Historical Aspects of the Activities of the “Committee of Independent Georgia” in Turkey

Abstract

The “Committee of Independent Georgia,” founded in 1914 in Geneva by Georgian patriots, played a significant role in the history of the struggle for the restoration of Georgia’s sovereignty. Among its founders and members were numerous prominent representatives of the Georgian intelligentsia of the time. With the outbreak of the First World War, they established close relations with influential German political figures and formally concluded an agreement according to which the German government undertook the obligation to recognize Georgia’s sovereignty in the event of victory in the war and to become its active ally.

Following the conclusion of this agreement with Germany, the Committee placed on its agenda the issue of signing a similar document with Turkey. The German Embassy in Istanbul actively participated in the negotiations with the Ottoman authorities on this matter. Germany’s strong support played a decisive role in the conclusion, in September 1914, of an agreement between the Ottoman government and the Committee for the Independence of Georgia, according to which Turkey officially declared its readiness to assist the Georgian side in its struggle for independence.

The present study examines the memoirs of one of the founders of the “Committee of Independent Georgia”, Giorgi Kereselidze, which describe numerous interesting facts and events related to the organization’s activities in Turkey