by Press
Bureau of the
President of Georgia in exile;
Grozny, February, 1993
Zviad Gamsakhurdia was born in
Tbilisi, he is son of widely popular Georgian writer Konstantine
Gamsakhurdia. When still
at school, in 1956, he was arrested for his patriotic and
antidictatorship activities, for creating underground organization
and spreading proclamations against soviet totalitarian regime. In
1957 he was released together with his friends after the protests
of Georgian writers. In the same year he entered the University of
Tbilisi and graduated it in 1962 (The faculty of Roman and German
Languages and philology), as a specialist of the English and
American literature. He began
lecturing at University of Tbilisi and Foreign Languages Institute
from 1966. In the same year he becomes the member of Writers Union
of Georgia In 1973 there was
his promotion at the Tbilisi University, where he received the
degree of a candidate of sciences for his thesis 'The world
conception of Rustaveli and English translations of his poem'. From 70-ies he became active member of the
dissident and democratic movement in Soviet Union, had close
relations with prominent Moscow dissidents Andrei Sakharov,
Andrei Tverdokhlebov, Sergei Kovalev, Gleb Jakunin, Alexsander
Ginsburg, Juri Orlov, Juri Gastew, Alexander Lavrit, and
others. He participated in Moscow underground periodical 'The
Chronicle of the current events', edited by Sergey Kovalev
and others. In 1974 he
organized underground offset printing of Solshenicin's book 'The
Gulag Archipelago' and other "samizdat" works
and together with the other activists of democratic movement began
widespread them in Tbilissi and Moscow. At the same time he and Merab
Kostava, prominent Georgian dissident, founded in Tbilissi The
Initiative group of Defense of Human Rights and began transmitting
information to the western mass media about the abuses of Human
Rights and suppression of religion and Georgian culture by soviet
totalitarian rule. They defended national language and culture
from the russificative policy of Shevardnadze and his
communist party cultural committee. In 1975 Zviad Gamsakhurdia became a member of the
first soviet group of "Amnesty International"
which was founded in Moscow by V.Turchin and A.Tverdoklebov.
In the same year he began editing and publishing of the
underground literary and political periodical 'Okroc Satsmisi'
('The Golden Fleece'). In the same year he was dismissed from
the job at the University of Tbilisi for the dissident activity. In 1976 he established the first Helsinki
group in Georgia and began editing and publishing the underground
political periodical 'Sakartvelos Moambe' ('Georgian Herald'). In April 1977 he was expelled from the
Writers' Union for "antisoviet" activity and arrested
together with Merab Kostava by the Georgian KGB. In
prison he several times announced hungerstrike and in august 1977
he was sent to Moscow Letfortowo prison and then to the KGB
psychiatric "Institute" of Serbski, where he was
for 4 month. After recognizing him as mentally save, he was
returned to Tbilissi jail in may 1978, having received 3 years
prison and 2 years exile. In the same year the United States
Congress proposed Z.Gamsakhurdia as a candidate for Noble
Prize of Peace, together with other members of the Helsinki
organizations in Soviet Union. In the same year A.Sakharov
and V.Turchin addressed the world publicity concerning the
9 leading political prisoners, among which was Z.Gamsakhurdia's
name. All these prisoners were sent to the western countries.
Z.Gamsakhurdia's exile to the west would do a great harm to the
national and democratic movement of Georgia and by that reason he
decided to make a seeming "repentance" on the trial,
what was a tactical retreat in order to stay in Soviet Union. This
step was also approved by Merab Kostava and all true
patriots. After the trial he
was sent to Nogai desert (North Caspian sea shore), village
Kochubey and spent about 1 year in exile, after which he was
released, returned back to Tbilissi and continued his political
and Human Rights defense activity. He published again underground
periodicals: "Sakartvelo" (1983), "Matiane"
("Annals", 1987-1988), "Vestnik
Gruzii" (in Russian, 1989) and was, together with Merab
Kostava, one of the organizers and active participants of
almost all protest actions, strikes, hungerstrikes, meetings and
demonstrations in Georgia during 1987-1990. On April 9th 1989 he
was arrested for organizing of the meeting which was ended by a
massacre by soviet troops. After 40 days he was released after the
public protests and continued his activity. On October 13th Merab
Kostava died in "car accident", organized by KGB. At
the same time anonymous threats continued towards Zviad
Gamsakhurdia, there were two unsuccessful attempts of
assassinating him, but the activists of national movement
organized groups to guard him, and KGB terrorists could not
realize their plans. In 1990 Zviad
Gamsakhurdia contributed greatly to working out the law of the
multiparty elections, it's adoption and it's realization. In the
same year he took part in organization of students protest actions
at the University and the railway strike in Western Georgia
("Samtredia action") against the attempts of soviet
authorities to prohibit democratic elections in the country. On the parliamentary elections of 28th 1990
an absolute majority of Georgia's population supported the "Mrgvali
Magida" ("Round Table") political organizations
and it's acknowledged leader Zviad Gamsakhurdia. and at the
first National Parliamentary session he was unanimously elected
Chairmen of the Georgian Supreme Council. On the 31th of march 1991 Supreme Council
under his leadership organized first referendum on the restoration
of independence of Georgia and won it by 90 %. On the 9th of April 1991 Supreme Council
adopted an act of restoring of the Independence of Georgia. On April 14th Supreme Council elected Z.Gamsakhurdia
President of Georgia, what was confirmed by nationwide
presidential elections on 26th of May 1991 (87%), supervised by
international observers. In
1991 the Academy of Sciences of Georgia conferred to him the
degree of a doctor of philology for his book "The symbolic
and allegoric interpretation of 'A Knight in the Panther's
Skin'". In September
- October 1991 the defeated communist nomenklatura led by E.Shevardnadze
together with paramilitary criminal groups, consisted of former
national guardsmen and collaborationist parties, hostile to
"Round Table" began coup and bloody disorders in
Tbilissi and in December, supported by criminal groups of "Mkhedrioni"
and the soviet troops of Transcaucasian Military District,
attacked and bombed Parliament House. After the 16 days of
straggle Z.Gamsakhurdia left Tbilissi, in order to avoid
further bloodshed and civil war. From January 6th to January 15th he stayed in Armenia and
then flew with his family, wife Manana and two children to Grozny,
Chechen Republic where President D.Dudaev gave him
temporary shelter. President's home in Tbilisi was robbed and
burnt by the criminals of "Mkhedrioni" and "Guard". Zviad Gamsakhurdia remains legal
President of Georgia in exile, because he don't resign and no
legal impeachment was provided by the legal parliament of Georgia.
In Georgia continues civil war and destabilization, the country is
near to political, and economic catastrophe, in spite to the false
illegal communist "elections", which brought to power Shevardnadze,
old nomenklatura and mafia. President in exile calls only to the
peaceful political fight and civil disobedience, not armed
violence. Zviad
Gamsakhurdia is the Chairmen of the Helsinki Union of
Georgia and Society of the Saint Ilia the Righteous. He
is the Speaker of the "Round Table - Free Georgia". Zviad Gamsakhurdia is married, has three
sons. Besides his political activities he is a writer and
translator, a literary scholar and theologian. Grozny, February, 1993
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