Bookvica

[GEORGIA IN HOPES OF INDEPENDENCE] Gruziya s tochki zreniya mezhdunarodnogo prava [i.e. Georgia from the Point of View of International Law]

Gvazava, G.

Item #2193

Tbilisi: Tip. V. Kiladze, 1917. 32 pp. 20,4x14,2 cm.

In original publisher’s printed wrappers. Tears of the spine, pre-revolutionary stamp (“Book and Newspaper Agency ‘Imereti.’ Kutaisi”) on the title page, but otherwise in a very good condition.Scarce. First edition. Text in Russian.
Historically important book justifying the legitimacy of Georgia’s independence and territorial integrity, written by Giorgi Gvazava (1869–1941), a Georgian jurist and a founding member of the Georgian National Democratic Party, in 1917. After Georgia's declaration of independence (26 May 1918), Gvazava was elected to the Constituent Assembly and headed the National Democratic faction there. The 1921 Red Army invasion of Georgia forced Gvazava into exile to Paris where he died in 1941.
The book came out a few months after the February Revolution, as the approaching end of WWI sparked hopes for new political borders. The text focuses on the 1783 Treaty of Georgievsk, according to which, the author believes, Georgia’s territorial borders should be reinstituted. Gvazava argues that the treaty led to the division of the country under the rampant Russification and defines the territories of Georgia as of 1783. He further demonstrates the country's national unity through the 1790 alliance, in which the King of Imereti and the Princes of Mingrelia and Guria openly recognized the supremacy of the Eastern Georgian monarch. The author also cites articles from the treaty, arguing that the King of Eastern Georgia was only obliged to follow Russian authority in international relations, remaining otherwise an independent monarch. Near the close, Gvazava argues that Georgia’s Muslim regions, though not included in the treaty, should be part of Georgia’s new political map, as King Erekle’s sole goal was to reclaim South Georgia with the help of “deceitful Russia.”
In 1919, the government of the first Democratic Republic of Georgia sought international recognition at the Paris Peace Conference. Wary of Russia, Western countries hesitated to formally recognize the independence of Georgia's newly-formed democratic institutions. As a result, Georgia's request to join the League of Nations was denied, ultimately paving the way for Russia’s occupation of the country in February 1921.
Overall, historically important book, documenting Georgia’s early struggle for independence.
No copies found in Worldcat.

Price: $750.00

Status: On Hold