May 26, 1918, in the Context of the Politics of Memory (on the Example of Textbooks of History)

Abstract

Despite the short period of its existence, the Democratic Republic of Georgia (1918-1921) had a significant impact on the further history of the country. Although the Soviet government tried to erase it from the memory of the Georgian population, the democratic Republic became a symbol of independence and freedom. The question asked at the referendum on March 31, 1991 – "Do you agree to restore the state independence of Georgia based on the Independence Act of May 26, 1918?" is a confirmation that the independence of Georgia after the collapse of the Soviet Union was considered as the restoration of the Democratic Republic of Georgia. The research aims to study how the Declaration of Independence of Georgia on May 26, 1918, was changed in Soviet and post-Soviet school textbooks of Georgian and world history. The research is based on the content analysis of 2 textbooks published in the Soviet period and 10 in the post-soviet period. During the research, the following are considered: a/ the volume of the presented material; b/the Evaluative side and introductory provisions; c/ presented photo or documentary material. During the Soviet period, in the textbook of the history of Georgia, the Democratic Republic of Georgia is presented as a state created as a result of the collapse of the "Stillborn Transcaucasian Independent Federal Republic," which was ruled by the "Bourgeois-Nationalist Menshevik Government." In the Soviet textbooks, the Seym of Transcaucasia before the restoration of Georgia's independence is also discussed, and its declaration as an independent federation is considered as a result of "the instigation of German and Turkish imperialists," by which "Transcaucasia was cut off from Soviet Russia." In the textbooks, the "Menshevik" government is first presented as a vassal of "imperialist Germany," and after the defeat of Germany in the First World War, as the vassal of "imperialist Britain," which "suffocates the protest of the citizens and the revolutionary movement in blood." The history textbooks of Post-Soviet Georgian (three generations of textbooks are outlined: before 2003, of 2003-2012, and after 2012) contain textual, photo, and documentary material about the Democratic Republic of Georgia. The textbooks contain pictures and brief biographies of the members of the government of the Republic, the national flag, the text of the national anthem, and the state coat of arms. In some, the Act of Independence of Georgia of May 26, 1918, is presented in full, and in others, in the form of excerpts. Attention is focused on the prerequisites for the declaration of independence, the foreign and domestic situation of Georgia, the cooperation of Transcaucasian states, and efforts to deal with foreign threats. The authors of the textbooks also try to explain (in some cases by activating the national question) the change in the positions of the Georgian social democrats regarding the independence of Georgia, which largely depends on the situation in Russia (before and after the Bolsheviks came to power). "The Social-Democratic (Menshevik) Party paid less attention to the national issue. The party's main task was to transform united Russia into a socially just and democratic state; they demanded only the granting of cultural autonomy, but later, against the background of the activation of the national movement, they changed their position and demanded the political autonomy of Georgia." After the overthrow of the Provisional Government and the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks, when their expectations regarding the democratization of Russia were not met, at the same time, in order to neutralize the threat from the Ottoman Empire with the help of Germany, at the meeting of the National Council of Georgia, the leader of the Social Democratic Party, Noe Jordania, read the Act of Independence of Georgia. We can highlight several factors that the authors of the discussed textbooks pay special attention to: The situation created after the Russian Revolution of February and October 1917, which contributed to the declaration of independence of Georgia; Political processes taking place in Transcaucasian countries and specifically in Georgia, efforts of various political parties to cooperate in search of a solution to the problematic situation; Activation of the national issue; The actions of Soviet Russia and the Ottoman Empire, largely led to the change in the positions of the Social Democratic Labour Party of Georgia and their declaration of independence of Georgia; Role of Germany in the Declaration of Independence of Georgia.