Preface by Teona Lavrelashvili, Founder of the Georgian Youth Parliament, former President of European Youth Parliament:

“As Louis le Fur, French Professor of International Law, wrote in 1932: “The current situation of the invaded state of Georgia is a situation of pure fact… A pure fact of force, condemned by the contemporary international law. The independence of Georgia continues to be the rule of law; it is called to revive when the “de facto” obstacle to its free exercise will cease to exist.”

The fact that the Georgian government never capitulated and managed to preserve the right of Georgia in the international assemblies and governments, played a huge role in the international recognition of the independence of Georgia, which was restored in 1991.

Noé Jordania, the first head of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, thus had far-reaching influence on the Georgian nation from the early 1900s to his death in 1953. Such was his influence that its effects were felt as far as in 1991, when independence was internationally recognized and still today, as Georgia aspires for European Union membership.”

My Fellow Georgians,

My name is Redjeb Jordania. I am the son of the First President of the Council of Ministers and Head of State of the Georgian independent Republic, which was proclaimed on May 26th, 1918 from the Hall of Mirrors of what was then the Vorontsov Palace in Tbilisi. I am now 93 years old, and while my state of health does not allow me to be with you in Georgia, I would like to share the joy and pride of our National Independence Day.

When I was growing up in Paris in the 1920s, the 26th of May was the most important day of the year, for me and my little Georgian friends alike. That was the day when all exiled Georgians, regardless of party, religion, sex or opinion would get together in celebration, sorrow, and remembrance. And despite being very little, I remember it as a solemn occasion, with our revered flag – the three-colored one – in a prominent position together with our elegant coat of arms, unencumbered by gratuitous elements. And of course we all sang with fervor our national anthem, Dideba, with its Georgian polyphonic harmony. That tradition went on during the long years of Soviet occupation. And then, in 1990, when I finally managed to come to Georgia, I had the joy of seeing our flag, symbol, and national hymn revived after those 70 years, with our flag soon to be hoisted on all public buildings, displacing the hated Soviet one.

Today we are once again celebrating the anniversary of our Declaration of Independence. It is without doubt the most important date of the 20th century, and I would venture to say the most important date in 700 years, ever since the Mongols invaded Georgia in 1238. Consider the following:

For the very first time in centuries, in 1918 Georgia became truly united in a single modern state with an enlightened government led by President Noé Jordania. The road to unity was long and difficult. Georgians have a strong culture, but never had a true sense of nationality – a concept nonexistent in medieval times, where feudal allegiance was the norm. In fact, up to the 1805 takeover by Russia, Georgia was pided into principalities and kingdoms such as Guria, Samegrelo and Imereti. It took the French and the American revolutions to bring to the fore the powerful feeling of belonging to one nation, that irresistible force which swept through 19th century Europe and would eventually create our modern world.

But Georgia was not part of that powerful current. As we know, Georgia was occupied and incorporated into the autocratic tsarist empire just about when nationalism began spreading in Western Europe, and thus that idea was prevented from taking hold in our country. As a result, until the end of the 19th century, the Georgian sense of belonging extended only to one’s family and one’s village – at most, one’s province. It took decades of education and hard work by the great Georgian patriots, an overwhelming number of whom were social democrats operating clandestinely, to bring about the change of attitude towards tsarism and the idea of nationality that resulted in a truly unified republic in 1918.

Despite the enormous difficulties of the period, the Georgian Democratic Republic (or First Republic, as it is commonly called today) proved very successful, so much so that it took the Soviet and Turkish invasion of 1921 to bring it to an end. (The GDR lived on de jure until 1933, de facto to 1953 and in memorium in Leuville, France). Yet its relatively short existence was of the utmost importance, since all the major institutions that make our modern Georgia were established in that period.

I would also like to remind everybody that the GDR government was supported by almost all Georgians from all social classes. The result was that, contrary to what happened after 1991, there was no destructive civil war of fratricide or pillaging of national assets in 1918. Led by idealistic patriots, Georgia remained whole, including Abkhazia and the so-called South Ossetia, and Adjara, of course.

All Western historians recognize the great accomplishments of the first republic and its selfless leaders, yet with the exception of the town of Lanchkhuti, birthplace of Noé Jordania, and a small section of the Mtkvari River embankment in Tbilisi, there is no public recognition in Georgia. It remains difficult to understand why, 24 years after Georgia again became independent, as Professor Stephen Jones remarked, that the successive Georgian governments have done practically nothing to recognize publicly the enormous debt that our country owes to all those, from all political parties, who worked so long and sacrificed their lives to awaken the Georgian national spirit, conquer freedom, and in 1918 proclaim a sovereign, unified Georgia for the first time in centuries. One must believe that the Bolshevik propaganda that affected over three generations of Georgians must have left a profound imprint.

It may take another generation or two to purge the Soviet poison from the Georgian minds. But I have every confidence that eventually Noé Jordania and his colleagues will be fully recognized as the heroic figures they were. Today I’d simply like to remember a few names: Noé Jordania, Noé Khomeriki, Evgeni Gegechkori, Grigol Uratadze, Noé Ramishvili, Akaki Chkhengueli. And we also should not forget our valiant National Guard under the leadership of Valiki Jugeli, as well as the soldiers and officers who rallied to our First Republic’s aid and valiantly struggled for the preservation of its freedom against extreme odds.

Let us also remember that when the Red Army had almost conquered Georgia, the Turks took advantage of the situation to invade Adjara and occupy Batumi. That’s when, under direct orders from the government, and in a quixotic gesture, the remains of the Georgian army led by General Mamradze attacked and chased them back to Turkey before going into exile themselves. Without them, it is most probable that Adjara would be Turkish today.

As all reputable historians recognize, today’s Georgia is very much a continuation of the 1918 republic. We are confident that free Georgia will be around forever!

Gaumarjos Sakartvelos!

Redjeb Jordania

May 26, 2015

New York