Act of Restoration of State Independence of Georgia

Act of Restoration of State Independence of Georgia
Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia
Territorial extentGeorgia (country) Republic of Georgia
Passed bySupreme Council of the Republic of Georgia
Passed12:30 a.m. 09.04.1991
Enacted12:30 a.m. 09.04.1991
Signed bySupreme Council and Council of Ministers members
Voting summary
  • 227 voted for
  • None voted against
Status: In force

The Act of Restoration of State Independence of Georgia (Georgian: საქართველოს სახელმწიფოებრივი დამოუკიდებლობის აღდგენის აქტი, romanized: sakartvelos sakhelmts'ipoebrivi damouk'ideblobis aghdgenis akt'i) was a declaration of independence of the Republic of Georgia from the Soviet Union. It restored the Georgian independence in the wake of the Dissolution of the Soviet Union. The act was passed on 9 April 1991 in Tbilisi, the main city of Georgia.[1]

Background[edit]

Zviad Gamsakhurdia

In 1985, a new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev announced his Perestroika programme to reform the Soviet Union. As such, many constituent Soviet republics began to assert their rights over the central Soviet government in this new rearrangement. The Estonian SSR became the first one to declare its state sovereignty within the USSR on 16 November, 1988.[2] In a resolution "On Union Treaty", it called for a New Union Treaty based on the state sovereignty of Estonia.[3] This was followed by the declarations from the other Soviet republics, which colloquically became known as the "parade of sovereignties". The greater push towards complete independence in the constituent republics ultimately led to the Dissolution of the Soviet Union.[4]

The Gorbachev's Glasnost reform led to the pro-independence opposition starting to grow in the Georgian SSR and to begin to mobilize people for independence. Since 1988, the opposition launched mass rallies in the Georgian cities. As such, in November 1988, the opposition mobilized 200 thousand people in Tbilisi to protest against a new Soviet law which gave a right to the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union to pass laws overriding the republican laws. The demonstrations continued and culminated on 9 April 1989, when the Soviet army dispersed the mass protest in Tbilisi, killing several people.[5]

The violent events in Tbilisi discredited the Soviet authorities among Georgians and surged the support for independence. The central Soviet government responded with the significant changes in the republic's leadership, replacing its head Jumber Patiashvili with Givi Gumbaridze. The new leadership chose more conciliatory approach towards the independence movement. The following months saw the republican leadership in Georgia trying to maneuver between the new circumstances. As such, in February 1990, the Georgian Supreme Soviet drafted its new program, which called for a new Union agreement with a "full sovereignty" to the member states and only limited role for the center. It incorporated many of the opposition's demands. The republican leadership adopted many of the opposition's proposals and gave greater role to the opposition leaders in the decision-making. In March 1990, the Supreme Soviet bowed down to the opposition's demand and passed a resolution, declaring the 1921 Red Army invasion of Georgia as illegal, while the 1922 Russian-Georgian agreement and 1922 Union Treaty were declared as invalid.[6] The opposition demanded to postpone the 1990 Georgian general election to introduce the multiparty electoral system. The Communist Party bowed to the pressure and passed a new electoral law in August 1990. The elections were ultimately held in October 1990 and saw the pro-independence Round Table bloc of dissident Zviad Gamsakhurdia gaining the majority of seats and displacing the Communist Party in the Supreme Soviet, which was subsequently renamed as the Supreme Council.[7]

The new leadership announced its gradualist approach for a secession from the Soviet Union after a transition period. However, Gorbachev's growing attempts to preserve the Soviet Union through the 1991 Soviet Union referendum made the Georgian leadership to accelerate its steps towards independence. On 31 March 1991, Georgia held an independence referendum instead of a Soviet referendum, with 99.49% voting for a secession.[8]

Adoption[edit]

Following the referendum, a declaration of independence was prepared by a group of Supreme Council members, after which it was presented to the Supreme Council on a special session on 9 April 1991, two years after the 9 April tragedy. The session began at around 12 o'clock and it was led by the Supreme Council chairman, Zviad Gamsakhurdia. He read out loud the declaration of independence and gave a speech in front of the Supreme Council:

It is symbolic that the Georgian independence will be restored on 9 April, because on this day the fate of Georgia was decided. The martyrs of 9 April are looking at us from the sky and cheer in the heavenly light, because their will was fulfilled, the will of the Georgian nation, god bless independent Georgia![9]

All Supreme Council deputies voted in favor of the independence. Following this, all of them signed the declaration. The session ended at around 5 o'clock. The independence of Georgia was restored based on the 1918 Georgian Declaration of Independence.[9]

Georgia became the first non-Baltic Soviet republic to declare independence.[citation needed]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Georgian republic declares independence". Tampa Bay Times. 10 April 1991. Archived from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Декларация Верховного Совета Эстонской Советской Социалистической Республики О суверенитете Эстонской ССР" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-04-20. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
  3. ^ Обращение Совета балтийских государств к Верховному Совету СССР от 21 ноября 1990 г. // Распад СССР: документы и факты (1986—1992 гг.). Том II Архивные документы и материалы. М., Кучково поле. 2016. С. 196
  4. ^ The Revenge of the Past: Nationalism, Revolution, and the Collapse of the Soviet Union, Ronald Grigor Suny, Stanford University Press, 1993, ISBN 0-8047-2247-1 Retrieved on 2009-04-25
  5. ^ "16 Killed at Rally in Soviet City". The Washington Post. 10 April 1991.
  6. ^ "Decree by the Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR" (PDF). International Center on Conflict and Negotiation (in Russian). 9 March 1990. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  7. ^ Problems of Communism. Documentary Studies Section, International Information Administration. 1991. pp. 65–69.
  8. ^ Shvelidze, Dimitri (2008). Political confrontations and the overthrow of the national government in Georgia (1987–1992) [პოლიტიკური დაპირისპირებები და ეროვნული ხელისუფლების დამხობა საქართველოში (1987–1992 წ.წ)] (in Georgian). Tbilisi: უნივერსალი. p. 202. ISBN 978-9941-12-325-2.
  9. ^ a b "27 წელი დამოუკიდებლობის აღდგენიდან - "აღსრულდა ნება ქართველი ერისა"". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (in Georgian). 8 April 2016.

External links[edit]

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