Author: Mariam Mebuke

 

The rethinking of the idea and significance of the First Republic of Georgia began rather late, as for a long time, Soviet propaganda had tried to erase its leaders and important political figures from public memory, distorting the image of the First Republic itself.

This time, my goal is not to discuss Georgia in 1918–1921 in general, but to speak about one of its remarkable and almost “disappeared” representatives – Gogita Paghava, the youngest deputy of the Constituent Assembly, who was executed at the age of 29. However, before that, it is necessary to set the background.

The foundation for the creation of the Democratic Republic of Georgia was laid by the revolution that took place in Petrograd in February 1917.

“Mtavrobadze has died, inform relatives and friends” – these words are probably familiar to many readers. It was this telegram that announced to Tbilisi the overthrow of Tsarism in Russia. The author of that secret telegram was Gogita Paghava, who, together with Viktor Nozadze, informed his associates in March 1917 from Moscow about the abdication of Nicholas II.

Shortly before the declaration of independence, after the revolution, Gogita returned to Georgia with Akaki Chkhenkeli and became actively involved in the political processes of the time. For a certain period, he also served as Chkhenkeli’s secretary in the Transcaucasian Commissariat.

Gogita Paghava was born in 1895 and grew up in Kutaisi. He graduated from the Kutaisi Noble Gymnasium (now Petre Otskheli Public School No. 2). From his student years, he was involved in the activities of social democratic circles.

“Since 1913, he was (formally) a member of the Menshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Workers’ Party.” His obituary later noted:
“Gogita Paghava was the best representative of the young generation that received political education under the conditions of the old regime.”

In 1913, he entered the Law Faculty of Moscow University. In 1914, he was arrested in Kutaisi on political grounds and was detained several times in the following years as well.

After the revolution, he began working at the Ozakom, the Special Committee for the Caucasus. The Ozakom was established by the decision of the Provisional Government of Russia (the legal successor to the Russian Imperial Government) as a regional governing body, staffed by Caucasian deputies of the Russian State Duma. The Provisional Government aimed to carry out democratic reforms, including electing a democratic parliament (the Constituent Assembly) and holding full self-government elections.

This is exactly what took place in Kutaisi in the summer of 1917. The government also planned to introduce land reform, but these plans were never realized, as the Bolsheviks overthrew the Provisional Government.

Noe Khomeriki had high hopes for the 16-year-old Gogita Paghava, who served as the head of the election campaign. “He often gave him serious tasks, and Gogita carried them out calmly and simply, yet always correctly, guiding even comrades older than himself.”

We also know that in 1915, the 21-year-old Gogita Paghava, together with Leo Rukhadze (later a member of the Constituent Assembly from the Kutaisi district), led the party’s legal newspaper.

After returning to Georgia, Gogita became involved in forming the People’s Guard system in Western Georgia. The Guard played a decisive role in protecting Georgia from devastation by the Bolshevik army that advanced from the disbanded Caucasus front during World War I.

One of the most significant parts of his biography was his work in the Constituent Assembly – the full-fledged legislative body of the Democratic Republic of Georgia. The Assembly was the first democratically elected parliament in the country’s history, and its importance cannot be overstated. It consisted of seven political parties, allowing genuine competition and cooperation. Opposition parties chaired the Foreign and Finance Committees, demonstrating the parliament’s democratic and legitimate character.

It was a “universal, equal, secret, direct, and proportionally elected legislative body” made up of 130 deputies tasked with drafting the Constitution of the Republic of Georgia.

The first session was held on March 12, 1919, at 12:20 p.m. in the White Hall of the Constituent Assembly Palace in Tbilisi. It was chaired by Silibistro Jibladze, and the youngest deputy, the 24-year-old Gogita Paghava, served as secretary. Alongside such figures as Spiridon Kedia, Diomide Topuridze, Giorgi Laskhishvili, and Samson Pirtskhalava — all former students of the Kutaisi Classical Gymnasium – Gogita Paghava was among the signatories of the Act of Independence of Georgia. As a politician, he was one of the creators of the new Georgian state.

He was a member of the Constitutional Commission representing the Social Democratic Party. During the three years of independence (1918–1921), he was actively involved not only in party matters but also in state affairs.

Gogita Paghava was a member of the General Staff and Secretary of the People’s Guard, one of the most combat-ready forces in the history of the Republic. The Act on the Establishment of the People’s Guard, adopted by the National Council and approved by the Constituent Assembly on July 2, 1918, defined the Guard’s purpose, governance, and structure. The General Staff consisted of 21 members elected by the Guard Congress and approved by the government.

Gogita also took part in organizing the Guard’s tactical units. Later, as Chairman of the State Committee, he fought as an ordinary soldier during the 1921 invasion of Georgia by Soviet Russia.

“After the conquest of our country, at the end of March, Gogita returned from Batumi to Kutaisi and, together with other young party workers, began to restore the party organization.”

Gogita Paghava’s role after the Soviet occupation became even more important. He stayed in Georgia and fought actively against the occupation regime, becoming one of the key figures of the underground political resistance.

To prevent a possible large-scale demonstration by the Social Democratic Party in May 1921, Soviet authorities began arresting members of the Constituent Assembly and the Democratic Republic’s government on April 29, 1921.

At that time, Filipe Makharadze, the chairman of the Revolutionary Committee, planned to visit Western Georgia to “win people’s hearts.” He was met with open contempt in Kutaisi, and his most serious opposition came from local workers and civil servants led by Gogita Paghava. At a communist-organized meeting, Gogita delivered a bold speech against Makharadze. “The whole audience gave the young orator an enthusiastic ovation, while the enraged Philip was forced to flee in shame.”

Soon after, Gogita was arrested in April 1921 but was released from Metekhi prison in August due to his deteriorating health. Despite imprisonment, he continued his underground work to create a network of illegal Social Democratic organizations. Around the same time, Pavle Tsulaia, Zakaria Guruli, and Vladimer Jibladze were also arrested – the Cheka recommended the death sentence for some of them.

We have already mentioned the illegal organizations that continued to fight even after Georgia’s Sovietization. Among them was the Georgian Political Red Cross, which helped families of political prisoners and defended their rights. Most of its members were women, and the organization operated until the late 1930s. The first organizer was Elene Maisuradze.

The network of aid to political prisoners disappeared after the start of the Great Terror (1937–38). The only known individual who continued its humanitarian mission was Kristine Sharashidze. She, along with Ketevan Khutsishvili and Minadora Toroshelidze, was known as the “revolutionary women” from the Women’s Gymnasium. The slogan of the organization was: “We are all obliged.”

In 1922, Gogita Paghava became a member of the Independence Committee, where he was the “closest and tireless associate” of Noe Khomeriki, and after him, became the Chairman of the Committee. At the same time, he was also a member of the Military Commission of the Social Democratic Party.

The Independence Committee was an underground coordinating body uniting all banned Georgian political parties. Its goal was to prepare an armed uprising. The committee’s chairman had to be trusted both by the government in exile and by the political forces within Georgia. Gogita Paghava was that leader, the most important political figure of the resistance movement at that time.

In October 1922, Noe Khomeriki, the former Minister of Agriculture of the Democratic Republic, returned from exile. Together with him, Gogita continued to lead the resistance and manage the secret networks.

In February 1924, the Soviet Special Commission arrested Gogita Paghava along with Noe Khomeriki and Benia Chkhikvishvili, demanding that they confess and repent for their anti-Soviet activities. Naturally, they refused, fully aware of their mission – to restore the image of an independent Georgian republic and overthrow Soviet occupation.

After their arrest, they were imprisoned in the Suzdal isolator, a prison known for holding political prisoners. Their stay there did not last long. In 1924, during the uprising, Gogita Paghava was executed at the age of 29 by the order of Felix Dzerzhinsky, head of the Soviet secret police (the Cheka). The exact place of execution remains unknown.

Gogita Paghava, like thousands of others, was essentially a hostage – one of many pre-arrested individuals executed when the uprising began. During this period, 11 deputies were executed one after another, and the 12th, Vice Speaker Aleksandre Lomtatidze, was tortured to death in a prison in Uzbekistan.

The mention of Gogita Paghava and the other political figures in this article is important for several reasons, but the main one, in the author’s view, is not merely to evoke memories of the past, but to provide a foundation for understanding the present.