The Georgian–Polish alliance was a short-lived alliance (1920–1921) between the

Democratic Republic of Georgia The Democratic Republic of Georgia (DRG; ka, საქართველოს დემოკრატიული რესპუბლიკა ') was the first modern establishment of a republic of Georgia, which existed from May 1918 to ...

and the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

History

Georgia had gained its independence following the 1917

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

; Poland, a year later, following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Both countries had a history of problematic relations with their Russian neighbor. Wojciech Materski, ''"Polsko-Gruziński sojusz wojskowy"'' ("The Polish-Georgian Military Alliance"), ''

Polityka ''Polityka'' (, ''Politics'') is a centre-left weekly news magazine in Poland. With a circulation of 200,050 (as of April 2011), it was the country's biggest selling weekly, ahead of ''Newsweek''s Polish edition, ''Newsweek Polska'', and ''Wpr ...

'': Wydanie Specjalne (''Politics'': Special Edition), 2/2008, ISSN 1730-0525, p. 69. Polish leader

Józef Piłsudski ), Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire (now Lithuania) , death_date = , death_place = Warsaw, Poland , constituency = , party = None (formerly PPS) , spouse = , children = Wan ...

wanted to create a large East-European ''

Międzymorze Intermarium ( pl, Międzymorze, ) was a post-World War I geopolitical plan conceived by Józef Piłsudski to unite former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth lands within a single polity. The plan went through several iterations, some of which antic ...

'' federation for common defense. He saw Georgia as a possible candidate for such an alliance. Plans for a Polish

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

, to the new countries of Georgia,

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

and

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

, had been laid as early as April 1918 but began to be realized only in March 1920. By that time, a Polish brigade ('' Polska Oddzielna Brygada'') had been formed of the Polish soldiers of the Russian army serving in the Caucasus. This brigade played an important role in keeping order at

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

, capital of the nascent Georgian republic. The brigade was disbanded under the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

pressure in June 1918. Most of its personnel joined the Polish 4th Rifle Division of General

Lucjan Żeligowski Lucjan Żeligowski (; 17 October 1865 – 9 July 1947) was a Polish-Lithuanian general, politician, military commander and veteran of World War I, the Polish-Soviet War and World War II. He is mostly remembered for his role in Żeligowski's M ...

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

and then returned to Poland. In 1920,

Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (''Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych'', MSZ) is the Polish government department tasked with maintaining Poland's international relations and coordinating its participation in international and regional supra-natio ...

Stanisław Patek sent a message to Georgia, proposing an exchange of diplomatic representatives and improved relations. The Georgians, threatened by Russian revolutionary factions and by

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, enthusiastically accepted the proposal. Soon after, Polish Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tytus Filipowicz visited

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

with a diplomatic mission. Plans for a Polish-Georgian military alliance were drafted to have included Polish aid (equipment and munitions) for the Georgian military. Before the treaty was

ratified Ratification is a principal's approval of an act of its agent that lacked the authority to bind the principal legally. Ratification defines the international act in which a state indicates its consent to be bound to a treaty if the parties inte ...

, the Red Army invaded Georgia. Deputy Minister Filipowicz (who had been named to be Polish

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to Georgia) was arrested in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

, Azerbaijan, when the Red Army invaded that country about the same time. Polish personnel in Georgia, led by Wiktor Białobrzeski, managed to create a provisional

consular A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

office before Georgia was annexed by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in 1921.

Aftermath

After the Soviet invasion of Georgia, the good Polish-Georgian relations resulted in large-scale Georgian emigration to Poland. Among the Georgians who moved to Poland, were parents of general

John Shalikashvili John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

(the general himself was born in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

). Poland aided Georgian pro-independence activists for many years. Several Georgian officers were enlisted in the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stret ...

in the interbellum, with such names as

Zakaria Bakradze Zakaria (Shakro) Bakradze ( ka, ზაქარია (შაქრო) ბაქრაძე, pl, Zachariasz Bakradze) (22 October 1868, in Tbilisi – 3 December 1938) was a Georgian military officer who served as a general in the Democratic ...

Alexandre Chkheidze Alexandre Chkheidze, also known under his Polish name of Aleksander Czcheidze (1878–1940), was a Polish- Georgian military officer. He served with the rank of Colonel in the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Georgia during the short ...

Ivane Kazbegi Ivane Kazbegi ( ka, ივანე ყაზბეგი; pl, Jan wanKazbek; russian: Иван Николаевич Казбек, ) (June 11, 1860 — December 2, 1943) was a Georgian soldier, who served, successively, in the Imperial Russian, G ...

, Viktor Lomidze and Valerian Tevzadze. All Georgian officers were sharing the privileges of the military and enjoyed a good relationship with their Polish fellow officers.The Soldiers of Georgia in Polish Service (1923 – 1939), by Dmitri Shalikashvili
/ref>

Notes

References

* Wojciech Materski, ''"Polsko-gruziński sojusz wojskowy 1920"'' ("The 1920 Polish-Georgian Military Alliance"), in Andrzej Koryn, ed., ''Wojna polsko-sowiecka 1920 roku: przebieg walk i tło międzynarodowe: materiały sesji naukowej w Instytucie Historii PAN, 1-2 października 1990'' (The 1920 Polish-Soviet War: Course and International Backdrop: Materials of a Conference at the Polish Academy of Sciences Institute of History, October 1–2, 1990), Wydawnictwo Instytutu Historii PAN (Publications of the Polish Academy of Sciences Institute of History), 1991, , pp. 203–209. *Rukkas, Andriy (2001), "Georgian Servicemen in the Polish Armed Forces (1922–39)". ''The Journal of Slavic Military Studies, 1556-3006'', Volume 14, Issue 3: 93–106 {{DEFAULTSORT:Georgian-Polish alliance 1920 in Georgia (country) 1920 in Poland 1921 in Georgia (country) 1921 in Poland 20th century in Georgia (country) Military alliances involving Georgia (country) Military alliances involving Poland 20th-century military alliances 1920 in international relations Georgia (country)–Poland relations

History

Aftermath

See also

Notes

References