The Georgian Declaration of Independence or the Act of Independence of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს დამოუკიდებლობის აქტი, a) is a founding document, establishing the
Democratic Republic of Georgia
The Democratic Republic of Georgia (DRG; ka, საქართველოს დემოკრატიული რესპუბლიკა, tr) was the first modern establishment of a republic of Georgia (country), Georgia, which exist ...
as independent from the
Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic
The Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic (TDFR; 22 April – 28 May 1918) was a short-lived sovereign state, state in the Caucasus that included most of the territory of the present-day Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia (coun ...
. On 26 May 1918, it was adopted by the
National Council of Georgia, who convined at the
National Palace Buildings called National Palace include:
*National Palace (Dominican Republic), in Santo Domingo
* National Palace (El Salvador), in San Salvador
* National Palace (Ethiopia), in Addis Ababa; also known as the Jubilee Palace
* National Palace (Guat ...
in
Tiflis
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...
, in the main city and later capital of Georgia.
The declaration is the first Georgian constitutional document. It has a declarative nature. It briefly conveys the historical prospects for the development of Georgia as a state and the insatiable desire of the Georgian nation to decide its future destiny, and describes the political situation of that time. In addition to its declarative nature, the declaration also has a purely normative character. It has a constitutional-legal nature - from May 26, 1918, until the adoption of the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.
When these pri ...
in 1921, it became the primary source of the legal situation of that time. It defines the legal status of the state, the scope and extent of jurisdiction, the form of the political system, the main directions of foreign policy, the provisional state authorities and the highest governing bodies that are supposed to ensure the state of the country.
The declaration was ratified by the
Constituent Assembly of Georgia, the directly
elected legislative body, on May 12, 1919.
The origial copy of the declaration is kept by the
National Archives of Georgia.
Background
The
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...
had seen the Caucasus region establish an independent state on 22 April 1918, the
Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic
The Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic (TDFR; 22 April – 28 May 1918) was a short-lived sovereign state, state in the Caucasus that included most of the territory of the present-day Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia (coun ...
(TDFR), a union of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. However it only lasted until 26 May 1918, as the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
invaded, and with political and ethnic differences the state was unable to sustain itself. With the Armenians fighting the Ottoman forces and the Azerbaijanis having their own issues with Bolsheviks controlling Baku, the Georgians concluded that they had no future in the TDFR.
On 14 May
Noe Zhordania
Noe Zhordania ( ka, ნოე ჟორდანია ; ; born – January 11, 1953)შველიძე დ., საქართველოს დემოკრატიული რესპუბლიკა (1918–1921): ენციკ� ...
, a leading Georgian
Menshevik
The Mensheviks ('the Minority') were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with Vladimir Lenin's Bolshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903. Mensheviks held more moderate and reformist ...
, went to
Batumi
Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second-largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast ...
to request the
German Empire
The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
's assistance in securing Georgian independence. He returned to Tiflis on 21 May and expressed confidence that Georgia could become independent. The Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Georgian representatives from the
Transcaucasian Seim (the TDFR's legislature) met on 21 May to discuss the future of the TDFR and agreed that it was not likely to last much longer. The next day the Georgians met alone and resolved that independence was their only logical choice.
Zhordania and
Zurab Avalishvili drafted a declaration of independence on 22 May, before Jordania left again for Batumi to meet
Otto von Lossow
Otto Hermann von Lossow (15 January 1868 – 25 November 1938) was a Bavarian Army and then German Army officer who played a prominent role in the events surrounding the attempted Beer Hall Putsch by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in November 19 ...
. On 24 May Von Lossow replied that he was only authorized to work with the TDFR as a whole; as it was becoming apparent that it would not last long, he would have to leave Trabzon and consult with his government on how to proceed further.
Declaration

On 26 May
Irakli Tsereteli, another leading Menshevik, gave two speeches in the Seim. In the first, he explained that the TDFR was unable to continue as there was a lack of unity among the people and that ethnic strife led to a division of action in regards to the Ottoman invasion. In his second speech, Tsereteli blamed the Azerbaijanis for failing to support the defense of the TDFR and declared that as the federation had failed it was time for Georgia to proclaim itself independent. At 15:00 the motion was passed: "Because on the questions of war and peace there arose basic differences among the peoples who had created the Transcaucasian Republic, and because it became impossible to establish one authoritative order speaking in the name of all Transcaucasia, the Seim certifies the fact of the dissolution of Transcaucasia and lays down its powers." Most delegates left the chamber, with only the Georgians remaining, who were shortly joined by members of the Georgian National Council. Zhordania then read the Georgian declaration of independence and proclaimed the
Democratic Republic of Georgia
The Democratic Republic of Georgia (DRG; ka, საქართველოს დემოკრატიული რესპუბლიკა, tr) was the first modern establishment of a republic of Georgia (country), Georgia, which exist ...
. This was followed two days later with an
Armenian declaration of independence, followed quickly by
Azerbaijan doing the same, creating the
Republic of Armenia and
Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (), also known as the Azerbaijan People's Republic (; ), was the first secular democracy, democratic republic in the Turkic peoples, Turkic and Muslim worlds.
*Tadeusz Swietochowski. ''Russia and Azerbaijan: ...
, respectively.
References
Bibliography
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External links
Georgian Declaration of Independence (in Georgian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Declaration Of Independence, Georgian
1918 documents
1918 establishments in Georgia (country)
1918 in Georgia (country)
1918 in international relations
Georgia 1918
Tbilisi in the Russian Civil War
May 1918
Separatism in the Russian Empire