Nikolay Chkheidze

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Not to be confused with the footballer Nikoloz Chkheidze.
Nikoloz Chkheidze

Nikoloz Chkheidze (Georgian: ნიკოლოზ ჩხეიძე; Russian: Никола́й (Карло) Семёнович Чхеи́дзе; transliterated Russian: Nikolay Semyonovich Chkheidze;[1] commonly known as Karlo Chkheidze or Nicolas Cheidze; 1864, Kutaisi – June 13, 1926, Leuville-sur-Orge was a Georgian Social Democrat politician who helped to introduce Marxism to Georgia in the 1890s and played a prominent role in the Russian (February to October, 1917) as president of Executive Committee of Soviet of Petrograd, Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic as president of the Sejm (February to May, 1918) and Democratic Republic of Georgia as president of Constituent Assembly (May 1918 to March 1921).

Georgia

Chkheidze was born into an aristocratic family in Poti, Shorapansky uyezd, Kutaisi Governorate (in present-day Imereti province of Georgia). With Egnate Ninoshvili,[2] Silibistro Jibladze, Noe Zhordania[3] and his brother Kalenike Chkheidze, he became in 1892 one of the founders of the first Georgian Social-Democratic group, Mesame Dasi (translated literally, the "Third Team").

Russia

From 1907 to 1916, he was the member for Tiflis Gubernyia in the Russian State Duma and gained popularity as a spokesman for the Menshevik faction within the Russian Social Democratic Party.

In 1917, the year of the Russian Revolution, Chkheidze became Chairman of the Petrograd Soviet, but failed in his attempt to prevent the rise of a more radical Bolshevism. Although he refused a post in the Russian Provisional Government, he supported its policies and advocated the idea of the "revolutionary oboronchestvo (defencism)". However, he voted to continuate war against German Empire, to honor Russian State promise.

Transcaucasia

When in October 1917 the Bolsheviks seized power in Russia, Chkheidze was on holiday, visiting his native Georgia. Remaining in Georgia, he became leader of the Transcaucasian Sejm on February 23, 1918, in Tiflis. But Armenia, Azerbaidjan and Georgia decided to break the federation some months after.

Democratic Republic of Georgia

On May 26, 1918, he was elected chairman of the National Council of Georgia in Tiflis, later elected chairman of Georgian Provisional Assembly. Some weeks after, when the Ottoman Empire's pressure was strong and government of Georgia called the army of German Empire, Chkheidze must accept the decision.

During the 1919 year, he chaired the Georgian delegation to Versailles Conference and he tried to gain the Entente's support for the Democratic Republic of Georgia. He also purposed to Georges Clémenceau and to David Loyd George British -or French- protectorate on Georgia for foreign affairs and defence, but was unsuccessful.

On February, 1919, he was elected chairman of Constituent Assembly of Georgia of the newly proclaimed Democratic Republic of Georgia.[4]

Chkheidze was one of the authors of the constitution. Democratic Republic of Georgia was a parliamentary republic. The president of government was chosen by the Parliament for one year and can't elected more than twice.

France

Like others, he was forced into exile when the Bolsheviks took control of the country in March 1921. He went to France,[5] after some times in Constantinople.

During 1923 and early 1924, inside of Georgian Social Democratic Party in exile, he was against the preparation of a national uprise in Georgia as other leaders (Irakly Tsereteli,[6] Datiko Sharashidze,[7] Kale Kavtaradze, ...). This minority group call itself Oppozitsia. In their mind Red Army and Cheka were to strong, and unweapon Georgain people too weak. After August Uprising 1924, more than 10 000 Georgian were executed, and between 50 and 100 000 Georgian were sent to Siberia or to Central Asia.

He committed suicide on June 13, 1926, in the exile residence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, in Leuville-sur-Orge, in France.

The man

After 1921, his wife, Alexandra Taganova, and his daughter, Veronique[8]], lived and died in France.

Karlo Chkheidze was a famous orator in Georgian language and in Russian language, as well to speak to unhappy crowd in Petrograd as to speak to Russian Duma's deputies or to Caucasian Assembly's deputies. He was wellknown in West Europe, specially in Great Britain and in France. When the tzar Nicolas II policy, Okrana, wanted to arrest him, French president, Raymond Poincaré, was visiting Russia : Okrana stopped the operation.

He was marxist as an aristocrat politician, thinking that the only way was a parliamentary republic, without a president of republic, with a government elected by a parliament for a short time, with a parliament elected by all citizens of the country, men, women and foreigners. He kept close to Britain Labour Party and not to German Social Democratic Party as a lot of Georgian Social Democrate politician. He was also an internationalist politician, thinking that the only way to get democratic republic in Caucasian countries (Armenia, Azerbaidjan, Georgia but also in Nord Caucasian countries) was that Russia become a democratic republic.[9]

References

  1. ↑ (French) Nicolas Cheidze
  2. ↑ (French) Egnate Ninoshvili.
  3. ↑ (French) Noe Zhordania.
  4. ↑ (French) Ière République.
  5. ↑ (French) Ière République en exil.
  6. ↑ (French) Irakly Tsereteli.
  7. ↑ (French) Datiko Sharashidze.
  8. ↑ (French) Véronique Chéidzé
  9. ↑ From memories of Karlo Chkheidze's daughter.

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