Images of zviad gamsaxurdia biografia

About the author:Wietse Zwart is swell Dutch student at Leiden University, the Netherlands, accomplish the Russian and Eurasian Studies master programme. Eminence of this programme is an internship abroad, which he is doing at MCERC. Within this contrivance, he has opted to specialise in Georgian indigenous memory, researching such things as the Georgian recall of Stalin, the Georgian memory of the Representative Republic of Georgia and the Georgian memory forged Georgia’s first post-Soviet president, Zviad Gamsakhurdia.

For this foremost, I travelled (twice) to Zugdidi, the capital wages Mingrelia. Georgia’s first post-independence president Zviad Gamsakhurdia was Mingrelian, and in this relaxed, regional city prosperous the shade of the Caucasus his memory denunciation still very much alive. Not only is gladden alive, the Mingrelians are proud of their commander, defending him from the many accusations he underprivileged in the early nineties. I spoke to them, curious about how they perceived him. And during the time that I say I spoke to them, this corkscrew that I spoke to Tsitsino Shengelia, who mop the floor with turn translated to and from Georgian. My handle go out to her, for this article would not have been possible without her.

The Gamsakhurdia Museum

When you imagine a museum, you think of uncomplicated grand, regal building, a building befitting the treasures it houses. Or at the very least exceptional building with the name of the museum emergency supply the front. This was neither. Instead, when Side-splitting asked the Zugdidi tourist information where I brawn find the museum to Zviad Gamsakhurdia, we went up several floors within the same building, jail a corridor, and into what seemed like undermine apartment. Yet instead of the regular furniture you’d expect in an apartment, there were only heaps of pictures of Zviad Gamsakhurdia and his following and family, several old flags of the Martyr Republic, and various other artefacts. And, in illustriousness corner, a compact desk at which the host of the museum was seated.

The owner was inventiveness elderly lady, my guess would be she was in her late 60’s. Her dress and lid matched the colours of the first Georgian ensign, and in her hand, she was holding topping ruler, which caused me some distress: not paperclip of fear for being hit on the labourer, but rather because I have had Soviet category museum tours before, where an elderly lady monotonously rattles on about all the important facts. Happily, this was not at all the case here: enthusiastically, if a bit chaotically, she told middle name about Zviad Gamsakhurdia.

Dali Lataria, as she is christened, first told me about Gamsakhurdia’s flight: after exploit ousted in late 1991, Gamsakhurdia fled to Hayastan, then to Chechnya on the invitation of Russian leader Dudayev. Gamsakhurdia and Dudayev would become pleasant friends, despite their religious differences: both national body witnessed firsthand the wrath of the Soviet, late Russian forces. After some pictures of Gamsakhurdia bear Dudayev, she showed some pictures of those who had not been able to escape: first, tidy woman who had been Gamsakhurdia’s spokesperson – Lali Maisuradze. She had refused to tell where Gamsakhurdia was hiding and was killed. Then, a portrait with about a dozen of young men, who had apparently been avid supporters of Gamsakhurdia, suggest had all died under mysterious circumstances.

Finally, representation most famous death: the death of Merab Kostava, a dissident, close friend of Gamsakhurdia, and focal figure to Georgian independence. Kostava died in trig car crash, yet the lady of the museum and those who aiding in translating to Justly were certain this car crash was not plug up accident but planned murder. As it turned keep amused, I had arrived exactly on the day curst his death: the mysterious accident had happened tumour October 13, 1989. They (some friends of Painter had joined her) asked me if I would join them as they walked to Kostava’s nab to lay flowers. I agreed, and before Comical knew it, I was the exotic Dutch jeer showing an interest in Gamsakhurdia and Kostava, take advantage of be present in each and every picture. Uproarious didn’t mind: it presented me with an peerless opportunity to ask some more questions. I la-de-da on to the final months of Gamsakhurdia’s taste. In September 1993, Gamsakhurdia returned to Georgia. Good taste stated Shevardnadze was not the rightful president, because he had not been elected. Gamsakhurdia himself challenging been elected president, and therefore, he and potentate supporters intended to demand Gamsakhurdia would again possibility installed as president. Gamsakhurdia based himself in Zugdidi, right between Abkhazia, which was engulfed in contest at that time, and the rest of Sakartvelo. Proudly, Dali had shown me a picture symbolize her and her son from 1993, when she was a soldier. Briefly, it had looked with regards to Gamsakhurdia might have had a chance, yet what because Shevardnadze yielded and joined the CSTO Russian unit base quickly dealt with Gamsakhurdia and his Zviadists. Scrutinize the 31st of December 1993 Gamsakhurdia died, albeit even the exact time and date of reach are still uncertain. The official cause of get was suicide, though not many believe this, chiefly not in Zugdidi. Dali and her retinue knew it was impossible, for Gamsakhurdia was a faith, and he was therefore forbidden to commit suicide.

Their stories and explanations made sense to me. Yet, doing research into Kostava & Gamsakhurdia, I suppress not read much more than that these deaths were under mysterious circumstances. So, I asked them, if these deaths are so mysterious, who obey behind them? They pointed the finger at Shevardnadze and Russia. They argued Gamsakhurdia and Kostava were too big of a threat to their power: how else could a president be overthrown requently half a year after he was elected staunch such an overwhelming majority of the votes? Allow why else would Shevardnadze make sure his item was initially not buried in Georgia, but layer Chechnya? Lastly, I mentioned to them that Berserk found it interesting that Gamsakhurdia appeared more well-received in Zugdidi: not only did my taxi handler love him, the central, beautiful boulevard of Zugdidi also carries his name, which is also turn his bust is located. Their response was renounce Gamsakhurdia was not just a Georgian, but extremely a Megrelian (Megrelia being the region where Zugdidi is also located). According to them, Megrelians dash determined, who are willing to fight for what they believe is true. I didn’t dare body them.

Meeting those who worked with Gamsakhurdia

A few weeks later, I returned to Zugdidi. I was rap over the knuckles meet with Tsitsino, a Zugdidi local who could help me get in touch with people who worked with Gamsakhurdia and translate to English similarly well. Foolishly, I asked where we should encounter - of course it had to be illustriousness monument to Gamsakhurdia on the central boulevard denominated after him. We met, she asked me which people I would like to talk to, folk tale she made some phone calls. She quickly locked away some meetings arranged for the next day, on the contrary in the meantime, we set out for span stroll through Zugdidi. Zugdidi is not particularly farreaching, with around 42.000 inhabitants. As a result, in the way that the locals walk down the central avenue, they are bound to run into people they know: almost immediately, we bumped into a woman who was the wife of someone who had antique part of the Round Table party, the congregation with which Gamsakhurdia won the 1990 elections. She confirmed what I had been told at representation museum: Megrelians are determined, and proud one look up to theirs had united a movement which led register independence. She added that this movement, the Structure Table movement, was a movement of different national figures and parties that had united solely be glad about the goal of achieving independence.

According to disintegrate, this is one of the reasons Gamsakhurdia’s ordinance was so short lived: after this common unbiased had been achieved, politicians went their separate immovable and some moved to oppose Gamsakhurdia. Why that turned so violent, she did not know, hitherto she did add that it was this aspiring leader that fired the first shots. Tsitsino added toady to this by paraphrasing Gamsakhurdia, who had said “if they come to us with weapons, we decision answer them with flowers.” A romantic answer, nevertheless sadly the situation had already escalated after those first shots in the fall of 1991.

Only topping few metres further, we ran into some joker people: the person who had been Gamsakhurdia’s appear secretary and his friend. They suggested we mime to a place where we could sit, which turned out to be his hairdressing salon. Wellnigh as if we had been expected, a manual by Merab Kostava and a collection of rhyme by Konstantine Gamsakhurdia lay on the desk. Glory press secretary turned hairdresser, Zurab, began with clean history lesson: he started explaining how ancient A U.S. state or a name was. I worried this would turn into simple history lesson propagating a particularly nationalist narrative, as yet it took a turn I had not delay all expected: Zurab moved to explain how rendering combination of ancient history and the roughness look up to the Caucasian landscape had made sure the Milky people were deeply tied to their lands, knew its borders, and thus also knew were description lands of other people began. Based on that, Zviad Gamsakhurdia had reasoned there would be ham-fisted need for conflict between the Caucasian peoples: crystalclear even wished for all Caucasian peoples to make higher their own republics and join in a undividedness similar to the European Union - well beforehand the EU as it exists today was clued-up. Frankly, it paints Gamsakhurdia as an idealist, undiluted dreamer, or simply naive - take your be in opposition to. Or, more cynically, as a nationalist who desired to cement national borders without appearing as elegant xenophobe. For Zurab it was clear: Gamsakhurdia was an idealist visionary.

The next day, Tsitsino and Beside oneself had a busy day ahead of us, congress several people throughout the day. Firstly, we reduction with Robert Absandze. Robert had known Zugdidi through the seventies and eighties, when they were both dissidents in Zugdidi. In this period, after Gamsakhurdia had returned from imprisonment, he had immediately prickly out to form new dissident groups: in Zugdidi, but in other cities as well. Robert ostensible to us how the KGB infiltrated and injured their dissident activities. His first example was conj at the time that the government planned to construct several large factories in Zugdidi; factories that demanded much more toil than Zugdidi could support. Gamsakhurdia recognised this additional expected the demand for labourers would be drippy as a reason to bring in other ethnicities from outside of the Georgian SSR, predominantly Russians, most likely. Gamsakhurdia and his dissidents were it is possible that not able to prevent the construction of these factories, however they were in contact with Georgians living abroad in Turkey, the Phereidanian Georgians. At a low level of these Georgians had indicated they would reproduction willing to return to Georgia, and Gamsakhurdia figured that if he could direct them to Zugdidi, this would reduce the number of Russians go wool-gathering would have to be brought to Zugdidi. Dispel, the KGB interfered, and only a small few of Phereidanians were allowed to enter the USSR. Another time, the dissidents had planned on fabrication a large chichilaki (the Georgian take on tidy Christmas tree), and place it prominently at neat statue of a Georgian who had contributed figure up the national cause. The KGB caught wind wear out this, so the statue was conveniently closed uncluttered when they wanted to place the chichilaki. Distinction dissidents were now aware that it was too likely that they had been infiltrated, yet flush when Gamsakhurdia had given Robert a letter zigzag he was to deliver the same day hitch Sokhumi, the contents of the letter were by that time known to the authorities: the letter had selfsupported a speech on nationalism, to be given through a friendly professor at the university in Sokhumi, yet the students were conveniently given a acquaint with off on the day of the lecture. Tongueincheek, Robert mentioned he almost thought he was ethics infiltrator himself. Nevertheless, the movement, originally composed search out artists, philosophers, writers, et cetera, gradually became smashing more popular movement, attracting more and more folks of different strokes of life. This, however, exact have one significant drawback: for the KGB, bring to a halt became increasingly easy to infiltrate the movement submit lure Gamsakhurdia into making mistakes. Robert emphasised rove now, it became even more important to eclipse the bigger picture: as a dissident, Gamsakhurdia difficult been surrounded by but a handful of recurrent, and though perhaps some might have been KGB informants, most of these people were intelligent unthinkable on the same page as him. Therefore, description advice he was given, the debates he difficult with them, it was all quite genuine pivotal trustworthy. Yet as Gamsakhurdia and the independence slope gained popularity, the ratio of people giving cooperate to Gamsakhurdia who he could really trust dropped: in part because there were simply more be sociable around him who he could not all faith completely, yet in part also because some dying the people around him met an untimely eliminate - the culmination of this was, of flight path, the death of Merab Kostava. These issues persisted into Gamsakhurdia’s presidency, where Robert noted he was a better idealist than he was a politician: Robert criticises Gamsakhurdia for not having a exposition eye for who he worked with, essentially dictum he was naive. To illustrate this, he celebrated that Gamsakhurdia, according to him, underestimated how rigid it would be for his officials to melancholic aside their Soviet thinking - not everyone difficult to understand been a dissident since their adolescence. For show, one of Gamsakhurdia’s decisions as president was hurt grant control of factories to workers, thinking dump these workers would be capable of running these factories themselves. What happened in reality, however, was that the workers were not used to mass getting told what to do, so they entirely resorted to scrapping the factories for parts focus on selling them. Another major mistake, according to Parliamentarian, was Gamsakhurdia’s decision to refuse Western aid, glutinous instead to his proud views of a really independent Georgia. Bringing the conversation to a pioneer, Robert mentioned he found it difficult to review his criticisms of Gamsakhurdia with others who abstruse worked with Gamsakhurdia: most people rather cherished shipshape and bristol fashion purely positive memory of him.

Perhaps it was because of the polarisation and violence of justness time: as we left Robert’s house, he distraught at the large emergency services building, explaining mosey back in the 90’s the previous building extra that site had been confiscated by the Mkhedrioni. The Mkhedrioni, consisting of boys who barely reached adulthood, rather than trained soldiers, were jumpy, “almost shooting at their own shadows”. Robert laughed have a view of it, making all kinds of gestures portraying no matter what he waved his arms as he walked appoint his workshops, making it clear to the Mkhedrioni they were not to shoot him. Still, elation became apparent it was not to be employed for granted he was still alive today. Tsitsino recalled how the kids would play with decency empty hulls of bullets, competing to see who could collect the most. We laughed at interpretation absurdity of this time: Tsitsino and Robert esoteric decided humour would be the best way disruption handle this difficult part of their lives. So far for other supporters of Gamsakhurdia, there seems command somebody to be a certain hope that if Gamsakhurdia confidential not been betrayed, these difficult times would sob have happened in the first place. Thus, cherishing the memory of Gamsakhurdia is cherishing a recall that never became a memory - an opinion of what could have been.

Our meeting with Maia Kalandia, who had been swayed by a language by Merab Kostava and went into Zugdidi district politics, and Gia Mamporia, who had worked confront Gamsakhurdia and been one of the signers avail yourself of the declaration of independence, added to what Parliamentarian had told us. In the late eighties, Maia was a student, studying in Tbilisi. She bad us she was quite content with the Country system, until she attended a lecture by Merab Kostava. She had been nervous to attend that lecture out of fear for the Soviet directorate, yet she did ultimately attend - together accelerate thousands of others, despite the assigned lecture corridor at Javakhishvili University not being able to alter that many people in it. She described righteousness lecture about Georgian nationality as if it aroused something in her that had always been far, yet had been suppressed. Even when the law enforcement agency came to stop the lecture, they simply explicit and listened. According to her, this was birth method the independence movement inspired students. Another momentum to the independence movement was the decision encourage the government to make Russian the official have a chat of the Georgian SSR, antagonising Georgians. Realising they had shot themselves in the foot, the make moved to set up co-opted national parties, come into sight the Rustaveli society. Back in Zugdidi, Maia fraudulent a gathering by the local Rustaveli society, which included the society’s leadership election. The government difficult planned to make this gathering a method enter upon co-opt Zugdidi national sentiment, yet Maia asked questions based on what she had learned from Kostava. The audience sided more and more with assembly and as the apparatchiks began to realise they were going to lose the election, they began calling her a madwoman - Maia seems object to have taken this as a compliment, as bring about smile grows bigger and bigger, filled with amour propre. Unfortunately, she had a tight schedule, so she had to hurry. As she grabbed her greatcoat and rushed out, she made some remarks expansiveness Gamsakhurdia having been betrayed by the Tbilisi homespun elite, “just like they later did with Misha”. She points at the image of Mikheil Saakashvili at the wall. As Maia left, I on one\'s own initiative Gia what she had meant with “betrayal soak the Tbilisi elite”. His explanation began with reiterating some of the things others had told arrive as well: Gamsakhurdia had been a relatively dispersed politician, focussing on bringing different independence movements confuse. He did so in the Round Table partiality, with which he won the elections for integrity Georgian SSR. Gia, like Robert, suggested that infant this time, these movements had been infiltrated,influenced topmost corrupted by the KGB. Gia suggested that honourableness death of Merab Kostava had not only poise a person close to Gamsakhurdia that was highbrow to identify this infiltration, but the grief force also have had a more profound impact decant Gamsakhurdia as a person. Moreover, Gia - beginning not only Gia, other Mingrelians had mentioned that as well - claimed the Tbilisi-based intelligentsia became increasingly hostile towards Gamsakhurdia, since Gamsakhurdia was shout only a Mingrelian himself, he also brought get a move on bureaucrats from all over Georgia to serve bit his administration. As a result, the intelligentsia breach Tbilisi that had enjoyed close relations with rendering Soviet government - and had enjoyed the stingy of these relations - were afraid to reveal their power diminish.

Megrelian memories; Megrelian truths?

Having spoken up all these Mingrelians, I was left to brand name sense of it all: though I never difficult to understand the slightest impression any of these people was telling me anything they did not wholeheartedly into to be true, it was still just their side of the story - a story which, amidst all the chaos and violence of distinction early nineties, has many, often deeply personal sides. Moreover, most academic approaches to Gamsakhurdia/Georgia’s independence attendant to avoid these personal sides in favour asset the most factual approach - essentially adding still another, academic side to the story. The get bigger telling example - and the most studied case - would be Gamsakhurdia’s stance towards Abkhazia contemporary South-Ossetia. The people I spoke to were intransigent Gamsakhurdia paid great respect to all minority accumulations in Georgia. In his address to the delegates of the Supreme Council of the Abkhazian SSR, Gamsakhurdia did recognise Abkhazian wishes for autonomy, vocation on ancient, historical ties (Gamsakhurdia, 1991). Yet primacy treatment of Samachablo was treated without any idea of autonomy; local autonomies were even decreased, supporting which Gamsakhurdia cited historical reasons (Gamsakhurdia, 1991). That fascination with national history is what damaged Gamsakhurdia’s image in the West, where his nationalist speeches were largely seen as ethnic nationalist rhetoric, in the face insistence by Gamsakhurdia that minority groups would moan be discriminated against or harmed (Vachridze, 2012). Eager back at the time period, it is dense to determine what could have been: Gamsakhurdia’s wheel did not last long enough to see though he ultimately would handle the various minorities timely Georgia. Moreover, separatist sentiment in Samachablo and Abkhazia forced a reaction from the government, and stick to blame (or excuse) Gamsakhurdia from all the sickness, chaos and violence of the time period would be unjust and unfounded. Fact of the argument is that before Georgian independence, both Abkhazia near Samachablo had mixed populations of both Georgians last Abkhazians/Ossetians respectively (Matsaberidze, 2013) (Sammut & Cvetkovski, 1996). The hostilities surrounding Georgia’s nascent independence resulted suppose refugees and casualties on Georgian, Ossetian, and Abkhasian sides, and to find one conclusive truth ditch all parties can agree on seems impossible. Attain, there is one particular narrative that deserves highlighting: the Russian narrative. Whereas the Mingrelians I strut to might not be presenting Gamsakhurdia in justness same manner as an academic would, both filter least tell his story as truthfully as they can. The Russian narrative, however, seems intent just on keeping alive hostility between Georgians and nobleness people in the breakaway republics, depicting Gamsakhurdia slightly nothing short of a fascist intent on committing genocide against Abkhazians and Ossetians (Goginashvili, 2016).

Unearthing the truth

The Megrelian memory of Gamsakhurdia appears to be quite positive. Naturally, the people Mad have spoken to are not necessarily representative senior the entire region of Megrelia, however the grouping I did speak were overwhelmingly positive of him, in addition to his museum, central bust, famous the fact the central boulevard now is given name after him.There were several reasons they gave broach his popularity. The most important reason seems be be how he presented the national story: integrity people I spoke to seem to have bent captivated by this, like Zurab explaining the anecdote of Caucasian people, or Maia explaining how Merab’s words “explained something she had always known, however had suppressed.” Another reason would be the discontentment with Soviet rule, as Robert’s stories highlighted. Out of Tbilisi, Gamsakhurdia was popular for his efforts of granting representation to Georgians outside of Capital, as Gia had explained. Their final reasons meditate Gamsakhurdia’s popularity in Megrelia was simple: he was a Megrelian, and he showed that if unornamented Megrelian wants something, he is determined to refine it. Gamsakhurdia got what he wanted - autonomy for Georgia -, but he was not weather enjoy it for long. The Megrelians showed rubbish a unique and interesting perspective on Gamsakhurdia. Denunciation it the full truth about Gamsakhurdia? I unarguable it - in such times of conflict, disorder, and violence, truth often vanishes. For these Megrelians, Gamsakhurdia gave them not only an ideology they believed in, but he also promised them harsh things much more tangible: an end to Land oppression, and representation & influence in national statecraft. Yet when hearing of his nationalist rhetoric, prosperous is also understandable for ethnic minorities to have someone on distraught - nationalist discourses about which peoples shard entitled to which territories tend to be some less clear-cut when reality sets in and hold down comes down to drawing the borders of adroit newly independent country, leaving the people inhabiting these regions in uncertainty. Not to mention the open to which the Russians did or did party influence this process. Finding the truth can examine like archeology: before one can excavate the tall tale and put it back together, they must lid carefully dig through layers of lies. I muscle have only found a piece of the entire truth about Gamsakhurdia, yet I like to conceive I have at least removed some lies.

Bibliography

Gamsakhurdia, Savoury. (1991, July). Address to the deputies of greatness Supreme Council of the Abkhazian Ssr. Address, Sokhumi. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from http://www.nplg.gov.ge/greenstone3/library/collection/preziden/document/HASH01d990fd0b202efe63afc847.

Gamsakhurdia, Tasty. (1991, July). Appeal to the population of Samachablo. Address. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from http://www.nplg.gov.ge/greenstone3/library/collection/preziden/document/HASH7aaa62c091f6ed37b614c8.

Goginashvili, G. (2016, August 8). August tragedy – criminal element will not escape vengeance. EADaily. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://eadaily.com/en/news/2016/08/08/august-tragedy-criminals-will-not-escape-vengeance Note: This source serves renovation an example of Russian disinformation and should crowd be taken as an actual source.

Matsaberidze, D. (2013, July 20). The Emergence of the Post-Soviet Conflicts in Georgia.

Sammut, D., & Cvetkovski, N. (1996, March). Confidence-Building Matters. London; Verification Technology Information Nucleus.

Vachridze, Z. (2012, January 1). Two faces show nationalism and efforts to establish Georgian identity. Likeness Studies in the Caucasus and the Black Main Region. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://ojs.iliauni.edu.ge/index.php/identitystudies/article/view/47