The 11th convocation of the Supreme Soviet of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic adopted a resolution titled "On Guarantees for the Protection of the State Sovereignty of Georgia [a] " during a special session held on 9 March 1990. It declared the 1921 invasion and occupation of Democratic Republic of Georgia by the red army to be illegal. The resolution denounced the annexation and several other treaties including the formation of the Transcaucasian Federation Treaty and deemed the Union Treaty illegal with regard to Georgia. It also reaffirmed Georgia’s rights under the Treaty of Moscow in 1920 and followed amendments passed in November 1989 that granted the republic authority to veto all-Union laws. [1] [2]
After the April 9 tragedy in Tbilisi, when Soviet forces violently dispersed demonstrators, the Georgian independence movement intensified and compelled the communist authorities to make concessions to national forces. As part of these changes, the Supreme Soviet of the Georgian SSR adopted a series of legislative measures aimed at reasserting sovereignty. On 18 November 1989, it approved the findings of a commission which politically and legally assessed Soviet Russia’s violation of the 7 May 1920 treaty recognizing Georgia’s independence; the resolution raised the issue with the Congress of People’s Deputies of the USSR, though it received no response, [1] the Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR gradually advanced measures to assert republican sovereignty within the Soviet framework, on the same day, it also approved constitutional amendments that granted the republic the right to veto legislation issued by All-Union bodies and affirmed that Georgia’s natural resources were the property of the republic itself. [3] These measures reflected both the broader dynamics of perestroika and a growing national movement in Georgia that sought to reverse the political consequences of the Sovietization of 1921. On 9 March 1990, the Supreme Council led by Chairman of the Presidium, Givi Gumbaridze adopted the resolution “On Guarantees for the Protection of the State Sovereignty of Georgia”, which explicitly addressed the historical and legal dimensions of Georgia’s incorporation into the Soviet Union, and considered the entry of Soviet Russian forces into Georgia in February 1921 constituted, from a legal perspective, military aggression and occupation, and, from a political perspective, annexation, thereby recognizing it as a violation of the Treaty of Moscow that had established Georgia’s independence under international law. [4] [5] The same body also declared on 20 June 1990, in line with this interpretation, annulled the subsequent legal acts that formalized Georgia’s Sovietization, declaring void the Treaty of 21 May 1921 between the Georgian SSR and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the Treaty on the creation of the Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, and the Union Treaty that established the Soviet Union. [5] By adopting this position, the Supreme Council not only rejected the legitimacy of Georgia’s Soviet-era political structures but also laid a legal foundation for the republic’s claim to restore the independence first declared in 1918, situating Georgia’s stance alongside the independence initiatives emerging in the Baltic republics at the same time. [6] [7]
The adoption of the 9 March 1990 sovereignty resolution, followed by subsequent acts, set Georgia firmly on the path toward independence but also exposed the country to significant challenges. The resolutions of 1990 were soon followed by the multi-party elections of October 1990, in which the Communist Party was defeated and the Round Table—Free Georgia coalition led by Zviad Gamsakhurdia secured victory, legitimizing itself as the legal successor of the Democratic Republic of Georgia rather than the Georgian SSR. [2] [5] A referendum held on 31 March 1991 produced an overwhelming vote in favor of restoring independence on the basis of the 1918 Act, with 90.3% of the electorate participating and 98.9% supporting the measure. On 9 April 1991, the Supreme Council formally adopted the Act of Restoration of the State Independence of Georgia, symbolically linking the declaration to the victims of 9 April 1989 and proclaiming Georgia the successor of the interwar Georgian state. [2] [1] However, while the act marked the legal restoration of sovereignty, the subsequent period was marred by deep political instability, ethnic conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and a deficit of legitimacy in state institutions. The confrontation between Gamsakhurdia and opposition groups escalated into armed conflict by late 1991, culminating in his overthrow by a military council in January 1992, while civil war and separatist conflicts persisted until the mid-1990s. [6] [4] [7]
Independence declarations from the Soviet Union  | |
|---|---|
| Declarations of independence | |
| Declarations of sovereignty | |
Note: Autonomies of other union republics are written in cursive | |