The Treaty of Georgievsk, which formalized the transition of Georgia to the protectorate of the Russian Empire.

Agreement on recognition of the patronage and supreme power of Russia by the king of Kartalin and Kakheti Heraclius II, 1783

In the name of the Almighty God, One and Holy One in the Trinity, glorified.

From ancient times, the All-Russian Empire, in common faith with the Georgian peoples, served as protection, help and refuge for those peoples and their most illustrious rulers against the oppression to which they were subjected from their neighbors. The patronage granted by all Russian autocrats to the Georgian kings, their family and subjects, produced that dependence of the latter on the former, which is especially evident from the Russian-imperial title itself. E.I.V., now reigning safely, has sufficiently expressed her royal benevolence towards these peoples and magnanimous providence for their good with her strong efforts made to deliver them from the yoke of slavery and from the blasphemous tribute of the youths and young women, which some of these peoples they were obliged to give, and as a continuation of their royal contempt for their rulers. In this very disposition, condescending to the petitions brought to her throne from the most illustrious king of Kartal and Kakhetia, Irakli Teimurazovich, to accept him with all his heirs and successors and with all his kingdoms and regions into the royal patronage of e.v. and her high heirs and successors, with the recognition of the supreme power of the All-Russian emperors over the kings of Kartal and Kakheti, she most mercifully wanted to establish and conclude a friendly treaty with the said most illustrious king, through which, on the one hand, his lordship, in the name of himself and his successors, recognizing the supreme power and patronage of e.i.v. and her high successors over the rulers and peoples of the kingdoms of Kartalin and Kakheti and other regions belonging to them, would have marked in a solemn and precise manner their obligations in the consideration of the All-Russian Empire; and on the other hand, e.i.v. In this way she could solemnly commemorate the advantages and benefits from her generous and strong right hand that are bestowed on the aforementioned peoples and their most illustrious rulers.

To conclude such an agreement e.i.v. deigned to authorize the Most Serene Prince of the Roman Empire, Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin, the troops of his general-in-chief, commanding the light cavalry, regular and irregular, and many other military forces, the senator, the state military board of the vice-president, the Astrakhan, Saratov, Azov and Novorossiysk sovereign governor, his general- adjutant and actual chamberlain, lieutenant of the cavalry guard corps, lieutenant colonel of the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment, chief commander of the armory chamber, holder of the orders of St. Apostle Andrew, Alexander Nevsky, military St. Great Martyr George and St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir of Great Crosses; the royal Prussian Black and Polish White Eagles and St. Stanislaus, the Swedish Seraphim, the Danish Elephant and the Holstin St. Anne, with the power, in his absence, to elect and provide with full power from himself, whomever he judges for the good, who accordingly elected and authorized the excellent Mr. from the army E.I.V. lieutenant general, commander of troops in the Astrakhan province, e.i.v. actual chamberlain and orders of the Russian St. Alexander Nevsky, the military great martyr and victorious George and the Holstein St. Anne cavalier Pavel Potemkin, and his lordship the Kartalin and Kakheti king Irakli Teymurazovich elected and authorized for his part their lordships his general from the left hand of Prince Ivan Konstantinovich Bagration and His Grace Adjutant General Prince Garsevan Chavchavadzev. The aforementioned plenipotentiaries, having begun with the help of God and exchanging mutual powers, according to their strength, decided, concluded and signed the following articles.

Article number one

His Grace the King of Kartalin and Kakheti, in his name, his heirs and successors, solemnly forever renounces any vassalage or under any title whatsoever, from any dependence on Persia or any other power, and hereby declares in the face of the whole world that he does not recognize himself above and successors of another autocracy, except for the supreme power and patronage of e.i.v. and her high heirs and successors to the All-Russian Imperial throne, promising that throne loyalty and readiness to contribute to the benefit of the state in any case where it is required of it.

Article number two

E.I.V., accepting only a sincere promise from his lordship, evenly promises and reassures with his imperial word for himself and his successors that their mercy and protection from the most illustrious kings of Kartalin and Kakheti will never be taken away. In proof of which E.V. gives his imperial guarantee for the preservation of the integrity of the present possessions of His Grace Tsar Irakli Teimurazovich, intending to extend such guarantee to such possessions that over time, due to circumstances, are acquired and will be firmly established for him.

Article number three

In expressing the sincerity with which His Grace the Tsar of Kartalin and Kakheti recognizes the supreme power and patronage of the All-Russian emperors, it is stated that the aforementioned tsars, entering hereditarily into their kingdom, have to immediately notify the Russian imperial court about this, asking through their imperial envoys for confirmation of the kingdom and investiture, consisting of a charter, a banner with the coat of arms of the All-Russian Empire, which has inside itself the coat of arms of the mentioned kingdoms, in a saber, in a commanding staff and in a mantle or ermine cap. These signs will either be handed over to the envoys, or through the border authorities they will be delivered to the Tsar, who, upon receiving them in the presence of the Russian minister, must solemnly take an oath of allegiance and zeal to the Russian Empire and to recognize the supreme power and patronage of the All-Russian Emperors in the form attached to seven treatises. This ritual will still be performed by His Serene Tsar Irakli Teymurazovich.

Article number four

To prove that his lordship’s intentions in considering his close connection with the All-Russian Empire and the recognition of the supreme power and patronage of the most illustrious owners of that empire are blameless, his lordship promises without prior agreement with the chief border commander and the minister of the e.i.v., with him accredited, not to have contact with the surrounding rulers. And when envoys arrive from them or letters are sent, accepting them, consult with the chief border commander and with the minister H.I.V. about the return of such envoys and about the proper rebuke to their owners.

Article number five

In order to more conveniently have all the necessary relations and agreements with the Russian Imperial Court, His Grace the Tsar wishes to have his minister or resident at that court, and H.I.V., graciously accepting, promises that he will receive her at court along with others sovereign princes as ministers of equal character to him, and in addition deigns, on his part, to maintain under his lordship a Russian minister or resident.

Article number six

E.I.V., accepting with favor the recognition of her supreme power and patronage over the kingdoms of Kartalinsky and Georgian, promises in her name and her successors:

1. The peoples of those kingdoms should be considered to be in close union and perfect harmony with its empire and, consequently, their enemies should be recognized as their enemies; for which reason the peace concluded with the Ottoman Porte or with Persia, or another power and region, should extend to these protected e.v. peoples.

2. His Serene Highness Tsar Irakli Teimurazovich and his house of heirs and descendants shall be preserved invariably in the kingdom of Kartalin and Kakheti.

3. The power associated with internal administration, trial and reprisal and collection of taxes shall be granted to His Grace the Tsar at his full will and benefit, prohibiting his military and civil superiors from entering into any orders.

Article seven

His Grace the Tsar accepted with due reverence only the merciful actions of H.I.V. hope, promises for himself and his descendants:

1. Be always ready to serve e.v. with his troops.

2. Dealing with Russian superiors in constant communication on all matters, prior to the service of e.i.v. concerning, satisfy their requirements and subjects e.v. protect from all insults and oppression.

3. In assigning people to places and raising them to ranks, it is excellent to show respect for their services to the All-Russian Empire, on whose patronage the peace and prosperity of the kingdoms of Kartalin and Kakheti depends.

Article number 8

As proof of the special royal favor towards His Grace the Tsar and his peoples and for the greater unification with Russia of these peoples of the same faith, e.i.v. deigns that the Catholicos or their commanding archbishop should take place among the Russian bishops in the eighth degree, namely after Tobolsk, most mercifully granting him forever the title of Member of the Holy Synod; about the management of the Georgian churches and the attitude that should be towards the Russian Synod, a special article will be drawn up about this.

Article number nine

Extending his mercy to the subjects of His Grace the Tsar, princes and nobles, E.I.V. establishes that in the All-Russian Empire they will enjoy all those advantages and benefits that are assigned to the Russian nobles, and his lordship, accepting with gratitude his merciful indulgence towards his subjects, undertakes to send to the court of H.V. lists of all noble families, so that from them one can know exactly to whom such an excellent right belongs.

Article ten

It is decided that all natives of Kartal and Kakheti can settle in Russia, leave and return without any restrictions; prisoners, if they are released by weapons or negotiations with the Turks and Persians or other peoples, let them go home according to their wishes, returning only the costs of their ransom and export; This very thing, and His Grace the Tsar promises to fulfill sacredly in the judgment of Russian subjects who are captured by their neighbors.

Article number one for ten

The Kartalin and Kakheti merchants have the freedom to send their trades to Russia, enjoying the same rights and benefits that natural Russian subjects enjoy; mutually, the king promises to decide with the main border guard or with the minister E.V. about all-round facilitation of Russian merchants in their trade in their regions or in their travel to trade in other places; for without such a precise resolution, the condition regarding the benefits of his merchants cannot take place.

Article number two for ten

This agreement is made for eternity; but if anything is deemed necessary to change or add for mutual benefit, it will take place by mutual agreement.

Article number three by ten

Ratifications for this treaty must be exchanged within six months from its signing, or sooner, if possible.

In witness of which the undersigned, authorized by their full powers, signed these articles and affixed their seals to them in the St. George Fortress, July 24th day, 1783.

The original is signed:

Pavel Potemkin.

Prince Ivan Bagration.

Separate articles

Separate article number one

Solid e.i.v. the intention that the peoples of the same faith, united by close ties with her empire, would remain among themselves in friendship and perfect harmony in fear of their envious neighbors and in repelling with united forces any attempt on their freedom, peace and prosperity, prompts her. to give his lordship to the king of Kartalin and Kakheti Irakli Teimurazovich friendly advice and admonitions about maintaining friendship and good agreement with the most serene king of Imereti Solomon and about decreeing everything that can only help to suppress various disputes and to forestall any misunderstandings, promising with his imperial word not only to promote through their efforts to bring about this very useful work, but also to give their guarantee for such peace and consent.

His Grace King Irakli, accepting with due gratitude the generous H.V. care for the observance of friendship between peoples of the same origin and law and its highest guarantee, hereby confesses that in their mutual affairs with the Most Serene King Solomon, now and henceforth he recognizes E.I.V. a perfect arbiter, subjecting the discord and misunderstandings that occur between the two rulers beyond all expectations to her supreme decision.

Separate article number two

To protect the Kartalin and Kakheti possessions from any touch from their neighbors and to reinforce the troops of His Grace the Tsar for the defense of the E.I.V. promises to maintain in his regions two full battalions of infantry with four guns, for which provisions and fodder in their states will be produced in kind from the land by agreement of his lordship with the main border commander for the price set in the states.

Separate article number three

In case of war, the main border commander is always on the side of the E.I.V. to be authorized must, with his lordship, the kings of Kartalin and Kakhetia, agree and put in place measures to protect the designated lands and to act against the enemy, who must be understood as nothing other than a common enemy. Moreover, it is decided that if part of the Kartalin and Kakheti troops were used for the service of the E.I.V. outside their borders, then full maintenance can be carried out against other troops of the E.V.

Separate article number four

E.i.v. promises in case of war to use all possible efforts with the help of weapons, and in case of peace by insisting on the return of lands and places that have long belonged to the kingdom of Kartalin and Kakheti, which will remain in the possession of the kings there on the basis of a treatise on the patronage and supreme power of the All-Russian emperors over them prisoner

These separate articles will have the same force as if they were included word for word in the treatise itself. For this reason, ratification on them must be exchanged at the same time. In witness of which the undersigned, authorized by their full powers, signed these articles and affixed their seals to them in the Yegoryevsk Fortress on July 24, 1783.

The original is signed:

Pavel Potemkin.

Prince Ivan Bagration.

Prince Garsevan Chavchavadzev.

Additional article

Just as the Kartalin and Kakheti kings from ancient times were crowned with a royal crown and anointed for the kingdom with holy chrism, then e.i.v. In his name and the successors of his imperial throne, he not only most mercifully allows the aforementioned kings to use this sacred rite, but also, as a greater proof of his excellent goodwill, bestows upon them, in addition to other signs of imperial investiture for the kingdom, stipulated in the treaty, an ordinary royal crown, which, as e. in the current reign of King Heraclius II, so his most illustrious successors should be crowned with the same crown.

E. Highly King Heraclius, this highest mercy, H.I.V. Accepting it with due reverence and gratitude, he promises in the name of himself and his successors that the sacred rite of crowning and anointing of those of his successors will not be performed until after the oath of allegiance to the all-Russian imperial throne prescribed by the treatise has been taken and upon receipt of an affirmative imperial letter with investiture.

This article is considered to be one of the other constituent treatises, in confirmation of which those authorized to sign that treaty, by virtue of the power of attorney given to them, signed and sealed it in the 24th month of 1784.

Pavel Potemkin.

Prince Ivan Bagration.

Prince Garsevan Chavchavadzev

The model according to which His Serene Highness the Tsar of Kartalin and Kakheti Irakli Teimurazovich will make an oath of allegiance to H.I.V. Autocrat of the All-Russian and to recognize the patronage and supreme power of the All-Russian Emperors over the Kings of Kartalin and Kakheti

“I am the below-named, I promise and swear by Almighty God before his holy Gospel that I want and owe him. To the Most Serene and Sovereign Great Empress and Autocrat of All-Russia Ekaterina Alekseevna and her most kind son, the Most Serene Tsarevich and Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, the legitimate heir to the All-Russian imperial throne, and to all the high successors of that throne, be faithful, zealous and benevolent. Recognizing in my name, my heirs and successors and all my kingdoms and regions for eternal times, the highest patronage and supreme power of e.i.v. and her high heirs over me and my successors, the kings of Kartalin and Kakheti, and as a result, rejecting all over me and my possessions, under whatever title or pretext, the dominance or power of other sovereigns and powers and denying their protection, I undertake according to my clear Christian conscience, to consider the enemies of the Russian state as our own enemies, to be obedient and ready, in any case, to serve the E.I.V. and I will be needed by the All-Russian state, and in everything I will not spare my belly to the last drop of blood. With military and civilian e.v. leaders and servants contact in sincere agreement. And if there is any reprehensible benefit and glory to E.V. and if I learn of her empire’s business or intention, let her know immediately. In a word, to act in this way according to my common faith with the Russian peoples and according to my duty in considering the patronage and supreme power of the e.i.v. decently and should. At the end of this oath, I kiss the words and cross of my Savior. Amen".

This model will also serve the future kings of Kartalin and Kakheti for making an oath upon their accession to the kingdom and upon receiving a letter of confirmation with signs of investiture from the Russian imperial court.

To certify this, the undersigned, authorized by their full powers, signed that sample and affixed their seals to it in the Yegoryevsk Fortress on July 24, 1783.

The original is signed:

Pavel Potemkin.

Prince Ivan Bagration.

Prince Garsevan Chavchavadzev.

Under the banner of Russia: Collection of archival documents. M., Russian book, 1992.

Treaty of Georgievsk in 1783 - an agreement on the voluntary entry of the Kartli-Kakheti kingdom (Eastern Georgia) under the protection of Russia.

In 1453, after the fall of Constantinople, Georgia was cut off from the entire Christian world, and a little later it was actually divided between Turkey and Iran. In the 16th - 18th centuries it was the arena of the struggle between Iran and Turkey for dominance in Transcaucasia.

By the end of the 18th century, eastern Georgia was under Persian control.

During the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774, the Kartli-Kakheti and Imereti kingdoms opposed the Turks on the side of Russia. General Totleben's corps of 3,500 people was sent to help them. The victory of Russia over Turkey in 1774 significantly eased the situation of the Georgian lands subject to the Turks, and the payment of tribute to the Sultan by the Kingdom of Imereti was abolished.

On December 21, 1782, the Kartli Kakheti king Irakli II turned to Catherine II with a request to accept Georgia under the protection of Russia. Catherine II, trying to strengthen Russia's position in Transcaucasia, agreed.

The agreement was concluded on July 24 (August 4), 1783 in the Georgievsk fortress (North Caucasus) and signed on behalf of Russia by the general-in-chief, Prince Pavel Potemkin, on behalf of Georgia - by princes Ivan Bagration Mukhrani and Garsevan Chavchavadze. On January 24, 1784, the treaty came into force.

The Treaty of Georgievsk consisted of a preamble, 13 main and 4 separate articles, or articles. Attached to them was the text of the oath that the Georgian king had to take for allegiance to Russia, as well as an additional article on the order of succession to the Georgian throne.

The Georgian king recognized the “supreme power and patronage” of Russia, which in turn guaranteed the preservation of the territorial integrity of the possessions of Erekle II and his heirs. Kartli, the Kakheti kingdom, was obliged to pursue a foreign policy subject to prior agreement with Russia. The autonomy of the Georgian state was consolidated in resolving all internal affairs, and Article 7 obliged Georgia, if necessary, to provide mutual military assistance to Russia. Separate articles regulated relations between the Russian and Georgian churches, equalized the legal status of Russian and Georgian nobles and merchants, and allowed all Georgians to enter and leave “without restrictions,” as well as to settle in Russia. Separate articles specified individual provisions of the agreement.

(Military encyclopedia. Chairman of the Main Editorial Commission S.B. Ivanov. Military Publishing House. Moscow. in 8 volumes - 2004. ISBN 5 - 203 01875 - 8)

Russia pledged to defend Georgia in the event of war, and during peace negotiations to insist on the return to the Kartli-Kakheti kingdom of possessions that had long belonged to it (but seized by Turkey). Tsar Heraclius pledged to maintain peaceful relations with the Western Georgian Tsar Solomon, and in case of disagreements between them, the Russian Tsar was called upon as an arbiter.

To strengthen the defense, Russia pledged to constantly maintain two infantry battalions in Georgia, and in the event of war, to provide additional assistance to it.

The parties exchanged envoys. The agreement was of an open-ended nature.

In 1783, construction began on the Georgian Military Road between Georgia and Russia, along which several fortifications were built, including the Vladikavkaz fortress.

Türkiye demanded that Russia cancel the Treaty of Georgievsk and tear down the fortifications of Vladikavkaz. As a result, in 1787, Russian troops were withdrawn from Georgia.

In 1787, Türkiye, with the support of Great Britain, France and Prussia, declared war on Russia. The Russian-Turkish War of 1787-1792 - during the reign of Catherine II - ended in complete victory for Russia. As a result of this war, Ochakov was conquered, Crimea officially became part of the Russian Empire, and the border between Russia and Turkey moved to the Dniester River.

When the Treaty of Jassy was signed between Russia and Turkey, which ended the Russian-Turkish War of 1787-1791, the validity of the Treaty of Georgievsk was restored.

Heraclius's heir, King George XII, in an effort to retain power, turned to Paul I with a request to annex his country to Russia, subject to the preservation of the rights to the Georgian throne for his descendants.

Soon after the death of George XII, on January 18 (30), 1801, Paul I signed a manifesto on the annexation of Georgia to Russia. In this document, Kartli and Kakheti were called the “Georgian Kingdom” for the first time. Its population retained all the previous rights and privileges, including property ones, but the rights and privileges of the Russian Empire also extended to it. However, the rights of George's son, David, to the Georgian throne were not confirmed.

On March 6 (18), Alexander I issued a decree “On the Administration of Georgia,” according to which it became a province within Russia.

Other Transcaucasian countries also sought to rely on Russia in the fight against Muslim Persia and Turkey, even at the cost of losing their independence. In 1803, Mingrelia came under Russian citizenship, in 1804 - Imereti and Guria, the Ganja Khanate and Dzharo Belokan region were also annexed, in 1805 - the Karabakh, Sheki and Shirvan khanates and the territory of Shirak, in 1806 - the khanates of Derbent, Kuba and Baku, in 1810 - Abkhazia, in 1813 - Talysh Khanate. Thus, within a short period of time to the Russian Empire

The rapprochement between Russia and Georgia was in the interests of both states. Back in 1771, at the height of the Russian-Turkish war, the Georgian king Heraclius sent an embassy to St. Petersburg with a proposal to conclude an agreement on the transfer of Kartli and Kakheti under the protection of Russia. But St. Petersburg, fearing a prolongation of the war with Turkey, did not dare to sign such an agreement. Ten years later, a more favorable situation emerged. Preparing to complete the fight against the Crimean Khanate, the Russian government wanted to have a loyal ally in Transcaucasia. In December 1782, correspondence began between Irakli II and Catherine II, and in the spring of 1783 a draft agreement was developed, which then formed the basis of the Treaty of Georgievsk, which was signed shortly after the annexation of Crimea to Russia.

According to the Treaty of Georgievsk, the Georgian king Irakli II pledged not to recognize any other authority other than the power and patronage of the Russian sovereigns. From now on, the monarchs of Russia approved the Georgian king to ascend the throne, and he took an oath of allegiance to them. Eastern Georgia refused independent relations with foreign states and accepted Russian mediation in resolving disputes with Western Georgia (Imereti). The king of Kartli and Kakheti retained “power associated with internal administration, justice and reprisals, and collection of taxes.” In turn, Russia took upon itself obligations to promote the unification of all Georgian lands, defend the East Georgian kingdom and send two battalions there, and in case of war, other troops. On November 3, 1783, the Russian detachment was solemnly welcomed in Tiflis, and on November 23, Irakli II swore allegiance to Russia.

This was a painful blow to both Turkey and Iran (Persia), who competed for possession of Transcaucasia. The signing of the agreement was greeted with enthusiasm by the Georgian people. In Tiflis, wrote G.A. Potemkin, his envoy Colonel Burnashev, “a people’s masquerade walked the streets, all the residents and the most elderly were constantly splashing their hands while beating the tambourines, and it seems that the people day by day imagine new prosperity in sight.” A gala dinner was given in the palace of Irakli II, accompanied by cannon fire. 101 shots were fired for the health of Catherine II, 51 shots for members of the Russian imperial family, 51 shots for Tsar Irakli, and 31 shots for members of his royal family. Immediately after the signing of the treaty, the commander of the Russian troops in the Caucasus, P. Potemkin (a relative of the famous field marshal), sent out a “universal” throughout the Caucasus, which said: “To all those bordering the kingdoms of His Serene Tsar Irakli Teimurazovich and the surrounding peoples, through this it is announced that they, recognizing his lordship, forever allied and protected by Russia, moved away from all enterprises harmful to him.”

FOR SUCH MONARCHY YOUR MERCIES

APPEAL OF HERAKLIUS II TO KATHERINE II WITH A REQUEST TO ACCEPT HIS COUNTRY UNDER THE PROTECTION OF RUSSIA

The Most Serene and Sovereign Great Empress, Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna, All-Russian Autocrat, Most Gracious Empress.

Your Majesty's most merciful decrees ordered us to be accepted under your Majesty's most merciful protection and to send troops to reinforce us.

For such kindnesses, we offer our most humble gratitude to your majesty, and your majesty most humbly dare to ask that you most mercifully send a search to us in a short time, so that by the mercy of your majesty we can be delivered from the infidels, and grant us troops numbering four thousand regular, or including half of the irregulars, and command him to be especially in our regions, so that I could act together with them against the Turks; for previously the Russian troops that were with us did not have time to always be with us. Moreover, as far as possible, I have to follow the advice of the chief commander over these troops being sent, so that the main commander also accepts my advice, since I have sufficient information about the state and circumstances of local affairs.

Since our ancestors were kings from ancient times, therefore, Your Majesty most graciously asks that I and my descendants remain forever without change in my dignity, but nevertheless under obedience and in rendering Your Imperial Majesty such services as are described below. The Catholicos also has the right to remain in his office without change. Since, with the help of God and the happiness of Your Majesty, many of the Georgians, being prisoners in the Crimea, received freedom for themselves, therefore Your Majesty most mercifully dare to ask, command that they be allowed to return to their fatherland. When Your Imperial Majesty's troops arrive in our regions and we, together with them, take back our regions that were taken from us by the enemies, then how much money from the treasury will be spent on this corps, from those conquered places in a few years we have such a number for Your Majesty's treasury we will contribute.

To represent and bother Your Majesty, although I acknowledge the following for considerable boldness, however, when the troops first entered Georgia from Russia, at that time I was forced to spend money in transporting them, and, moreover, when I repeatedly collected my troops, then We have had enough, and if the money is needed, then I humbly ask you to lend us this money, which will again be contributed to your Majesty’s treasury, for the maintenance of our troops.

When the above-mentioned favors are shown to us, then I have your imperial majesty to send one of my sons, as well as, if possible, several princes and nobles.

How many different ores and metals are now available in our region, as well as how many of them will be found in the future, then from the profits received from all of them, half the amount will be given to your Majesty’s treasury and will be collected. Also, all those inhabitants who are under our possession have to pay seventy kopecks annually from each household to your Majesty’s treasury.

Your Imperial Majesty is sent to have fourteen of the best horses available in our regions every year.

When the Persians and Turks ruled us, every two years they took nine slaves from our kingdom by force, and to supply them with travel expenses, seventy kopecks from each yard. In addition to this, they received fifty loads of the best grape wine, which they transported at their own expense to their sovereign. And now, for the court of Your Majesty, we will annually bring the best grape wine in our region, amounting to two thousand buckets on our own kosht, to Kizlyar.

From the arrival of Your Imperial Majesty's troops in our regions until the conquest with help from other places, we must serve Your Imperial Majesty from those regions that we now own, according to our promises presented above. And when we take possession of other places by force of Your Majesty, then they have to render their services to Your Imperial Majesty as presented below.

When, by the force and help of Your Majesty's corps, we still take possession of the places taken from us by the Turks, then the residents in those newly conquered places will have to pay into the treasury of Your Imperial Majesty, as much as in the Russian Empire taxes are collected from noble peasants, against them in the floors.

If, by your Majesty’s happiness, we still take possession of the places taken from us, then we also have to serve those places as written above, that is, to pay seventy kopecks annually from each yard, and from the same places we have to Your Majesty send two hundred pounds of lye every year, and if it is possible for us, then more than that date.

Most merciful monarch! At the same time, I most humbly dare to convey that it was commanded this spring to begin the conquest of the Akhaltsikhe region, and when peace follows with the Sultan, then not to leave it under Turkish possession, for this Akhaltsikhe region lies on Georgian land, the people there have the Georgian language and many There are Christians there, and many of them, who in recent times have turned into Mohammedanism.

When, by the happiness of your imperial majesty, our possession receives freedom from the infidels and will be in peace, then both from our present ancient kingdom, and from now on from the newly conquered places, we have soldiers from so many households, from so many souls in the service of your imperial majesty to represent The Russian Empire is gaining strength. If, with the help of God and your Majesty’s happiness, in addition to our own lands taken from us, we conquer other enemy regions with the help of your Majesty’s corps, then what will be done with them, since your Majesty’s permission will follow.

Your Imperial Majesty, we dare to most humbly ask for your royal favors to be granted to us, and, moreover, we present on our part those same services of ours, which we most humbly reported to your Imperial Majesty even before this, on December 30, 1771, and which we acknowledge to provide myself able. And Your Imperial Majesty now show us such motherly mercy as you deign from Your Majesty’s highest will.

Irakli

ARTICLE TWO FOR TEN

This agreement is made for eternity; but if anything is deemed necessary to change or add for mutual benefit, it will take place by mutual agreement.

OVER THE KINGS AND KINGDOMS OF KARTALIN AND KAKHETI

LETTER OF CATHERINE II TO HERACLIUS II ON THE RATIFICATION OF THE TREATISE OF GEORGE

His Serene Highness Tsar Irakli Teimurazovich of Kartalin and Kakheti, loyal and sincere to us. Having approved by our imperial charter the agreement with your highness, decreed on your recognition of ours and the successors to our imperial throne over the kings and kingdoms of Kartalin and Kakheti of supreme power and protection and on the advantages and benefits granted from us to these rulers and peoples, we will take this case with pleasure We repeat our certificates of our excellent goodwill towards your Highness and your entire royal house. As a new proof of this, we bestowed upon your Most Serene Empress, your wife, our Order of St. Catherine, of which we are sending signs to be placed on her. However, we entrust your Highness and your entire house to Almighty God. We are welcoming you.

Originally signed by Her Imperial Majesty's own hand as follows:

Catherine

Currently, Georgia is laying the historical foundation for a new interpretation of Russian-Georgian relations. In the direction of the main blow, the treaty signed on June 24, 1783 in the city of Georgievsk, according to which Eastern Georgia - the Kartli-Kakheti kingdom - came under the protection of Russia as a protectorate, but while maintaining state sovereignty, was taken out. A similar change of milestones began after E. Shevardnadze came to power as a result of a coup in December 1991 - January 1992 and is developing today.

The Georgian people are being taught that the Treaty of Georgievsk is a fatal mistake of the good-natured Georgian rulers, who trusted the treacherous Russian emperors, that from their northern neighbor Georgia always received only black ingratitude in response to kindness, and then lost any attributes of sovereignty. Mikheil Saakashvili is trying to create an image of a proud people, constantly subjected to deprivation and humiliation, but in the end freed from the Russian yoke and finding new and true friends.

Brief historical background

The Treaty of Georgievsk of 1783 is an agreement on the voluntary entry of the Kartli-Kakheti Kingdom (Eastern Georgia) under the protection of Russia.

In 1453, after the fall of Constantinople, Georgia was cut off from the entire Christian world, and a little later it was actually divided between Turkey and Iran. In the 16th - 18th centuries, it was the arena of the struggle between Iran and Turkey for dominance in Transcaucasia.

By the end of the 18th century, eastern Georgia was under Persian control.

On December 21, 1782, the Kartli-Kakheti king Irakli II turned to Catherine II with a request to accept Georgia under the protection of Russia.

The agreement was concluded on July 24 (August 4), 1783 in the Georgievsk fortress (North Caucasus) and signed on behalf of Russia by the general-in-chief, Prince Pavel Potemkin, on behalf of Georgia - by princes Ivan Bagration-Mukhransky and Garsevan Chavchavadze. On January 24, 1784, the treaty came into force...

The Georgian king recognized the “supreme power and patronage” of Russia, which in turn guaranteed the preservation of the territorial integrity of the possessions of Erekle II and his heirs...

Other Transcaucasian countries also sought to rely on Russia in the fight against Muslim Persia and Turkey. In 1803, Mingrelia came under Russian citizenship, in 1804 - Imereti and Guria, the Ganja Khanate and Dzharo Belokan region were also annexed, in 1805 - the Karabakh, Sheki and Shirvan khanates and the territory of Shirak, in 1806 - the khanates of Derbent, Kuba and Baku, in 1810 - Abkhazia, in 1813 - Talysh Khanate. Thus, within a short period of time, almost all of Transcaucasia became part of the Russian Empire.

There will be no complete answer to all these questions if we cannot understand the state of the Georgian people in the second half of the 18th century. The emergence of the Georgian state dates back to 487, when King Vakhtang I Gorgasal united Georgia politically and, with the consent of Byzantium, declared the Georgian church autocephalous. In the 12th and early 13th centuries, Georgia as a feudal state reached its highest development and became one of the most powerful powers in the region. The leading role in transforming Georgia into a strong state belonged to the Abkhazian kingdom. Abkhazian king Leon II at the end of the 8th century. moved the capital of the Abkhazian kingdom from Anakopia (Psyrdekh) to Kutaisi. “The city of Kutatisi (now Kutaisi) became the residence of the Abkhaz kings. Having subjugated the regions of not only Lazika itself, but also the Argvet region, the Abkhaz kings thereby embarked on the path of unifying not only Western Georgia, but also Georgia as a whole, since the Argvet region had always belonged to the Kartli (Iberian) kingdom... The new Western Georgian entity accepted name of the Abkhazian kingdom." Cultural, economic and political successes of the Abkhazian kingdom in the 8th-10th centuries. prepared the ground for annexing not only Kartli, but also part of Southern Georgia in Tao to their possessions, and thereby for the formation of a united Georgian kingdom at the end of the 10th - beginning of the 11th century.

But at the beginning of the 16th century, Georgia was divided into independent territories, hostile to each other and microstates (principalities) at war with each other - Kartli, Kakheti, Imereti, Guria, Abkhazia, Mingrelia, Svaneti and Samtskhe. In 1555, Türkiye and Persia divided the entire country between themselves without declaring war. Eastern Georgia fell under the rule of Persia, and Western Georgia (especially Abkhazia) came under Turkey.

Türkiye had a detrimental effect on the further economic development of Abkhazia, and in particular, on the cultural life of the Abkhaz people.

The first contact between Rus' and Georgia recorded by chroniclers dates back to the 70s of the 12th century, when Prince Yuri Andreevich, the son of the Suzdal prince Andrei Bogolyubsky and the grandson of the great Kyiv Yuri Dolgoruky, the husband of Queen Tamara, actually became the Georgian king. The Georgian king George III, concerned that he did not have a son-heir, made his daughter Tamara queen during his lifetime.

The Kakhetian prince Leon was the first to voluntarily turn to the Muscovite kingdom for protection in 1564 under Ivan the Terrible.

Under Peter I, one of his favorite friends and associates was the Imeretian prince Alexander. During Peter's lifetime, King Vakhtang of Kartli, overthrown from the throne by the Turks, moved with his entire family, at Peter's call, to Russia. Over 100 Georgians - princes, princes, warriors, and clergy - went to Russia with him.

The Georgian king Archil turned to Peter I with a request to help the Georgian press. “Tsar Peter ordered to immediately cast Georgian letters for printing, and the first printed books in the Georgian language came out of the Moscow state printing house. Then Russian craftsmen and teachers opened a printing house in the capital of Kartolinia - Tiflis. From the Russians they learned how to organize schools and icon painting.” (Russia under the scepter of the Romanovs. 1613-1913. St. Petersburg, 1912. - Reprint. - M.; Interbook, 1990, p. 165.)

During the reign of Catherine II, under the rule of one king, Erekle II, the two main Georgian kingdoms - Kartli and Kakheti - united. Imereti, Mingrelia and Guria paid the Turks annually shameful tribute: not only in money, but also in “live goods”, sending a certain number of girls. Kartli and Kakheti paid the same tribute to Persia.

Regularly repeated invasions of the Turks and Persians, as well as bloody internecine clashes among the scattered Georgian principalities, led to the fact that the Georgians, already small in number, were brought to the brink of physical extinction, or, at best, assimilation by the Muslim environment (Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, mountainous Caucasian peoples). The king of Kartli and Kakheti, Irakli II, could barely field 10 thousand troops, poorly armed, completely untrained and not knowing any discipline. Therefore, Tsar Irakli II turned to Russia for help.

In accordance with the Treaty of Georgievsk, Russian military units were first stationed in Georgia in 1784 - “to preserve the possessions of Kartli and Kakheti from any touch from their neighbors and to reinforce the troops of His Grace Tsar Erekle II for defense.”

The text of the agreement, in particular, stated: “Any new ruler of Georgia can ascend the throne only with the consent of Russia; relations between Georgia and foreign states should take place under the supervision of the Russian representative in Tiflis; citizens of both countries have the same rights before the laws; Russia undertakes to keep a detachment of its troops in Tiflis.”

The Shah of Iran, Agha Mohammed Khan Qajar, sent his ambassadors to Heraclius II with a demand to break all relations with Russia. “Not only Aga Mohammed Khan, but even if all the Asian states went to war against us, I will not give up allegiance to Russia“, - this was the answer of the Georgian king to the Persians. (Abashidze G. Decree. Op. P. 172)

The acceptance of Georgia under Russian protectorate set Persia and Turkey against Russia. “Persia, which was losing its long-time vassal in the person of the Georgian king, protested openly and even gathered troops, but Turkey, which had no reason to clearly interfere in our relations with Georgia, resorted to its usual method - to raise the Caucasian peoples against us. The Kabardians, who had recently experienced the power of Russian weapons, did not accept the Turkish emissaries, but the Chechens rebelled almost without exception.” (Potto V.A. Two centuries of the Terek Cossacks (1577-1801). T.2 P.145. Vladikavkaz. 1912. - Reprint. - Stavropol, 1991.

On September 11, 1995, Shah Agha Mohamed Khan captured Tiflis, and “the entire East trembled from the horrors that accompanied the capture of the capital of Iveria. In a flourishing city, turned into a heap of ruins, no stone was left unturned; Most of the inhabitants were slaughtered in the most barbaric manner, and the rest, numbering 22 thousand souls, were taken into slavery.” (Ibid. pp. 204-205)

All churches were desecrated or destroyed, the Georgian Metropolitan Dosifei was thrown from the bridge into the Kura River.

To this day, Georgian authors sharply reproach Russia for not providing assistance during the invasion of 1795. According to Georgiy Abashidze, the real threat of an attack by Agha Mohamed Khan, enraged by Georgia’s political orientation towards Russia, arose earlier: in 1792, Irakli II first turned to Catherine II with a request for military assistance in the hope of fulfilling their obligations in accordance with the Treaty of Georgievsk.

Why didn’t Russia provide assistance to Georgia in 1795?

Firstly, a difficult war with Turkey has just ended. Secondly, a significant part of the Russian troops remained in Poland. Simultaneously with the Turkish war, there was a war with the Swedes. Third, Austria withdrew from its alliance with Russia and made peace with the Turks, while England and Prussia negotiated an armed alliance with Poland against Russia. Fourthly, the formidable shadow of Napoleon Bonaparte has already loomed on the western borders of Russia. All these factors give reason to consider Russia’s position to be constrained.

Another important circumstance was that Georgia could not then support the Russian troops allied to it. “Under Catherine the Great, Russian troops were sent to Georgia twice; but the internal unrest there was so strong that King Heraclius could not collect food supplies even for several battalions, and King Solomon of Imereti, instead of the promised abundant supplies, delivered only a few bulls to feed the Russian army. The army had to be recalled, but nevertheless, under an agreement with Russia, Turkey was forced to refuse the shameful tribute of people from Georgian lands. This was the first relief wrested for Georgia by the weapons of fellow believer Russia.” (Russia under the scepter of the Romanovs S.168).

In fact, the treaty was in force in the fall of 1795. On September 4, 1795, Catherine ordered “to reinforce Tsar Heraclius, as a Russian vassal, against hostile attempts on his life, stipulated by the treaty with them with two full battalions of infantry.”

After 8 days, Tbilisi was destroyed by the troops of Agha-Magomed Khan. General Gudovich received the Empress's order only on October 1.
By 1795, Agha Mohammed Khan had just managed to unite Iran and defeat his rivals, and the question arose of returning Georgia to Iran, which had actually separated from it after the signing of the Treaty of Georgievsk.

“At the repeated requests of Tsar Irakli, in April 1796, Russia sent the 13,000-strong Caspian Corps under the command of Lieutenant General V. A. Zubov from Kizlyar to the Azerbaijani provinces of Iran. On May 10, Derbent was taken by storm, and on June 15, Baku and Cuba were occupied without a fight. In November, Russian troops reached the confluence of the Kura and Araks rivers. However, on November 6, 1796, Catherine died. Only a small detachment of General Rimsky-Korsakov remained in Georgia, which was recalled at the beginning of 1797.”

If the events in Tbilisi in the summer of 1795 may raise questions for Russia, then Russia’s accusation that Emperor Alexander I, as the Tbilisi newspaper “Sakartvelos Republic” (Republic of Georgia) reported in 2006, quoting I. Javakhishvili, “trampled on the treatise , abolishing the kingdom in Georgia and completing its annexation” is controversial. There are historical facts and they cannot be thrown aside if they do not fit into someone’s ahistorical scheme.

In 1797, two years after the defeat of Tbilisi, an envoy from the Georgian king arrived in St. Petersburg to assure Emperor Paul of the king's devotion to Georgia and ask for help and protection.

George XII asked the Emperor of the Russian Empire to accept Georgia (Kartli-Kakheti Kingdom) into Russia: He feared that the Georgian princes would start an internecine struggle, as a result of which Georgia would be conquered by Persia. Therefore, George XII wanted his son, David XII Georgievich, to take the throne after his death.

It should be noted that the accession to the throne of George XII was marked by a new onslaught of intra-feudal reaction. The king's brothers, incited by their mother, the queen Darejana, forced George XII to approve the order of succession to the throne, according to which the throne passed to the eldest in the family. Thus, the prince became the heir to the throne Yulon, son of Heraclius. George XII soon abolished the new order of succession to the throne. As a result of this, irreconcilable enmity arose between the king and his brothers. Those dissatisfied with George began to group around the princes. The royal court was divided into two camps; The split took on an extremely dangerous character in the context of the political crisis the country was experiencing.

George XII and the diplomats who took his side sensibly assessed the situation created in the state; they understood that the only way to prevent civil strife in the country was armed assistance from Russia, in the amount necessary to ensure the external and internal security of the Kartli-Kakheti Kingdom. George XII decided to persistently seek from the Russian government the fulfillment of the obligations assumed under the treaty of 1783.

In April 1799 Emperor Paul I renewed the agreement on patronage with the king of Kartli and Kakheti. In the autumn, Russian troops arrived in Georgia.

From a letter from the last king of Kartli-Kakheti, George XII, to his ambassador Garsevan Chavchavadze dated September 7, 1799:

“Give them my entire kingdom and my possession, as a sincere and righteous sacrifice, and offer it not only under the protection of the highest Russian imperial throne, but also leave it completely to their power and care, so that from now on the kingdom of the Kartlosians is considered to belong to the Russian state with the same rights enjoyed by other regions located in Russia ».

Emperor Paul I ordered the immediate dispatch of the 17th Jaeger Regiment to Tiflis to defend Georgia under the command of General I.P. Lazarev “to remain in it forever.”

On November 26, 1799, Russian troops entered Tbilisi. George XII met Russian troops three kilometers from Tbilisi.

The day after General Lazarev arrived in Tbilisi, November 27, 1799 A meeting of the highest clergy and nobility of Georgia took place. The ambassador of Emperor Paul I solemnly announced that the All-Russian autocrat was taking Georgia under his patronage and protection, and King George XII was establishing himself on the throne. On behalf of Paul, the Georgian king was presented with a diploma, a royal crown, porphyry and a banner with the image of a Russian double-headed eagle. George XII took the oath of allegiance to the Emperor of Russia.

First, the 17th Jaeger (later Life Grenadier Erivan) Regiment of Major General Ivan Lazarev marched to Tiflis, and a little later the Kabardian Infantry Regiment of Major General Vasily Gulyakov.

The feudal reaction that was raging in the country was ready, for the sake of personal interests, to agree to any agreement with Georgia’s age-old enemies - Turkey and Iran. It was clear to supporters of Tsar George XII that the assistance provided for by the treaty of 1783 was clearly insufficient to curb feudal anarchy and ensure the external security of Georgia, and George XII, firmly adhering to the Russian orientation, began to revise the points of the Treaty of Georgievsk.

In the note presented June 24, 1800 The Georgian ambassador in St. Petersburg, the king of Kartli and Kakheti proposed to retain only the right of limited autonomous self-government for Kartli and Kakheti, subject to the preservation of the royal throne by George XII and his heirs. The king of Kartli and Kakheti agreed to submit to the authority of the Russian emperor not only in matters of foreign policy, but also in the field of internal administration.

In St. Petersburg, the Georgian embassy on June 24, 1800 handed over to the Collegium of Foreign Affairs a draft document on citizenship. The first point read: Tsar George XII “zealously desires with his descendants, the clergy, nobles and all the people subject to him to one day forever accept citizenship of the Russian Empire, promising to sacredly fulfill everything that the Russians do.”

At an audience on November 14, 1800, Count Rostopchin and S.L. Lashkarev announced to the Georgian ambassadors that Emperor Paul I accepted the Tsar and the entire Georgian people into eternal citizenship and agreed to satisfy all the requests of George XII, “but not otherwise than when one of the envoys will go back to Georgia to announce to the tsar and people there the consent of the Russian emperor, and when the Georgians again declare by letter their desire to become Russian citizens.”

November 23, 1800 Emperor gave a rescript addressed to George XII, about the acceptance of his kingdom into Russian citizenship, he further wrote:

« “We accepted what was revealed to us with our highest royal favor and also honored our most merciful approval of your petitions to accept you into Our citizenship.”

December 22, 1800 Emperor Paul I signed a manifesto on the annexation of Georgia to Russia.

The Georgian ambassadors read out the “petition clauses” that declared David XII temporary ruler of the country until he was confirmed as king by the Russian emperor.

On November 7 of the same year, two Russian regiments under the command of General Lazarev, together with Georgian detachments near the village of Kakabeti, on the banks of the Iori River, inflicted a severe defeat on the troops (15 thousand) of the Avar Khan Omar, who had his son, who had invaded Georgia. Irakli, Tsarevich Alexander.

Time after time, the mountaineers rushed into desperate attacks, trying to crush the detachment that stood in their way, but rifle volleys and grapeshot constantly drove back the enemy. Up to 2 thousand highlanders fell in battle, Omar himself received a serious wound and soon died.

When, incited by the former masters of Georgia, the Persians, a huge horde of Lezgins rushed into Georgia for the usual robbery, 700 people of the Russian infantry of General Lazarev familiarized the Lezgins with Russian bayonet fighting. Supported by 1000 Georgian militia horsemen, they crushed the Lezgin cavalry and put it to flight.

At the end of 1800, Tsar George XII became seriously ill. During his illness, supreme power gradually passed into the hands of the plenipotentiary minister of the Russian government under the Georgian tsar, Kovalensky, and the commander of the Russian troops in Georgia, General Lazarev. During this tense time, which required the unification of all the living forces of the country, the comrades-in-arms of the princes pretending to the royal throne, even during the life of George XII, began a fierce internecine struggle that threatened the existence of the Kartli-Kakheti kingdom.

George XII was promised to retain the right of king for the rest of his life. However, after his death, the Russian government intended to approve David XII Georgievich as governor-general with the title of tsar, and to classify Georgia among the Russian provinces under the name of the kingdom of Georgia.

In the 30-50s of the 19th century. Georgians settled scores with their neighbors who had long been at enmity with them, taking an active part in the Caucasian War against Chechnya and Dagestan on the side of Russian troops. In 1944, the Georgian Lavrentiy Beria carried out a lightning-fast operation to evict the Chechens and Ingush to Central Asia and Kazakhstan. Then the Georgian Joseph Stalin changed the Borders of the Georgian SSR, to whose territory the lands of the mountain republics of the North Caucasus were “added”.

The Georgian SSR included part of the abolished Karachay Autonomous Region and the Kabardian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

What was Georgia like before it was annexed to Russia in 1801?

The Russian ambassador reported to St. Petersburg from Georgia that “73 members of the ruling dynasty, including six brothers and eight sons of Tsar George XII, constitute mutually warring parties and “ constantly stir up civil strife and put pressure on the people, tormenting an already devastated country».

(The death of King George XII and the transfer of power to David XII in December 1800 aggravated the situation in the country. Queen Darejan (widow of Heraclius II) and her sonscategorically refused to recognize the authority of Prince David XII , as well as the annexation of Georgia to Russia.

After the death of Paul I, the decree was confirmed by Alexander I on September 12, 1801. The Georgian nobility did not recognize the decree until April 1802, when Knorring gathered everyone in the Zion Cathedral in Tbilisi and forced them to take an oath to the Russian throne. Those who refused were arrested.

In the summer of 1802, Alexander I appointed a relative of Queen Mariam, wife of George XII, Pavel Tsitsianov (Tsitsishvili), as Commander-in-Chief of Georgia. The consolidation of the new government, according to P. Tsitsianov and Emperor Alexander I himself, was hampered by the presence of numerous Georgian princes in their homeland. Therefore, Alexander I sent letters to queens Darejan and Mariam inviting them to move to St. Petersburg. However, members of the Kartli-Kakheti royal house did not agree to leave their homeland. In April 1803, General Lazarev arrived at the palace of Queen Mariam with the aim of arresting and deporting her. The queen killed the general with a dagger, for which she was exiled to Voronezh. Until 1805, all Georgian princes were also sent to Russia, most of whom settled in St. Petersburg, living on a pension assigned by the emperor, engaged only in scientific and literary activities.)

Despite all the costs, life in Georgia, after its inclusion in Russia, as well as in the Caucasus as a whole, became safe for the peoples living here. Famous English traveler Harold Buxton confirmed this in his book “Travel and Policy of Russia in Transcaucasia and Armenia” (1914): “What the Russians have done here over the last century is a matter of enormous scale. Thanks to the peace they established here, the population increased, culture developed, and rich cities and villages arose. Russian officials do not show cruelty and arrogance towards the tribes they rule, so characteristic of our officials.”

Just like in chess, when sacrificing a piece in the opening, one gets a winning position in the future, so Georgia, having sacrificed its sovereignty at the beginning of the 19th century, by the end of the 20th century, thanks to being part of Russia and the USSR, was able to save itself as a people from complete assimilation or total extermination. And ultimately, having gained vitality under the protection of Russian weapons, as a union republic, it formed the basis for state education.