Tbilisi State University
Teacher
Source Studies
PhD Candidate
Tbilisi, Georgia
sartania.mikheil@mail.ru
Abstract
The Socialist-Revolutionary Party occupied a distinctive place in the political life of the Democratic Republic of Georgia (1918–1921), and one of its leading figures was Leo Shengelaia. He served as Chairman of the Party’s Central Committee and as editor of the party newspaper Shroma. Shengelaia was also a member of the National Council of Georgia and of the Constituent Assembly, representing the Socialist-Revolutionary Party.
The aim of the present paper is to analyze Shengelaia’s political profile through his parliamentary, journalistic, and ideological activities. He was one of the signatories of the Act of Independence adopted on 26 May 1918. He worked actively in the agrarian, labor, and credentials committees, where he defended the interests of the peasantry and the working class.
Shengelaia and his faction were also active critics of the draft Constitution of 1921. They characterized it as “bourgeois” and demanded that it incorporate more radical socialist reforms.
After the Soviet occupation of Georgia, Shengelaia remained in the country and continued his political struggle underground. As a result of his anti-Soviet activities, he was arrested by the Bolshevik regime in 1937 and executed.
Leo Shengelaia’s political portrait reveals a principled and ideologically steadfast leader who was unwilling to compromise on his core political convictions.