Soviet Repressions in the Villages of Telavi and Signagi Districts in September 1924 (Based on Archival Materials)

Tengiz Simashvili 

 

Soviet Repressions in the Villages of Telavi and Signagi Districts in September 1924

(Based on Archival Materials)

Published in: Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University,
Proceedings of the Faculty of Humanities and the Institute of Georgian History, 2024, Vol. XX

 

 

In August 2024, one hundred years had passed since the anti-Soviet armed uprising of August 1924 in Georgia. It is well known that throughout the country, including in Kakheti—in the districts of Telavi and Signagi—the consequences of the August 1924 uprising were particularly tragic. The local Soviet repressive structures demonstrated extreme cruelty and, beyond executing direct participants in the uprising, also sentenced to death individuals from various social strata deemed undesirable by the regime. [See the collection of archival documents: The Anti-Soviet National Movement and Uprisings in Georgia, 1921–1924. Essay. Documents, essay by Levan Jikia, prepared for publication by Levan Jikia and Dimitri Silakadze. National Archives Publishing, 2024.]

Analysis of archival documents we have examined confirms that, under the accusation of participation in the August 1924 uprising, a great number of people were arrested in Kakheti. The majority of them were executed without trial, while others were sentenced to the highest penalty—execution by shooting—by the decrees of “extraordinary troikas” (special tribunals). [Simashvili, Tengiz. Soviet Repressions in Telavi, 1921–1924. Part I. Meridian Publishing, 2020.]

The Soviet authorities also employed other forms of repression. In addition to arrests and executions, in early September 1924—just as in other regions of Georgia—persecutions began in the villages of Telavi and Signagi districts against representatives of the nobility, clergy, intelligentsia, and, in general, individuals regarded as opponents of the Soviet regime. These persecutions included eviction from their homes and, in many cases, physical extermination. [For events in Western Georgia during and after the armed uprising of August 1924, see: Jikia, Levan. The 1924 Uprising in Western Georgia. Universali Publishing, 2011. This study covers the preparation and course of the August 1924 armed uprising in Western Georgia, with particular attention to the severe repressions implemented by the Soviet authorities following the uprising’s defeat.]

The content of archival materials shows that the instigators of these processes were representatives of the Soviet security services (the political police, Cheka) dispatched from district centers to the villages, namely the local organs of the so-called “Political Bureau” (State Political Directorate, GPU), along with other district-level Soviet officials.

The events that unfolded in various Kakhetian villages in early September 1924—raids and expulsions targeting nobles, clergy, and intellectuals—remain little known in academic historical literature. As archival evidence shows, in Telavi and Signagi districts, seemingly “spontaneous” peasant rallies began in early September 1924. Encouraged by Soviet representatives arriving from the district centers, part of the village population—primarily poor peasants, who were often deliberately intoxicated beforehand—turned against their own fellow villagers, looting their households and, in some cases, physically destroying them.

These developments were also reflected in the Soviet press of the time. For instance, in the newspaper Komunisti, in an article dated 7 September 1924, we read:

“From the village of Ikalto, the following report was received from Comrade Kokhtashvili, secretary of the Ikalto District Party Committee: ‘In the district, there is great indignation against nobles and aristocrats. The peasants are gathering in groups and are preparing to destroy the houses of the nobles. The district committee has given Comrade Kokhtashvili the directive to prevent excesses, to calm the peasants, and to assure them that the Soviet authorities, with the assistance of the peasant apparatus, will take measures to expel from the districts those nobles and aristocrats whom the peasants are dissatisfied with.’

At 7:30 a.m. today, another report was received from Comrade Kokhtashvili in Ikalto: ‘At dawn this morning, all the peasants of the village of Ikalto came out into the streets, armed with clubs, singing revolutionary songs, shouting slogans of indignation: “Death to the nobles! Long live Soviet power! We ourselves will cleanse our villages of the remnants of the vile nobles!” Together with their wives and children, they marched toward the houses of the nobles.’”
[Komunisti, 7 September 1924]

The same article also noted that although the local authorities ostensibly tried to calm the peasants, the outcome was different:

“This morning, the peasants drove the nobles out of their houses and set fire to part of their property. The poorest peasants were settled in the stone houses. The expelled nobles fell into panic and fled in the direction of Telavi. There is a possibility that the movement will spread to other areas as well, such as Vachnadziani, Sabue, Akhmeta, and other former nests of the nobles.”
[Komunisti, 7 September 1924]

The same theme—the expulsion of part of the village population—is addressed in the 9 September 1924 issue of Komunisti in an article entitled “In Kakheti (A Conversation with Comrade Matikashvili).” At the time, Matikashvili, one of the leading officials of Telavi district who played a prominent role in the implementation of Soviet repressions there, told readers:

“In Kakheti (Telavi and Signagi districts), as in the whole of Georgia, the former nobles, aristocrats, and clergy served as one of the bases for the work of the Parity Committee. … As soon as the peasants learned that in some corners of Georgia there had been bandit-like uprisings against the authorities, they demanded the harsh and merciless punishment of the enemies of the workers’ and peasants’ government. From all the villages came numerous resolutions of peasant meetings, demanding decisive measures against those bandits who disturb the peaceful life of the working people of Georgia. The peasants declared that if the authorities dealt leniently with the bandits, they themselves would take revenge on their mortal enemies.”
[Komunisti, 9 September 1924]

In the 13 September 1924 issue of Komunisti, under the general headline “The Liquidation of the Menshevik Bandits” and the subheading “The Peasantry Against the Nobility, Telavi,” it was reported:

“We are informed from Telavi of the following: Yesterday the district committee notified the Central Committee that there is terrible indignation among the peasants of the district against the nobles and aristocrats. Our Soviet organs in the districts could barely restrain this indignation, which nearly took on the character of a spontaneous uprising and vigilante justice against the nobles. Yesterday the district committee received reports from all areas that, as soon as the peasants learned that the uprising in Georgia against the authorities had been organized by the Parity Committee, which united nobles, aristocrats, officers, priests, and merchants, they demanded that the nobles and aristocrats be immediately expelled from the villages together with their entire families, and that all nobles capable of bearing arms be immediately arrested. The peasants threatened that if the state did not show firmness in this matter, then the peasants themselves would cleanse the area with an iron broom. Yesterday the district committee, through its regional party committees, attempted to explain to the agitated peasants that the Soviet authorities were already taking and would continue to take the harshest measures against the organizers of the armed uprisings and conspiracies against Soviet power. The party committees were instructed to take every possible measure to prevent excesses, but we failed to calm the people.”
[Komunisti, 13 September 1924]

Archival materials confirm that it was, in fact, the Soviet authorities who were directly interested in the expulsion of nobles and aristocrats from the villages and, more broadly, from the territory of Georgia. Preserved in the National Archives of Georgia is a file dated May 1929, entitled: “Case of the All-Georgian Central Executive Committee on the Procedure for Expelling from Georgia the Nobility Who Participated in the August Uprisings.” [National Archives of Georgia, Fund 284, Inventory 3, Case 374, pp. 1–2]

This file contains a “secret letter” sent by Mikha Tskhakaya, head of the All-Georgian Central Executive Committee, to the Transcaucasian Central Executive Committee. In the document, we read:

“After the Menshevik adventure of August 1924, in certain districts of the Georgian SSR, the peasants spontaneously began to expel the former nobles and aristocrats from their habitual nests, and confiscated their movable and immovable property. At the same time, this expulsion in most cases concerned those individuals who had directly or indirectly participated in the counterrevolutionary movement. In order to regulate the resettlement of former nobles and aristocrats, the Central Executive Committee of the Georgian SSR adopted and published on 9 January 1925 a special decree on the administrative expulsion of former nobles and aristocrats. Soon thereafter, the Central Executive Committee and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a resolution depriving the former landlords of the right to own land and to reside on the estates that had belonged to them prior to the October Revolution.”
[National Archives of Georgia, Fund 284, Inventory 3, Case 374, pp. 1–2]

In the collections of the National Archives of Georgia are preserved the materials of the “All-Georgian Central Executive Committee” of the Georgian SSR, which contain information about the Soviet repressions that unfolded in September 1924. [Here, we would like to express our gratitude to the staff of the National Archives of Georgia and the Kakheti Regional Archive, especially to Mrs. Ketevan Asatiani, for their assistance during the research process.] Among these materials are the minutes of village assemblies held in the villages of Telavi and Sighnaghi districts in October 1924. It appears that, in order to give a “legal” form to the repressions carried out in September 1924, representatives of the local authorities traveled to various villages of Kakheti in early October of that year. They conducted meetings and drew up minutes concerning the expulsion of the local nobility — the so-called “issue of the expulsion of princes and nobles.” [National Archives of Georgia, Fond 284, Inventory 3, File 11, File 42]

We should also note that, as Levan Ghoghoberidze wrote in the newspaper Communist on October 3, 1924 [Levan Ghoghoberidze was Deputy Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Georgian SSR in 1923–1924; he was executed in 1937], he and other “party comrades,” among them Vano Sturua, traveled for six days at the end of September 1924 through the villages of Sighnaghi and Telavi districts in order to ascertain “the real reasons for the peasants’ indignation, and everywhere they encountered the same firm and conscious spirit: the peasants unanimously and with contempt recalled the princes and nobles, and categorically demanded their final expulsion from Kakheti.” [Communist newspaper, October 3, 1924. Material provided by Koki Peradze.] It seems that the visits of such high-ranking Soviet officials were followed by the organization of these village assemblies in Kakheti concerning the issue.

The minutes of the open session of the village councils of Napareuli, Saniori, and Artana in Telavi district, dated October 5, 1924, read as follows:
“The session was attended by the majority of the members of the councils of the above-mentioned villages, a significant part of the peasantry, and a three-member commission from the district. Agenda — discussion of the list of nobles expelled by the peasants. They heard and decided:

·                    From Napareuli — Tamara Qaralashvili (wife of Data). The village decision by which she had been expelled by the peasants shall be confirmed. The decision states that, as the wife of a noble, she always oppressed the peasants and was still an enemy of the workers’ and peasants’ power.

·                    From Saniori — Vasil and Iliko Avalishvili, sons of Nikoloz (brothers). It was decided: the village decision by which they had been expelled shall be confirmed. The decision states that these nobles were active participants in the uprising and during the reaction persecuted the peasants.

·                    From Artana — Rezo (Revaz) Qaralashvili, son of Mikheil. It was decided: the village decision by which he had been expelled shall be confirmed. He has since been executed.” [National Archives of Georgia, Fond 284, Inventory 3, File 11, p. 9. Revaz (Rezo) Qaralashvili was executed on September 5, 1924 in Telavi. He was the father of Parnaoz Qaralashvili, who had been executed in 1923 on charges of membership in the “Military Center.”]

Other persons were expelled from Artana as well, including “Kokhta Qaralashvili, son of Gigo: during the reaction he was an officer of the police (pristav), beat peasants, and was now an active participant in the uprising, for which he was imprisoned.” [NAG, Fond 284, Inv. 3, File 11, p. 9]

The list of expelled persons from this village mainly includes male members of the Qaralashvili family, although women were also expelled — for example, Talia Qaralashvili, wife of peasant Sandro Sesiashvili: “Talia Qaralashvili mocked the peasants and still retained her customs and habits. Her husband Sesiashvili was left on the estate,” the session decided. [NAG, Fond 284, Inv. 3, File 11, p. 9]

Another expelled person from Artana was Manana Qaralashvili: “The village decision by which she was expelled shall be confirmed. She is an enemy of the existing authority and a supporter of Cholokashvili’s band.” [NAG, Fond 284, Inv. 3, File 11, p. 9]

The meeting of the councils of Napareuli, Saniori, and Artana was chaired by Makhareishvili, with Kakabadze as secretary. The three-member commission from Telavi district consisted of Khoridze, Kakabadze, and Mamajanov. [NAG, Fond 284, Inv. 3, File 11, p. 9. Presumably, “Khoridze” was Sasha Khoridze, head of the Agitation and Propaganda Department of Telavi district at that time, who had been wounded on the night of September 4–5, 1924, by young Komsomol member Sasha Jorjadze. Jorjadze had been forced by Kolia Japaridze, member of the Telavi district “troika,” to execute his own father. In revenge, Sasha Jorjadze seriously wounded Kolia Japaridze, who died a few days later. Sasha Khoridze survived. See: Tengiz Simashvili, The Bloody September of 1924 in Telavi, Works of the Faculty of Humanities of Tbilisi State University and the Institute of Georgian History, vol. XVI, p. 211.]

Similar meetings were held in other villages of Telavi district. On October 17, 1924, in the village of Kurdgelauri, a session of the village council was held: “The majority were present, along with comrade Mamajanov, a member of the commission established in the district, to investigate the issue of nobles expelled by the peasants. Agenda — discussion of nobles expelled individually from the village.” [NAG, Fond 284, Inv. 3, File 11, p. 10]

The meeting heard and confirmed various expulsions, among them that of Nino Eristavi, because “the said Eristavi, as a noblewoman, oppressed the peasants.” [NAG, Fond 284, Inv. 3, File 11, p. 10]

From the same village, Keto Tarkhanishvili was also expelled, although it is noted that she was not a noblewoman; rather, “she is a land worker.” [NAG, Fond 284, Inv. 3, File 11, p. 10]

Other expulsions from Kurdgelauri included “Misha Rusiev, as a nobleman and exploiter of workers,” as well as Luka and Anastasia Niniev, Barbare Khirseli, Data Zurabishvili, and Aleksandre (Tsutsa) Rusiev. The minutes of this session were signed by V. Tsikhistavi, Mamajanov, Kakabadze, and the secretary Chubinidze. [NAG, Fond 284, Inv. 3, File 11, p. 10]

Expulsions took place elsewhere too. For example, according to the minutes of the council of Khorkhli village (now in Akhmeta municipality, then part of Telavi district), on October 26, 1924: “Council members, peasants, and the district commission were present to investigate the issue of nobles expelled by the peasants.” [NAG, Fond 284, Inv. 3, File 11, p. 11]

At this meeting, the case of Kote Turkestanashvili was also heard, and it was decided: “He shall return to the village as an honest working man, having committed no wrongdoing against the workers and peasants.” [NAG, Fond 284, Inv. 3, File 11, p. 10] The same was recorded for Data Turkestanashvili, Ilia Sakvarelidze, Pepe Dekanizishvili, Kikusha Dekanizishvili, and Misha Sakvarelidze. [NAG, Fond 284, Inv. 3, File 11, p. 10] That is, these individuals had been expelled from the villages in September 1924, but the decision was made to allow them to return.

The minutes also mention Vano Sakvarelidze, about whom it was said: “The said person harbored Kakutsa Cholokashvili’s band and was an active participant in its operations. He is now a teacher, which is inappropriate, as he is an enemy of Soviet authority. The peasants deem it necessary that he be removed from teaching.” (Document #1) [NAG, Fond 284, Inv. 3, File 11, p. 10] The document is signed by Arsenashvili, Kakabadze, and the secretary Mamajanov. [NAG, Fond 284, Inv. 3, File 11, p. 10]

Thus, it becomes clear that, at the beginning of September 1924, not only nobles but also representatives of the intelligentsia were being expelled from villages, and they were also being dismissed from their jobs.

Furthermore, as a document dated November 30, 1924, in the same archival file reveals, in villages houses and land were confiscated from people who did not in fact belong to social classes deemed unacceptable by the Soviet authorities and who had no connection with the participants of the August armed uprising.

For example, Mariam Rtskhiladze, a resident of Telavi and by profession a “midwife,” sent a petition to Vano Sturua [Vano Sturua — in 1922–1924 People’s Commissar of Agriculture of the Georgian SSR, later chairman of the Control Commission of the Regional Committee of the Communist Party (Bolshevik) of Transcaucasia]. According to Mariam Rtskhiladze: “I have been a widow for twenty years and the mother of two children; I have been left without work, without pension. After the August events, my estate was confiscated along with those of others, and I have been left in an extreme condition.” [NAG, Fond 284, Inv. 3, File 11, p. 58]

M. Rtskhiladze requested the return of her confiscated property — “one dessiatina of vineyard with a wine cellar,” which she owned in the village of Uriatubani (Vazisubani) — seized from her by peasants during the armed uprising of August 1924. [NAG, Fond 284, Inv. 3, File 11, p. 58]

As for the Sighnaghi district, according to the contents of archival materials, the expulsion of individuals deemed unacceptable to the Soviet authorities from the villages of this district was accompanied by terrible cruelty, which manifested itself in the physical punishment of people and their execution without any kind of trial. In fact, this was what is commonly called "lynching," that is, murder committed by a mob.

This is confirmed by various documents preserved in the National Archives of Georgia. According to the minutes of the session of the Presidium of the Sighnaghi District Executive Committee, dated February 12, 1925, the following was discussed: “Resolutions (minutes) adopted by the Soviets regarding the expulsion of nobles and aristocrats.” [National Archives of Georgia, Fund 284, Inventory 3, Case 42, p. 1]

At the session, it was decided that: “The mentioned resolutions shall be confirmed and submitted to the All-Georgian Central Executive Committee for approval.” [National Archives of Georgia, Fund 284, Inventory 3, Case 42, p. 1]

At this session of the Presidium of the Sighnaghi District Executive Committee, the following minutes written by rural councils in early October 1924 were presented for consideration: Akhashen-Chumlaki, Bakurtsikhe, Kardenakhi, Kolagi-Vejini, Vakiri, Bodbe-Khevi, Gurjaani, and Tibaaani. [National Archives of Georgia, Fund 284, Inventory 3, Case 42, p. 1]

In the minutes of the February 12, 1925 session, we read: “From these resolutions, it appears that, in accordance with the wishes of the local peasant population, expulsions were carried out as determined by the Soviets.” [National Archives of Georgia, Fund 284, Inventory 3, Case 42, p. 1]

This text is followed by lists of expelled individuals, arranged by villages. For example, from the villages under the Akhashen-Chumlaki rural council, the following were expelled: “Former priest Isidore Vachnadze with family, Kola Aleksandres dze Machavariani with wife, widow Sona Gijimqrelidze with child, Kola Mikheilis dze Gijimqrelidze, Iliko Konstantines dze Gijimqrelidze, Niko Zaalis dze Tsinamdzghvrishvili with children, the family of executed Giorgi Tsinamdzghvrishvili, Elene Davitis asuli Jorjadze,” and several dozen others. [National Archives of Georgia, Fund 284, Inventory 3, Case 42, pp. 1–3]

From Bakurtsikhe, the expelled included: “Giorgi Aleksandres dze Vachnadze, the family of stoned Giorgi Solomonis dze Vachnadze with children, the family of stoned Mikheil Zakarias dze Vachnadze – two sons, the family of executed Mikheil Zakarias dze Vachnadze – wife Iulia with two children, the family of Adam Iosebis dze Vachnadze – stoned, the family of stoned Niko Dimitris dze Vachnadze – brother Dr. Giorgi Vachnadze with family, Irakli and Iliko Abkhazi stoned by the people, the family of Siko (Simon) Revazis dze Vachnadze stoned by the people,” and others. [National Archives of Georgia, Fund 284, Inventory 3, Case 42, pp. 1–3]

Among the names in this list, we note Davit Vachnadze, about whom the following is written: “Davit Vladimeris dze Vachnadze has fled, his mother is Elene.” This means that from Bakurtsikhe, in August 1924, was expelled and exiled the mother of Davit Vachnadze, the prominent public and political figure who later went into emigration. [National Archives of Georgia, Fund 284, Inventory 3, Case 42, p. 1]

The minutes of the Bakurtsikhe rural council session, dated October 3, 1924, more “fully” explain the reason for Davit Vachnadze’s “in absentia” expulsion from the village: “Davit Vladimeris dze Vachnadze – has fled to Kakutsa Cholokashvili. His mother Elene supports his actions and rejoices in Kakutsa’s victories.” (Document #4) [National Archives of Georgia, Fund 284, Inventory 3, Case 42, p. 40]
[Davit (Data) Vladimeris dze Vachnadze was one of the founders and leaders of the National-Democratic Party of Georgia. His father, Colonel Vladimer Vachnadze, was from Bakurtsikhe, where he died in October 1919. His mother, Elene Machabeli, was from the village of Didi Lilo.]

From Kardenakhi, the expelled included: “The family of stoned Data Aleksandres dze (also called Ilarionis dze) Foraqishvili – with wife, children, and daughter-in-law; the family of Ivane Vachnadze, who was stoned; the family of executed Viktor (Vachtang) Giorgis dze Vachnadze – mother and sister; the family of executed Levan Samadashvili,” and others. [National Archives of Georgia, Fund 284, Inventory 3, Case 42, pp. 41, 45]

In the notes accompanying the names of expelled persons from various villages, the reasons for their expulsion are given. For example, about one widow, it is written: “Widow Sofio Cholokashvili. Kakutsa feasted at this widow’s house three times, for which her son was executed, after which Sofio Cholokashvili was filled with vengeance against the peasantry.” [National Archives of Georgia, Fund 284, Inventory 3, Case 42, p. 41]

As already mentioned, in these documents the expelled are often labeled as “executed,” “stoned,” etc. By “executed” were meant people arrested for participation in the armed uprising of August 1924 and executed without trial. By “stoned” was meant the most brutal form of mob justice – the killing of entirely innocent people with stones and clubs. As emerges from the materials we found, during the expulsion process, peasants incited by Soviet authorities in some villages killed several dozen innocent people in this manner.

More detailed information on those expelled and killed is preserved in the minutes of the rural councils of Bakurtsikhe and Kardenakhi, recorded in early October 1924. The session of the Bakurtsikhe rural council, held on October 3, 1924, was attended by: “Representative of the Sighnaghi District Party Committee Badoshvili, representative of the District Executive Committee, district instructor Mkheidze, deputy head of the district militia Abuladze, rural council chairman Bejashvili, and six members of the council.” (Document #2) [National Archives of Georgia, Fund 284, Inventory 3, Case 42, p. 41]

At this session, the following issue was discussed: “Regarding the return to their homes of the nobles expelled from Bakurtsikhe for preparations for the uprising and other anti-revolutionary activities.” According to the document: “After much debate, the assembly resolved: From Bakurtsikhe shall be permanently, with their families and for all generations, expelled the following nobles for various crimes, for oppressing and tormenting the peasantry, for hereditary enmity and unrest, with confiscation of all movable and immovable property, and that this decision be submitted to the supreme body of the Soviet Republic of Georgia.” [National Archives of Georgia, Fund 284, Inventory 3, Case 42, p. 41]

The list of expelled persons follows, including:

·                    “The family of stoned Giorgi Solomonis dze Vachnadze – Taso Vachnadze with children, counter-revolutionary, relentless enemy of the workers’-peasants’ government, provocateur and secret traitor.

·                    The family of stoned Mikheil Solomonis dze Vachnadze, which included only two sons, Kola and Shasho – deceitful, vengeful, and sowers of fear among the peasantry.

·                    Adam Iosebis dze Vachnadze, already stoned by the peasants, with family – relentless enemy of the peasantry. He threatened the peasants, saying that soon their skins would be flayed again, that “Kakutsa with his band will wipe you out.” This family was malicious and restless in matters of seizing peasant lands.

·                    The family of Siko (Simon) Revazis dze Vachnadze, stoned by the people – supporters of the monarchical system, former colonel under Nicholas. Tirelessly sought ways to oppose the Red Army and to suppress the oppressed peasantry. Best host and financial supporter of Kakutsa, for which one son, Siko Revazis dze, was executed.” [National Archives of Georgia, Fund 284, Inventory 3, Case 42, pp. 39–40]

The list is extensive and, as mentioned above, includes other names of those “stoned” to death – killed by peasants through lynching – in Bakurtsikhe. [National Archives of Georgia, Fund 284, Inventory 3, Case 42, pp. 39–40] (Documents #3, 4)

It should be noted that this text is followed by the signatures of the chairman of the assembly and the members of the Bakurtsikhe rural council. However, it is also written there: “Chairman of the assembly N.B., since he cannot sign, signs instead Z.A.” (we do not write full surnames here – T.S.). In the list of members of the council, for three individuals it is noted that someone else signed in their place. [National Archives of Georgia, Fund 284, Inventory 3, Case 42, p. 40]

Archival materials also preserve the minutes of the session of the Kardenakhi rural council, held on October 5, 1924, in the Sighnaghi district. [National Archives of Georgia, Fund 284, Inventory 3, Case 42, pp. 42–45] This session, attended by about twenty people, including the district instructor and district militia representative, discussed: “Regarding the return to their homes of nobles and their families expelled from Kardenakhi for supporting the preparations for the conspiracy and the uprising against Soviet power in August–September 1924.” [National Archives of Georgia, Fund 284, Inventory 3, Case 42, p. 42]

The document states:

“Taking into consideration the crimes listed below, committed to the detriment of the village’s working people, and given their continuous oppression, unrest, and other harmful actions, the meeting decided: the following residents of the village of Kardenakhi, who are harmful to the peaceful life of the peasants, together with their families, are to be expelled and banished from among the inhabitants of the village of Kardenakhi, with the confiscation of their immovable property, to be transferred to the supreme body of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Georgia.”
[National Archives of Georgia, Fund 284, Inventory 3, File 42, p. 42] (Document #5)

This text is followed by a list of the people expelled from the village:

·                    “The late Data Aleksandresdze, also called Uncle Ilarion, the family of Foraqishvili, Tako Foraqishvili with children and daughters-in-law. Data Foraqishvili was a former feudal oppressor of the peasants, arrogant, and a staunch opponent of the workers’ and peasants’ government. His family were spreaders of malicious rumors and provocations of every kind. They gave comfort to enemies. They loved seizing the lands of peasants.

·                    The late Davit Aleksandresdze Vadzhnadze, this top counter-revolutionary and provocateur left no heirs. Only his movable and immovable property is to be transferred, like that of each other expelled, to the construction fund of the commune.

·                    The late Iase Vadzhnadze’s family – wife and children, unreliable and restless, enemies of the peasantry, counter-revolutionaries.

·                    The executed Viktor (Vakhtang) Giorgisdze Vachnadze’s family, his sister, and also his mother. This family was a nest of anti–workers’ and peasants’ gatherings and was noted for its ties with Kakutsa [Cholokashvili]. They treated peasants disdainfully and threatened them.

·                    Nene Iagoras asuli Vachnadze – a gossip among the peasant women, a sower of all kinds of evil. A fervent defender of feudal principles and a devotee of Kakutsa.

·                    Varo Solomonis asuli Vachnadze – her house was in a remote place in the forest, and she sewed linen for Kakutsa. She supported the Mensheviks.

·                    Asiko (Siko) Vachnadze, a former officer of the time of Nicholas, his children: one followed Jordania, another fled recently. Dangerous citizens, activists of counter-revolution, etc.

·                    The wife and children of the recently executed Levani Samadashvili, who was shot for conspiracy, as supporters of their husband/father and sworn enemies of the workers’ and peasants’ government. Provocateurs and spreaders of evil. Simon Samadashvili – supporter of Kakutsa and a prominent old activist.”

(Documents #6, 7)
[National Archives of Georgia, Fund 284, Inventory 3, File 42, pp. 42–45]

[It is officially recorded that 65 people were executed in the Sighnaghi district, among them the above-mentioned Levan Samadashvili. In the list of those executed, attached to the decision of the “Extraordinary Troika” of Sighnaghi district dated September 2, 1924, he is listed as: “Samadashvili Levan Giorgisdze. 44 years old. Active Menshevik, member of the district Parity Committee from the Mensheviks.” [Archive of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Fund 12, Inventory 1, File 10, p. 252]. This document is signed by members of the Sighnaghi district “Extraordinary Troika”: the responsible secretary of the Communist Party of Sighnaghi district M. Varamashvili, deputy head of the district executive committee Ayvazov, and head of the district “Political Bureau” Gegechkori. It is noteworthy that M. Varamashvili himself was executed on July 12, 1937.]

This list contains several dozen names. It is worth noting that in the minutes of the meeting, next to the names of some signatories, it is also recorded that they were illiterate and someone else signed on their behalf.
[National Archives of Georgia, Fund 284, Inventory 3, File 42, p. 45]

There are many similar minutes of village council meetings dated to the beginning of October 1924, which are of interest to our research, but we will not analyze them here due to the limits of the article format.

We should also note that the minutes of the October 3, 1924, meeting of the Kolagi–Vejini Village Council in the Sighnaghi district preserve information about the expulsion of Giga Vachnadze, father of Elizbar Vachnadze – a close comrade-in-arms of Kakutsa Cholokashvili and active participant in the August 1924 armed uprising. The document states:

“Giga Nikolozisdze Vachnadze – father of Elizbar Vachnadze, who fought alongside Kakutsa Cholokashvili, constantly supported Kakutsa and his son Elizbar’s wrongdoing. His house was on the outskirts of the village near the forests, and it was precisely in this house that Kakutsa’s and Elizbar’s group would often gather for conspiracies with the intent to kill. During searches by local government officials and working peasants, bombs and other weapons were repeatedly found in this house.”
[National Archives of Georgia, Fund 284, Inventory 3, File 42, p. 35]

It is noteworthy that in the above-mentioned minutes of the Kolagi–Vejini Village Council, there is no mention of people being “stoned to death.” According to the still-unpublished memoirs of Giorgi Mirianashvili, a member of the Presidium of the Sighnaghi district committee at the time, the men of Kolagi and possibly Vejini had fled into nearby forests, so the peasants could not kill them. Mirianashvili writes:

“Upon arriving in Kolagi, it turned out that the noblemen had sensed danger earlier and fled into the nearby forests, while the women and children were driven to the edge of the village, and discussions were underway on how else to punish them.”
[Public Archive of the Soviet Past Research Laboratory. Giorgi Mirianashvili, “Selected Memoirs Collection,” p. 113. Memoirs provided by Davit Khvadagiani]

G. Mirianashvili also refers to the tragedy that unfolded in the village of Bakurtsikhe. In his memoir, it is written that he was informed: “The chairman of the village council is calling for help urgently, the village has rebelled, they have carried away the flag from the village, they are entering the nobles’ houses, and killing people.” [Public Archive of the Soviet Past Research Laboratory. Giorgi Mirianashvili. Selected Memoirs. p. 105]

An eyewitness to this event told G. Mirianashvili: “The people are in Upper Bakurtsikhe, above the church. They are issuing a village ‘prigavor’ [sentence] to execute the wives and children of the nobles, who are locked up nearby in barns, and advised me not to approach them: many of them are drunk, and they might harm you too.” [Public Archive of the Soviet Past Research Laboratory. Giorgi Mirianashvili. Selected Memoirs. p. 105]

Nevertheless, G. Mirianashvili went to Bakurtsikhe: “Upon my arrival, I saw that indeed five or six men were lying dead, beaten with clubs and cold weapons. A crowd of people was swarming around the long stable of the former shopkeeper like flies. With endless noise and shouting, they were urging each other to sign the ‘prigavor’.” [Public Archive of the Soviet Past Research Laboratory. Giorgi Mirianashvili. Selected Memoirs. p. 105]

He witnessed the same horror in the village of Kardenakhi: “Upon my arrival at the Kardenakhi council, it became clear that indeed almost the entire village had risen against the nobles. Four had already been killed, beaten with clubs and stones. The houses of one or two had been burned, and the vengeful crowd had now moved in another direction.” [Public Archive of the Soviet Past Research Laboratory. Giorgi Mirianashvili. Selected Memoirs. p. 101]

Regarding Giorgi Mirianashvili, Levan Ghoghoberidze wrote in the newspaper Communist on October 3, 1924: “Another case, no less characteristic, took place in Bakurtsikhe. There, Comrade Mirianashvili, who enjoyed great popularity and love among the peasants, tried to calm the agitated peasants, but they told him: ‘We peasants know you well, we love you and do not want to quarrel with you, but if you interfere in our just, sacred cause and defend the nobles, we will be forced to treat you harshly.’” [Communist newspaper, October 3, 1924]

Accounts of these events in Kakhetian villages in September 1924 are also found in the memoirs of other contemporaries. For example, in the unpublished memoir preserved in the personal archive of the old Bolshevik T. Baindurashvili, a native of the village of Upper Khodasheni (then in Telavi district, now in Akhmeta municipality), we read: “In the autumn of 1924, the peasants themselves seized all the property and remaining lands of the nobility and drove them out of the villages.” [T. Baindurashvili’s personal archive materials, Kakheti Regional Archive, Akhmeta district, Autobiography, Fund 192, Inventory 1, Case 35, pp. 1–322]

In our research, the archival materials cited above were tabooed during the Soviet era and transmitted orally from person to person. Only from the late 1980s did people begin to speak more openly about the brutal repressions carried out by the Soviet authorities, and these began to be reflected in various journalistic writings. One such example is the article by eyewitness Nino Abashidze, “Time and Punishment”, published in the journal Kldekari, where she describes in detail the tragic stories preserved in the memory of the descendants of those expelled and killed in Kakhetian villages. [Abashidze, Nino. “Time and Punishment”, Kldekari journal, 1997, #2(11), pp. 124–144. Material provided by Ms. Ketevan Lomize]

The author recounts in detail the stories of these raids. Interestingly, she confirms that some people managed to survive. Some were warned and left their homes before the raids began, while others escaped by other means. For example, an 18-year-old youth, Zurab Abashidze, escaped in the following way: “They dressed him in old clothes, gave him a hoe, and sneaked him out of the house at dawn.” [Abashidze, Nino. “Time and Punishment”, Kldekari journal, 1997, #2(11), pp. 124–144]

As the article shows, before the raids on the population began, the local representatives of Soviet authority had gathered residents of several villages in Bakurtsikhe and held a meeting, at which local nobles were also brought. After the meeting, the persecution and looting of their homes began. The author describes the terrible fate of a noble-born disabled man, a deaf-mute named Vachnadze: “The deaf-mute Vachnadze resisted, refused to follow them for punishment... until stones and rocks silenced him forever.” [Abashidze, Nino. “Time and Punishment”, Kldekari journal, 1997, #2(11), pp. 124–144]

The article also recounts other details of the bloody reprisals, describing the tragic fate of those who survived the initial massacres—some deprived of income, expelled from their homes and estates, later died in terrible misery of hunger. [Abashidze, Nino. “Time and Punishment”, Kldekari journal, 1997, #2(11), pp. 124–144]

Interestingly, the author also writes that one “party member” from the village of Akhasheni, who witnessed the raids, even left the party in protest and departed the village. Meanwhile, a peasant who had participated in the raids was refused entry into his own house by his father when he tried to bring home a looted item. Another poor peasant woman reportedly gave her old shoes to a robbed old man. [Abashidze, Nino. “Time and Punishment”, Kldekari journal, 1997, #2(11), pp. 124–144]

This story about the “party member” from Akhasheni seems somewhat realistic, since according to Levan Ghoghoberidze: “Both district and county authorities, as well as Communards and Komsomol members, wherever they could and managed to arrive, actively defended the expelled nobles, and in some places clashes nearly broke out between local authorities and the peasants. Thus, for example, in the village of Akhasheni, Signagi county, when the chairman of the district executive committee and the secretary of the district party committee learned of the unrest, they set out with a detachment of seven mounted Communards to stop the movement.” [Communist newspaper, October 3, 1924]

The same theme appears in the article “The Book of Barbara Vachnadze’s Fate”, published in the October 1990 issue of Georgian Newspaper, which recounts a horrifying story. It contains the testimony of contemporary Barbara Vachnadze, who recalled the tragedy that unfolded in Signagi county at the beginning of September 1924. According to Barbara Vachnadze, her younger brother, S. Vachnadze, personally witnessed these events: “At that time, danger could befall you anywhere. My brother did not survive either—he was tied up with his peer Archil, Tosia’s son, and forced to watch as Iliko was stoned to death. They hurled stones at him mercilessly.” [Georgian Newspaper, October 1990. Material provided by Koki Peradze]

Similarly, in the memoir book “Heard and Seen” by contemporary Sofio Chijavadze-Kedia, the expulsion of the population from the village of Kisiskhevi during this period is described. Among those expelled was the famous toastmaster Kote Bakhutashvili, who, left homeless, sheltered in a shack in the yard of the “Gvtaebis” (Holy Trinity) Church in Telavi: “Kote Bakhutashvili, the renowned toastmaster of the county, was supported by Telavi merchants with food and drink, and during those difficult times they never let him go hungry. He lived in the churchyard of the Holy Trinity until his death.” [Sofio Chijavadze. “Heard and Seen”. Georgian-European Institute. Paris, 2002. p. 379]

Sofio Chijavadze recalls not only the tragic and horrific stories of people expelled from Telavi county, but also those from villages of Signagi county, including cases of violence against women. [Sofio Chijavadze. “Heard and Seen”. Georgian-European Institute. Paris, 2002. pp. 379–381]

However, regarding expulsions, she also writes that in September 1924, in the village of Kisiskhevi, it was a peasant family that sheltered her own female relatives: “My mother and my sister-in-law Sasha immediately moved into a neighboring peasant’s house, and they spent the whole night there. One of the peasant’s young sons comforted them, saying: ‘Don’t worry, madam, we will not let anyone harm you.’” [Sofio Chijavadze. “Heard and Seen”. Paris, 2002. p. 379]

It appears, however, that the women still had to leave the village, because: “The next day the village commissioner came and told my mother: ‘You must leave; the Armenian boys from Telavi are very agitated. They will commit many outrages… To avoid any disaster, it is better for you to leave this place.’” [Sofio Chijavadze. “Heard and Seen”. Paris, 2002. pp. 379–381]

The shocking events of the expulsion of the population from Ikalto in early September 1924 are also depicted in the well-known novel by Ms. Zaira Arsenishvili, “Ah, My Village... Kakhetian Chronicles”. [Zaira Arsenishvili. “Ah, My Village... Kakhetian Chronicles”. Bakur Sulakauri Publishing, 2019]

Archival materials also contain documents about the measures taken by Soviet authorities in the aftermath of these raids. For example, a letter dated February 11, 1925, from the Signagi County Executive Committee to the All-Georgian Executive Committee. A copy of this letter was sent to the “Commission for Reviewing Complaints on the Expulsion of Nobility.” [National Archives of Georgia, Fund 284, Register 3, Case 42, pp. 4–6]

The author of the letter, chairman of the Executive Committee of Signagi District, wrote to the Central Executive Committee of Georgia that, “based on your correspondence of 15 December 1924,” he traveled to the village councils of Signagi District and summoned peasants. Together with them, he reviewed “complaints regarding the expulsion of nobles.” These were petitions from the expelled individuals themselves. According to the chairman of the Signagi District Executive Committee:

“After clarifying the situation in detail for each case, appropriate resolutions were adopted, which have already been implemented. Namely:

1.                  To Mariam Abashidze, resident of the village of Vejini, livestock, a mirrored wardrobe, and a vineyard plot in the village of Gurjaani were returned.

2.                  To Giorgi Vachnadze, son of Simon, resident of the village of Bakurtsikhe, all surviving household items were returned except for three chairs and one table. In addition, those household goods he had deposited with Sasha Qumsiashvili, resident of Bakurtsikhe, were to be handed back to him. His house, however, could not be restored to him since it had already been sold.

3.                  To Konstantine Vachnadze, son of Luarsab, resident of Bakurtsikhe, and to widow Maria Vachnadze, daughter of Mikheil, no property was returned, as nothing had survived.

4.                  To Margalita Abkhaz, resident of Kardenakhi, the harvest from her vineyard could not be returned, as it had been sold.

5.                  To Shakro Natsvlishvili, resident of Bodbe-Khevi, permission was granted to live in the village, and one room, a mill, an orchard, and furniture were given to him.

6.                  To Kote Natsvlishvili, resident of Bodbe-Khevi, permission to return to the village and to reclaim property was denied.

7.                  To the widow Elene Vachnadze, daughter of Vakhtang, resident of Bakurtsikhe, property that had been entrusted to the former chairman of the Bakurtsikhe village council, Batsashvili (now imprisoned), was ordered to be restored to her. As for the vineyard harvest (wine), since it was under the disposal of the District Executive Committee and required by them, it was denied.”
(Document No. 8, Georgian National Archives, Fund 284, Inventory 3, File 42, pp. 4–6)

The list also mentions other individuals who were refused the return of their property:

“To Tamara Vachnadze, daughter of Konstantine, resident of the village of Kolagi, no property was returned, as nothing had survived.”
(Georgian National Archives, Fund 284, Inventory 3, File 42, p. 6)

A priest was likewise not allowed to return to his village:

“Regarding the complaint of the former priest of Akhasheni, Isidore Vacheishvili—currently under review with the Assistant Prosecutor of Eastern Georgia—half of the village community desires his return, while the other half opposes it.”
(Georgian National Archives, Fund 284, Inventory 3, File 42, p. 4)

Particularly noteworthy is the information contained in the above-mentioned letter, dated 11 February 1925, from the Signagi District Executive Committee. It reveals who in fact decided on the reinstatement of expelled villagers. The document states:

“In addition, the Special Troika attached to the Information Point of the Signagi District reviewed complaints regarding various expelled persons, for which copies of the resolutions are attached herewith. Annex: 1. Mariam Vachnadze 2. Giorgi Vachnadze, son of Solomon 3. Konstantine Vachnadze, son of Luarsab; Maria Vachnadze, daughter of Mikheil; and her daughter, Elene Natsvlishvili 4. Margalita Abkhaz 5. Elene Vachnadze, daughter of Vakhtang”

Other expelled individuals from different villages are also listed.
(Georgian National Archives, Fund 284, Inventory 3, File 42, pp. 4–6)

The document is signed:

“Copy, Special Troika at the Signagi District Information Point.”
(Georgian National Archives, Fund 284, Inventory 3, File 42, p. 6)

[This refers to the notorious “Special Troika” of Signagi District, composed of Varamašvili, Aivazov, and Gegechkori—the same body that handed down death sentences to those accused of participating in the August 1924 armed uprising.]

The archival materials preserve the tragic stories of expelled villagers in the form of petitions addressed to the chairman of the Central Executive Committee of Georgia. For example, in a petition dated 14 October 1924 from Shakro and Kote Natsvlishvili of Bodbe-Khevi village, titled “Request”, they wrote:

“At the end of August this year, following the unrest, on 12 September, we two brothers were expelled from our house, after our movable property was destroyed and immovable and livestock confiscated. Later some items were returned, but then taken again. It is true that our father and ancestors were clergymen, but our family’s origins are peasant, which can be confirmed by questioning our relatives, and we have no connection to the nobility, which historically did not exist in the Kiziki region.”
(Georgian National Archives, Fund 284, Inventory 3, File 42, p. 14)

The petitioners, 80 and 70 years old, stressed that they had always remained distant from politics.

They also added:

“If any cultural or educational work has begun in our village, we have always stood at its head, never sparing our knowledge and ability for the benefit of the village and its residents. It was through our initiative that a library-reading room, a theater hall, and a school building were established, irrigation water was brought, a cooperative shop was organized, and performances were staged.”
(Georgian National Archives, Fund 284, Inventory 3, File 42, p. 14)

Another petition, dated 3 November 1924, was submitted by Zakaria Natsvlishvili, describing his family’s suffering:

“My past—small public activity—was supposed to guarantee that no harm would come to me in September of this year, when local residents began expelling nobles from the villages… Nevertheless, my family and I could not escape the common fate of the nobility, and today we too have been driven out… At present all my property has been confiscated, my house destroyed, and as an old man I wander hungry with my family in Signagi. It seems that my misfortune lies in the fact that my father was a priest, and we are his descendants.”
(Georgian National Archives, Fund 284, Inventory 3, File 42, p. 15)

As noted earlier, the authorities’ responses to such petitions are reflected in the same official documents: Shakro Natsvlishvili was allowed to return and given some property, while his brother Kote was denied both property and the right to resettle in the village.
(Georgian National Archives, Fund 284, Inventory 3, File 42, p. 5)

It is significant that expulsions of villagers continued in subsequent years. For instance, in the “disenfranchised” voter lists (khmachamortmeulebi) of Telavi town from 1928, alongside individuals of various social origins and occupations, expelled villagers are also listed explicitly as “expelled.”
(Kakheti Regional Archive, Telavi District Executive Committee, General Department, File 5, pp. 1–20)

We have sought to present this material without deep analysis, from a neutral perspective, so that readers themselves may draw conclusions about the Soviet repressions in Kakheti’s Telavi and Signagi districts during and after the August 1924 uprising.

In conclusion, we note only this: in our view, the expulsions of villagers during the August 1924 anti-Soviet armed uprising were not spontaneous events. They were orchestrated by the Soviet authorities. On the one hand, by mobilizing peasants, the regime terrorized and intimidated those deemed opponents of Soviet power; on the other hand, the active expulsion of villagers from Kakheti served to deprive Kakutsa Cholokashvili’s detachment of local support bases and supplies from the villages.

The archives also contain additional documents whose content cannot be fully covered or analyzed within a single study. Although the materials cited above are grim and harrowing, we believe that in order to shed light on the diverse forms of Soviet repression, further research on this subject is essential.