The Representatives of National Minorities in the Constituent Assembly of Georgia (1919-1921)

Abstract

The paper reflects on the works and activities of the representatives of national minorities in the Constituent Assembly of Georgia in 1919-1921, through the analysis of the documents, stenographic reports of the sessions of the constituent assembly and those-days Georgian press and archival materials.

The 20 per cent of the population of the Democratic Republic of Georgia (which was established on May 26, 1918) were ethnic minorities: Armenians, Turkish Muslims (they are denoted as “Tatars” in those-days documents and later they were re-named as Azerbaijanians), Russians, Greeks, Abkhazians, Ossetians, Germans. A portion of them were integrated in the Georgia society, whereas others found themselves alienated in the newly declared Georgian state and demonstrated separatist tendencies; a great majority of national minorities tried to become accustomed to the new life in the new state. The government of the Democratic Republic of Georgia granted extensive rights to the national minorities residing in the country and tried to integrate into the socio- political life of the newly created state. To this end, the significant work was undertaken by the governing political party – the Social Democratic Worker’s Party of Georgia – to ensure representation of all significant national minorities of the country into the Constituent Assembly through its party list. The paper analysis the activities of the representatives of national minorities in the Constituent Assembly of Georgia and reflects on their biographies to highlight their future fate in the emigration or under the Bolshevik repressions. Representatives of some ethnic minorities (Muslims, Greeks) established their own political parties/unions before the elections (The National Congress of the Muslims of Georgia; The Muslim Union of the Borchalo District; The Hellen’s Union of Georgia) although they did not manage to elect their nominee in the Constituent Assembly. The Armenian minority participated in the elections of the Constituent Assembly through the Dashnak Party and the Social-Democratic Worker’s Party of Russia. Only Dashnak Party was successful to send the nominee in the Constituent Assembly. Representatives of ethnic minorities were also presented in the electoral list of the Georgian political parties. In this respect, the Social Democratic Party of Georgia performed extremely well as through its party list the representatives of all major ethnic groups residing in Georgia were elected in the Constituent Assembly.

The concept “People of Georgia” reflected the policy of integration of ethnic minorities, which denoted all citizens of Georgia, irrespective of their ethnic and religious belonging. The term was used by the ruling Social Democratic Party and by the representatives of the government of Georgia in their rhetoric. The policy of integration of national minorities only partially was successful, primarily due to the fact of the short time-span of the existence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia. In 1921, after the occupation and Sovietization of Georgia, the conquerors of Georgia manipulated and instrumentalized a portion of the national minorities against the central authorities of Georgia. The representatives of national minorities in the Constituent Assembly of Georgia were also affected by the Communist repressions, irrespective of the fact whether any of them collaborated with the Soviet government beforehand.

Representatives of national minorities elected in the Constituent Assembly through the party list of Social-Democrats, which emigrated abroad, remained on the position of defending the interests of Georgia.