The Rebellion in Guria
The Rebellion in Guria (1841) was a popular revolt against colonial policy of the Russian Empire. It started on May 22 (June 3) in the village of Aketi (now Lanchkhuti Municipality). The common cause of people's protest was the introduction of the Russian laws, the arbitrariness of military and civil servants, and the imposition of new taxes. The immediate cause was the tax reform, according to which state taxes were to be collected in cash from 1841, and conscription into the Russian army for a 25-year term. In July-August, the unrest flared into a full-scale rebellion. It also spread to some villages in Imereti and Samegrelo region. On August 9, the rebels defeated Russian Colonel Brusilov's troops near the village of Gogoreti. Soon, they occupied almost all important strategic points. 2,500 regular soldiers under the command of Colonel Moisey Argutinsky-Dolgorukov attacked the rebels. The militia of Odisha (Samegrelo) and Imereti moved towards Guria. The rebels' attacks to capture Ozurgeti ended in failure. On the morning of September 5, Moisey Argutinsky-Dolgorukov attacked the rebels from the side they were least expecting. The surprise attack decided the fate of the rebels.
The Rebellion in Guria ended in failure. Its leaders, Ambako Shalikashvili and David Gugunava, had no pre-agreed plan of joint action.
During the height of the rebellion (August), a lot of nobles joined the movement. At the final stage, when the inevitable defeat became obvious, some of the leaders withdrew from the movement (D. Gugunava and others), while some remained loyal to the rebellion until the end (A. Shalikashvili and others).
The tsarist government imprisoned 50 leaders of the movement in Kutaisi prison. However, in order to prevent public unrest, Emperor Nicholas I pardoned all of them and exiled only A. Shalikashvili to Siberia in 1842.
E. Ninoshvili's historical novel Rebellion in Guria is a literary representation of this rebellion.
Literature: კ ი კ ვ ი ძ ე ა., საქართველოს ისტორია (XIX ს.), თბ., 1954; სიხარულიძე ი., გლეხთა აჯანყება გურიაში 1841 წელს, ბათ., 1956; ყიფიანი დ., მემუარები, რედ. ს. ხუნდაძე, თბ., 1930; საქართველოს ისტორიის ნარკვევები, ტ. 5, თბ., 1970.
G. Metreveli
