The events of 1956 gave impetus to the development of feelings, which
started the national movement in Georgia.
In March, Georgians commemorated the anniversary of the tragic events
of 1956. Few in Russia are aware of what happened then, though those
events have predetermined the future of Georgian-Russian relations,
particularly the frictions we witness 50 years on.
The main speech of Nikita Khrushchev at the XX Communist Party
Congress, which was held in February, 1956, caused a storm of emotion
in Stalin's motherland. It is important to mention that the attitude
to the "Father of Nations" in Georgia differed a lot from the attitude
towards him in other republics of the USSR.
In Georgia the personality of Iosif Dzhugashvili has become a
fundamental part of the "national myth" and ethnic identity. Georgians
were very proud of their compatriot who "ruled the greatest power in
the world and scored a victory in the most terrible war ever to happen
in history". No doubt, the speech of Nikita Khrushchev was received as
an attack on something sacred. In the first decade of March, when
people celebrated the third anniversary of "Great Iosif's" death, a
spontaneous rally started in Tbilisi. People gathered near Stalin's
monument, declared poems, cursed Khrushchev and laid flowers. The
monument (its equivalent is still in Gori) was almost fully covered
with flowers by March 7. On the appeal of one of the participants (he
is not identified by historians yet) a decision was made to send
telegrams applying for support to the leaders of the Chinese and
European communist parties, as well as a greeting to Stalin's
associate, Vyacheslav Molotov.
People swarmed to the office of the Ministry of Communications, which
was on Rustaveli Avenue, protected by soldiers of the Soviet army. The
moment they came near the office the first shots were fired,
machine-guns started right away and tanks appeared. Participants of
the meeting gathered at a quayside, where the shooting of unarmed
people continued. The exact number of victims is unknown. According to
different sources it varies from 20 to 100 persons. A researcher of
this tragedy, professor Nodar Natadze, says that soldiers threw bodies
into the Kura river, and people were not allowed to identify their
relatives or even mention this tragedy.
When rumors about this tragedy reached Georgian divisions deployed in
southern parts of the republic, a menacing movement started among the
soldiers and a division was enveloped by other soviet units. The
situation was stifled, but at that time it was decided to disband
national units, which had existed since the time of the Great
Patriotic War. The Commission of the Supreme Soviet placed
responsibility on the protesters and nationalistic provokers.
Thousands were arrested and charged with taking part in riots.
These events, deeply rooted in the national memory, left an indelible
mark on the Georgian mass consciousness and gave impetus to the
movements of the 1980's - 1990's. Obviously, the leaders of the
movement for independence disavowed Stalin, Stalinism and communist
ideology. Yet, they were hidden followers of the ideas that appeared
as a result of the shooting at the mass meeting devoted to their
"compatriot's honor and the protection of his dignity" 50 years before
the "Reformation" and the movement for independence.
Gergii Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Special for VK.
