Tergdaleulebi
| Tergdaleulebi | |
|---|---|
| თერგდალეულები | |
| Country | Russian Georgia |
| Leader(s) | Ilia Chavchavadze |
| Dates of operation | 1860s–1870s |
| Ideology | Georgian nationalism Classical liberalism |
| Headquarters | Tbilisi |
Tergdaleulebi (Georgian: თერგდალეულები, translit.: tergdaleulebi) was a cultural, social, literary, and political movement in Georgia. The movement spearheaded the revival of Georgian nationalism during the second half of the 19th century and ensured the survival of the Georgian language, literature, and culture in Russian Georgia.
History
In 1801, eastern Georgian Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti was annexed into Russian Empire. Although incorporation into the empire ended Muslim invasions from the south (Qajar Iran and Ottoman Empire) and brought peace to Georgia, the loss of sovereignty, as well as the abolition of the autocephalous status of the Georgian Orthodox Church by Russian Tsar, gave rise to romantic nationalism which idealized Georgia's past and yearned for independence. However, any attempt to restore Georgian statehood, most notably 1832 Georgian plot, was suppressed by Tsarist authorities. Members of Georgia's royal Bagrationi dynasty were deported to the Russian provinces and a Russian viceroy was installed by Moscow to rule Georgia without giving it any kind of autonomy within the empire.[citation needed]
Against the backdrop of such developments, the "Tergdaleulebi" movement sprang up in the 1860s throughout Georgia. "Tergdaleulebi" translates as "those who have drunk the water of the Terek river". Since the Terek river functions as the geographical boundary between Georgia and Russia, the term began to be used to refer to those young intellectuals who went to pursue education in Russian universities and brought new European ideas to Georgia from there. The movement originally arose from literary quarrels about linguistic questions, with "Tergdaleulebi" demanding to reform Georgian language in order to make it more accessible to ordinary people. While "Tergdaleulebi" wanted to remove what they considered as "orthographic and grammatical archaisms", their opponents considered this to be a degradation of the language. Dubbed as "the sons", Tergdaleulebi were involved in the literary quarrels between "the sons and the fathers", challenging their opponents with poems. Their main publishing outlets were Tsiskari and Sakartvelos Moambe. The movement mostly consisted of noblemen who had relinquished their privileges. They were opposed to Tsarism and serfdom, while promoting liberalism and nationalism. The term "Tergdaleulebi" was initially used as a pejorative by its opponents, who equated "drinking from the Terek river" with the abandonment of traditional Georgian customs. "Tergdaleulebi" challenged the old Georgian nobility which had pledged its allegiance to the Tsar. The movement was led by Ilia Chavchavadze, a Russian-educated Georgian tavadi (a feudal title in Georgia) who renounced his privileges. Tergdaleulebi were inspired by contemporary European movements and numerous revolutions which sprang up in Europe during their student years. They paid particular attention to the events in Italy and the struggle of Giuseppe Garibaldi, whom Chavchavadze admired for many years.[citation needed]
The movement's main goals were to revive Georgian identity, culture, language, literature and national church. They challenged the House of Romanov's policy of forced Russification. They promoted nationalism to protect Georgia from foreign influences, stimulated by the rule of the Russian bureaucracy and economic and demographic dominance of the Armenian bourgeoisie in the capital city of Tbilisi. In 1879, they founded Society for the Spreading of Literacy among Georgians to promote Georgian language and literature among Georgians. The Society ran a network of schools, bookshops and libraries throughout the country; trained teachers, and sponsored Georgian-language journals and magazines. The organization was instrumental in the Georgian national revival in the latter half of the 19th century.[1][2] As the nobility declined and capitalism progressed, which strengthened Armenian economic dominance in Georgia, Chavchavadze established The Bank of the Nobility to protect Georgian land from being sold off by poor Georgian noblemen to rich Armenian bourgeoisie. He coined the phrase "Ena, Mamuli, Sartsmunoeba" ("Language, Homeland, Religion"), which is widely acknowledged as the slogan of Georgian nationalism.[3][4] Chavchavadze and Tergdaleulebi were involved in founding many other public, cultural and educational organizations ("The Dramatic Society", "The Historical-Ethnographical Society of Georgia", etc.). Their main aim was to free Georgia from Russian political rule and Armenian economic dominance.[citation needed]
Tergdaleulebi denounced serfdom and feudalism. In his famous work Otaraant Kvrivi, Chavchavadze decried what he considered as "a broken bridge" between aristocracy and peasants, which reflected the general mood of Tergdaleulebi's opposition to serfdom. Instead, Chavchavadze and his associates promoted liberal freedoms and called for the unity of all Georgians and put national interests above class and provincial divisions. They considered serfdom to be damaging to "a lively bond that unites the nation", while their opponents ("fathers") upheld aristocratic tradition. Although Tergdaleulebi considered one of their main goals to achieve political independence from the Russian Empire, their vision did not envisage an outright revolt for independence; instead, they thought achieving some kind of autonomy within a reformed Russian Empire to be the first step towards that direction. Thus, Tergdaleulebi demanded autonomy within the reformed Russian Empire, with greater cultural freedom, promotion of the Georgian language, and support for Georgian educational institutions and the national church, whose independence had been suppressed by the Russian government. With this goal, Chavchavadze was eventually elected to Russian Duma, where he lobbied for Georgian autonomy.[citation needed]
In the 1870s, Tergdaleulebi split into two groups. Chavchavadze and his proponents (Akaki Tsereteli, Iakob Gogebashvili, Vazha-Pshavela, Aleksandre Kazbegi and others) became known as Pirveli Dasi, while Niko Nikoladze, Giorgi Tsereteli, Sergei Meskhi and others as Meore Dasi.[5]
Legacy
Tergdaleulebi played an immense role in the preservation of Georgian language, culture, literature and national identity. Due to his role in the movement, Ilia Chavchavadze is considered to be "the founding father of modern Georgian nation" and "the Uncrowned King of the Nation". Tergdaleulebi later became a symbol of the struggle for independence for Georgian nationalists in the 1980s against the Soviet Union, and they bear influence in modern-day Georgia as well.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ↑ Stephen F. Jones (2005), Socialism in Georgian Colors: The European Road to Social Democracy, 1883-1917, p. 37. Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-01902-4 Search this book on
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- ↑ Lang, David Marshall (1962), A Modern History of Georgia, p. 109. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
- ↑ Chkhartishvili 2013, p. 192: "The main designer and contributor to the Georgian nationalist project was the eminent Georgian writer and public worker Ilia Chachcavadze (1837-1907)."
- ↑ Chkhartishvili 2013, p. 195: "In 1860-1880s the premature Georgian political nationalism was replaced by fully developed Georgian cultural nationalism. As it was already mentioned, its main author was Ilia Chavchavadze who, with his co-workers, was an active part of the societal life of the 1860s."
- ↑ Gafrindashvili M., Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia, V. 4, Tbilisi, 1979, p. 657
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