Page:Karl Kautsky - Georgia - tr. Henry James Stenning (1921).pdf/88



We have seen that the Social-Democratic Party of Georgia unlike that of Poland, functioned, not as an independent party, but as a part of the Social-Democracy of Russia, as a citadel of Russian Menshevism. But it stood for the self-determination of the Georgian as of every other nationality. To achieve this object, the Party did not consider it to be necessary to separate from the Russian State. It would have been quite satisfied if Georgia had become one of the States of an allied republic of the United States of Russia. Not as Georgians, but as Menshevists, it took part in the Constituent Assembly in November, 1917. In the interest of the whole of Russia, Tsereteli defended the rights of the Assembly on its opening against the threatened coup d'état of the Bolshevists. He pointed out that the dissolution of the Assembly spelt nothing less than the ruin of industry eternal civil war and the disruption of the Empire. His arguments were answered by the Bolshevists by means of the force of Lettish infantry and Cronstadt sailors. This has attitude of Tsereteli being right in the light of history.

The first consequence of the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly was the disruption of the Empire. The centrifugal tendencies obtained the upper hand in the eastern provinces, in the Ukraine, on the Don and in Kuban, in Siberia, and in the Caucasus.

The defection of Transcaucasia took place, not at once, but gradually.

The Transcaucasian deputies, who had been elected to the Constituent Assembly, were increased in number immediately after the elections, by such unsuccessful candidates as had received the next largest