveloped and rather poor part of the Kutais
guberniya
Guria, officially called the Ozurgeti
district (Ozurgetsky uyezd), was known not only for its oppositionist stance towards the Russian rule, but also for the unprecedented support for the Social Democratic/Menshevik
party. The unrest began as the peasants' boycott of the local estate of Prince Machutadze
in 1902. The so-called agrarian movement involving landless peasants evolved almost into an overt revolt early in 1903. The peasants stopped paying taxes and refused to work for the landlords. After a harsh official reaction, the peasants initiated a boycott
of all government services. By summer, local government in the area had almost completely disintegrated. Nicholas II took no action against Guria throughout 1904, assuming that the cost of dealing with the rebellion would not be justified.
After the beginning of the 1905 Revolution, however, the revolt began spreading throughout Georgia and the Gurian revolution proceeded even in a more radical way. The peasants sent away all the authorities, and, nominating their own judges, they organized independent village communities and armed red detachments also known as forest brothers, embodying a whole territory. The Guria
n peasant women at village meetings adopted resolutions demanding political equality with men. The revolutionaries largely used terrorism against the Tsar
ist officers and loyal landlords. By February the whole of Guria was in the power of the revolutionaries, perhaps the world’s first Marxist national-liberation movement.
On February 20 1905 a Tsarist official warned that the government had lost control of much of the area. In March, the government declared martial law and a force of 10,000 soldiers was sent to the rebellious province. The Gurians offered a fierce resistance to the expedition and General Alikhanov-Avarsky, unable to regain control, had to withdraw in July. Several attempts to negotiate the conflict yielded no result. The Russia
n forces returned in October, but were severely defeated at Nasakirali. In December 1905 the rebels took control of Ozurgeti
, Guria’s chief town. On January 10 1906 Colonel Krilov’s strong reinforcements of all arms attacked the province and ruthlessly crushed the insurrection putting an end to the “Gurian Republic”.
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
n province Guria
Guria
Guria is a region in Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 143,357 and Ozurgeti is a regional capital.-Geography:...
(then part of the Imperial Russia) prior to and during the Russian Revolution of 1905
Russian Revolution of 1905
The 1905 Russian Revolution was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. Some of it was directed against the government, while some was undirected. It included worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies...
.
Underdeveloped and rather poor part of the Kutais
Kutaisi
Kutaisi is Georgia's second largest city and the capital of the western region of Imereti. It is 221 km to the west of Tbilisi.-Geography:...
guberniya
Guberniya
A guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire usually translated as government, governorate, or province. Such administrative division was preserved for sometime upon the collapse of the empire in 1917. A guberniya was ruled by a governor , a word borrowed from Latin ,...
Guria, officially called the Ozurgeti
Ozurgeti
Ozurgeti is a town and the regional administrative centre of Western Georgian province of Guria, former Macharadze or Makharadze . Population of Ozurgeti: 21,009...
district (Ozurgetsky uyezd), was known not only for its oppositionist stance towards the Russian rule, but also for the unprecedented support for the Social Democratic/Menshevik
Menshevik
The Mensheviks were a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement that emerged in 1904 after a dispute between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, both members of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. The dispute originated at the Second Congress of that party, ostensibly over minor issues...
party. The unrest began as the peasants' boycott of the local estate of Prince Machutadze
Machutadze
Mach'utadze was a Georgian noble family known from 1412/1442 in the Principality of Guria where they served as Mayors of the Palace at the Gurieli court. Under the Russian rule, the family was received among the knyaz of the Russian Empire in 1850....
in 1902. The so-called agrarian movement involving landless peasants evolved almost into an overt revolt early in 1903. The peasants stopped paying taxes and refused to work for the landlords. After a harsh official reaction, the peasants initiated a boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
of all government services. By summer, local government in the area had almost completely disintegrated. Nicholas II took no action against Guria throughout 1904, assuming that the cost of dealing with the rebellion would not be justified.
After the beginning of the 1905 Revolution, however, the revolt began spreading throughout Georgia and the Gurian revolution proceeded even in a more radical way. The peasants sent away all the authorities, and, nominating their own judges, they organized independent village communities and armed red detachments also known as forest brothers, embodying a whole territory. The Guria
Guria
Guria is a region in Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 143,357 and Ozurgeti is a regional capital.-Geography:...
n peasant women at village meetings adopted resolutions demanding political equality with men. The revolutionaries largely used terrorism against the Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
ist officers and loyal landlords. By February the whole of Guria was in the power of the revolutionaries, perhaps the world’s first Marxist national-liberation movement.
On February 20 1905 a Tsarist official warned that the government had lost control of much of the area. In March, the government declared martial law and a force of 10,000 soldiers was sent to the rebellious province. The Gurians offered a fierce resistance to the expedition and General Alikhanov-Avarsky, unable to regain control, had to withdraw in July. Several attempts to negotiate the conflict yielded no result. The Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n forces returned in October, but were severely defeated at Nasakirali. In December 1905 the rebels took control of Ozurgeti
Ozurgeti
Ozurgeti is a town and the regional administrative centre of Western Georgian province of Guria, former Macharadze or Makharadze . Population of Ozurgeti: 21,009...
, Guria’s chief town. On January 10 1906 Colonel Krilov’s strong reinforcements of all arms attacked the province and ruthlessly crushed the insurrection putting an end to the “Gurian Republic”.
Further reading
- S. F. Jones, "Marxism and Peasant Revolt in the Russian Empire: The Case of the Gurian Republic", Slavonic and East European Review 67 (July 1989): 403–34.
External links
- Article by Alexandra Kollontai
- Fire and Sword in the Caucasus by Luigi Villari, an account of an EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an eyewitness - The Gurian uprising 1905