The 1991–1992 Georgian coup d'état, also known as the Tbilisi War, or the Putsch of 1991–1992, was an internal military conflict that took place in the newly independent Republic of Georgia following the fall of the Soviet Union, from 22 December 1991 to 6 January 1992. The coup, which triggered the Georgian Civil War, pitted factions of the National Guard loyal to President Zviad Gamsakhurdia against several paramilitary organizations unified at the end of 1991 under the leadership of warlords Tengiz Kitovani, Jaba Ioseliani and Tengiz Sigua.
The Tbilisi War ended with the exile of the first democratically elected president of Georgia, after two weeks of violent clashes on Rustaveli Avenue, the main thoroughfare of Tbilisi, mainly consisting of a siege of the Georgian Parliament building, where Gamsakhurdia was isolated in a bunker. Following Gamsakhurdia's fall, a Military Council, led by Kitovani, Ioseliani and Sigua, took power in Tbilisi and assured the return of Eduard Shevardnadze, the former Soviet Georgian leader and the last Soviet Foreign Affairs Minister, to hand over power to him. During the civil war, the supporters of the ousted president staged an unsuccessful revolt to return him to power. Shevardnadze gradually sidelined Kitovani and Ioseliani, and ruled the country until he was ousted in the bloodless 2003 "Rose Revolution".
In 2005, the Parliament of Georgia passed a resolution denouncing the events of 1991–1992 as an "anticonstitutional armed coup d'état". According to a 2020 poll by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers, 76% of Georgians think that the coup was harmful for Georgia.
Historical background Fall of the Soviet Union Following the Red Army invasion of 1921 and Bolshevik takeover, Georgia became part of the Soviet Union (formed in 1922). Despite having formally a status of a sovereign "union republic" (the Socialist Soviet Republic of Georgia), nationalist feelings demanding independence developed in Georgia largely in the 1970s, feelings that were repeated across the Soviet Union. Major economic and social problems, and repression of nationalist movements led to several protests in Georgia, culminating with the 9 April 1989 Tragedy, when a protest in Tbilisi was repressed by the authorities, resulting in the death of 21 people and the arrest of the main opposition leaders, including Zviad Gamsakhurdia.
The Tbilisi Tragedy, coupled with the military failure in Afghanistan and the collapse of the Iron Curtain that separated Western world from the Eastern Bloc led to a chain reaction that saw the Baltic states declare their independence in 1990. Soon, Soviet authorities, under pressure of mass revolts, allowed multi-party elections in October 1990, which saw Round Table, the alliance led by Zviad Gamsakhurdia, winning a majority of the seats in the Supreme Council, which ended 69 years of Communist Party. However, the previously united Georgian nationalist opposition split into two main factions in May 1990. Gamsakhurdia's tenure began with groups such as the National Democratic Party of Gia Chanturia and the National Independence Party of Irakli Tsereteli challenging his authority with street demonstrations, rallies, hunger strikes etc.
Ethnic Conflicts
The dissolution of the Soviet Union led to a rebirth of tensions between certain ethnic groups across the Union republics, Georgia being no exception. Adamon Nikhas, a communist movement in South Ossetia, started to demand greater autonomy from Tbilisi as early as the late 1980s, a request denied by the central government in November 1989. Tensions between Tbilisi and Tskhinvali rose until a declaration of sovereignty of South Ossetia from Georgia within the Soviet Union in September 1990, following which Tbilisi retaliated by abolishing the Autonomous Oblast of South Ossetia.
In January 1991, the militarization of the conflict divided Tskhinvali in two, thus launching a civil war that lasted until June 1992 and that lead to the creation of the separatist Republic of South Ossetia.
Meanwhile, Abkhazia fell into ethnic conflict. As early as 1989, violent clashes between Georgian and Abkhaz nationalists plunged the region into violent conflict that later extended into a "war of laws" between the legislatures of Tbilisi and of the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Abkhazia.
Prelude Declaration of Independence
On 9 April 1991, two years after the Tbilisi Tragedy and ten days after a largely victorious referendum on the subject, the Georgian Supreme Council declared the country's independence, appointing famed dissident and Georgian nationalist Zviad Gamsakhurdia as interim president. The latter was eventually elected president with 86% of the vote in an election that saw an 83% participation rate on 26 May. Gamsakhurdia was notably granted presidential powers by the Parliament, including: Veto power over any law approved in Parliament; War declarations and power to declare martial law; Appointment powers over the Prime Minister, the presiding judge of the Supreme Court, the Prosecutor General, and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces; A total immunity
First signs of the crisis In January 1991, Zviad Gamsakhurdia signed an executive decree creating the National Guard of Georgia, a prelude to the future Georgian Army, under the jurisdiction of the new Ministry of Internal Affairs. At its head, he appointed Tengiz Kitovani, recently elected to the Supreme Council of Georgia with Gamsakhurdia's party, with a mission to recruit 20,000 capable soldiers. Meanwhile, the government attempted to reign in the various paramilitary organizations which had recently emerged in the country and were utilized by the political forces. In February, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, while attempting to shut down the several paramilitary organizations, arrested ten members of the opposition National Democratic Party (NDP) and 56 members of the opposition Mkhedrioni paramilitary, including its leader, Jaba Ioseliani, a former criminal-turned-theater critique, for illegal possession of the weapons in Kakheti.
The first signs of crisis also developed within the government on 9 August 1991, with an argument in the Supreme Council of Georgia between Gamsakhurdia and Vazha Adamia, the leader of the Merab Kostava Society, a political and paramilitary organization that was part of the Round Table coalition. Adamia, who was head of the parliamentary commission on defense, national security and order, would eventually resign in September 1991, with his organization joining the opposition. According to some sources, the confrontation was caused by the conflict between Adamia and the head of the National Guard of Georgia, Tengiz Kitovani. Gamsakhurdia sided with the latter.
Kitovani Leaves
Kitovani largely collaborated with Gamsakhurdia's war in South Ossetia, launching several assaults on the regions outside of Tbilisi's control between February and June 1991. However, the situation changed drastically during the summer of that same year.
On 18 August, three ministers, including Prime Minister Tengiz Sigua, announced their support for the opposition and resigned from their posts, accusing the President of becoming a "totalitarian demagogue." Gamsakhurdia took himself the helm of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Justice. An attempted putsch in Moscow the next day brought a new controversy. The State Committee on the State of Emergency ordered all republics, including Georgia, to disband their new armed forces. Gamsakhurdia issued a presidential decree bringing the troops entirely within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The position of commander of the National Guard was abolished, with Kitovani being dismissed. According to Gamsakhurdia, he never had the intention to disband the National Guard, and he simply reorganized it to protect it from the Moscow coup leaders. Gamsakhurdia later would allege in October 1991 that Kitovani together with Sigua had been threatening him with armed mutiny in spring of 1991 over disagreements on cadre policy. In response to his decree, Kitovani and the opposition accused Gamsakhurdia of secretly siding with the Moscow coup plotters. Tengiz Kitovani, opposing his decision, left Tbilisi with a force of around 15,000 armed men and set up camp in the Rkoni Gorge, around 40 kilometers north of the capital. He was soon joined by Tengiz Sigua and former Foreign Affairs Minister Giorgi Khoshtaria. Meanwhile, on 26 August Gamsakhurdia banned the Communist Party for allegedly supporting the Moscow coup, which had 60 seats in the Supreme Council at the time. Tbilisi converted the local bureau of the KGB into a Department of National Security, which became a Ministry a few weeks later. A National Security Council was also created, proving that Gamsakhurdia wished to see a military infrastructure independent from Moscow.
First clashes
On 2 September, the situation becomes violent when demonstrations organized by the People's Front of Georgia and the NDP to ask for Jaba Ioseliani's freedom were dispersed by MIA forces. According to the non-government organization Human Rights Watch, the protesters, assembled on Rustaveli Avenue, were beaten with batons, while soldiers shot at the crowd. The incident resulted in three civilians getting injured.
Following the clash, the situation in the central Tbilisi progressively spiralled out of control. The barricades were erected by the opposition supporters in front of the headquarters of the opposition parties and other places, the daily demonstrations started on the Rustaveli Avenue, in front of the Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi Television and Radio Department and other places, the transport network was paralyzed. On 11 September, the 27 political parties signed a resignation request for Gamsakhurdia. Meanwhile, on 9 September, Gamsakhurdia issued a decree creating the Defence Ministry which incorporated the National Guard under his personal control. On 17 September, Giorgi Chanturia, leader of the NDP, was arrested by law enforcement, being accused of being behind the construction of barricades. Giorgi Khaindrava, a member of the Georgian National Congress political party, was also arrested.
Gamsakhurdia called his followers from the all provinces of Georgia to gather in Tbilisi and clear the streets from barricades. On 21 September, the government supporters launched an assault to clear the Rustaveli Avenue from the barricades blocking the street. On 22 September, a group of several dozens of protesters who were on hungerstrike in front of Parliament were violently dispersed by 250 presidential guards and around 200 "furies", women partisans of Gamsakhurdia. On the night of 22–23 September, the situation fell even further into violence when around 5,000 Gamsakhurdia supporters, led by deputy Avtandil Rtskhiladze, entered the headquarters of the NDP, where they faced some 800 members of the opposition.
Arrival of the armed opposition and the State of Emergency On 23 September, the rebel factions of the Georgian National Guard led by Tengiz Kitovani entered Tbilisi to support the opposition in the clashes and seized the television station. On 24 September, Zviad Gamsakhurdia proclaimed a state of emergency. One of the first armed clashes which resulted in casualties occurred on 25 September, when the rebel units of the National Guard attempted to take over a power station in Tbilisi but were driven back by police. Four died as a result of clash.