The Issue of National and Religious Minorities in the Democratic Republic of Georgia
The Issue of National and Religious Minorities in the Democratic Republic of Georgia

Summary/Abstract: The Democratic Republic of Georgia became the first precedent in human history where a government was led by a social democratic party. This state existed for only three years, but left us with a remarkable experience and legacy of democratic development, including in its treatment of minorities. The government and representatives of the opposition approached the issue of national and religious minorities based on the principle of protecting their rights and not violating the interests of the state.In the Democratic Republic of Georgia, minorities had the full right and opportunity to participate in the political, economic, and cultural life of the state. Their rights were guaranteed by legislation, including the Law on the State Language, the Regulation on Citizenship/Subjecthood, and the Constitution. In areas densely populated by national minorities, where they constituted a majority, the use of the minority language in court alongside the state language was permitted.The religious policy of the leadership of the Democratic Republic of Georgia was also characterized by tolerance. Despite the ongoing policy of secularization and the separation of church and state, and school and church, numerous synagogues,mosques, madrassas, and Orthodox churches operated throughout the country. Religious rites were performed there unhindered.Despite the targeted policies of the authorities of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, the civic integration of national minorities was delayed. The process of political consolidation of the “fragmented nations” within the Georgian state was complexand could not be fully realized between 1918 and 1921.In this article, various on a variety of primary sources, archival materials, periodicals,memoirs, and scholarly literature, we seek to analyze the issue of national and religious minorities in the Democratic Republic of Georgia, highlighting the positive results of measures taken in this field and the contradictions that accompanied the coexistence of Georgians and national minorities during the period under review.

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