Ivane Gomarteli ( ka, ივანე გომართელი) (October 2, 1875 – April 19, 1938) was a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

physician, political figure, and author involved in the

social-democratic Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...

movement early in the 20th century.

Life

Gomarteli was born in the village of

Gorisa {{Infobox settlement , official_name = Gorisa , native_name = გორისა , native_name_lang = ka , pushpin_map = Georgia (country) , mapsize = 280px , map_caption = Location of Gorisa in Georgia , image_ ...

in the western Georgian province of

Imereti Imereti ( Georgian: იმერეთი) is a region of Georgia situated in the central-western part of the republic along the middle and upper reaches of the Rioni River. Imereti is the most populous region in Georgia. It consists of 11 munic ...

, then part of the

Kutais Governorate The Kutaisi or Kutais Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire. It roughly corresponded to most of western Georgia throughout most of its existence, and most of the Artvin Province (except th ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. After graduating from the Medical Faculty of

Moscow University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

in 1899, Gomarteli practiced medicine in his homeland. Around the same time he joined the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party and later adhered to its

Menshevik The Mensheviks (russian: меньшевики́, from меньшинство 'minority') were one of the three dominant factions in the Russian socialist movement, the others being the Bolsheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries. The factions eme ...

wing. He regularly published medical articles, political commentary and literary criticism in the Georgian press and authored prose fiction. In 1906, he was elected to the 1st State Duma of the Russian Empire, representing the Kutais Governorate. When the Duma was dissolved, Gomarteli was imprisoned for three months for signing the

Vyborg Manifesto The Vyborg Manifesto (russian: Выборгское воззвание, translit=Vyborgskoye Vozzvaniye, fi, Viipurin manifesti, sv, Viborgsmanifestet); also called the Vyborg Appeal) was a proclamation signed by several Russian politicians, pri ...

. In 1907, he moved to work in

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 ...

. By 1913, he had distanced himself from the Mensheviks, criticizing their subservience to the Russian Social Democratic Party on the national question and, like the fellow Menshevik journalist Vladimir Darchiashvili, supported the idea of territorial autonomy for Georgia. Jones, Stephen F. (2005), ''Socialism in Georgian Colors: The European Road to Social Democracy, 1883-1917'', p. 230.

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

, After Georgia became independent following the

Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of 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 adopt a socialist form of government ...

, Gomarteli was elected to the Georgian National Council and then to the

Constituent Assembly of Georgia The Constituent Assembly of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს დამფუძნებელი კრება, ''sak’art’velos damp’udznebeli kreba'') was a national legislature of the Democratic Republic of Georgia which ...

. After the Soviet takeover of Georgia in 1921, he retired from politics. Most of his work thereafter was as a physician and literary critic.Wieczynski, Joseph L. (ed., 1976), ''The Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History'', Vol. 13, p. 35. Academic International Press, He is buried at the Vake cemetery in Tbilisi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomarteli, Ivane 1875 births 1938 deaths People from Sachkhere People from Kutais Governorate Social Democratic Party of Georgia politicians Members of the 1st State Duma of the Russian Empire Writers from Georgia (country) Physicians from Georgia (country) Physicians from the Russian Empire