Shalva Eliava
Encyclopedia
Shalva Eliava (September 30, 1883 – December 3, 1937) was a Georgian
Old Bolshevik
and Soviet
official who contributed to Sovietization
of Central Asia
and Caucasus
but fell victim to Stalin’s Great Purge
.
Eliava was born into an impoverished noble family from western Georgia. He studied law at the Petersburg University in 1903, but was excluded for his involvement in students’ protests. In 1904, he joined the Bolshevik
wing of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
and took part in the 1905 uprisings in Tiflis and Kutaisi
. In 1911, he was sent into exile to the Olonets Governorate
whence he moved to Petersburg and worked for the Pravda
newspaper until being deported to Vologda
in 1915. After the outbreak of the Russian Revolution of 1917
, he chaired the Vologda Ispolkom ("executive committee") and moved to Moscow
in December 1918. In 1919, during the Russian Civil War
, he was sent to the Turkestan
front and, as a member of the Revkom ("revolutionary committee"), helped establish Soviet power in the region. In 1920, he served as Soviet Russia’s plenipotentiary in Turkey
and Iran
. During the war
with the Democratic Republic of Georgia
(DRG) early in 1921, he was a member of the Caucasus bureau of the Russian Communist Party, and a member of the Georgian Revkom. After the overthrow of the DRG, Eliava joined the government of the Georgian SSR as a People's Commissar for Navy and Military. From January 1923 to June 1927, he was a head of the Soviet Georgian government as a Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Georgian SSR. Simultaneously, from 1927 to 1930, he served as the Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. In the 1930s, Eliava was a deputy People’s Commissar of Foreign Trade and a deputy People’s Commissar of Light Industry of the Soviet Union. He was arrested during Stalin's crackdown on Old Bolsheviks and executed in December 1937.
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
Old Bolshevik
Old Bolshevik
Old Bolshevik , also Old Bolshevik Guard or Old Party Guard, was an unofficial designation for those who were members of the Bolshevik party before the Russian Revolution of 1917, many of whom were either tried and executed by the NKVD during Stalin era purges or died under suspicious...
and Soviet
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....
official who contributed to Sovietization
Sovietization
Sovietization is term that may be used with two distinct meanings:*the adoption of a political system based on the model of soviets .*the adoption of a way of life and mentality modelled after the Soviet Union....
of Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
and Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
but fell victim to Stalin’s Great Purge
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
.
Eliava was born into an impoverished noble family from western Georgia. He studied law at the Petersburg University in 1903, but was excluded for his involvement in students’ protests. In 1904, he joined the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
wing of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party , also known as Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party or Russian Social Democratic Party, was a revolutionary socialist Russian political party formed in 1898 in Minsk to unite the various revolutionary organizations into one party...
and took part in the 1905 uprisings in Tiflis and 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:...
. In 1911, he was sent into exile to the Olonets Governorate
Olonets Governorate
The Olonets Governorate or Government of Olonets was a guberniya of north-western Imperial Russia, extending from Lake Ladoga almost to the White Sea, bounded W. by Finland, N. and E. by Arkhangelsk and Vologda, and S. by Novgorod and St. Petersburg...
whence he moved to Petersburg and worked for the Pravda
Pravda
Pravda was a leading newspaper of the Soviet Union and an official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1912 and 1991....
newspaper until being deported to Vologda
Vologda
Vologda is a city and the administrative, cultural, and scientific center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the Vologda River. The city is a major transport knot of the Northwest of Russia. Vologda is among the Russian cities possessing an especially valuable historical heritage...
in 1915. After the outbreak of the Russian Revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
, he chaired the Vologda Ispolkom ("executive committee") and moved to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in December 1918. In 1919, during the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, he was sent to the Turkestan
Turkestan
Turkestan, spelled also as Turkistan, literally means "Land of the Turks".The term Turkestan is of Persian origin and has never been in use to denote a single nation. It was first used by Persian geographers to describe the place of Turkish peoples...
front and, as a member of the Revkom ("revolutionary committee"), helped establish Soviet power in the region. In 1920, he served as Soviet Russia’s plenipotentiary in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. During the war
Red Army invasion of Georgia
The Red Army invasion of Georgia also known as the Soviet–Georgian War or the Soviet invasion of Georgia was a military campaign by the Soviet Russian Red Army against the Democratic Republic of Georgia aimed at overthrowing the Social-Democratic government and installing the Bolshevik regime...
with the Democratic Republic of 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...
(DRG) early in 1921, he was a member of the Caucasus bureau of the Russian Communist Party, and a member of the Georgian Revkom. After the overthrow of the DRG, Eliava joined the government of the Georgian SSR as a People's Commissar for Navy and Military. From January 1923 to June 1927, he was a head of the Soviet Georgian government as a Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Georgian SSR. Simultaneously, from 1927 to 1930, he served as the Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. In the 1930s, Eliava was a deputy People’s Commissar of Foreign Trade and a deputy People’s Commissar of Light Industry of the Soviet Union. He was arrested during Stalin's crackdown on Old Bolsheviks and executed in December 1937.