The Treaty of Georgievsk (russian: Георгиевский трактат, Georgievskiy traktat; ka, გეორგიევსკის ტრაქტატი, tr) was a
bilateral
Bilateral may refer to any concept including two sides, in particular:
*Bilateria, bilateral animals
*Bilateralism, the political and cultural relations between two states
*Bilateral, occurring on both sides of an organism ( Anatomical terms of l ...
treaty concluded between 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 ...
and the east
Georgian kingdom of
Kartli-Kakheti
The Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti ( ka, ქართლ-კახეთის სამეფო, tr) (1762–1801
) was created in 1762 by the unification of two eastern Georgian kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti. From the early 16th century, accord ...
on July 24, 1783. The treaty established eastern Georgia as a
protectorate
A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its in ...
of Russia, which guaranteed its territorial integrity and the continuation of its reigning
Bagrationi dynasty
The Bagrationi dynasty (; ) is a royal dynasty which reigned in Georgia from the Middle Ages until the early 19th century, being among the oldest extant Christian ruling dynasties in the world. In modern usage, the name of the dynasty is som ...
in return for prerogatives in the conduct of Georgian foreign affairs.
[Anchabadze, George, Ph.D. History of Georgia]
Georgia in the Beginning of Feudal Decomposition. (XVIII cen.)
Retrieved 5 April 2012. By this, eastern Georgia abjured any form of dependence on
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
(who had been its
suzerain
Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...
for centuries) or another power, and every new Georgian monarch of Kartli-Kakheti would require the confirmation and
investiture
Investiture (from the Latin preposition ''in'' and verb ''vestire'', "dress" from ''vestis'' "robe") is a formal installation or ceremony that a person undergoes, often related to membership in Christian religious institutes as well as Christian k ...
of the Russian
tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...
.
Terms
Under articles I, II, IV, VI and VII of the treaty's terms,
Russia's empress became the official and sole
suzerain
Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...
of Kartli-Kakheti's rulers, guaranteeing the Georgians’ internal sovereignty and territorial integrity, and promising to "regard their enemies as Her enemies"
Treaty of Georgievsk, 1783
'. PSRZ, vol. 22 (1830), pp. 1013–1017. Translated from the Russian by Russell E. Martin, Ph.D., Westminster College.
Each of the Georgian kingdom's
tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...
s would henceforth be obliged to swear allegiance to Russia's
emperors
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...
, to support Russia in war, and to have no diplomatic communications with other nations without Russia's prior consent.
Given Georgia's history of invasions from the south, an alliance with Russia may have been seen as the only way to discourage or resist
Persian and
Ottoman aggression, while also establishing a link to
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
.
In the past, Georgian rulers had not only accepted formal domination by Turkish and Persian emperors, but had also often converted to Islam, and sojourned at their capitals. Thus it was neither a break with Georgian tradition nor a unique capitulation of independence for Kartli-Kakheti to trade
vassal
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerai ...
age for peace with a powerful neighbor.
Though Orthodox Christian, Russia was otherwise culturally alien, in the treaty's
preamble
A preamble is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy. When applied to the opening paragraphs of a statute, it may recite historical facts pertinent to the subj ...
and article VIII the bond of
Orthodox Christianity
Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion.
Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Chu ...
between Georgians and Russians was acknowledged, which tied the two, and Georgia's
primate
Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter includin ...
, the
Catholicos
Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient ...
, became Russia's eighth permanent
archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...
and a member of Russia's
Holy Synod
In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox C ...
.
Other treaty provisions included mutual guarantees of an open border between the two
realm
A realm is a community or territory over which a sovereign rules. The term is commonly used to describe a monarchical or dynastic state. A realm may also be a subdivision within an empire, if it has its own monarch, e.g. the German Empire.
Et ...
s for travelers,
emigrants
Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
and merchants (articles 10, 11), while Russia undertook "to leave the power for internal administration, law and order, and the collection of taxes
nder the Nder may refer to:
* Alioune Mbaye Nder (born 1969), Senegalese singer
*N'Der
N'Der (also spelled Nder or Ndeer) is a small town on the western shore of the Lac de Guiers, in northern Senegal. It was the third and last capital of Waalo until the a ...
complete will and use of His Serene Highness the Tsar, forbidding
er Majesty’sMilitary and Civil Authorities to intervene in any
omestic laws or commands.
(article VI).
Article III created an
investiture
Investiture (from the Latin preposition ''in'' and verb ''vestire'', "dress" from ''vestis'' "robe") is a formal installation or ceremony that a person undergoes, often related to membership in Christian religious institutes as well as Christian k ...
ceremony whereby the Georgian kings of Kartli-Kakheti, upon swearing
fealty
An oath of fealty, from the Latin ''fidelitas'' (faithfulness), is a pledge of allegiance of one person to another.
Definition
In medieval Europe, the swearing of fealty took the form of an oath made by a vassal, or subordinate, to his lord. "Fea ...
to Russia's emperors, would receive the
royal regalia.
The treaty was negotiated on behalf of Russia by
Lieutenant-General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Pavel Potemkin, commander of Russia's troops in
Astrakhan
Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...
and a delegate and cousin of General Prince
Grigori Alexandrovich Potemkin, who was the official Russian
plenipotentiary
A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the wor ...
. Kartli-Kakheti's official delegation consisted of a
Kartli
Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial rol ...
an and a
Kakheti
Kakheti ( ka, კახეთი ''K’akheti''; ) is a region ( mkhare) formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small, mountainous province of Tusheti. Telavi is its capital. The region comprises ...
an, both of high rank:
Ioane, Prince of Mukhrani
Ioane ( ka, იოანე მუხრანბატონი, ''Ioane Mukhranbatoni'') (12 December 1755 – 1 October 1801) was a Georgian diplomat and military commander. As the head of the Mukhrani branch of the royal Bagrationi dynasty of ...
, (referred to in the Russian version of the treaty as "Prince Ivan Konstantinovich Bagration"), Constable of the Left-Hand Army and son-in-law of the Georgian king, and
Adjutant-General
An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer.
France
In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...
Garsevan Chavchavadze
Prince Garsevan Chavchavadze ( ka, გარსევან ჭავჭავაძე) (July 20, 1757 - April 7, 1811) was a Georgian nobleman (''tavadi''), politician and diplomat primarily known as the Georgian ambassador to Imperial Russia.
...
, Governor of Kazakhi (''aka'' Prince Garsevan Revazovich Chavchavadze, member of a Kakhetian princely family of the third rank,
vassal
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerai ...
s of the
Abashidze
The Abashidze ( ka, აბაშიძე) is a Georgian family and a former princely house. Appearing in the 15th century, they achieved prominence in the Kingdom of Imereti in western Georgia in the late 17th century and branched out in the ea ...
princes). These emissaries officially signed the treaty at the fortress of
Georgievsk
Georgiyevsk (russian: Гео́ргиевск) ( os, Гуым) is a historical town in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located in the North Caucasus on submontane tableland on the right bank of the Podkumok River (a tributary of the Kuma River), sou ...
in the
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...
on July 24, 1783. The Georgian King
Erekle II
Heraclius II ( ka, ერეკლე II), also known as Erekle II and The Little Kakhetian ( ka, პატარა კახი ) (7 November 1720 or 7 October 1721 C. ToumanoffHitchins, KeithHeraclius II. ''Encyclopædia Iranica Online edit ...
and the Empress
Catherine the Great
, en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes
, house =
, father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
, mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
, birth_date =
, birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...
then formally
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 inten ...
it in 1784.
Aftermath
![Caucasus_map_1799](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Caucasus_map_1799.png)
The results of the Treaty of Georgievsk proved disappointing for the Georgians.
King Erekle's adherence to it prompted Persia's new ruler,
Agha Mohammad Khan
Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar ( fa, آقا محمد خان قاجار, translit=Âqâ Mohammad Xân-e Qâjâr; 14 March 1742 – 17 June 1797), also known by his regnal name of Agha Mohammad Shah (, ), was the founder of the Qajar dynasty of Iran, rul ...
, who had sent several ultimatums, to invade, as he sought to re-establish Persia's traditional suzerainty over the region. Russia did nothing to help the Georgians during the disastrous
Battle of Krtsanisi
The Battle of Krtsanisi ( ka, კრწანისის ბრძოლა, tr) was fought between the Qajar Iran ( Persia) and the Georgian armies of the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti and Kingdom of Imereti at the place of Krtsanisi near Tbilisi, ...
in 1795, which left
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 ...
sacked and Georgia ravaged (including the west Georgian kingdom 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 ...
, ruled by Erekle II's grandson, King
Solomon II). Belatedly,
Catherine
Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria.
In the early Christ ...
declared war on Persia and sent an army to
Transcaucasia
The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...
. But her death shortly thereafter (November 1796) put an end to Russia's
Persian Expedition of 1796, as her successor,
Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
, turned to other strategic
objectives. Persia's
Shahanshah
Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
next contemplated the removal of the
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
population from eastern Georgia and eastern
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 ...
, launching the campaign from
Karabagh. His goal was frustrated not by Russian resistance, but by a Persian
assassin
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or VIP, important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not ha ...
in 1797.
On January 14, 1798, King Erekle II was succeeded on the throne by his eldest son, George XII (1746–1800) who, on February 22, 1799, recognized his own eldest son,
Tsarevich
Tsarevich (russian: Царевич, ) is a Slavic title given to tsars' sons. Under the 1797 Pauline house law, the title was discontinued and replaced with ''Tsesarevich'' for the heir apparent alone. His younger brothers were called '' Veli ...
David (''
Davit Bagrationi-batonishvili''), 1767–1819, as official
heir apparent
An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...
. In the same year Russian troops were stationed in Kartli-Kakheti. Pursuant to article VI of the treaty, Emperor Paul confirmed David's claim to
reign
A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Andorra), of a people (e.g., the Franks, the Zulus) or of a spiritual community (e.g., Catholicism, Tibetan Buddhism, N ...
as the next king on April 18, 1799. But strife broke out among King George's many sons and those of his late father over the throne, Erekle II having changed the succession order at the behest of his third wife, Queen
Darejan Dadiani
Darejan Dadiani ( ka, დარეჯანი), also known as Daria (Georgian: ; russian: Дарья Георгиевна, Darya Georgyevna) (20 July 1738 – 8 November 1807), was Queen Consort of Kakheti, and later Kartli-Kakheti in Eastern ...
, to favor the accession of younger brothers of future kings over their own sons. The resulting dynastic upheaval prompted King George to secretly invite Paul I to invade Kartli-Kakheti, to subdue the Bagratid princes, and to govern the kingdom from
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, on the condition that George and his descendants be allowed to continue to reign nominally – in effect, offering to mediatize the Bagratid dynasty under the
Romanov
The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to ...
emperors. Continued pressure from Persia, also prompted George XII's request for Russian intervention.
Paul tentatively accepted this offer, but before negotiations could be finalized changed his mind and issued a decree on December 18, 1800
annex
Annex or Annexe refers to a building joined to or associated with a main building, providing additional space or accommodations.
It may also refer to:
Places
* The Annex, a neighbourhood in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada
* The Annex (New H ...
ing Kartli-Kakheti to Russia and deposing the Bagratids.
[Encyclopædia Britannica, "Treaty of Georgievsk", 2008, retrieved 2008-6-16](_blank)
/ref> Paul himself died shortly thereafter. It is said that his successor, Emperor Alexander I Alexander I may refer to:
* Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC
* Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus
* Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome
* Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...
, considered retracting the annexation in favor of a Bagratid heir, but being unable to identify one likely to retain the crown, on September 12, 1801 Alexander proceeded to confirm annexation. Meanwhile, King George had died on December 28, 1800, before learning that he had lost his throne. By the following April, Russian troops took control of the country's administration and in February 1803 Tsarevich David Bagrationi was escorted by Russian troops from Tbilisi to St. Petersburg. He was pensioned, joined the Russian Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
, and retained his royal style
Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to:
* Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable
* Design, the process of creating something
* Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...
until May 6, 1833 when he was demoted from ''tsarevich'' (the Russian equivalent of ''batonishvili
''Batonishvili'' ( ka, ბატონიშვილი) (literally "a child of batoni (lord or sovereign)" in Georgian) is a title for royal princes and princesses who descend from the kings of Georgia from the Bagrationi dynasty and is suffixe ...
'') to "prince" ('' knyaz''), along with other members of the deposed dynasty, following an abortive uprising in Georgia led by David's uncle, Prince Alexandre Bagrationi
Prince Alexander of Georgia ( ka, ალექსანდრე ბატონიშვილი, ''aleksandre batonishvili'') (1770–1844) was a Georgian royal prince (''batonishvili'') of the Bagrationi family, who headed several insurrectio ...
.
The Russians then ended the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813 with a victory. By the Treaty of Gulistan
The Treaty of Gulistan (russian: Гюлистанский договор; fa, عهدنامه گلستان) was a peace treaty concluded between the Russian Empire and Iran on 24 October 1813 in the village of Gulistan (now in the Goranboy Distr ...
(1813), Qajar Persia
Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...
was forced to officially cede eastern Georgia to the Russian Empire.
Paul's annexation of east Georgia and exile of the Bagratids remain controversial: Soviet
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 nation ...
historians would later maintain that the treaty was an act of "brotherhood of the Russian and Georgian peoples" that justified annexation to protect Georgia both from its historical foreign persecutors and its "decadent
The word decadence, which at first meant simply "decline" in an abstract sense, is now most often used to refer to a perceived decay in standards, morals, dignity, religious faith, honor, discipline, or skill at governing among the members of ...
" native dynasty. Nonetheless, no bilateral
Bilateral may refer to any concept including two sides, in particular:
*Bilateria, bilateral animals
*Bilateralism, the political and cultural relations between two states
*Bilateral, occurring on both sides of an organism ( Anatomical terms of l ...
amendment had been ratified altering article VI sections 2 and 3 of the 1784 treaty, which obligated the Russian emperor "to preserve His Serene Highness Tsar Irakli Teimurazovich and the Heirs and descendants to his House, uninterrupted on the Throne of the Kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti...forbidding er Majesty’sMilitary and Civil Authorities to intervene in any omestic laws or commands"
Legacy
Ironically, that clause of the treaty would also be recalled during obscure late 20th century debates about restoration of the Russian monarchy.[Eilers, Marlene A., ''Queen Victoria's Descendants, Companion Volume''. Rosvall Royal Books, Falköping, Sweden, 2004. pp. 79–84. .] In 1948, Vladimir Kirillovich
Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia (russian: Владимир Кириллович Романов; 21 April 1992) was the Head of the Imperial Family of Russia, a position which he claimed from 1938 to his death.
Early life
Vladimir was bo ...
Romanov, (1917–1992), pretender to Russia's throne, married Princess Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Moukhranskaya, (born 1914), a descendant of the ''Mukhranbatoni'' who negotiated the 1783 treaty, and thus a member of the once royal House of Bagrationi. The marriage produced an only child, Maria Vladimirovna
Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia (russian: Мария Владимировна Романова; born 23 December 1953) has been a claimant to the headship of the Imperial Family of Russia (who reigned as Emperors and Autocrats of al ...
, (born 1956), who has taken up her father's claim as Russia's ''de jure
In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...
'' monarch. She and her son, George
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...
(born of her former marriage to Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia
Franz Wilhelm Prince of PrussiaIn 1919 royalty and nobility were mandated to lose their privileges in Germany; thereafter hereditary titles were to be legally borne only as part of the surname, according tArticle 109of the Weimar Constitution. ...
), have pretended to the Romanovs’ old grand ducal title. Her supporters argue that her father's marriage to Leonida, alone among those contracted by Romanov males in exile since 1917, complied with the Romanov house law that required marriage to a princess of a "royal or ruling family" in order for descendants to claim the throne. That law also provided that upon extinction of all male dynasts, female Romanovs born of dynastic mothers become eligible to inherit the crown. Based on this rationale, Maria purports to have the strongest legal claim to the Russian throne in the event that Russia ever restores its monarchy.
Critics deny that Princess Leonida could be reckoned of royal rank by Romanov standards (the title of ''prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...
'' was one of nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
, not dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...
in Russia, except in the imperial family
A royal family is the immediate family of King, kings/Queen regnant, queens, Emir, emirs/emiras, Sultan, sultans/Sultana (title), sultanas, or raja/rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the ...
). They point out that the Bagration-Mukhranskys were demoted from dynastic
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A d ...
status and incorporated into Russia's ordinary nobility by 1833: Though the princess descended patrilineally
Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritan ...
from a dynasty that had ruled as kings in 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 Georgia since the Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, it had been reduced to the status of Russian nobility for over a century prior to the 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 ...
. Leonida's branch of the Bagratids, although genealogically senior, had not been regnant in the male line as kings of Georgia since 1505. Members of the family accepted court appointments under Russia's emperors incompatible with claims to dynastic dignity. Moreover, when an imperial Romanov princess wed Prince Constantine Bagration-Mukhransky in 1911, the marriage was officially deemed non-dynastic
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A d ...
by Nicholas II
Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...
, and the bride, Tatiana Konstantinova Romanova, was obliged to renounce her succession rights.
While these facts are admitted, it is counter-argued that the demotion of the Bagratids, including the Mukhrani branch, violated the ''Treaty of Georgievsk'' and therefore failed to legally deprive any Bagrationi of royal rank. That fact, it is claimed, distinguishes Leonida from princesses of other once-sovereign
''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'.
The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...
families of the Russian Empire who married Romanovs. Nonetheless, it was the agnatic seniority
Agnatic seniority is a patrilineal principle of inheritance where the order of succession to the throne prefers the monarch's younger brother over the monarch's own sons. A monarch's children (the next generation) succeed only after the males ...
of the ''Mukhranbatoni''’s descent from Georgia’s former kings, rather than the broken treaty, that Vladimir Kirilovic
cited in a 1946 decree
recognizing the Bagration-Mukhranskys as dynastic for marital purposes, presumably so as to avoid repudiating 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 ...
's annexation of Georgia.
The language of article VI guaranteed the Georgian throne not only to King Erekle II and his direct issue, but also embraced "the Heirs and descendants to his House". On the other hand, article IX offered to extend no more than "the same privileges and advantages granted to the Russian nobility" to Georgia's princes and nobles. Yet first on the list of families submitted to Russia to enjoy noble (''not'' royal) status was that of the ''Mukhran batoni''. That list included twenty-one other princely families and a larger number of untitled nobles, most of whom were enrolled in Russia's nobility during the 19th century. The claims made on Maria's behalf have long embittered Romanov descendants who belong to the Romanov Family Association
The Romanov Family Association (russian: Объединение Членов Рода Романовых, Obyedineniye Chlenov Roda Romanovykh) is an organization for descendants of the former Russian Imperial House. It was created in 1979 and o ...
. Many of them descend matrilineally
Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance ...
from noble Russian princesses, some of whose families were also of "dynastic" origin, but cannot claim that a Treaty of Georgievsk has "preserved" their " dynasticity".
In 1983, the Soviet
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 nation ...
authorities celebrated the bicentennial __NOTOC__
A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to:
Europe
*French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated ...
of the Treaty of Georgievsk, provoking protests from anti-Soviet
Anti-Sovietism, anti-Soviet sentiment, called by Soviet authorities ''antisovetchina'' (russian: антисоветчина), refers to persons and activities actually or allegedly aimed against the Soviet Union or government power within the ...
Georgian dissident
A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 20th ...
s. In this period, several monuments to commemorate the treaty, among them the Russia–Georgia Friendship Monument along the Georgian Military Road
The Georgian Military Road or Georgian Military Highway (, 'sakartvelos samkhedro gza'' , os, Арвыкомы фæндаг 'Arvykomy fændag'' is the historic name for a major route through the Caucasus from Georgia to Russia. Alternative r ...
. Georgia's underground Samizdat
Samizdat (russian: самиздат, lit=self-publishing, links=no) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the document ...
publication, ''Sakartvelo
Georgia (, ; ) is a transcontinental country at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is part of the Caucasus region, bounded by the Black Sea to the west, by Russia to the north and northeast, by Turkey to the southwes ...
'' (საქართველო), dedicated a special issue to the event, emphasizing imperial Russia's disregard of the key agreements in the treaty. Underground political groups disseminated leaflets calling on Georgians to boycott
A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...
the celebrations, and several young Georgian activists were arrested by the Soviet police.[ Алексеева, Людмила (1983)]
Грузинское национальное движение
In
История Инакомыслия в СССР
Accessed on April 3, 2007.
References
Sources
*
*
*
*Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh. 1980 "Burke’s Royal Families of the World: ''Volume II Africa & the Middle East''",
Further reading
*David Marshall Lang
David Marshall Lang (6 May 1924 – 20 March 1991), was a Professor of Caucasian Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He was one of the most productive British scholars who specialized in Georgian, Armenian and an ...
: ''The Last Years of the Georgian Monarchy: 1658–1832''. Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fiel ...
, New York 1957.
*Nikolas K. Gvosdev, ''Imperial policies and perspectives towards Georgia: 1760–1819''. Macmillan .a. Basingstoke .a.2000, .
*"Traité conclu en 1783 entre Cathérine II. impératrice de Russie et Iracly II. roi de Géorgie". ''Recueil des lois russes''; vol. XXI, No. 15835, Avec une préface de M. Paul Moriaud, Professeur de da Faculté de Droit de l’université de Genève, et commentaires de A. Okouméli, Genève 1909.
* Zurab Avalov, ''Prisoedinenie Gruzii k Rossii''. Montvid, S.-Peterburg 1906.
External links
Treaty of Georgievsk (Translated from the Russian by Russell E. Martin, Westminster College)
*''The Portfolio; A Collection of State Papers, and other Document and Correspondence, Historical, Diplomatic, and Commercial'', Vol. V
pp. 206–209
London: 1837
{{DEFAULTSORT:Treaty Of Georgievsk
Georgievsk
Georgiyevsk (russian: Гео́ргиевск) ( os, Гуым) is a historical town in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located in the North Caucasus on submontane tableland on the right bank of the Podkumok River (a tributary of the Kuma River), sou ...
1780s in Georgia (country)
1783 in the Russian Empire
Georgievsk
Georgiyevsk (russian: Гео́ргиевск) ( os, Гуым) is a historical town in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located in the North Caucasus on submontane tableland on the right bank of the Podkumok River (a tributary of the Kuma River), sou ...
Georgievsk
Georgiyevsk (russian: Гео́ргиевск) ( os, Гуым) is a historical town in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located in the North Caucasus on submontane tableland on the right bank of the Podkumok River (a tributary of the Kuma River), sou ...
1780s establishments in the Russian Empire
Georgia (country)–Russia relations
Bilateral treaties of Russia