Committee for the Independence of Georgia
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The Committee for the Independence of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს დამოუკიდებლობის კომიტეტი, ''Sak’art’velos damoukideblobis komiteti'') or the Parity Committee (პარიტეტული კომიტეტი, ''Paritetuli komiteti'') was an underground anti-Soviet organization active in the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic in the early 1920s. It is commonly known as "Damkom" (short for ''damoukideblobis komiteti'', the Committee for Independence). The committee was responsible for the preparation and guidance of the abortive August Uprising of 1924. The committee was formed early in May 1922 as a result of the negotiations of the Georgian Social Democrats (Mensheviks), a former ruling party in pre-
Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
Georgia, with its erstwhile political opposition – the National Democratic Party, the
Federalist Party The Federalist Party was a Conservatism in the United States, conservative political party which was the first political party in the United States. As such, under Alexander Hamilton, it dominated the national government from 1789 to 1801. De ...
, the Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs) and the Skhivi (“Beam”) Party. Each party was represented by one member in the Damkom (hence the organization's alternative name, the Parity Committee), which was traditionally chaired by a Menshevik. Gogita Paghava was the first chairman; he was shortly succeeded by Nikoloz Kartsivadze, who was arrested by the Soviet secret police,
Cheka The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə), abbreviated ...
, on 16 March 1923, and was replaced with
Kote Andronikashvili Kote may refer to: * Kotë, a place in Albania * Kote, Karnataka, a village in India * Köte, a charcoal burner's hut in Germany's Harz Mountains * Kote, a pair of mitts worn when practicing kendo * KOTE is a radio station in Eureka, Kansas, playin ...
. Throughout its existence, the Secretary of the Damkom was Yason Javakhishvili of the National Democratic Party. The accord signed by the members of the Damkom envisaged the overthrow of the Bolshevik regime through a nationwide uprising, restoration of the Democratic Republic of Georgia and the formation of a
coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
. The committee maintained close contacts with the Government of Georgia-in-exile though its "Constantinople Bureau" based in Istanbul, Turkey. The committee set up a military center chaired by the retired general
Kote Abkhazi Prince Konstantine (Kote) Abkhazi ( ka, კონსტანტინე (კოტე) აფხაზი) (November 17, 1867—May 20, 1923), was a Georgian military officer, politician and public figure. During the Imperial Russian rule, he wa ...
, who was to prepare for a popular insurrection. Several members of the former Menshevik government returned clandestinely from exile, including the former Minister of Agriculture,
Noe Khomeriki Noe Khomeriki ( ka, ნოე ხომერიკი) (1 January 1883 – 1 September 1924) was a Georgian politician involved in the Social Democrat movement who was arrested for anti-soviet activity and shot during an uprising against the Sov ...
, as well as the former commander of the People's Guard,
Valiko Jugheli Vladimir “Valiko” Jugheli ( ka, ვალიკო ჯუღელი) (January 1, 1887 - 30 August 1924 ) was a Georgian politician and military commander. He was involved in the Marxist movement in Georgia (then part of the Russian Empire) ...
. The Georgian Cheka, with recently appointed Deputy Chief Lavrentiy Beria playing a leading role, managed to penetrate the organization and carried out mass arrests. A heavy loss was sustained by the Georgian opposition in February 1923, when the military center was betrayed by Kote Misabishvili, a student member of the National-Democratic party. Fifteen members of the military center were arrested, among them the principal leaders of the resistance movement:
Kote Abkhazi Prince Konstantine (Kote) Abkhazi ( ka, კონსტანტინე (კოტე) აფხაზი) (November 17, 1867—May 20, 1923), was a Georgian military officer, politician and public figure. During the Imperial Russian rule, he wa ...
, Alexander Andronikashvili,
Varden Tsulukidze Varden Tsulukidze ( ka, ვარდენ წულუკიძე) (1865 – 19 May 1923) was a Georgian military commander and anti-Soviet resistance leader. Of a noble family, Tsulukidze served in the Imperial Russian army and was promoted ...
, Colonel
Giorgi Khimshiashvili Giorgi "Gogi" Khimshiashvili ( ka, გოგი ხიმშიაშვილი; 1892 – 20 May 1923) was a Georgian military officer prominent in the service of the Democratic Republic of Georgia (1918–1921). He was executed by the Soviet aut ...
,
Simon Bagration-Mukhraneli Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...
, Elizbar Gulisashvili, and
Rostom Muskhelishvili Rostam or Rustam or Rostom ( fa, رستم) is a name referring to the Persian mythical hero Rostam who was immortalized by the poet Ferdowsi in the ''Shahnameh'' (''Book of Kings''). It has been commonly used as a male Persian given name, and may ...
; they were executed on 20 May 1923. Khomeriki and Jugheli also fell in the hands of the Cheka and were subsequently shot. After some hesitation, the committee went ahead and laid plans for a general insurrection for 2.00 am 29 August 1924. The plan of the simultaneous uprising miscarried, however, and, through some misunderstanding, the mining town of Chiatura, western Georgia, rose in rebellion a day earlier, on 28 August. The revolt continued for three weeks in several districts of Georgia and was crushed by the Red Army and Cheka forces. The suppression of the uprising was accompanied by large-scale repressions in which several thousands were killed. On 4 September the Cheka discovered the rebels’ chief headquarters at the
Shio-Mgvime Monastery The Shio-Mgvime Monastery ( ka, შიომღვიმე, , literally meaning "the cave of Shio") is a medieval monastic complex in Georgia, near the town of Mtskheta. It is located in a narrow limestone canyon on the northern bank of the Kur ...
near the town of
Mtskheta Mtskheta ( ka, მცხეთა, tr ) is a city in Mtskheta-Mtianeti province of Georgia. It is one of the oldest cities in Georgia as well as one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the World. Itis located approximately north of T ...
, and arrested the leaders of the Damkom, including its chairman Andronikashvili. On the same day, Beria met them in Tiflis, and proposed to issue a declaration urging the partisans to put down their arms. The committee members, tied up and facing death themselves, accepted the proposal on the condition that an order to stop mass executions be given immediately. Beria agreed and the rebels signed the declaration in order to put an end to the bloodshed. The persecutions did not end, however, and the arrested opposition leaders themselves were shortly put to death. By mid-September, most of the Damkom's armed detachments had been destroyed and the uprising defeated.


References

*ვალერი ბენიძე (Valeri Benidze) (1991), 1924 წლის აჯანყება საქართველოში (''1924 Uprising in Georgia''). Tbilisi: სამშობლო ("Samshoblo") (in Georgian) * * Amy W. Knight (1993), ''Beria: Stalin's First Lieutenant'', Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, . * David Marshall Lang (1962). ''A Modern History of Georgia'', London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Committee For Independence Of Georgia Georgian nationalism 1920s in Georgia (country) Politics of the Soviet Union Organizations of the Russian Revolution Political party alliances in Georgia (country) Pro-independence parties in the Soviet Union