View source for Committee of Independent Georgia

{{for|an [[anti-Soviet]] organization in the [[Georgian SSR]] with a similar name|Committee for Independence of Georgia}}
{{Infobox political party
| name = Committee of Independent Georgia
| native_name = საქართველოს განთავისუფლების კომიტეტი
| native_name_lang = ka
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| colorcode = blue
| abbreviation =      <!-- official abbreviation or | abbr = -->
| leader = 
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| chairperson = {{ill|Petre Surguladse|ka|პეტრე სურგულაძე}}
| secretary =
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| founder =           <!-- or | founders = -->
| founded = {{start date|1914||}}
| registered = 
| legalised =         <!-- or | legalized = -->
| dissolved = {{end date|1918||}}
| merger = 
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| predecessor = 
| merged = [[National Council of Georgia]]
| successor = 
| headquarters = [[Berlin]] {{small|(1914–1916)}}<br>[[Samsun]] {{small|(1916–1917)}}<br>[[Giresun]] {{small|(1917–1918)}}
| newspaper = 
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| student_wing = 
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| wing1_title = Paramilitary wing
| wing1 =  [[Georgian Legion (1915–1918)|Georgian Legion]]
| wing2_title = 
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| ideology = [[Georgian nationalism]]<br>[[Social democracy]]
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| international = [[Central Powers]]
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| country = Georgia (country)
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}}
[[File:Members_of_the_Georgian_diplomatic_delegation_in_Berlin.jpg|thumb|Members of the Georgian diplomatic delegation in Berlin, 1918]]
The '''Committee of Independent Georgia''' ({{lang-ka|საქართველოს განთავისუფლების კომიტეტი}}), also known as the '''Georgian Committee''', was a political organization formed in 1914 by [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] émigrés and students in [[German Empire|Germany]] during [[World War I]]. It aimed at ending [[Russian Empire|Imperial Russia]]n rule in Georgia and reasserting the country’s independence under German protection. The committee was chaired by Petre Surguladse; other members included [[Georges V. Matchabelli|Prince Georges Matchabelli]], [[Mikheil Tsereteli]] (a notable scholar who had abandoned [[Kropotkin]]ite [[Anarchism]] in favor of Georgian nationalism), [[Leo Kereselidze|Leo]] and Giorgi Kereselidze, and the [[Adjarians|Muslim Georgian]] Osman Bey (Meliton) Kartsivadze. The committee also established branches in [[Austria-Hungary]] and the [[Ottoman Empire]]. 

During the [[Caucasus Campaign]] of 1916–1917, the committee was headquartered in [[Samsun]], and later in [[Kerasunt]]. From there, the organization attempted to establish contacts with dissidents in Georgia. The leading independent political party, the [[Georgian Social Democratic (Menshevik) Party|Social Democrats]] ([[Mensheviks]]), maintained neutrality and did not engage in antiwar activity. Their expressed Russian orientation convinced the Tsarist authorities to allow them to operate freely in the [[Caucasus]]. Thus the Mensheviks were reluctant to collaborate with the committee, which advocated a break with Russia and an independent Georgian state. Mikheil Tsereteli himself made a secret trip to Georgia (landing from a German [[submarine]] {{SMS|UB-42|sub=y}}). He met with the Menshevik leader [[Noe Zhordania]] at [[Kutaisi]], and urged him to consider a pro-German orientation. But at that time, Zhordania considered any confrontation with the Tsarist administration political suicide and Tsereteli’s mission ended unsuccessfully. Yet the committee and its supporters, although not very numerous, represented quite a serious problem for the Russian government, especially after the committee established a volunteer unit, the [[The Georgian Legion (1914-1918)|Georgian Legion]], as part of the [[German Caucasus Expedition]]. Although the movement continued to be backed by Germany, its relations with the Ottoman government became extremely strained. As a result, the Georgian Legion was officially disbanded in April 1917. The members of both the committee and the legion returned to Georgia after the [[Russian Revolution of 1917]] and joined the independence movement that concluded with the proclamation of the [[Democratic Republic of Georgia]] on May 26, 1918.

== References ==
         
*[[David Marshall Lang|Lang, David Marshall]] (1962), ''A Modern History of Georgia'', p.&nbsp;182-3. [[London]]: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
*[[Ronald Grigor Suny|Suny, Ronald Grigor]] (1994), ''The Making of the Georgian Nation: 2nd edition'', p.&nbsp;179. [[Indiana University Press]], {{ISBN|0-253-20915-3}}

[[Category:1910s in Georgia (country)]]
[[Category:World War I]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1914]]
[[Category:Organizations disestablished in 1918]]
[[Category:Politics of Georgia (country)]]
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