The 1991–1992 Georgian coup d'état, also known as the Tbilisi War, or the Putsch of 1991–1992, was an internal military conflict that took place in the newly independent Republic of Georgia following the fall of the Soviet Union, from 22 December 1991 to 6 January 1992. The coup, which triggered the Georgian Civil War, pitted factions of the National Guard loyal to President Zviad Gamsakhurdia against several paramilitary organizations unified at the end of 1991 under the leadership of warlords Tengiz Kitovani, Jaba Ioseliani and Tengiz Sigua. The Tbilisi War ended with the exile of the first democratically elected president of Georgia, after two weeks of violent clashes on Rustaveli Avenue, the main thoroughfare of Tbilisi, mainly consisting of a siege of the Georgian Parliament building, where Gamsakhurdia was isolated in a bunker. Following Gamsakhurdia's fall, a Military Council, led by Kitovani, Ioseliani and Sigua, took power in Tbilisi and assured the return of Eduard Shevardnadze, the former Soviet Georgian leader and the last Soviet Foreign Affairs Minister, to hand over power to him. During the civil war, the supporters of the ousted president staged an unsuccessful revolt to return him to power. Shevardnadze gradually sidelined Kitovani and Ioseliani, and ruled the country until he was ousted in the bloodless 2003 "Rose Revolution". In 2005, the Parliament of Georgia passed a resolution denouncing the events of 1991–1992 as an "anticonstitutional armed coup d'état". According to a 2020 poll by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers, 76% of Georgians think that the coup was harmful for Georgia.
Historical background
=== Fall of the Soviet Union === Following the Red Army invasion of 1921 and Bolshevik takeover, Georgia became part of the Soviet Union (formed in 1922). Despite having formally a status of a sovereign "union republic" (the Socialist Soviet Republic of Georgia), nationalist feelings demanding independence developed in Georgia largely in the 1970s, feelings that were repeated across the Soviet Union. Major economic and social problems, and repression of nationalist movements led to several protests in Georgia, culminating with the 9 April 1989 Tragedy, when a protest in Tbilisi was repressed by the authorities, resulting in the death of 21 people and the arrest of the main opposition leaders, including Zviad Gamsakhurdia. The Tbilisi Tragedy, coupled with the military failure in Afghanistan and the collapse of the Iron Curtain that separated Western world from the Eastern Bloc led to a chain reaction that saw the Baltic states declare their independence in 1990. Soon, Soviet authorities, under pressure of mass revolts, allowed multi-party elections in October 1990, which saw Round Table, the alliance led by Zviad Gamsakhurdia, winning a majority of the seats in the Supreme Council, which ended 69 years of Communist Party. However, the previously united Georgian nationalist opposition split into two main factions in May 1990. Gamsakhurdia's tenure began with groups such as the National Democratic Party of Gia Chanturia and the National Independence Party of Irakli Tsereteli challenging his authority with street demonstrations, rallies, hunger strikes etc.
=== Ethnic Conflicts === The dissolution of the Soviet Union led to a rebirth of tensions between certain ethnic groups across the Union republics, Georgia being no exception. Adamon Nikhas, a communist movement in South Ossetia, started to demand greater autonomy from Tbilisi as early as the late 1980s, a request denied by the central government in November 1989. Tensions between Tbilisi and Tskhinvali rose until a declaration of sovereignty of South Ossetia from Georgia within the Soviet Union in September 1990, following which Tbilisi retaliated by abolishing the Autonomous Oblast of South Ossetia. In January 1991, the militarization of the conflict divided Tskhinvali in two, thus launching a civil war that lasted until June 1992 and that lead to the creation of the separatist Republic of South Ossetia. Meanwhile, Abkhazia fell into ethnic conflict. As early as 1989, violent clashes between Georgian and Abkhaz nationalists plunged the region into violent conflict that later extended into a "war of laws" between the legislatures of Tbilisi and of the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Abkhazia.
Prelude
Declaration of Independence
On 9 April 1991, two years after the Tbilisi Tragedy and ten days after a largely victorious referendum on the subject, the Georgian Supreme Council declared the country's independence, appointing famed dissident and Georgian nationalist Zviad Gamsakhurdia as interim president. The latter was eventually elected president with 86% of the vote in an election that saw an 83% participation rate on 26 May. Gamsakhurdia was notably granted presidential powers by the Parliament, including:
Veto power over any law approved in Parliament; War declarations and power to declare martial law; Appointment powers over the Prime Minister, the presiding judge of the Supreme Court, the Prosecutor General, and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces; A total immunity
=== First signs of the crisis === In January 1991, Zviad Gamsakhurdia signed an executive decree creating the National Guard of Georgia, a prelude to the future Georgian Army, under the jurisdiction of the new Ministry of Internal Affairs. At its head, he appointed Tengiz Kitovani, recently elected to the Supreme Council of Georgia with Gamsakhurdia's party, with a mission to recruit 20,000 capable soldiers. Meanwhile, the government attempted to reign in the various paramilitary organizations which had recently emerged in the country and were utilized by the political forces. In February, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, while attempting to shut down the several paramilitary organizations, arrested ten members of the opposition National Democratic Party (NDP) and 56 members of the opposition Mkhedrioni paramilitary, including its leader, Jaba Ioseliani, a former criminal-turned-theater critique, for illegal possession of the weapons in Kakheti. The first signs of crisis also developed within the government on 9 August 1991, with an argument in the Supreme Council of Georgia between Gamsakhurdia and Vazha Adamia, the leader of the Merab Kostava Society, a political and paramilitary organization that was part of the Round Table coalition. Adamia, who was head of the parliamentary commission on defense, national security and order, would eventually resign in September 1991, with his organization joining the opposition. According to some sources, the confrontation was caused by the conflict between Adamia and the head of the National Guard of Georgia, Tengiz Kitovani. Gamsakhurdia sided with the latter.
Kitovani Leaves
Kitovani largely collaborated with Gamsakhurdia's war in South Ossetia, launching several assaults on the regions outside of Tbilisi's control between February and June 1991. However, the situation changed drastically during the summer of that same year. On 18 August, three ministers, including Prime Minister Tengiz Sigua, announced their support for the opposition and resigned from their posts, accusing the President of becoming a "totalitarian demagogue." Gamsakhurdia took himself the helm of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Justice. An attempted putsch in Moscow the next day brought a new controversy. The State Committee on the State of Emergency ordered all republics, including Georgia, to disband their new armed forces. Gamsakhurdia issued a presidential decree bringing the troops entirely within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The position of commander of the National Guard was abolished, with Kitovani being dismissed. According to Gamsakhurdia, he never had the intention to disband the National Guard, and he simply reorganized it to protect it from the Moscow coup leaders. Gamsakhurdia later would allege in October 1991 that Kitovani together with Sigua had been threatening him with armed mutiny in spring of 1991 over disagreements on cadre policy. In response to his decree, Kitovani and the opposition accused Gamsakhurdia of secretly siding with the Moscow coup plotters. Tengiz Kitovani, opposing his decision, left Tbilisi with a force of around 15,000 armed men and set up camp in the Rkoni Gorge, around 40 kilometers north of the capital. He was soon joined by Tengiz Sigua and former Foreign Affairs Minister Giorgi Khoshtaria. Meanwhile, on 26 August Gamsakhurdia banned the Communist Party for allegedly supporting the Moscow coup, which had 60 seats in the Supreme Council at the time. Tbilisi converted the local bureau of the KGB into a Department of National Security, which became a Ministry a few weeks later. A National Security Council was also created, proving that Gamsakhurdia wished to see a military infrastructure independent from Moscow.
First clashes
On 2 September, the situation becomes violent when demonstrations organized by the People's Front of Georgia and the NDP to ask for Jaba Ioseliani's freedom were dispersed by MIA forces. According to the non-government organization Human Rights Watch, the protesters, assembled on Rustaveli Avenue, were beaten with batons, while soldiers shot at the crowd. The incident resulted in three civilians getting injured. Following the clash, the situation in the central Tbilisi progressively spiralled out of control. The barricades were erected by the opposition supporters in front of the headquarters of the opposition parties and other places, the daily demonstrations started on the Rustaveli Avenue, in front of the Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi Television and Radio Department and other places, the transport network was paralyzed. On 11 September, the 27 political parties signed a resignation request for Gamsakhurdia. Meanwhile, on 9 September, Gamsakhurdia issued a decree creating the Defence Ministry which incorporated the National Guard under his personal control. On 17 September, Giorgi Chanturia, leader of the NDP, was arrested by law enforcement, being accused of being behind the construction of barricades. Giorgi Khaindrava, a member of the Georgian National Congress political party, was also arrested. Gamsakhurdia called his followers from the all provinces of Georgia to gather in Tbilisi and clear the streets from barricades. On 21 September, the government supporters launched an assault to clear the Rustaveli Avenue from the barricades blocking the street. On 22 September, a group of several dozens of protesters who were on hungerstrike in front of Parliament were violently dispersed by 250 presidential guards and around 200 "furies", women partisans of Gamsakhurdia. On the night of 22–23 September, the situation fell even further into violence when around 5,000 Gamsakhurdia supporters, led by deputy Avtandil Rtskhiladze, entered the headquarters of the NDP, where they faced some 800 members of the opposition.
=== Arrival of the armed opposition and the State of Emergency === On 23 September, the rebel factions of the Georgian National Guard led by Tengiz Kitovani entered Tbilisi to support the opposition in the clashes and seized the television station. On 24 September, Zviad Gamsakhurdia proclaimed a state of emergency. One of the first armed clashes which resulted in casualties occurred on 25 September, when the rebel units of the National Guard attempted to take over a power station in Tbilisi but were driven back by police. Four died as a result of clash. Since the end of September 1991, Tbilisi was a divided city. The Gldani, Nadzaladevi, and Didube neighborhoods, as well as the south and center parts of Rustaveli Avenue (housing government buildings) remained under the military control of Zviad Gamsakhurdia, who had started to isolate himself within the Supreme Council building. Neighborhoods located between the Marx-Engels-Lenin Institute (29 Rustaveli Ave.) and the Tbilisi State University (1 Chavchavadze Ave.) were loyal to the opposition, while the Mkhedrioni militia used the rest of Chavchavadze Avenue as its training ground. In the meantime, the neighborhoods of Vake and Saburtalo, populated by members of the Soviet intelligentsia, remained neutral. Each side was commanding 1,000 to 3,000 soldiers. Soviet Transcaucasian Military District, still based near Tbilisi, used the internal chaos to sell weapons to both sides in order to worsen the situation.
=== Stand-off === On 3 October, with the mediation of the Georgian Orthodox Church, the sides reached an agreement on the withdrawal of the Kitovani's militia outside of Tbilisi. However, Kitovani's National Guard withdrew to the Tbilisi Sea, on the outskirts of Tbilisi, which left it unclear whether this action was in accordance with the agreement. At the same time, on 4 October, the opposition started a massive rally at the direction of the Supreme Council building, which was met by the Gamsakhurdia supporters and resulted in armed clashes. Meanwhile, the units of the National Guard still supporting President, headed by Loti Kobalia, surrounded Kitovani's units near Tbilisi sea picketing them, although a major clash was averted with only small skirmishes. Ultimately, the government forces secured light victories and on 8 October, during the Supreme Council session chaired by Gamsakhurdia, the incident on 4–5 October was officially classified as the coup attempt. Kitovani and his former National Guard would remain in the surroundings of Tbilisi until December.
The period after the 4–5 October is assessed by the historian Dimitri Shvelidze as a prelude for the main battle, where both sides were gathering forces, searching for allies, weapons, money, and other resources. A temporary return to peace allowed Gamsakhurdia to suspend the law on political parties, effectively banning all parties during the state of emergency on 5 November, before closing the newspaper Sakartvelo-Sakinphorm. Valery Kvaratskhelia, a TV producer, was arrested on 2 October, and Goga Khindasheli, regional secretary of the NDP in Samtredia, joined others in prison soon. On the night of 21–22 October, eleven members of the NDP were arrested as well, while Temur Zhorzholiani, leader of the Monarchist Party, was arrested on 15 November. They are all imprisoned in the Ortachala Prison in the south of Tbilisi.
=== Coup === On 12 December, the US Secretary of State James Baker gave speech at the Princeton University, where he talked about the American policy in the post-Soviet world. He announced:
This means we will work with those republics and any common entity which commit to responsible security policies, democratic political practices, and free market economics. Fortunately, new leaders are emerging who are committed to these principles. The three tasks I have outlined represent those areas where our principles matter the most. They also represent the responsibilities members of the Euro-Atlantic Community already have assumed. By accepting these responsibilities, new political entities in the former Soviet Union can join in the democratic commonwealth of nations, gain political acceptance, and justify our economic support. Clearly, some - Russian, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan - already are showing their intention to accept the responsibilities of the democratic community of nations. They understand that their success depends, above all, on their commitment to democracy and economic liberty.
Clearly, other governments, for example, Georgia are showing already that communism can be replaced by governments that are authoritarian and equally underserving of our acceptance or support. On 19 December, Tengiz Kitovani offered an ultimatum to Zviad Gamsakhurdia, asking for his immediate resignation. But the latter refused. On 20 December 1991, Tengiz Kitovani returned to Tbilisi, where he unified his troops with those of the Mkhedrioni and the Merab Kostava Society militia. The next day, the Soviet Union was formally abolished and Georgia refused to join the Commonwealth of Independent States. Zviad Gamsakhurdia barricaded himself in the basement of the Parliament building. After having arrived in the capital, Kitovani announced, "We did not fight [Gamsakhurdia] actively while international opinion on the authoritarian nature of his personal dictatorship wasn't clear. So what we're now doing is not a military coup but rather the overthrow of a dictatorship with the goal of establishing democratic order."
Combatants
=== Loyalists === The lack of organization within governmental troops and the defection of a large amount of forces during the coup makes any attempt to estimate the size of troops loyal to Zviad Gamsakhurdia difficult. At the onset of the conflict, the National Guard, which includes merely a fraction of its 15,000 original soldiers following Tengiz Kitovani's secession, contributes to the majority of troops protecting the Parliament building, but the number of actual National Guard members participating in the conflict remains unknown, as a large part of the Guard remains in South Ossetia during the coup. While some western sources claim between 1,000 and 2,000 combatants fight for Gamsakhurdia, the latter estimates himself having 5,000 soldiers on his side. Sources become blurrier in the second week of the coup. Gia Karkarashvili, who leads the Military Council's war efforts, claims that the other side has no more than 250–300 men by 4 January, while the Russian news agency Interfax reported 300–500 Zviadist soldiers the day before. Other Russian sources, meanwhile, estimate nearly 1,500 Zviadists, 60% of which being armed, on 5 January. The Military Council, which represents the opposition, declared during the conflict that the majority of pro-Gamsakhurdia soldiers were 18 or 19 years old and were coerced into fighting. According to the council, there was only a very small group of armed fighters belonging to the government's OMON, a special, highly trained branch of the National Guard. Some of those who fought on Gamsakhurdia's side were reportedly devoted female followers of his dressed in black, known as "furies" or the "Black Pantyhose Battalion". A youth militia from the mountainous region of Svaneti, nicknamed "Lemi" (ლემი, or "Lion" in Svan) also fought for the president. The participation of foreign mercenaries remains a controversial subject, denied by Gamsakhurdia supporters. However, during a 4 January press conference by the Military Council, the latter condemns the use of Chechen mercenaries sent by Ichkeria President and close Gamsakhurdia ally Dzhokhar Dudayev. Jaba Ioseliani, leader of the Mkhedrioni militia, states then that "Jokhar Dudaiev's position is unacceptable and misplaced, but hope remains that this quid pro quo can be fixed." On 5 January, four Ukrainian mercenaries probably working as snipers for the government are detained by the opposition.
Opposition
The majority of opposition troops come from rebel factions of the National Guard that followed Tengiz Kitovani during his August 1991 mutiny. However, while an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 members of the Guard pledged allegiance to the opposition's struggle, only a small part of these combatants participated in the Tbilisi battle, while the other soldiers remain in South Ossetia or Abkhazia fighting in the 1991–1992 South Ossetia War. Jaba Ioseliani commands a militia of 600 to 5,000 soldiers that operate under the Mkhedrioni standard. This militia remains under the direct leadership of Ioseliani, even after the opposition's unification after the 2 January 1992 proclamation of the Military Council, and it is this militia that would cause the 3 January massacre. The Merab Kostava Society, which was organized as a political movement in 1990 before becoming an armed militia led by Vazha Adamia, joined the rebel National Guard as early as 20 December 1991.
Starting on 22 December, Tetri Artsivi (თეთრი არწივი, or "White Eagle"), a paramilitary group of around 80 men led by warlord Gia Karkarashvili and operating in the South Ossetia war, leaves Tskhinvali to assist the opposition. This militia would be used to put siege on Tbilisi and block all routes leading to the capital. Karkarashvili would later become one of the main figures in the Military Council, before taking the post of Minister of Defense during the Abkhazia War. On 31 December 1991, Gia Chanturia announced that the Union of Afghans, a militia made of more than 1,000 veterans from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, joined the opposition forces.
Russian involvement
According to the theory by historian and close Gamsakhurdia ally Leila Tsomaia, Zviad Gamsakhurdia had been given time until 07:00 on 22 December to contact Boris Yeltsin and pledge Georgia's membership into the Commonwealth of Independent States. Gamsakhurdia's refusal to do so would have been what jump-started the hostilities. This version is confirmed by the president, who accused Yeltsin of being behind the coup. On 3 January, he repeated his accusations and nicknames the coup the "Kremlin's Putsch." During the conflict, accusations of Russian assistance to one side or another were regularly made by both the president and the opposition. Thus, Gamsakhurdia complained from within his bunker that units of the Soviet Army "are not assisting the legitimately-elected President and, instead, are providing substantial help to the bandits of the opposition." On the other hand, Jaba Ioseliani accused Gamsakhurdia of being too close to Russian intelligence services, claiming that three ministers (Foreign Affairs Minister Murman Omanidze, Internal Affairs Minister Dilar Khabuliani, and Technical Resources Minister Igor Chkheidze) were KGB agents. Despite these allegations, Yuri Grekov, First Vice-Commander of the Military District of Transcaucasia of the Soviet Army, denied any Soviet involvement in the conflict, while striking an agreement on the Soviet troops' remaining in Georgia after Gamsakhurdia's departure. In December 1992, nearly eleven months after the end of the conflict, Moskovskiye Novosti published a letter from Colonel-General Sufian Bepayev, who was then the vice-commander of the Transcaucasian Military District of the Red Army, who claimed to have brought logistical and military help to the opposition starting on 28 December. According to that letter, lacking the interference of the Russian soldiers, "Gamsakhurdia supporters would have had a guaranteed victory." This version of the facts revealed also an involvement by Russian soldiers during the battle around the Broadcasting Tower of Tbilisi. However, another theory was provided by Greek strategist Spyros Demetriou, who revealed in a 2002 study the large implication of Soviet forces in the civil war. Shortly after Gamsakhurdia's election in 1990, Moscow authorities authorized a covert operation of introducing a large artillery of undocumented weapons into Georgia through Armenia and Azerbaijan, to be distributed among the several paramilitary groups set up by Georgian nationalists. As soon as early 1991, large caches of AK-47s and Makarov PMs were introduced on the Vaziani Military Base and into the Georgian stations of the DOSAAF. Nine Georgian, three Ossetian, and three Abkhaz militias were thus armed before the beginning of the civil war. During the coup itself, Sufian Bepayev may have provided weapons and armed vehicles to both sides. According to some sources, he may have begun by offering free weapons at the beginning of the coup, before starting to sell them: $200 to $300 per AK-47, $800 per Makarov PM, and $5,000 to $8,000 per armed vehicle. According to the Georgian Defense Foundation, the National Guard received, between 21 December 1991 and 6 January 1992, nearly 200 AK-47s, 50 RPG-7s, two SVD Dragunov rifles, and 200 Makarov PMs. Following the Military Council's victory, a special battalion of the National Guard was formed on 10 January and was entirely equipped by Russian military bases. Some analyze this weapons distribution scheme to be the natural result of the lack of order among remaining Soviet armies after the downfall of the USSR, given the harsh economic conditions of the Caucasus and the corruption of high-ranking military officials. However, Demetriou revealed another theory on the shared support from the Russians:
In his attempt to define and implement foreign policy objectives in the post-Soviet sphere, Russian President Boris Yeltsin clashed with the prerogatives of conservative and hard-line political and military actors. In Georgia, these disputes manifested themselves in a duality of policy towards the conflicts. Yeltsin favored a process of dialogue, negotiation, and co-operation with the Georgian government. Russian military leaders, however, viewed the preservation of Russian military influence and strategic assets in the geostrategically important Caucasus as a primary goal to be attained even at the expense of Georgian independence and through whatever means possible. As a result, the Russian military conducted its own ‘foreign policy’ in Georgia. The goal of this ‘foreign policy’ was to counter Georgia’s rejection of any ties with Russia, such as within the CIS. The means were destabilization and the creation of a situation in which substantial and long-term Russian assistance (in the form of troops and installations) would be required. By fueling belligerents on all sides of the conflicts with weapons and other matériel, Russian military leaders accomplished both of these objectives.
The Conflict
=== The First Day === As soon as Kitovani arrives in Tbilisi, battle plans are put into place. While the National Guard and government leaders fortify themselves within the Parliament building, Tengiz Sigua takes over the Tbilisi Hotel on Rustaveli Avenue, less than 250 meters away from Parliament, designating the building as the opposition's military headquarters. On 21 December, Otar Litanishvili, a commander of the Mkhedrioni, brings a detailed map of the capital within the HQ and military leaders plan the coming attacks. Tengiz Kitovani takes command of the upcoming assault on Parliament, being the most knowledgeable of the building's infrastructure, from his time as head of the National Guard. The opposition's preparations are largely made on the night of 21–22 December. Giorgi Arveladze, a Mkhedrioni officer, is sent to inspect the surroundings of Parliament to confirm the location of governmental troops and soon, Rustaveli Avenue is blocked from the public, with both sides using buses and armed vehicles to isolate the most popular street of Tbilisi. Around 01:00, Gia Karkarashvili, who leads a militia of around 80 men known as Tetri Artsivi ("White Eagle"), leaves his post in Tskhinvali, where he is defending the Georgian neighborhoods of the city during the South Ossetian conflict, and sets up barricades on the main highway leading to Tbilisi from the north, in order to avoid any access to the capital, before leaving his soldiers in the outpost while bringing weapons to the opposition. His militia is armed with 50 AK-47s, 3 AKS74s, 20 AKS-74Us, and 50 cases of grenades. The morning of 22 December, according to the witness testimony of former deputy Sandro Bregadze, Sigua orders his personal guard, led by former Soviet secret service officer Murtaz Shaluahsvili, to position itself in Alexandrov Park (today known as the April 9 Park), in order to target the Parliament. With just the Kashveti Church serving as a buffer between both camps, government authorities send Mayor Tamaz Vashadze of Tbilisi and deputy Avtandil Rtskhiladze on a negotiation mission one last time before the beginning of the hostilities, but the two are kidnapped by Sigua's forces. Around 07:30, Murtaz Shualashvili orders the first fire against Parliament and Karkarashvili launches four rockets on the Parliament building, inaugurating two weeks of violence. According to a New York Times report, the opposition refuses to accept any responsibility with the first attack. Throughout 22 December, both sides use rockets, grenades, and automatic weapons to fight each other. The Kashveti Church, which houses opposition soldiers, becomes a target of governmental forces. The Gamsakhurdia household, nicknamed "Colchis Bell", catches fire, but the family, under governmental protection during the coup, remains safe.
The Parliament building is entirely isolated, notably because of the preceding cut of all communication cables leading to and from Gamsakhurdia's bunker, a cut that was ordered by the President a few months before under the advice of his National Security Adviser, Otar Khatiashvili. Khatiashvili joins the opposition on the first day of fighting, while Communications Minister Phelix Tkebuchava, stays formally inside the government but collaborates with coup leaders by cutting the phone lines of Parliament. Throughout the day, rebels managed to enter Parliament twice, but governmental forces push back both times, before asking for a negotiation. The latter soon fails and the battle starts anew, while Sigua contacts Gamsakhurdia and warns him, "Your faults will not happen any longer. You should have resigned a long time ago. Now, you better come out with a white flag or we will take care of everyone." Besik Kutateladze, the deputy minister of Defense, is sent by Zviad Gamsakhurdia to negotiate again with the opposition, but he betrays the President, joins the opposition and makes a televised declaration asking Gamsakhurdia to resign and to let a new Parliament punish all guilty parties behind the violence. Kutateladze then takes a helicopter and is sent by Sigua and Tengiz Kitovani to Zugdidi, in western Georgia, to prevent the formation of pro-Gamsakhurdia forces. Tamaz Ninua, deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, also joins the opposition. During the afternoon, Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, makes an appearance on Rustaveli Avenue, asking both sides to agree on peace, while remaining neutral during the conflict, a position that would later be criticized heavily by some Gamsakhurdia supporters. During the evening, Gamsakhurdia, remaining in his bunker with his family, addressed the nation, pretending that his forces had defeated opposition troops and pledging to not resign. Between seven and 17 people are killed during the first day of battle.
Escalation and International Reactions
The conflict intensifies on 23 December during a new direct assault against the Parliament, organized in the morning but rebuffed by the National Guard. During the day, the presidential plane is moved from one side of the Novo Alexeyevka Airport of Tbilisi to another, leading to rumors about a potential departure of Gamsakhurdia; these rumors are, however, denied by the government, which assures that the move is made for security purposes, while announcing a dubious advantage over opposition soldiers. The airport and TV and radio stations are temporarily closed. Russian TV, meanwhile, provides footage of vehicles armed with rocket launchers pointed at the Parliament building, before the beginning of a second attack against the structure, led by Tengiz Sigua himself, who predicts an imminent victory. The second attack on 23 December results in a temporary victory of the presidential forces, but the Art Museum of Georgia, across the street from the Parliament, catches fire. The Russian press agency TASS writes about the event that several people are stuck inside the museum with no way out, while fire brigades have no access because of the opposition blockade on the street. Gamsakhurdia recalls the remaining parts of his National Guard in Tbilisi in order to attempt a breach through the opposition's barricades outside the city, thus putting an end to any large Georgian military presence in South Ossetia.
According to a New York Times report from Tbilisi, violence increases on 24 December and, while the sounds of missiles thrown against Parliament and the Television Tower of Tbilisi (two kilometers west of Rustaveli Avenue) are heard through the center of the capital, the worsening of the situation leads the U.S. State Department to publish America's first reaction on the Georgian civil war: We find that President Gamsakhurdia's record on commitment to democratic principles and internationally recognized human rights is poor. Political and other disputes should be resolved peacefully and in a manner consistent with internationally recognized human rights principles. We've called on both the Georgian government and the opposition to observe these principles in resolving their dispute. While increasing the blockade around Tbilisi, Tengiz Sigua and Tengiz Kitovani offer a peace proposal to Gamsakhurdia on 24 December. The plan offers to treat members of government with safe conduct in exchange of the immediate resignation of the president, an offer refused by the head of state. At the end of the day, some international reports estimated the number of dead between 23 and 50 Georgians and 168 to 200 injured. Russian television shows footage of civilians evacuating the bodies of victims during the evening. On 25 December, the number of dead grows to 30–80 victims, according to US media.
=== The New Year === The most severe battle of the coup d'état takes place on 27 December when Tengiz Kitovani's troops penetrate inside the Parliament and put fire to the first floor of the building with gasoline. The Health Ministry announces after during an interview with The New York Times that, "we have no idea what's happening, except for the fact that there are shootings around Parliament." However, this doesn't prevent Human Rights Watch, a US-based NGO, from publishing an official report the same day formally accusing the Zviad Gamsakhurdia government of human rights violations. On 28 December, it becomes clear that government forces have lost all control outside of the presidential bunker and Tengiz Kitovani, followed by a Mkhedrioni detachment, captures the former Soviet office of the KGB in the Gldani neighborhood, where several opposition leaders are imprisoned. Eight prisoners are freed and brought to Rustaveli Avenue to encourage fighters, including Giorgi Chanturia, Giorgi Khaindrava, and the titular head of the Mkhedrioni, Jaba Ioseliani. The latter takes back his control over the militia and Chanturia announces that the civil war must continue until the resignation of Gamsakhurdia. On their way, the Kitovani troops burn down several buildings of strategic importance, including the National Bank of Georgia and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, leading to the destruction of nearly 210,000 documents (or 80% of the entirety) of governmental archives from the Soviet era. At the end of 28 December, the number of dead had risen to at least 42, and 260 injured. On 31 December, Nodar Giorgadze, deputy minister of defense and leader of a militia made up of veterans from the Afghanistan War, publicly asks for Gamsakhurdia's resignation, leading to his arrest. He is soon joined by Murman Omanidze, the Foreign Affairs Minister and one of Gamsakhurdia's closest advisers, following his failed negotiating trip to Russia.
=== A Military Council === On 1 January 1992, opposition forces capture the Broadcasting Tower of Tbilisi, allowing them to control televised messages. On 2 January 1992, opposition leaders, assembled within the Academy of Sciences, announced the establishment of a Military Council. The Council becomes the only government recognized by members of the opposition. While the complete makeup of the council's administration is never made public, Tengiz Kitovani and Jaba Ioseliani proclaim themselves Council leaders, while nominating Tengiz Sigua as head of government and Prime Minister and the Supreme Council is dissolved. Aleksandre Chikvaidze, the Russian ambassador to the Netherlands, is appointed Foreign Affairs Minister, former Soviet military commissar Levan Sharashenidze is named Minister of Defense, and Vakhtang Razmadze becomes the Chief Prosecutor. Theoretically, the Gamsakhurdia government remains the only legitimate entity recognized by major foreign powers, but it isn't clear which government is recognized by Laos, Ethiopia, and Iraq, which recognize Georgian independence the day of the council's creation. Kitovani and Ioseliani sign together all the junta's decrees, including a first decree deposing the Gamsakhurdia cabinet, before abolishing the Constitution in a second decree. By ordering such moves, opposition leaders claimed to want to restore the old Democratic Republic of Georgia's 1921 Constitution, but this restoration will only happen in late February and the country operates under the junta's unilateral control for a month. In order to convince the civilian population of the opposition's democratic intentions, the Military Council announces the formation of a consultative assembly made of political and intellectual figures ("open to all, except Zviad Gamsakhurdia"). A curfew is established the same day by the junta across Tbilisi, prohibiting anyone from leaving their homes from 23:00 to 06:00. Zviad Gamsakhurdia, whose troops consist of a just a few hundred guards at this point, asks, from his bunker, the Georgian people to ignore the Military Council's decrees and to follow only "the Constitution, the laws of the Republic and those of its democratically-elected government". The main battle on 2 January takes place during the evening when, around 18:00, governmental troops attack with trace fire the Iveria Hotel, controlled by the opposition and less than one kilometer north of the Parliament building and which includes a Red Cross station. The opposition retaliates from the Academy of Arts building, leading to a fierce battle on Rustaveli Avenue until 22:00. By the end of 2 January, Gamsakhurdia's Health Ministry counted a total of 73 dead and 400 injured since the beginning of the conflict. Gia Karkarashvili is named military governor of Tbilisi by the Military Council.
=== Events Outside of Tbilisi === While Tbilisi falls into chaos, the rest of Georgia (except for South Ossetia) remains more or less calm during the first week of the conflict. However, the events affected some rural zones in January 1992. Thus, while Georgian television falls under opposition control on 1 January, all programming is stopped in western Georgia, which had remained loyal to Gamsakhurdia, thanks to the capture of the broadcasting tower of Kutaisi by Zviadists. In the same manner, while a majority of the country stops receiving newspapers following the closure of printers in Tbilisi during the coup, western Georgia keeps its pro-Gamsakhurdia newspapers thanks to the printers of Kutaisi. On 4 January, Zviad Gamsakhurdia signs a decree from his bunker requiring all municipal and regional governments outside of Tbilisi to organize a large-scale mobilization of troops against the opposition. This order requires the mobilization to take place until 7 January and mandates the local governments to open mobilization centers to welcome all military conscripts, aged 20 to 45 years old. Local authorities are also under the obligation to organize transport for this theoretical army. However, without a National Guard, this decree cannot be enforced. In response, the Military Council announces the abolition of local governments and declares its intent to appoint local governors loyal to the opposition. According to an announcement by the council, the majority of local government centers fell into the junta's control by 18:30 on 4 January. However, the country still includes some cities loyal to the President; a gun battle takes place at the Rustavi City Hall, 25 kilometers south of the capital, between the local government and Military Council troops, on 5 January. No injury is reported from this battle.
Repressing Demonstrations
On 3 January, it becomes clear that the Gamsakhurdia government has no longer enough forces to defeat the opposition. However, the Western press questions the strength of the opposition, notably because of the bunker's advantageous position, but also because of the lack of any decisive force by either side. Ashot Manucharyan, National Security Adviser to Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrosian, arrives in Tbilisi the same day in order to broker a peace between the adversaries and convince them to sign a peace agreement; however, Gamsakhurdia is offended by the meeting between the Armenian delegation and the opposition.
Zviad Gamsakhurdia states his last speech from his bunker in the morning: While we have almost achieved the true independence of the republic and her recognition and the world's powers, a few traitors of our homeland are attempting to threaten our independence by creating a Military Council, in the same nature as the revolutionary committee of February 1921. Today, our nation's destiny is to be decided. I ask everyone to rise to defend the homeland, to defend the future of our children. The entire population of our republic has to come to the defense of its legitimate and democratically-elected government. The government is in entire control of the situation and continues to direct the republic's infrastructure. We have overcome many obstacles on the road to independence. We believe that now as well, the Georgian people shall overcome the current situation with honor. I ask you to form defense committees and to resist the decisions of the Military Council. I ask you to organize large demonstrations, many strikes, and other acts of civil disobedience. While the Military Council issued a new decree forbidding all protestations, an assembly of 3,000 to 4,000 Gamsakhurdia supporters organize a demonstration around 12:00 on 3 January, starting from a railway station several miles from the battlefield. The protesters, including mainly middle-aged men and women, carry the President's portrait, while chanting his name ("Zviadi!") and walking toward Rustaveli Avenue. After just 15 minutes, a car transporting masked men of the Mkhedrioni throws smoke bombs on the crowd, which only angers and energizes it, while encouraging applause from civilians on their balconies. But a group of eight to ten masked men wearing sunglasses to hide their identities, form a line in front of the demonstrators and start shooting blanks to disperse the crowd. A few instants later, real bullets are fired at the protesters, who disperse violently while some take refuge behind cars. Two protesters are immediately killed and several are injured, including two more who would die a few days later.
The events of 3 January increase the rhetoric between both sides. Jaba Ioseliani announces during a press conference that the decision to violently disperse the demonstration came directly from the Military Council, due to the junta's decree banishing all demonstrations. He called the massacre "normal" and threatened to repeat the orders if Tbilisi residents continued to violate the council's decrees, while apologizing to four journalists who had their equipment confiscated by opposition forces. Ioseliani accuses the elite OMON forces of Gamsakhurdia of having provoked the Mkhedrioni soldiers. Zviad Gamsakhurdia compared, during an interview with British TV station Sky News, the Military Council to "terrorists and criminals" on 4 January. During that same interview, he refused a new offer to negotiate his resignation with the opposition and compared the shooting to the January 1991 events in Lithuania, when Soviet troops shot and killed several protesters fighting for independence.