Sasha Gegechkori
Encyclopedia
Aleksi "Sasha" Gegechkori (November 23, 1887 – June 7, 1928) was a Georgian
Bolshevik
activist involved in Sovietization
of Georgia in 1921.
Born of a noble family, Gegechkori joined the revolutionary underground in 1902 and the Bolshevik party in 1908. In 1918, he led a band of 300 pro-Bolshevik peasants in a guerrilla revolt against the Democratic Republic of Georgia
in the mountains of Racha
and Lechkhumi
(northwest Georgia). After the failure of this revolt, Gegechkori fought in the ranks of the Soviet Russian Red Army
against the White movement
in the Terek
area where he was severely wounded and had his leg amputated. Returning to Georgia, Gegechkori was arrested by Georgian police in October 1919 and tried for a treason and armed revolt. However, upon the request of Russian government and in accordance to the Russo-Georgian peace treaty of 1920
, Gegechkori was released from prison. When the Red Armies eventually attacked
Georgia in February 1921, Gegechkori joined the "Georgian Revolutionary Committee
" and headed its division in Tbilisi
, Georgia’s capital. From 1922 to 1922, he served as a People's Commissar for Internal Affairs of the Georgian SSR and presided over a crackdown on Georgian anti-Soviet opposition. In 1924, he was moved to the post of People’s Commissar for Agriculture. At the same time, he served as a deputy chairman of the Council of Georgia’s People’s Commissars. In 1928, he committed suicide at his home in Tbilisi, reputedly under pressure of the Soviet security officer Lavrenty Beria who had spent several months in prison with Gegechkori in 1920 and married his niece, Nina Gegechkori in 1921. His native town of Martvili
was named Gegechkori after him from 1936 to 1990.
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...
Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
activist involved in Sovietization
Sovietization
Sovietization is term that may be used with two distinct meanings:*the adoption of a political system based on the model of soviets .*the adoption of a way of life and mentality modelled after the Soviet Union....
of Georgia in 1921.
Born of a noble family, Gegechkori joined the revolutionary underground in 1902 and the Bolshevik party in 1908. In 1918, he led a band of 300 pro-Bolshevik peasants in a guerrilla revolt against the Democratic Republic 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...
in the mountains of Racha
Racha
Racha is a highland area in western Georgia, located in the upper Rioni river valley and hemmed in by the Greater Caucasus mountains...
and Lechkhumi
Lechkhumi
Lechkhumi is a historic province in northwestern Georgia which comprises the area along the middle basin of the Rioni and Tskhenistskali and also the Lajanuri river valley. Now part of the Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti region, it corresponds roughly to the present day Tsageri district as well...
(northwest Georgia). After the failure of this revolt, Gegechkori fought in the ranks of the Soviet Russian Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
against the White movement
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
in the Terek
Terek
The Terek River is a major river in the Northern Caucasus, flowing through Georgia and Russia into the Caspian Sea. It rises in Georgia near the juncture of the The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and the Khokh Range, to the southwest of Mount Kazbek, then flows north through North Ossetia and...
area where he was severely wounded and had his leg amputated. Returning to Georgia, Gegechkori was arrested by Georgian police in October 1919 and tried for a treason and armed revolt. However, upon the request of Russian government and in accordance to the Russo-Georgian peace treaty of 1920
Treaty of Moscow (1920)
The Treaty of Moscow , signed between Soviet Russia and the Democratic Republic of Georgia in Moscow on May 7, 1920, granted Georgia de jure recognition of independence in exchange of the promise not to grant asylum on Georgian soil to troops of powers hostile to Bolshevik Russia.- Background...
, Gegechkori was released from prison. When the Red Armies eventually attacked
Red Army invasion of Georgia
The Red Army invasion of Georgia also known as the Soviet–Georgian War or the Soviet invasion of Georgia was a military campaign by the Soviet Russian Red Army against the Democratic Republic of Georgia aimed at overthrowing the Social-Democratic government and installing the Bolshevik regime...
Georgia in February 1921, Gegechkori joined the "Georgian Revolutionary Committee
Revolutionary committee
Revolutionary committees or revkoms were Bolshevik-led organizations in Soviet Russia and in areas of its activities established to serve as provisional governments and temporary Soviet administrations in territories under the control of the Red Army in 1918-1920, during the Russian Civil War and...
" and headed its division 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...
, Georgia’s capital. From 1922 to 1922, he served as a People's Commissar for Internal Affairs of the Georgian SSR and presided over a crackdown on Georgian anti-Soviet opposition. In 1924, he was moved to the post of People’s Commissar for Agriculture. At the same time, he served as a deputy chairman of the Council of Georgia’s People’s Commissars. In 1928, he committed suicide at his home in Tbilisi, reputedly under pressure of the Soviet security officer Lavrenty Beria who had spent several months in prison with Gegechkori in 1920 and married his niece, Nina Gegechkori in 1921. His native town of Martvili
Martvili
Martvili is a small town in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti province of Western Georgia. Its monastery was Samegrelo's clerical centre in the Middle Ages...
was named Gegechkori after him from 1936 to 1990.
External links
Алексей Александрович Гегечкори, Aleksey Aleksandrovich Gegechkori. Great Soviet EncyclopediaGreat Soviet Encyclopedia
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia is one of the largest and most comprehensive encyclopedias in Russian and in the world, issued by the Soviet state from 1926 to 1990, and again since 2002 .-Editions:There were three editions...