Georgian Civil War

This article is about the 1991–1993 civil war in Georgia. For the 15th century civil war in the Kingdom of Georgia, seeTriarchy and collapse of the Kingdom of Georgia.For theAmerican Civil Warin theState of Georgia,seeGeorgia in the American Civil War.

TheGeorgian Civil Warlasted from 1991 to 1993 in theSouth Caucasiancountry ofGeorgia.It consisted of inter-ethnic and international conflicts in the regions ofSouth OssetiaandAbkhazia,as well as the violent militarycoup d'étatagainst the first democratically-electedPresident of Georgia,Zviad Gamsakhurdia,and his subsequent uprising in an attempt to regain power.

Georgian Civil War
Part ofDissolution of the Soviet Union,Post-Soviet conflicts,Abkhaz-Georgian conflictandGeorgian-Ossetian conflict
Location of Georgia (including Abkhazia and South Ossetia) and the Russian part ofNorth Caucasus
Date 1991 – December 31, 1993 (2 years, 1 week and 2 days) Location Georgiaproper (Tbilisi,Rustavi,Mingrelia,Imereti,Guria);Abkhazia;South Ossetia Result Gamsakhurdia government expunged Abkhazian and South Ossetian separatists gain control of most of their claims State Council takes control of Georgia proper Georgia joins theCommonwealth of Independent States
Belligerents
Government of Georgia(until 6 January 1992) National Guard of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia's government in exile (since 6 January 1992) Zviadists Supported by: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria	Military Council(until March 1992) State Council(until October 1992) Eduard Shevardnadze's government Georgian Armed Forces Internal Troops of Georgia National Guard of Georgia Supported by: Russia(since October 1993)	South Ossetianseparatists (1991-1992) Abkhazianseparatists (since 1992) Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus(since 1992) Supported by: Russia
Commanders and leaders
Zviad Gamsakhurdia† Loti Kobalia Zurab Iremadze Akaki Eliava	Eduard Shevardnadze Tengiz Sigua Jaba Ioseliani Tengiz Kitovani Shota Kviraia Giorgi Karkarashvili Boris Yeltsin Eduard Baltin	Lyudvig Chibirov Vladislav Ardzinba Musa Shanibov Shamil Basayev

While the Gamsakhurdia-led rebellion was eventually defeated by theEduard Shevardnadze-led government, the South Ossetia and Abkhazia conflicts resulted in the de facto secession of both regions from Georgia. As a result, both conflicts have lingered on, with occasional flare-ups.

Background

Georgian independence and ethnic conflicts

During thedissolution of the Soviet Union,an opposition movement in Georgia organized mass protests starting in 1988, culminating in a declaration of sovereignty in May 1990 and independence on April 9, 1991, which was recognized in December. Zviad Gamsakhurdia was elected President in May.

Meanwhile, ethnic minority separatist movements, primarily on the part of theOssetiansand theAbkhaz,demanded greater autonomy or secession from Georgia. A petition for a separateAbkhazian SSRwas submitted to the Soviet Union in March 1989, followed by anti-Georgian riots in July. TheSouth OssetianAutonomous Oblast declared independence from Georgia SSR in July 1990. TheGeorgiangovernment attempted to assert its control in South Ossetia, and on January 5, 1991, theNational Guard of GeorgiaenteredTskhinvali,the South Ossetian capital, and fighting broke out in and around the city. TheGeorgian-Ossetian Conflictwas the first major crisis faced by Gamsakhurdia's government.

Civil unrest

In August 1991, theGeorgian National Guardlaunched a mutiny against President Zviad Gamsakhurdia and seized a government broadcast station in September.Following the police dispersion of a large opposition demonstration inTbilision September 2, several opposition leaders were arrested and their offices raided and pro-opposition newspapers were closed. The National Guard of Georgia, the major paramilitary force in the country, split into two factions; pro- and anti-Gamsakhurdia. Another paramilitary organization, theMkhedrioni,led byJaba Ioseliani,also sided with the opposition.

Demonstrations and barricade-building marked the next three months, with sporadic clashes between pro- and anti-Gamsakhurdia forces. On September 24 a state of emergency was declared inTbilisi.By late October 1991, most of the leadership of the opposition National Democratic Party (NDP), headed byGiorgi Chanturia,had been arrested. A stand-off followed as the sacked National Guard leaderTengiz Kitovani's armed supporters withdrew to the outskirts ofTbilisiwhere they remained until late December 1991. The opposition claimed that President Gamsakhurdia had left no chance to peacefully settle the crisis.

Coup d'état

Main article:1991-92 Georgian coup d'état

On 20 December 1991, Kitovani's fighters returned in force to begin the final onslaught against Gamsakhurdia. The armed opposition releasedJaba Ioselianiand mounted barricades in central Tbilisi. On December 22, the rebels seized several official buildings, and attacked the Parliament building where Gamsakhurdia and his supporters were holding the position. Simultaneously, the rebels, already controlling most of the city, brutally suppressed pro-Gamsakhurdia protests in and around Tbilisi. They fired on the crowds, killing and wounding several people.

On 6 January 1992, President Gamsakhurdia with other members of his government was forced to flee first toArmeniaand then toChechnya,where he led a form of government-in-exile for the next 18 months.

Within several days of the fighting, the main boulevard in the city,Rustaveli Avenue,had been destroyed, and at least 113 people were killed.

"Zviadist" resistance

After the successful coup, an interim government, theMilitary Council,was formed in Georgia. Initially it was led by a triumvirate ofJaba Ioseliani,Tengiz SiguaandTengiz Kitovani,but it was soon chaired byEduard Shevardnadze,the formerSovietforeign ministerwho returned to Tbilisi in March 1992. The 1992 elections established Shevardnadze as the Chairman of Parliament and the Head of State.

Zviad Gamsakhurdia, despite his absence, continued to enjoy substantial support within Georgia, especially in rural areas and in his home region ofSamegreloin western Georgia. The supporters of the ousted president, the "Zviadists", responded to the coup with spontaneous street demonstrations, which were brutally suppressed by the government forces and paramilitary groups. Clashes between pro- and anti-Gamsakhurdia forces continued throughout 1992 and 1993 withZviad Gamsakhurdia's supporters taking captive government officials and government forces retaliating with reprisal raids. One of the most serious incidents occurred inTbilision June 24, 1992, when armed Gamsakhurdia supporters seized the state television center. However, they were driven out within a few hours by the National Guard.

The armed "Zviadists" actually prevented the new government forces from gaining control of Gamsakhurdia's nativeSamegreloregion, which became the stronghold of the overthrown president's supporters. Numerous acts of violence and atrocities committed by theMkhedrioniand government forces in this region contributed to further confrontation between the local population and Shevardnadze's regime.

Following the coup and armed clashes in western Georgia,Aslan Abashidze,the leader of southwestern autonomous province ofAdjara,closed an administrative border and prevented both sides from entering Adjarian territory. This established Abashidze's authoritarian semi-separatist regime within the region, and created long-term problems in relations between the regional government and the central government of Georgia.

South Ossetian and Abkhazian wars

Main articles:1991–1992 South Ossetia WarandAbkhaz–Georgian conflict

In February 1992, the fighting escalated inSouth Ossetia,with sporadic Russian involvement. Facing interior instability and political chaos, Shevardnadze agreed to negotiations to avoid a confrontation withRussia.A cease-fire was agreed upon and on 14 July 1992, a peacekeeping operation began, consisting of a Joint Control Commission and jointRussian–Georgian–Ossetianmilitary patrols.

By the summer of 1992, tensions in another secessionist region,Abkhazia,were close to developing into a full-scaleGeorgian-Abkhaz conflict.On August 14, Georgian forces enteredAbkhaziato disarm separatist militias. By the end of September 1993, Russian-backed separatists fought back and took the region's capital,Sukhumi,after fierce fighting on September 27. Georgia's military defeat was followed by theethnic cleansing of the Georgian majorityin Abkhazia. The war produced approximately 20,000 deaths on both sides, and about 260,000 refugees andIDPs.

The 1993 civil war

During the Abkhazian war, the role of Vakhtang (Loti) Kobalia's militia, the major force of the former President's supporters, continued to be controversial. Kobalia's militia fought on the Georgian side near the village ofTamishinAbkhaziaand played an important role in defeating the Abkhaz-North Caucasian commandos. This step was assessed by Shevardnadze as a 'beginning of national reconciliation'. At the same time, they stirred their activities in anticipation of the fall of Sukhumi and public discontent with Shevardnadze's policy which they expected to follow (as they openly stated). On July 9–10, 72 deputies of the former Supreme Council that had been ousted in January 1992, held a session inZugdidiand declared the 'restoration of the legitimate government' there. Broadcasting on their TV channel became more frequent. From July to August Kobalia's militia effectively established its control in a significant part of theSamegreloprovince.

In September 1993,Zviad Gamsakhurdiatook advantage of the struggle inAbkhaziato return to the city of Zugdidi, western Georgia, and rally enthusiastic but disorganized Georgians in Samegrelo region against the demoralized and unpopular government ofEduard Shevardnadze.Although Gamsakhurdia initially represented his return as a rescue of Georgian forces after the Abkhazian disaster, he actually disarmed part of the Georgian troops retreating from the breakaway region and established his control over the significant part of Samegrelo. Ex-president's advance made Shevardnadze to join theCommonwealth of Independent States(CIS) and appeal forRussianmilitary assistance. In mid-October, the addition ofRussianweapons, supply-line security, and technical assistance turned the tide against Gamsakhurdia. On October 20, around 2,000 Russian troops moved to protect Georgian railroads.

On October 22, 1993, the government forces launched an offensive against pro-Gamsakhurdia rebels led by Colonel Loti Kobalia and, with the help of Russian military, occupied most ofSamegreloprovince. The ex-president's forces counter-attacked on October 27. Heavy fighting concentrated around the towns ofKhobiandSenaki.From November 2, following an agreement between Eduard Shevardnadze and Russian leadership,a Russian marine battalion was deployed to Poti in order to secure critical transport infrastructure,including railroads and ports, from Zviadist rebels under the direction of Admiral Eduard Baltin, commander of the Black Sea Fleet.In order to obtain this support, Shevardnadze had to agree to Georgian accession to CIS and the establishment of Russian military installations within Georgia.On November 4, 1993, the government forces broke through the defence lines of the Zviadist militias and enteredZugdidiwithout fighting on November 6.Their troops moved to the Enguri river by 9 November.Zviad Gamsakhurdiaand his bodyguards escaped to the forests chased by the government forces. He died in late December under controversial circumstances. It was later reported that Gamsakhurdia had shot himself on December 31, in a villageJikhashkari(Samegreloregion of Western Georgia). The revolt was crushed and the region was overrun by the pro-governmental paramilitaries. Several Zviadist leaders were arrested in the following years.

Aftermath

The three-year civil war produced a decade of political instability, permanent financial, economic and social crises. The situation began to stabilize in 1995. However, radical "Zviadists" organized several acts of terrorism and sabotage. They were charged for the assassination attempt of PresidentEduard Shevardnadzeon 9 February 1998. A few days later, supporters of the former president kidnapped four observers from theUnited Nations Observer Mission in Georgiafrom their compound inZugdidiin western Georgia. Some of the hostage takers surrendered, but Gocha Esebua, the leader of the Zviadist team, escaped and was killed in a shootout with police on 31 March.

On October 18, 1998, there was anattempted revoltled by ColonelAkaki Eliava,a formerZviadistofficer, nearKutaisi,Georgia's second largest city. After the collapse of the mutiny, Eliava and his followers hid in the forests ofSamegrelo.He had produced permanent problems for the government until he was shot by security officers in 2000.

On January 26, 2004, the newly elected PresidentMikheil Saakashviliofficially rehabilitated Gamsakhurdia to resolve the lingering political effects of his overthrow in an effort to "put an end to disunity in our society", as Saakashvili put it. He also released 32 Gamsakhurdia supporters arrested by Shevardnadze's government in 1993–1994.

The relationship between Georgia and the separatists in Abkhazia and South Ossetia remained tense and led to renewed warfare during the2008 South Ossetia war.

See also

• 1998 Georgian attempted mutiny
• Abkhaz–Georgian conflict
• Georgian–Ossetian conflict
• History of Georgia
• Russo-Georgian War

Further reading

• Goltz, Thomas."Georgia Diary: A Chronicle of War and Political Chaos in the Post-Soviet Caucasus". M. E. Sharpe (2006).ISBN0-7656-1710-2

External links

• the 1991–1992 Coup d'État
• the South Ossetian war
• Georgia and Abkhazia, 1992–1993: The War of Datchas
• Timeline of events in the Abkhazian war
• the 1998 mutiny
• the 1998 terrorist acts
• Georgian Warrior– Military history, army, navy, air forces, photos