Gaioz Devdariani
Encyclopedia
Gaioz Devdariani ( February 2, 1901–1938) was a prominent Georgian
revolutionary
, Soviet
politician, member of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences and a victim of the Great Purge
of 1937. Devdariani was born in the village of Kharagauli
, Western Georgia
into a large family. In 1919, Devdariani was arrested by the Menshevik Government of Georgia
for plotting and masterminding an insurrection against the Democratically elected government. He was imprisoned in Metekhi
but managed to escape from the prison in 1920. Between 1921 and 1923, Devdariani worked in various communist ministries of Georgian SSR. From 1929 to 1931 Devdariani became the first Minister
of Education
of the Georgian SSR. During the same year Devdariani because the honorable member of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences in department of Economics. After only a year as a Minister, he was promoted to the First Secretary of the Communist Party
of the Georgian SSR. However, soon after his appointment, Lavrentiy Beria
(Communist Party Secretary of Transcaucasia) started agitations and provocations against Gaioz.
Brothers of Devdariani, George Devdariani (commanding officer of Soviet Division in Transcaucasus) and Shalva Devdariani held important positions in Georgian SSR and the communist party. They became the first targets of Beria and Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze
. In 1933, George Devdariani was shot by one of the deserters from his division. It has been alleged that Beria plotted the desertion
and instructed the soldier to kill his commanding officer. In 1934 Shalva Devdariani was arrested in Tbilisi
and was said to have been personally executed by Beria. After learning of his brother’s arrest and execution, Devdariani resigned from his position and moved to Zaporizhia
, Ukraine
. There he became the head of military aviation factory. Under the pressure from Beria, Stalin gave an order to arrest Devdariani and indict him with charges of plotting to assassinate Lavrentiy Beria and of having links with exiled Leon Trotsky
. Devdariani was declared an "enemy of the people" and was denounced for Trotskyism
. While the charges against Devdariani were entirely false, Beria, a master provocateur, persuaded Stalin to grant him an approval for Devdariani's liquidation.
Before the arrest and murder of his brothers, based on his personal letters, Devdariani lost any belief in communism and confessed to his family members of being intolerant of the totalitarian regime of Stalin, Beria and the Bolsheviks. Before his final days in Tbilisi prison cell, he hoped for the chance to emigrate to Leuville-sur-Orge
, France
, where he would join the Menshevik government of Noe Zhordania
in exile. However, he was condemned to death by NKVD troika
and executed in 1938. His son, Spartak Devdariani was sent to the Eastern Front
in Penal military unit
(being charged under Article 58 of counter-revolutionary activities
) where he was killed during the Prague Offensive
. His second son David Devdariani
was imprisoned for being the “the son of the enemy of the people”
(Russian language
: "сын врага народа"). He later became a political dissident
and activist for independent Georgia. He was finally released by the order of Nikita Khrushchev
.
Devdariani published numerous books and articles about Communism and Georgia, of which the most popular one was The History of Communism in Georgia, Narkvevebi sakartvelos komkavshiris istoriidan (1927,1931), Sakartvelos komkavshiris ati tslis tavi (1927), Sakartvelos komkavshiris sataveebtan (1927) and Imperializmi da proletaruli revolutsia (1930)..
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
revolutionary
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
, Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
politician, member of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences and a victim of the Great Purge
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
of 1937. Devdariani was born in the village of Kharagauli
Kharagauli
kharagauli is an administrative center of Kharagauli district in Georgia. It is situated on both banks of Chkherimela river in a narrow and deep gorge, 280-400m above the sea level....
, Western Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
into a large family. In 1919, Devdariani was arrested by the Menshevik Government of Georgia
Democratic Republic of Georgia
The Democratic Republic of Georgia , 1918–1921, was the first modern establishment of a Republic of Georgia.The DRG was created after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917...
for plotting and masterminding an insurrection against the Democratically elected government. He was imprisoned in Metekhi
Metekhi
Metekhi is a historic neighborhood of Tbilisi, Georgia, located on the elevated cliff that overlooks the Mtkvari river.- History :The district was one of the earliest inhabited areas on the city’s territory...
but managed to escape from the prison in 1920. Between 1921 and 1923, Devdariani worked in various communist ministries of Georgian SSR. From 1929 to 1931 Devdariani became the first Minister
Minister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....
of Education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
of the Georgian SSR. During the same year Devdariani because the honorable member of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences in department of Economics. After only a year as a Minister, he was promoted to the First Secretary of the Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
of the Georgian SSR. However, soon after his appointment, Lavrentiy Beria
Lavrentiy Beria
Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria was a Georgian Soviet politician and state security administrator, chief of the Soviet security and secret police apparatus under Joseph Stalin during World War II, and Deputy Premier in the postwar years ....
(Communist Party Secretary of Transcaucasia) started agitations and provocations against Gaioz.
Brothers of Devdariani, George Devdariani (commanding officer of Soviet Division in Transcaucasus) and Shalva Devdariani held important positions in Georgian SSR and the communist party. They became the first targets of Beria and Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze
Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze
Grigol Ordzhonikidze ორჯონიკიძე - Grigol Orjonikidze, , generally known as Sergo Ordzhonikidze ; – February 18, 1937) was a Georgian Bolshevik, later member of the CPSU Politburo and close friend to Joseph Stalin...
. In 1933, George Devdariani was shot by one of the deserters from his division. It has been alleged that Beria plotted the desertion
Desertion
In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a "duty" or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning...
and instructed the soldier to kill his commanding officer. In 1934 Shalva Devdariani was arrested in Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
and was said to have been personally executed by Beria. After learning of his brother’s arrest and execution, Devdariani resigned from his position and moved to Zaporizhia
Zaporizhia
Zaporizhia or Zaporozhye [formerly Alexandrovsk ] is a city in southeastern Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is the administrative center of the Zaporizhia Oblast...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. There he became the head of military aviation factory. Under the pressure from Beria, Stalin gave an order to arrest Devdariani and indict him with charges of plotting to assassinate Lavrentiy Beria and of having links with exiled Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
. Devdariani was declared an "enemy of the people" and was denounced for Trotskyism
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
. While the charges against Devdariani were entirely false, Beria, a master provocateur, persuaded Stalin to grant him an approval for Devdariani's liquidation.
Before the arrest and murder of his brothers, based on his personal letters, Devdariani lost any belief in communism and confessed to his family members of being intolerant of the totalitarian regime of Stalin, Beria and the Bolsheviks. Before his final days in Tbilisi prison cell, he hoped for the chance to emigrate to Leuville-sur-Orge
Leuville-sur-Orge
Leuville-sur-Orge is a commune south of Paris, France. It is situated in the Essonne department in the Île-de-France region.Inhabitants of Leuville-sur-Orge are known as Leuvillois.-Geography:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where he would join the Menshevik government of Noe Zhordania
Noe Zhordania
Noe Zhordania was a Georgian journalist and Menshevik politician. He played an eminent role in the Social Democratic revolutionary movement in Imperial Russia, and later chaired the government of the Democratic Republic of Georgia from July 24, 1918 until March 18, 1921, when the Bolshevik Soviet...
in exile. However, he was condemned to death by NKVD troika
NKVD troika
NKVD troika or Troika, in Soviet Union history, were commissions of three persons who convicted people without trial. These commissions were employed as an instrument of extrajudicial punishment introduced to circumvent the legal system with a means for quick execution or imprisonment...
and executed in 1938. His son, Spartak Devdariani was sent to the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
in Penal military unit
Penal military unit
Penal battalions, penal companies, etc., are military formations consisting of convicted persons for which military service in such units was either the assigned punishment or an alternative to imprisonment or the death penalty.-Nazi Germany:...
(being charged under Article 58 of counter-revolutionary activities
Article 58 (RSFSR Penal Code)
Article 58 of the Russian SFSR Penal Code was put in force on 25 February 1927 to arrest those suspected of counter-revolutionary activities. It was revised several times...
) where he was killed during the Prague Offensive
Prague Offensive
The Prague Offensive was the last major Soviet operation of World War II in Europe. The offensive, and the battle for Prague, was fought on the Eastern Front from 6 May to 11 May 1945. This battle for the city is particularly noteworthy in that it ended after the Third Reich capitulated on 8 May...
. His second son David Devdariani
David Devdariani
David Devdariani was a Professor of Jurisprudence and Head of Law Faculty at Georgian Technical University. He was the son of the famous Georgian revolutionary Gaioz Devdariani who was executed during the Great Purge in 1938 by orders of Stalin. David was born in Tbilisi, Georgia and attended...
was imprisoned for being the “the son of the enemy of the people”
Enemy of the people
The term enemy of the people is a fluid designation of political or class opponents of the group using the term. The term implies that the "enemies" in question are acting against society as a whole. It is similar to the notion of "enemy of the state". The term originated in Roman times as ,...
(Russian language
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
: "сын врага народа"). He later became a political dissident
Dissident
A dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When dissidents unite for a common cause they often effect a dissident movement....
and activist for independent Georgia. He was finally released by the order of Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
.
Devdariani published numerous books and articles about Communism and Georgia, of which the most popular one was The History of Communism in Georgia, Narkvevebi sakartvelos komkavshiris istoriidan (1927,1931), Sakartvelos komkavshiris ati tslis tavi (1927), Sakartvelos komkavshiris sataveebtan (1927) and Imperializmi da proletaruli revolutsia (1930)..
See also
- Great PurgeGreat PurgeThe Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
- Purge of the Communist Party of the Soviet UnionPurge of the Communist Party of the Soviet UnionPurges with a "small-p" purge was one of the key rituals during which a periodic review of party members was conducted to get rid of the "undesirables"....
- David DevdarianiDavid DevdarianiDavid Devdariani was a Professor of Jurisprudence and Head of Law Faculty at Georgian Technical University. He was the son of the famous Georgian revolutionary Gaioz Devdariani who was executed during the Great Purge in 1938 by orders of Stalin. David was born in Tbilisi, Georgia and attended...
- List of Georgian people associated with the Democratic Republic of Georgia
Further reading
- Bolshevism - The Road to Revolution, Alan Woods, Well Red Publications (June 1999), ISBN 1-900007-05-3
- Origins of the Great Purges: The Soviet Communist Party Reconsidered, 1933-1938, Cambridge University Press