March 9 massacre in Tbilisi, 1956
Encyclopedia
The March 1956 demonstrations (also known as the 1956 Tbilisi riots or 9 March massacre) in Soviet Georgia were a reaction to Nikita Khrushchev
's de-Stalinization
policy, which shocked the younger Georgians
raised on Stalinist
ideology and wounded their national feelings (Stalin was a Georgian). The epicenter of the protests was the republic's capital, Tbilisi
, where spontaneous rallies to mark the third anniversary of Stalin's
death and to protest Khrushchev's denunciation of Stalin
quickly evolved into an uncontrollable mass demonstration and riot
ing which paralyzed the city. Soon, political demands such as the change of the central government in Moscow and calls for the independence of Georgia from the Soviet Union
appeared.
The local Georgian authorities, confused and demoralized, passed on the responsibility to the Soviet military. Later on 9 March the troops deployed in the city opened fire upon the students picketing the government buildings in what the official Soviet version held was "an act of self-defense". The agitated crowds continued resistance on 10 March but were eventually dispersed by tanks. Estimates of the number of casualties range from several dozens to several hundreds.
In spite of prompt pacification, the 1956 events marked a turning point after which Georgian loyalty to the Soviet Union was gravely compromised and the nation's consolidation intensified. In the view of the modern Sovietologist
Ronald Grigor Suny
, "the swift and brutal response from the Soviet government illustrated starkly its inability to resolve the dilemma of how much of the Soviet system to change and how much of Stalin's authoritarianism to preserve. The government’s confusion in Tbilisi was a bloody sign that reform was to be limited by the party's determination to preserve its essential monopoly of power."
.
Rumors that "Vozhd" (the Leader) and "the Father of the Nations", who had been established as the principal symbol in early Soviet communism, had been denounced by his successor quickly spread throughout the Soviet Union. Although the details were unknown, it came as a real shock to the Soviet society.
Patriotic sentiment mixed with political protest was further inflamed by the sarcastic and bitter manner in which Khrushchev ascribed all horrors of the era to the "genial" leader Stalin, whom, as he ironically put it, the Georgians so much enjoyed calling "the great son of the Georgian nation". Eduard Shevardnadze
, then a Komsomol
leader in Kutaisi
and eventually to become President of post-Soviet Georgia
, later recalled that Khrushchev's ironical remark on Georgians at the end of his speech was particularly hurtful to the pride of Georgian youth.
The painful reaction caused by de-Stalinization in Georgia has been variously interpreted. It has been seen by many as a revival of Stalinism and by others as the first open expression of Georgian nationalism since the abortive revolt in 1924. Sergei Arutiunov of the Russian Academy of Sciences
relates:
The events in Georgia passed largely unreported in the Soviet press and became a taboo theme for several decades to come. What happened can be reconstructed on the analysis of several, though frequently conflicting, contemporary reports, eyewitnesses’ accounts and a few surviving secret Soviet documents.
embankment in downtown Tbilisi. Indignant at Khrushchev's speech, they were aggressive towards the policemen
who had thrown a cordon around the area. Georgian communist Parastishvili climbed to Stalin monument, drank some wine from the bottle, smashed the bottle and said: "Let Stalin's enemies die, like this bottle!".
The demonstration gradually grew large, attracting more and more people, who were bringing memorial wreaths to the Stalin monument. The confused local authorities did not actively oppose these activities. The demonstrations in the capital triggered similar protests in other parts of the republic such as Gori
, Kutaisi
, Rustavi
, Sukhumi
, and Batumi
.
By 6 March the demonstrations in Tbilisi had become more organized and more numerous. That day a closed letter of the CPSU Central Committee, "On the Cult of Personality", a summary of the speech that the General Secretary read on the final day of the Party Congress held last February, was read loud at a special session attended by the Georgian ministers and the local media. News about the surprise session of the Georgian SSR's Ministers Council quickly spread throughout Tbilisi and the situation escalated.
Early on 7 March the students of Tbilisi State University
went out onto the streets instead of attending classes, where they were joined by students from other institutes and schoolchildren. The demonstrators went down the main Tbilisi thoroughfare, Rustaveli Avenue
, to Lenin Square
, stopping at the House of Government and then at the City Hall, chanting the slogan "Long Live Great Stalin! Long Live the Party of Lenin and Stalin! Long Live Soviet Georgia!", accompanied by the cacophony of car sirens and horns. Having overcome the police resistance, the protesters gathered anew at the Stalin monument.
Protesters worked out their demands to authorities: official holiday day on 9 March (Stalin's birthday) publishing of articles devoted to Stalin's life in all local newspapers, show of films The Fall of Berlin and The Unforgettable Year 1919 by Mikheil Chiaureli
(both films were typical cinematic pieces of the Stalin's cult of personality
) in cinemas and invitation of the Chinese marshal Zhu De
, who was at that time visiting Georgia, to the meeting. By the end of day, the number of demonstrators reached 70,000. The central Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs initially underestimated the scale of the protests and the information based on the minister Janjghava reached the Central Committee later on 8 March.
By that time, the city had become paralyzed. The meetings were simultaneously held in several places, especially in Lenin Square and at the wreath-covered Stalin monument. The central streets were full of the demonstrators who loudly denounced Khrushchev, demanded that Stalin be rehabilitated, his anniversary be allowed, and specifically asked Vyacheslav Molotov
to defend Stalin's name. Barricades were raised, buses and cars overturned. The crowd directed traffic and in several cases even stopped it. Several clashes broke out with the drivers who resisted and with the police. When several activists were arrested, the demonstrations grew even massive and the crowd became more aggressive. The Georgian first secretary, Vasil Mzhavanadze
, addressed the protesters and the visiting Chinese marshal Zhu De greeted the crowd, but he refused to visit the Stalin monument and the demonstrations did not disperse.
As the demonstrations continued, the local government began to lose control over the situation. Paralyzed by the scale of the protests and the demonstrators' appeal to Georgian patriotism and manifested communist loyalties, the police reacted more and more sluggishly. Early on 9 March the authorities tried to defuse the tensions and allowed the celebration of the anniversary to be held. But the belated attempts at concession did not yield any result. Later that day, at the meeting near the Stalin monument, political demands were read aloud in the presence of several party officials.
According to the controversial testimony of Ruben Kipiani, later tried as an author of this petition, the demands were: first, return of the "closed letter" on Stalin to the CPSU Central Committee; second, removal of Anastas Mikoyan
, Nikolai Bulganin
, and Nikita Khrushchev from both party and government positions; third, creation of a new government; fourth, release of the Azerbaijan SSR
first secretary Mir Jafar Baghirov
from prison; fifth, promotion of the Soviet Georgian officials Akaki Mgeladze and Mzhavandze to the Central Committee Presidium
; sixth, appointment of Stalin's son Vasily
to the Central Committee; seven, institution of an amnesty. It was decided to send approximately ten persons to the nearby Communications Building in Rustaveli Avenue in order to send a telegram to Moscow.
A parallel rally at Kolmeurneobis Square grew increasingly anti-Soviet. People were singing the long-suppressed anthem "Dideba
" and waving flags
of pre-Soviet Georgia
. When some persons in civilian dress interfered, fighting broke out. Leaflets appeared next. According to the eyewitness and Georgian-Jewish
author Faina Baazova (daughter of David Baazov
), the leaflets called for the secession of Georgia from the Soviet Union, a demand not heard previously.
The events that followed are less clear. Later that day, the decision to bring troops of the Transcaucasian Military District
, then commanded by Col. Gen. Ivan Fedyuninsky
, into the matter was made in Moscow. The predominantly Georgian units stationed in the area were not deployed because of suspected unreliability, however. The Soviet Interior Ministry officials reported that Tbilisi had gone out of control. They claimed that the demonstrators, many of whom were allegedly drunk and armed, were pillaging the city, contemplated the pogroms of ethnic Russians
and Armenians
, and planned to seize the government buildings.
The same evening, the authorities broadcasted though radio an appeal calling the rallies to be ceased and announced that the commander of Tbilisi garrison was introducing a curfew
beginning at midnight on 10 March. Many protesters sensed an approaching threat and began to leave the city center. Close to midnight, however, people learned that the delegation sent into the Communications Building had been detained, ostensibly for verification of identity. The crowd rushed to rescue the delegates and a clash with the soldiers guarding the building ensued. The troops started firing into the crowd to prevent the protesters from storming the building. Simultaneously, tanks moved to oust the demonstrators from Lenin Square and at the Stalin monument. The protesters tried to resume rallies on 10 March, but they were again dispersed by the troops. Several dozens, if not hundreds, died in this crackdown. As no official report exists, various estimates put the number of casualties from 106 to 800. Hundreds were wounded and injured. Over 200 were arrested in the ensuing reprisals and many were subsequently deported to labor camps in Siberia
.
Although no apparent attempts at defying the Soviet rule in Georgia was to be made until April 1978
, the grudges against the central government in Moscow continued to be held. Many in Georgia held Khrushchev personally responsible for ordering the army to fire on the protesters. The Tbilisi events made Georgia's deviance from the rest of the Soviet Union, with the possible exception of the Baltics
, apparent. The loyalty to the Union was gravely compromised and an anti-Soviet sentiment became an essential feature of the reemerging Georgian nationalism.
It was in the immediate aftermath of the 1956 event that the first Georgian underground groups calling for an outright secession from the Soviet Union appeared. They were typically small and weak and the Soviet authorities were able to quickly neutralize them. However, they gave origin to a new generation of dissidents, such as Merab Kostava
and Zviad Gamsakhurdia
, both teenage participants of the March 1956 rally, who would lead Georgia into its struggle for independence in the 1980s.
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
's de-Stalinization
De-Stalinization
De-Stalinization refers to the process of eliminating the cult of personality, Stalinist political system and the Gulag labour-camp system created by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Stalin was succeeded by a collective leadership after his death in March 1953...
policy, which shocked the younger Georgians
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
raised on Stalinist
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
ideology and wounded their national feelings (Stalin was a Georgian). The epicenter of the protests was the republic's capital, Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
, where spontaneous rallies to mark the third anniversary of Stalin's
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
death and to protest Khrushchev's denunciation of Stalin
On the Personality Cult and its Consequences
On the Personality Cult and its Consequences was a report, critical of Joseph Stalin, made to the Twentieth Party Congress on February 25, 1956 by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. It is more commonly known as the Secret Speech or the Khrushchev Report...
quickly evolved into an uncontrollable mass demonstration and riot
Riot
A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...
ing which paralyzed the city. Soon, political demands such as the change of the central government in Moscow and calls for the independence of Georgia from the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
appeared.
The local Georgian authorities, confused and demoralized, passed on the responsibility to the Soviet military. Later on 9 March the troops deployed in the city opened fire upon the students picketing the government buildings in what the official Soviet version held was "an act of self-defense". The agitated crowds continued resistance on 10 March but were eventually dispersed by tanks. Estimates of the number of casualties range from several dozens to several hundreds.
In spite of prompt pacification, the 1956 events marked a turning point after which Georgian loyalty to the Soviet Union was gravely compromised and the nation's consolidation intensified. In the view of the modern Sovietologist
Kremlinology
Kremlinology is the study and analysis of Soviet politics and policies based on efforts to understand the inner workings of an opaque central government. The term is named after the Kremlin, the seat of the Russian/Soviet government. Kremlinologist refers to academic, media, and commentary experts...
Ronald Grigor Suny
Ronald Grigor Suny
Ronald Grigor Suny is currently director of the Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies and the Charles Tilly Collegiate Professor of Social and Political History at the University of Michigan, as well as Emeritus Professor of political science and history at the University of Chicago...
, "the swift and brutal response from the Soviet government illustrated starkly its inability to resolve the dilemma of how much of the Soviet system to change and how much of Stalin's authoritarianism to preserve. The government’s confusion in Tbilisi was a bloody sign that reform was to be limited by the party's determination to preserve its essential monopoly of power."
Khrushchev's speech
On 25 February 1956, at a closed session of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev delivered a "secret speech" in which he criticized actions taken by the Stalin regime, particularly the purges of the military and the upper Party echelons, and the development of Stalin's personality cult, while maintaining support for the ideals of Communism by invoking Vladimir LeninVladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
.
Rumors that "Vozhd" (the Leader) and "the Father of the Nations", who had been established as the principal symbol in early Soviet communism, had been denounced by his successor quickly spread throughout the Soviet Union. Although the details were unknown, it came as a real shock to the Soviet society.
Reaction in Georgia
In spite of Stalin's heavy-handed suppression of Georgian nationalism, Khrushchev’s policy of de-Stalinization was, paradoxically, a blow to the Georgian national pride. The younger generation of the Georgians, not fully acquainted with the darker side of Stalin’s rule and bred on the panegyrics and permanent praise of the "genius" of Stalin, was proud to consider him being a Georgian that ruled over great Russia, and, as believed widely, dominated the world. Now, Stalin's denigration was seen as a symbol for the mistreatment of Georgian national consciousness at the hands of the Russian/Soviet rulers.Patriotic sentiment mixed with political protest was further inflamed by the sarcastic and bitter manner in which Khrushchev ascribed all horrors of the era to the "genial" leader Stalin, whom, as he ironically put it, the Georgians so much enjoyed calling "the great son of the Georgian nation". Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Shevardnadze is a former Soviet, and later, Georgian statesman from the height to the end of the Cold War. He served as President of Georgia from 1995 to 2003, and as First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party , from 1972 to 1985. Shevardnadze was responsible for many top decisions on...
, then a Komsomol
Komsomol
The Communist Union of Youth , usually known as Komsomol , was the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Komsomol in its earliest form was established in urban centers in 1918. During the early years, it was a Russian organization, known as the Russian Communist Union of...
leader in Kutaisi
Kutaisi
Kutaisi is Georgia's second largest city and the capital of the western region of Imereti. It is 221 km to the west of Tbilisi.-Geography:...
and eventually to become President of post-Soviet Georgia
President of Georgia
The President of Georgia is the head of state, supreme commander-in-chief and holder of the highest office within the Government of Georgia. Executive power is split between the President and the Prime Minister, who is the head of government...
, later recalled that Khrushchev's ironical remark on Georgians at the end of his speech was particularly hurtful to the pride of Georgian youth.
The painful reaction caused by de-Stalinization in Georgia has been variously interpreted. It has been seen by many as a revival of Stalinism and by others as the first open expression of Georgian nationalism since the abortive revolt in 1924. Sergei Arutiunov of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
relates:
The events in Georgia passed largely unreported in the Soviet press and became a taboo theme for several decades to come. What happened can be reconstructed on the analysis of several, though frequently conflicting, contemporary reports, eyewitnesses’ accounts and a few surviving secret Soviet documents.
Demonstrations
According to the special report of Vladimir Janjghava, Georgian SSR Minister of Internal Affairs, the unrest began on 4 March 1956, when groups of students gathered to mark the third anniversary of Stalin's death at the Stalin monument at the KuraKura River
Kura is a river, also known from the Greek as the Cyrus in the Caucasus Mountains. Starting in north-eastern Turkey, it flows through Turkey to Georgia, then to Azerbaijan, where it receives the Aras River as a right tributary, and enters the Caspian Sea...
embankment in downtown Tbilisi. Indignant at Khrushchev's speech, they were aggressive towards the policemen
Militsiya
Militsiya or militia is used as an official name of the civilian police in several former communist states, despite its original military connotation...
who had thrown a cordon around the area. Georgian communist Parastishvili climbed to Stalin monument, drank some wine from the bottle, smashed the bottle and said: "Let Stalin's enemies die, like this bottle!".
The demonstration gradually grew large, attracting more and more people, who were bringing memorial wreaths to the Stalin monument. The confused local authorities did not actively oppose these activities. The demonstrations in the capital triggered similar protests in other parts of the republic such as Gori
Gori, Georgia
Gori is a city in eastern Georgia, which serves as the regional capital of Shida Kartli and the centre of the homonymous administrative district. The name is from Georgian gora , that is, "heap", or "hill"...
, Kutaisi
Kutaisi
Kutaisi is Georgia's second largest city and the capital of the western region of Imereti. It is 221 km to the west of Tbilisi.-Geography:...
, Rustavi
Rustavi
Rustavi is a city in the southeast of Georgia, in the province of Kvemo Kartli, situated southeast of the capital Tbilisi. It stands on the Mtkvari River at...
, Sukhumi
Sukhumi
Sukhumi is the capital of Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. The city suffered heavily during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in the early 1990s.-Naming:...
, and Batumi
Batumi
Batumi is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. Sometimes considered Georgia's second capital, with a population of 121,806 , Batumi serves as an important port and a commercial center. It is situated in a subtropical zone, rich in...
.
By 6 March the demonstrations in Tbilisi had become more organized and more numerous. That day a closed letter of the CPSU Central Committee, "On the Cult of Personality", a summary of the speech that the General Secretary read on the final day of the Party Congress held last February, was read loud at a special session attended by the Georgian ministers and the local media. News about the surprise session of the Georgian SSR's Ministers Council quickly spread throughout Tbilisi and the situation escalated.
Early on 7 March the students of Tbilisi State University
Tbilisi State University
Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University , better known as Tbilisi State University , is a university established on 8 February 1918 in Tbilisi, Georgia. TSU is the oldest university in the whole Caucasus region...
went out onto the streets instead of attending classes, where they were joined by students from other institutes and schoolchildren. The demonstrators went down the main Tbilisi thoroughfare, Rustaveli Avenue
Rustaveli Avenue
Rustaveli Avenue - is an avenue in central Tbilisi named after the medieval Georgian poet, Shota Rustaveli. The Avenue starts at Freedom Square and extends for about 1.5 km in length, before it turns into an extension of Kostavas Kucha...
, to Lenin Square
Freedom Square, Tbilisi
Freedom Square , formerly known as Erivan Square under Imperial Russia and Lenin Square under the Soviet Union, is located in the center of Tbilisi at the eastern end of...
, stopping at the House of Government and then at the City Hall, chanting the slogan "Long Live Great Stalin! Long Live the Party of Lenin and Stalin! Long Live Soviet Georgia!", accompanied by the cacophony of car sirens and horns. Having overcome the police resistance, the protesters gathered anew at the Stalin monument.
Protesters worked out their demands to authorities: official holiday day on 9 March (Stalin's birthday) publishing of articles devoted to Stalin's life in all local newspapers, show of films The Fall of Berlin and The Unforgettable Year 1919 by Mikheil Chiaureli
Mikheil Chiaureli
Mikheil Chiaureli was a Soviet Georgian film director and screenwriter. He directed 25 films between 1928 and 1974. Mikheil Chiaureli was awarded the Stalin Prize six times, twice in 1941, 1943, 1946, 1947, and 1950.-Selected filmography:as actor...
(both films were typical cinematic pieces of the Stalin's cult of personality
Cult of personality
A cult of personality arises when an individual uses mass media, propaganda, or other methods, to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. Cults of personality are usually associated with dictatorships...
) in cinemas and invitation of the Chinese marshal Zhu De
Zhu De
Zhu De was a Chinese militarist, politician, revolutionary, and one of the pioneers of the Chinese Communist Party. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in 1955 Zhu became one of the Ten Marshals of the People's Liberation Army, of which he is regarded as the founder.-Early...
, who was at that time visiting Georgia, to the meeting. By the end of day, the number of demonstrators reached 70,000. The central Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs initially underestimated the scale of the protests and the information based on the minister Janjghava reached the Central Committee later on 8 March.
By that time, the city had become paralyzed. The meetings were simultaneously held in several places, especially in Lenin Square and at the wreath-covered Stalin monument. The central streets were full of the demonstrators who loudly denounced Khrushchev, demanded that Stalin be rehabilitated, his anniversary be allowed, and specifically asked Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev...
to defend Stalin's name. Barricades were raised, buses and cars overturned. The crowd directed traffic and in several cases even stopped it. Several clashes broke out with the drivers who resisted and with the police. When several activists were arrested, the demonstrations grew even massive and the crowd became more aggressive. The Georgian first secretary, Vasil Mzhavanadze
Vasil Mzhavanadze
Vasil Pavlovich Mzhavanadze was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Georgian SSR from September 1953 to September 28, 1972 and a member of the CPSU's Politburo from June 29, 1957 to December 18, 1972...
, addressed the protesters and the visiting Chinese marshal Zhu De greeted the crowd, but he refused to visit the Stalin monument and the demonstrations did not disperse.
As the demonstrations continued, the local government began to lose control over the situation. Paralyzed by the scale of the protests and the demonstrators' appeal to Georgian patriotism and manifested communist loyalties, the police reacted more and more sluggishly. Early on 9 March the authorities tried to defuse the tensions and allowed the celebration of the anniversary to be held. But the belated attempts at concession did not yield any result. Later that day, at the meeting near the Stalin monument, political demands were read aloud in the presence of several party officials.
According to the controversial testimony of Ruben Kipiani, later tried as an author of this petition, the demands were: first, return of the "closed letter" on Stalin to the CPSU Central Committee; second, removal of Anastas Mikoyan
Anastas Mikoyan
Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan was an Armenian Old Bolshevik and Soviet statesman during the rules of Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, and Leonid Brezhnev....
, Nikolai Bulganin
Nikolai Bulganin
Nikolai Alexandrovich Bulganin was a prominent Soviet politician, who served as Minister of Defense and Premier of the Soviet Union . The Bulganin beard is named after him.-Early career:...
, and Nikita Khrushchev from both party and government positions; third, creation of a new government; fourth, release of the Azerbaijan SSR
Azerbaijan SSR
The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Azerbaijan SSR for short, was one of the republics that made up the former Soviet Union....
first secretary Mir Jafar Baghirov
Mir Jafar Baghirov
Mir Jafar Baghirov Abbas oglu was the communist leader of Azerbaijan SSR from 1932 till 1953, under the Soviet leadership of Joseph Stalin.-Early life:Born in Quba of Baku Governorate in 1896, Baghirov studied pedagogy in Petrovsk....
from prison; fifth, promotion of the Soviet Georgian officials Akaki Mgeladze and Mzhavandze to the Central Committee Presidium
Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Politburo , known as the Presidium from 1952 to 1966, functioned as the central policymaking and governing body of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.-Duties and responsibilities:The...
; sixth, appointment of Stalin's son Vasily
Vasily Dzhugashvili
Vasily Iosifovich Dzhugashvili , known also as Vasily Stalin , , was the son of Joseph Stalin and his second wife, Nadezhda Alliluyeva....
to the Central Committee; seven, institution of an amnesty. It was decided to send approximately ten persons to the nearby Communications Building in Rustaveli Avenue in order to send a telegram to Moscow.
A parallel rally at Kolmeurneobis Square grew increasingly anti-Soviet. People were singing the long-suppressed anthem "Dideba
Dideba
"Dideba" was the national anthem of Georgia from 1918 to 1920, and from 14 November 1990 to 23 April 2004. It was written and composed by Kote Potskhverashvili...
" and waving flags
Flag of Georgia (country)
The official flag of Georgia is the "five-cross flag", restored to official use on January 14, 2004, after a break of some 500 years...
of pre-Soviet Georgia
Democratic Republic of Georgia
The Democratic Republic of Georgia , 1918–1921, was the first modern establishment of a Republic of Georgia.The DRG was created after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917...
. When some persons in civilian dress interfered, fighting broke out. Leaflets appeared next. According to the eyewitness and Georgian-Jewish
Georgian Jews
The Georgian Jews are from the nation of Georgia, in the Caucasus...
author Faina Baazova (daughter of David Baazov
David Baazov
David Baazov was a Georgian-Jewish public and religious figure who spearheaded Zionist movement in Georgia. His program was an amalgam of moderate orthodox religiosity, enlightenment, and Zionism....
), the leaflets called for the secession of Georgia from the Soviet Union, a demand not heard previously.
The events that followed are less clear. Later that day, the decision to bring troops of the Transcaucasian Military District
Transcaucasian Military District
The Transcaucasian Military District, a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, traces its history to May 1921 and the incorporation of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia into the USSR...
, then commanded by Col. Gen. Ivan Fedyuninsky
Ivan Fedyuninsky
Ivan Ivanovich Fedyuninsky was a Soviet military leader and Hero of the Soviet Union .Fedyuninsky was born into a peasant family near Tugulym in the Urals. He finished the village school in 1913 and was apprenticed to a painter and decorator. He joined the Red Army in 1919...
, into the matter was made in Moscow. The predominantly Georgian units stationed in the area were not deployed because of suspected unreliability, however. The Soviet Interior Ministry officials reported that Tbilisi had gone out of control. They claimed that the demonstrators, many of whom were allegedly drunk and armed, were pillaging the city, contemplated the pogroms of ethnic Russians
Russians in Georgia
There is a substantial Russian population in Georgia. For many years, Georgia was a part of the Russian Empire, and later the Soviet Union with Russia, and as the two countries share a border, many Russians emigrated to live in the Northern regions of Georgia.However, the population has decreased...
and Armenians
Armenians in Georgia
Armenians in Georgia are ethnic Armenians living within the country of Georgia. Armenians are the second largest ethnic minority in Georgia at about 5.7% of the population. The Armenian community is mostly concentrated in the capital Tbilisi and the Samtskhe-Javakheti region, which borders Armenia...
, and planned to seize the government buildings.
The same evening, the authorities broadcasted though radio an appeal calling the rallies to be ceased and announced that the commander of Tbilisi garrison was introducing a curfew
Curfew
A curfew is an order specifying a time after which certain regulations apply. Examples:# An order by a government for certain persons to return home daily before a certain time...
beginning at midnight on 10 March. Many protesters sensed an approaching threat and began to leave the city center. Close to midnight, however, people learned that the delegation sent into the Communications Building had been detained, ostensibly for verification of identity. The crowd rushed to rescue the delegates and a clash with the soldiers guarding the building ensued. The troops started firing into the crowd to prevent the protesters from storming the building. Simultaneously, tanks moved to oust the demonstrators from Lenin Square and at the Stalin monument. The protesters tried to resume rallies on 10 March, but they were again dispersed by the troops. Several dozens, if not hundreds, died in this crackdown. As no official report exists, various estimates put the number of casualties from 106 to 800. Hundreds were wounded and injured. Over 200 were arrested in the ensuing reprisals and many were subsequently deported to labor camps in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
.
Consequences
The March 1956 rallies widened rifts within the Georgian Communist Party, as several officials expressed solidarity with the people. In July 1956, the Central Committee in Moscow issued a resolution critical of the Georgian Communist leadership, and in August the second secretary in Tbilisi was replaced by a Russian. Yet, Mzhavanadze was successful in pacifying Georgians by minimizing the number of victims in his interviews and sponsoring a program of lectures to spread the party’s new views. For his success, Mzhavanadze was raised to candidate membership in the Central Committee Presidium in June 1957.Although no apparent attempts at defying the Soviet rule in Georgia was to be made until April 1978
1978 Georgian demonstrations
14 April 1978, demonstrations in Tbilisi, capital of the Georgian SSR, took place in response to an attempt by Soviet government to change the constitutional status of the indigenous Georgian language...
, the grudges against the central government in Moscow continued to be held. Many in Georgia held Khrushchev personally responsible for ordering the army to fire on the protesters. The Tbilisi events made Georgia's deviance from the rest of the Soviet Union, with the possible exception of the Baltics
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
, apparent. The loyalty to the Union was gravely compromised and an anti-Soviet sentiment became an essential feature of the reemerging Georgian nationalism.
It was in the immediate aftermath of the 1956 event that the first Georgian underground groups calling for an outright secession from the Soviet Union appeared. They were typically small and weak and the Soviet authorities were able to quickly neutralize them. However, they gave origin to a new generation of dissidents, such as Merab Kostava
Merab Kostava
250px|thumb|Merab Kostava, 1988Merab Kostava was a Georgian dissident, musician and poet; one of the leaders of the National-Liberation movement in Georgia...
and Zviad Gamsakhurdia
Zviad Gamsakhurdia
Zviad Gamsakhurdia was a dissident, scientist and writer, who became the first democratically elected President of the Republic of Georgia in the post-Soviet era...
, both teenage participants of the March 1956 rally, who would lead Georgia into its struggle for independence in the 1980s.
See also
- Cult of personalityCult of personalityA cult of personality arises when an individual uses mass media, propaganda, or other methods, to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. Cults of personality are usually associated with dictatorships...
- De-StalinizationDe-StalinizationDe-Stalinization refers to the process of eliminating the cult of personality, Stalinist political system and the Gulag labour-camp system created by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Stalin was succeeded by a collective leadership after his death in March 1953...
- 1978 Tbilisi Demonstrations
- 9 April tragedy
- Hungarian Revolution of 1956
- Poznań 1956 protestsPoznan 1956 protestsThe Poznań 1956 protests, also known as Poznań 1956 uprising or Poznań June , were the first of several massive protests of the Polish people against the communist government of the People's Republic of Poland...
- Prague SpringPrague SpringThe Prague Spring was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the era of its domination by the Soviet Union after World War II...