Tbilisi State University (TSU)
Career Guidance and Career Planning Manager
Cultural Studies, Art History
PhD Candidate
Tbilisi, Georgia
Abstract
The Democratic Republic of Georgia, proclaimed on May 26, 1918, became the first successful experience of restoring modern Georgian statehood. During the period of the Democratic Republic of Georgia (1918-1921), despite numerous internal and external challenges, the country managed to implement a number of educational, cultural, social, legislative, and other reforms.
The newly established republic considered freedom of the press one of the important foundations of state development, which contributed to the revitalization of publishing activities and the republication of previously prohibited works. Despite these reforms, the country’s independence lasted only 1,028 days due to the military intervention of Soviet Russia.
From 1921 onward, the Democratic Republic of Georgia became part of the Soviet political sphere, and everything associated with the idea of independence, its institutions, and symbols became the subject of deliberate ideological pressure. In this process, Soviet media played a particularly significant role, serving as a means through which the Bolshevik regime disseminated its political and historical narratives.
The present study aims to analyze the representation of the Democratic Republic of Georgia in Bolshevik media discourse from 1921 to 1953 (the so-called Stalinist period). The research is based on historical-comparative, content analysis, and discourse analysis methods. The primary research materials include the newspaper “Kommunisti” and the satirical-humorous publications “Niangi” and “Tartarozi.”
The analysis of these publications demonstrates that “Kommunisti” systematically constructed a negative and stigmatized interpretation of the Menshevik government, while “Niangi” and “Tartarozi” visually reinforced the same narrative through caricature, grotesque, and irony.
As a result, Soviet media became one of the key instruments of memory politics, through which the discrediting of the Democratic Republic of Georgia and the establishment of persistent negative perceptions within public consciousness were achieved.
Thus, the representation of the Democratic Republic of Georgia in Soviet media discourse emerges as an interconnected process of constructing collective memory, transforming historical narratives, and legitimizing political power.