The People's Guard of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სახალხო გვარდია) was a Social-Democrat-dominated

volunteer force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...

of Georgian former soldiers and civilians, active during 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 ...

and 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 ...

from 5 September 1917 to 18 March 1921. It consisted of 2,000 full-time members and 18 field battalions (300-800 soldiers in each) drafted on a territorial basis. In war time it could mobilize up to 10,000 to 12,000 citizens. The commander of the People's Guard was Valiko Jugheli, and notable members included Kakutsa Cholokashvili,

Alexander Koniashvili Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Ale ...

Alexander Maisuradze Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Ale ...

, and Vladimer Goguadze. The People's Guard of Georgia conducted its first combat mission on 29 November ( N.S. 12 December) 1917, when it seized a former Imperial Russian army arsenal and artillery depot 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 p ...

which had hitherto been under the control of units sympathetic to the Bolsheviks. In the words of a Guard commander Valiko Jugheli, the operation "determined the fate of the revolution on a Transcaucasian scale." Throughout 1918–1921, 12 December was celebrated as the Guard's day. From 1920 to 1921, the Guard published its illustrated periodical ''sakhalkho gvardieli'' (სახალხო გვარდიელი, "People's Guardsman") twice a month.

References

Militias Democratic Republic of Georgia Military history of Georgia (country) Military units and formations of Georgia (country) Military units and formations established in 1917 Military units and formations disestablished in 1921 {{Georgia-stub