After the collapse of the USSR, most of the newly independent states began to carry out a program of de-Sovietization and de-Russification. The revision of history was also part of this program. Historical mythology flourished in Georgia as well. One of the most famous Georgian historical myths is the myth of the Russian occupation of Georgia.
Georgian authors have forgotten that Georgia was under the threat of complete destruction and gradual Islamization by Persia and the Ottoman Empire. The fact that the Georgian rulers have repeatedly asked Russia to intervene and save the Georgian people, to take them under their protection. They forgot that various Georgian regions were united within the framework of the Soviet Union into the Georgian SSR. The decades of peaceful life under the wing of the Russian and Red Empires were forgotten. They do not even remember that the best representatives of the Georgian families became part of the Russian elite. Nor were there any usual phenomena in relations between Western metropolises and their colonies, such as acts of genocide, mass terror, parasitism on the resources and forces of the occupied people, and the merciless exploitation of the conquered population. Georgians were not second or third class people in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. No attention is paid at all to the fact that the Russian imperial and Soviet authorities "exploited" the Russian people much more harshly than the "occupied" small nations.
It is enough to recall just a few examples from history to refute the myth of the "Russian occupation" of Georgia and the Caucasus in general. In 1638, the king of Mingrelia Leon sent a letter to Tsar Mikhail Romanov about the desire of the Georgian people to become citizens of the Russian state. Mingrelia is a historical region in Western Georgia, inhabited by Mingrelians, after the partition of Georgia in 1442, an independent state formation. In 1641, a letter of gratitude was presented to the Kakhetian king Teimuraz I on the acceptance of the Iberian land (Iberia, Iberia - the ancient name of Kakheti) under the patronage of Russia. In 1657, the Georgian tribes - the Tushins, Khevsurs and Pshavs, asked the Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich to accept them into Russian citizenship. Repeatedly asked to accept them into Russian citizenship and other Caucasian peoples - Armenians, Kabardians, etc.
Requests for help from Russia were repeated many times in the 18th century. But during this period Russia could not realize the large-scale task of freeing the Caucasus from the influence of Turkey and Persia. Bloody wars were fought with their western neighbors, Turkey and Iran, the empire was shaken by palace coups, a lot of forces and resources were spent on internal problems. The business that Emperor Peter I began by cutting through the "door" to the East was not continued by his successors, who were "pygmies" in the field of imperial building, compared to him.
It was only during the time of Catherine II that a radical change took place in the Caucasian and Eastern policy of Russia. Russia inflicted a serious defeat on the Ottoman Empire. When at the end of 1782 the Kartli-Kakhetian king Irakli II turned to the Russian Empress Catherine II with a request to accept her kingdom under the patronage of Russia, he was not refused. The Empress gave Pavel Potemkin broad powers to conclude an appropriate agreement with Tsar Heraclius. Lieutenant-General Pavel Sergeevich Potemkin in 1882 took command of the Russian army in the North Caucasus. The princes Ivane Bagration-Mukhransky and Garsevan Chavchavadze were authorized from the Georgian side.
On July 24 (August 4), 1783, in the Caucasian fortress of Georgievsk, an agreement was signed on the patronage and supreme power of the Russian Empire with the united Georgian kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti (Eastern Georgia). Heraclius II recognized the patronage of St. Petersburg and renounced an independent foreign policy, he pledged, without prior agreement with the Russian border authorities and with a Russian minister accredited with him, not to enter into any relations with the neighboring states. Heraclius renounced vassal dependence on the part of Persia or another state and pledged for himself and for his successors not to recognize anyone else's power over himself, except for the power of the Russian emperors. On Georgian territory, the protection and safety of Russian subjects was guaranteed. For its part, Petersburg vouched for the integrity of the possessions of Irakli II, promised to protect Georgia from external enemies. Enemies of Georgia were also considered Russian enemies. Georgians received equal rights with Russians in the field of trade, could freely move and settle on Russian territory. The treaty equalized the rights of the Georgian and Russian nobles, clergy and merchants. To protect Georgia, the Russian government undertook to maintain on its territory two infantry battalions with 4 guns and, if necessary, increase the number of troops. At the same time, the Russian government strongly advised Irakli to maintain the unity of the country and avoid internecine strife, to eliminate all misunderstandings with the Imeretian ruler Solomon.
The agreement was in effect for several years. But then in 1787 Russia was forced to withdraw its troops from Georgia. The reason for this was the separate negotiations between the Georgian government and the Ottomans. Tsar Heraclius, despite P. Potemkin's warnings, concluded a treaty with the Akhaltsi Suleiman Pasha, which was ratified by the Sultan in the summer of 1787 (just during the war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire).
The victory of Russia over Turkey in the war of 1787-1791 improved the position of Georgia. The Ottomans, according to the Yassy Peace Treaty of 1792, renounced their claims to Georgia and pledged not to take any hostile actions against the Georgian people.
During the Russian-Persian war of 1796, which was prompted by the invasion of the Persians in Georgia and Azerbaijan in 1795, Russian troops again appeared in the Georgian lands. However, the death of Catherine II led to a sharp turn in Russian politics. Paul began to radically revise his mother's policy. The Russian detachment was withdrawn from the Caucasus and Georgia.
In 1799, negotiations between Georgia and Russia were resumed. The Russian regiment of General Lazarev entered Kartli-Kakheti. With him arrived the Russian official representative at the court of George XII - Kovalensky. With Paul's permission, Count Musin-Pushkin entered into negotiations with the Georgian Tsar George XII, who expressed "the sincere desire of both the tsar himself … (and) all classes of the Georgian people" to join the Russian Empire.
George XII wanted Russia to fulfill the obligations assumed under the St. George Treaty of 1783. He clearly understood that the Kartli-Kakhetian kingdom could not exist as an independent state. This was hampered by two main factors. First, there is pressure from Turkey and Persia. The Ottoman Empire, having suffered a number of serious defeats from Russia in the 18th century, and being weakened by internal conflicts and problems, ceded its positions in the Caucasus to the Russian Empire. However, Istanbul still did not want to come to terms with the loss of its influence in the Caucasus.
Persia continued to fight more actively for the restoration of its former influence in the Transcaucasus. The active political cooperation between Georgia and Russia has greatly alarmed the Persian government. Russia’s European rivals, France and England, also expressed concern. They could not enter into a direct conflict with Russia over the region, since they did not border on it. But fearing the expansion of Russia's influence in the East, Paris and London focused their efforts on political games in Iran and Turkey. England and France tried, through secret political intrigues, then with the help of the Ottoman Empire, then with the help of Persia, to stop the advance of the Russians in the Caucasus and the East in general. To this end, the British and French recognized as legitimate the claims of Turkey and Persia for domination in the South Caucasus. True, France and England were hindered by mutual rivalry, there were serious contradictions between them, which prevented them from acting as a united front (this will only become possible during the Crimean War). Thus, the foreign policy situation at the end of the 18th century forced Georgia to become part of the powerful Russian Empire. It was a question of the survival of the Georgian people.
Secondly, civil strife eroded Eastern Georgia. Georgian feudal lords, grouped around numerous princes who claimed the royal throne, even during the life of Tsar George XII, began a fierce internecine struggle. This squabble weakened the kingdom's defenses, making it easy prey for Iran and Turkey. The feudal lords were ready to betray their national interests and, for the sake of personal, narrow-group interests, go to any agreement with the primordial enemies of the Georgian people - the Ottomans and Persians.
This same internecine struggle became one of the main reasons why the government of Paul did not go to the elimination of the statehood of the Kartli-Kakhetian kingdom. The Georgian dynasty could not ensure the stability of the East Georgian kingdom, as the support base of the Russian Empire in the Middle East. It was necessary to introduce direct Russian control to ensure peace and security in Georgia.
I must say that this reason - the internal political instability of the Georgian state, casts doubt on the future of modern Georgia. It has already led to the secession of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. There is a danger of further disintegration of Georgia. In particular, Adjara may secede and move into the Turkish sphere of influence. The constant internal political struggle in Georgia threatens the future of the Georgian people. Given the fact that the Middle East is becoming a "battlefield", the foreign policy threat is also growing. The global systemic crisis leaves Georgia no chance of survival. Sooner or later, the Georgian people will come to the same idea as Tsar George XII, Georgia cannot survive without Russia. The only way to prosperity is close integration in a new "empire" (union).
Brief chronology of the last stage of Georgia's accession to Russia
- In April 1799, the Russian emperor Paul I renewed the patronage treaty with the Kartli-Kakhetian kingdom. In the fall, Russian troops entered Tbilisi.
- On June 24, 1800, the Georgian embassy in St. Petersburg submitted a draft document of citizenship to the Russian collegium of foreign affairs. He said that Tsar George XII "earnestly wishes with his offspring, the clergy, nobles and with all the people under his control, once and for all to accept the citizenship of Russia, promising to sacredly fulfill everything that the Russians do." Kartli and Kakheti were to retain only the right of limited autonomy. George XII and his heirs retained the right to the Georgian throne. The Kartli-Kakhetian kingdom was subordinate to St. Petersburg not only in matters of foreign policy, but also in the field of domestic policy. The Russian emperor accepted this offer.
- In the fall of 1800, the Georgian delegation proposed a project for an even closer unity of the two states. Paul approved of him. He announced that he accepts the tsar and the entire Georgian people as eternal citizenship. George XII was promised to leave the royal rights to him for the rest of his life. However, after his death, it was planned to put David Georgievich governor-general with the retention of the title of tsar, and make Georgia one of the Russian provinces called the Kingdom of Georgia.
The Russians have strengthened their military presence in Georgia. This was done on time. Georgia was invaded by the troops of the Avar Khan, with whom was the son of Heraclius, Tsarevich Alexander. On November 7, two Russian regiments and Georgian militias under the command of General Ivan Lazarev, near the village of Kakabeti, on the banks of the Iori River, defeated the enemy.
- On December 18, a manifesto was signed on the accession of Georgia to the Russian Empire (it was promulgated in St. Petersburg on January 18, 1801). At the end of 1800, the Georgian king fell seriously ill, and all power gradually passed into the hands of the plenipotentiary representatives of Russia - Minister Kovalensky and General Lazarev.
- December 28, 1800 George XII died, and the throne passed to King David XII. David received a good education in the Russian Empire, served in the Russian army, in 1797-1798. with the rank of colonel, was the commander of the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment. By 1800 he was promoted to lieutenant general. These events aggravated the internal political situation in Georgia: Queen Darejan (widow of King Irakli II) and her sons categorically refused to recognize the power of David XII, as well as the annexation of Kartli-Kakheti to Russia.
- On February 16, 1801, at the Zion Cathedral in Tbilisi, a manifesto was read about the annexation of Georgia to the Russian Empire for eternity. On February 17 this manifesto was solemnly announced to all Georgians.
- The death of Paul did not change the situation, Emperor Alexander had some doubts about Georgia, but Paul's manifesto had already been announced and the annexation had actually begun. Therefore, on March 24, 1801, David XII lost all powers of power and Lazarev, the commander of the Russian troops in Georgia, was appointed "governor of Georgia". A temporary government was established under his leadership, which lasted for a year.
- On September 12, 1801, another manifesto was issued on the annexation of Kartli-Kakheti to the Russian state. In the spring of 1802, this manifesto was promulgated in Georgian cities. The Kartli-Kakhetian kingdom was finally abolished.
