Nikoloz Chkheidze; ) ( – 13 June 1926), commonly known as Karlo Chkheidze, was a Georgian politician and statesman. In the 1890s, he promoted the

Social Democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

movement in Georgia, and later became a leading Social Democrat in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. He was a key figure in the

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

as the

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 ...

president of the Executive Committee of Petrograd Soviet. He later served as president of the Transcaucasian Sejm in from February to May 1918, and as parliamentary president of 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 ...

from 1918 to 1921.

Early life and family

Chkheidze was born into the House of Chkheidze, an aristocratic family in Puti,

Kutais Governorate The Kutaisi or Kutais Governorate was a province (''guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917), Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire. It roughly corresponded to most of western Georgia (country), Georgia throughout most of its ...

(in the present-day

Zestaponi Municipality Zestaponi ( ka, ზესტაფონის მუნიციპალიტეტი) is a municipality of Georgia, in the region of Imereti. The municipality covers a total area of 423 square kilometres and as of 2014 it had a population tota ...

of the

Imereti Imereti ( Georgian: იმერეთი, ) is a region of Georgia situated in the central-western part of the republic along the middle and upper reaches of the Rioni River. Imereti is the most populous region in Georgia. It consists of 11 mun ...

province of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

). From his marriage with Alexandra Taganova (X-1943), he would have four children including a daughter who would accompany him in exile.

Political career

In 1892 Chkheidze, together with Egnate Ninoshvili, Silibistro Jibladze,

Noe Zhordania Noe Zhordania ( ka, ნოე ჟორდანია ; ; born – January 11, 1953)შველიძე დ., საქართველოს დემოკრატიული რესპუბლიკა (1918–1921): ენციკ� ...

and Kalenike Chkheidze (his brother), became a founder of the first Georgian Social-Democratic group, Mesame Dasi (the ''third team'').

Russia

From 1907 to 1917 Chkheidze was a member of the Russian State Duma representing the

Tiflis Governorate Tiflis Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire with its administrative centre in Tiflis (present-day Tbilisi). In 1897, it constituted in area and had a population of 1,051,032 inhabitants. ...

and gained popularity as a spokesman for the

faction within the Russian Social Democratic Party. He was an active member of the irregular freemasonic lodge, the Grand Orient of Russia’s Peoples.. In 1917 the year of 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 ...

, Chkheidze became Chairman of the Petrograd Soviet. He failed to prevent the rise of

Bolshevism Bolshevism (derived from Bolshevik) is a revolutionary socialist current of Soviet Leninist and later Marxist–Leninist political thought and political regime associated with the formation of a rigidly centralized, cohesive and disciplined p ...

and refused a post in the

Russian Provisional Government The Russian Provisional Government was a provisional government of the Russian Empire and Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediately after the abdication of Nicholas II on 2 March, O.S. New_Style.html" ;"title="5 ...

. However, he did support its policies and advocated revolutionary ''oboronchestvo'' (defencism). He also voted to continue the war against 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 ...

Transcaucasia

In October 1917 the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

seized power in Russia. At the time, Chkheidze was in Georgia. He remained in Georgia and on 23 February 1918, became leader of the Transcaucasian Federation 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 ( ...

. Some months later the federation was dissolved.

Democratic Republic of Georgia

On 26 May 1918 the Act of Independence of Georgia was adopted, Chkheidze was elected chairman of the National Council of Georgia: this Georgian Provisional Assembly decided to appoint a government, to prepare elections and to create a constitutional commission. In February 1919 he was elected a member of the Constituent Assembly of Georgia and on 12 March president of this assembly, but could not participate in its first session because he was located in Paris. Chairing the Georgian delegation to the

Versailles Conference The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

, he tried to gain the Entente's support for the

. He also proposed to

Georges Clemenceau Georges Benjamin Clemenceau (28 September 1841 – 24 November 1929) was a French statesman who was Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909 and again from 1917 until 1920. A physician turned journalist, he played a central role in the poli ...

and to

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

a French or British protectorate for Georgian foreign affairs and defense, but was unsuccessful. Chkheidze, who had 14 years of parliamentary life experience, oversaw the writing of the Constitution by Razhden Arsenidze and 14 other MPs of the majority and the opposition.

France

In March 1921 when the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

invaded Georgia, Chkheidze fled with his family to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

via

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. In 1923 and 1924, as part of the Social Democratic Labour Party of Georgia in exile, Chkheidze opposed a national uprising in Georgia. Chkheidze, Irakly Tsereteli, Datiko Sharashidze, and Kale Kavtaradze formed a group called ''Oppozitsia''. In their mind, the

and

Cheka The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə, links=yes), ...

were too strong, and the unarmed Georgian people too weak. After the August Uprising of 1924, 10,000 Georgians were executed, and between 50,000 and 100,000 Georgians were deported to

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

or to Central Asia.

Death

On 13 June 1926 Chkheidze committed suicide at his official residence in Leuville-sur-Orge,

. He was buried in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, in the

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * *

External links

Чхеидзе, Николай Семенович
Hronos.km.ru. {{DEFAULTSORT:Chkheidze, Nikoloz 1864 births 1926 deaths People from Imereti People from Kutais Governorate Revolutionaries of the Russian Revolution Russian Social Democratic Labour Party members Mensheviks Social Democratic Party of Georgia politicians Members of the 3rd State Duma of the Russian Empire Members of the 4th State Duma of the Russian Empire Russian Constituent Assembly members Heads of state of former countries Democratic Republic of Georgia Diplomats for Georgia (country) Revolutionaries from Georgia (country) People of the Russian Revolution Members of the Grand Orient of Russia's Peoples Independence activists from Georgia (country) Georgian exiles Emigrants from Georgia (country) to France Politicians from Georgia (country) who died by suicide Heads of state who died by suicide Suicides in France 1926 suicides Politicians from the Russian Empire Chairpersons of the Executive Committee of Lensovet