Monday, February 16, 2009
The Royal Sovereign Houses of Georgia
Author: Michael Yu. Medvedev / Publication date: 2008-08-10
Preface
This year (2009) on Sunday, 8 of February, a Royal wedding was celebrated in the Most Holy Trinity’s Cathedral in Tbilisi. Prince David, the head of the “rebellious” Moukhrani branch of the Bagratides, and Princess Anna, the heir to the headship of the Royal Georgian line, were wed to restore the unity of the House. This dynastical union, rather old-fashioned in a sense, may produce a posterity which will solve the dramatic problem discussed in this paper.
I. The Origin of The Bagratids
The House of Bagrat (the Bagratids, Bagrationi) is traditionally believed to descend from the biblical King David through Gouram the [converted] Jew, who in the 6th century married a daughter of the King Vakhtang I of Georgia, and was created a Prince of Tao; the Bagrat who gave the name to the dynasty was the son and heir of this Gouram. Gradually the Bagratides became the senior Georgian rulers, gained the Royal title and power, since 888 established themselves as Kings of [All South-East] Georgia, and in the 11th century created an unified Georgian state, a Caucasian superpower.
Gouram (together with his brothers, also prominent in Georgian and Armenian history) probably came from a respectable family of Jewish exilarchs; it was not uncommon for the Jewish diaspora to select its leaders, in messianic expectations or out of mere nostalgia, from the posterity of King David, or ascribe to them such a descent. It worth mentioning that there were, and are, other theories regarding the provenance of the Bagratids; thus, Prince Toumanoff considered them as a branch of the Orontides, an ancient Persian lineage; and the modern ‘mainstream opinion’ among the historians is that Bagrat descended from a local aristocratic family in place modernly known as Ispir. – In any case, for the representation of the Kings of Georgia and their reputation among their subject, the Davidical theory always was fundamental.
II. The Georgian Realms and Their Dynasties
The external factors (Persian, Mongol, Timuride and Ottoman invasions and pressure) and the natural development of the lesser nations resulted, since the 15th centuries, in the gradual fragmentation of the unified Georgian state into several states, including the three Georgian Realms, all ruled by branches of Bagratids: of Kartalinia (or Georgia in the narrow sense), Imeretia (the maritime Georgia, the successor of the ancient Colchis) and Kakhetia (the Northeast Georgia); there were also several sovereign principalities headed by non-Bagratide monarchs. This situation persisted until the Russian annexation in the course of the 19th century.
The three royal branches maintained the family unity, each of them being considered as a cadet branch of the two others, which sometimes resulted not in brotherly relations but in claims and counter-claims. Kartalinia was the premier Georgian kingdom (which premiership still belongs to the correspondent branch of the House), but its Kings had no family jurisdiction over the two other branches, and there was no sole headship within the House of Bagrat.
There were also several separately established cadet branches of the House; some of them maintained the dynastical standing; others were ranked among the non-dynastic nobility. The most prominent cadet branch is that of Moukhrani, which was founded in the late 15th century by a third son of the last King of the unified Georgia. The branch enjoyed considerable autonomy within its apanage but was not sovereign in its own right.
The “first class members” of the royal houses – the kings’ children and other close direct descendants – were titled Batonishvili. This means ‘the Lord’s Child’; the traditional Russian translation is Tsarevich. The Spanish title of Infante may be mentioned as a well-known and pretty adequate analogy.
It worth mentioning that the dynastical history of the Bagratids is full of difficult and misleading circumstances, such as interruptions in reigns, irregular appointments by the Persian Shahs, bastardic succession, occasional polygamy (many Georgian rulers were obliged by Persian and Turkish Emperors to embrace Moslem faith before getting the crown – and sometimes this was more than a formality), and equivocal genealogical versions. What is more, with the death of George III in 1184 the main male line went extinct and the throne was inherited by Saint T[h]amar who married George, son of Saint Andrew ‘of Bogolyubovo’, the Grand Duke of Vladimir (the union was unsuccessful and Tamar divorced), and then Prince David Soslan of the Alans, who secured the continuation of the House, being however only allegedly a Bagratid. Even the seniority by primogeniture among the lines and branches of the house of Bagrat is disputed by scholars, but in any case this principle was not decisive for the Georgian laws and customs of succession.
III. The Kingdom of Kartalinia
The senior line of the original branch of Kartalinia became extinct with the elderly and childless King Rostom I in 1658. His distant cousin and heir Luarsab was killed in accident; Luarsab’s son was too young to succeed. Anticipating the dynastical crisis, Rostom preferred to arrange the dynastical adoption of the head of the Moukhrani branch, Vakhtang. On his accession as Vakhtang VI, this Prince ceded the Moukhrani apanage to his brother Constantine, who was not covered by the adoption and from whom the modern Moukhrani princes descend.
Other lines of the original Kartalinian branch (Luarsab’s posterity and the Princes Gochishvili) were extinct in (if not before) the early 18th century.
The Realm of Kartalinia was four times annexed to that of Kakhetia but for the first three times, the Kartalinian branch was restored to its throne. However with the emigration to Russia of Vakhtang VI (1724) and the death of his successor Jesse I (1727), Kartalinia was lost for this line and, after a dramatic interregnum, passed to the Kakhetian branch of the House. In 1744, the two realms were finally united.
The members of the deposed branch settled in Russia; the last of them died in the end of the 19th century. There was also a cadet line, famous in the Russian history (the General Bagration, a hero of the 1812 anti-Napoleonic war, was of this line), and extinct since 1927.
The Moukhrani branch stayed in Kartalinia and maintained allegiance to the new Kings.
The Kings of the united Kartalinia and Kakhetia accepted the Russian patronage and superior suzerainty in 1783 (as an alternative for the Persian and Turkish control) and reigned until the death of George XII in 1800. Several days before his death this monarch, willful to secure his heir’s fate, made several controversial decisions regarding the kingdom’s relations with Russia. These decisions, made in secrecy from the King’s subjects, were hastily reported to Paul I of Russia. The Emperor interpreted George’s will – maybe not so injustly – as an invitation to assume the royal prerogatives, leaving the Bagratids in the honourable mediatised position. In 1801, shortly before his own death, Paul I approved the annexation of Georgia (i.e., Kartalinia and Kakhetia) and summoned some of the princes to St. Petersburg to accept their homage. This was a shock for the Bagratids but they were unable to oppose the union. However Paul I declined from assumption of the title of the King of Georgia. Maybe he expected, and waited for, a ceremony of the presentation of this dignity by the Bagratids themselves; but more likely this was done out of respect to the House of Kartalinia.
It was Alexander I who turned this annexation brutal and forced the Kartalinian dynasts to leave Georgia forever. Two princes started a rising but it was unsuccessful. However the title of a King of Georgia was not used by the Russian monarchs until 1857, when Alexander II decided to honour the Georgian nation by restoring the royal title of its ruler.
Since 1833, the Kartalinian-Kakhetian dynasts were accorded in Russia the title of Princes of Georgia and the style of Serene Highness (it worth mentioning that the same title was accorded by the Russian diplomacy even to the ruling Bagratide Kings). The Serene Princes of Georgia maintained the Royal tradition of the family in a private way, and made several unsuccessful efforts to have their dynastical status recognised by the Russian authorities. This branch managed to survive in the Soviet Georgia and is headed today by HSH [recte HRH] Prince Nugzar [I] of Georgia, de jure the King of Georgia (Kartalinia) and Kakhetia (born in 1950 and residing in Tbilisi). The Prince is the chief director of a dramatic theatre. It is his daughter and heir, HSH [recte HRH] Princess Anna, whose wedding is mentioned in the preface.
The Moukhrani branch was recognised in Russia as a princely lineage with the name “Bagration-Moukhranski” (i.e. Bagratid of Moukhran) and the style “Illustrous” which is common for the Russian princes. Its cadet status did not change with the extinction of the first Kartalinian branch, although it is possible that since then genealogically (rather than dynastically) the Moukhranis became the senior branch of the Bagratids.
After the revolution, some of the Moukhranis emigrated. The senior member of the family, George, raised a claim to the headship of the House of Georgia. This claim to the headship of the Royal House of Georgia was based on the [erroneous] presumption that the Royal line of Kartalinia-Kakhetia, which failed to emigrate, could not survive under the Soviet tyranny. George’s son, Hercules (Irakli), maintained and developed the claim. Actually he claimed the crown during his father’s lifetime, in the days of the WWII, expecting a possible chance to succeed in that claim; and in 1942 he was recognised as the sovereign by an assembly of Georgian monarchists held in Rome. The two claims merged on George’s death in 1957. It seems that the style of HRH was first claimed also by Prince Hercules.
It worth mentioning that in 1939, already acting as the chief and even a ruling monarch, Prince Hercules founded a family order of the Georgian Eagle alias Seamless Tunic – allegedly that was a restoration of an ancient pre-chivalric institution (even according to the Moukhranis’s official website, the time and circumstances of its original creation are unknown). Prince Hercules also claimed the restoration of the ephemeral military Order of Queen T[h]amar as a House Order, although this award was instituted by the Georgian legion of the German army in 1915, became Republican in 1918, and never was Royal. Both institutions are still maintained by the branch.
Curiously, Prince Hercules used the title in which preference was unusually given to Kakhetia rather than to Kartalinia, which reminds of the original reason for the Moukhranist claim (the alleged extinction of the Kakhetian-Kartalian royal line). The Prince also assumed a fantasy title of Duke of the Lazs (de los Lasos), which implied complicated and obscure historical and political allusions.
Hercules’ son, George, died in 2008 and was succeeded in his claim by his second son, David. His elder brother preferred to stay in Spain and to give up the burden of primogeniture; the correspondent “redestination” of the succession was expressed in Prince George’s will and accepted by the branch.
IV. The Kingdom of Imeretia
The Imeretian branch of the House of Bagrat is notable for the messy succession. Several times the crown was inherited by bastards or passed through female lines to members of other lineages – the Kartalinian and even the non-Bagratid Gurian princes; on one occasion the throne was occupied even by a stranger in blood, queen’s consort, although he may be regarded as an anti-King.
In 1810 King Solomon II (who previously signed a treaty with Russia) was deposed on the orders of Alexander I and the Kingdom was annexed. The King managed to escape to Turkey but despite of all his efforts did not succeed in restoring his realm’s sovereignty. Other dynasts were obliged to leave Imeretia and settle in Russia, where three principal lines were recognised as Princes with the style of Serene Highness.
The headship of the Royal House of Imeretia could pass after the death of HSH [recte HRH] Prince Michael of Imeretia, a Squadron Leader of the British Royal Air Forces and de jure the King of Imeretia (1975) either to his daughter HSH Princess Tamara and her non-Bagratid English posterity, or to the next male Imeretian Bagratids who all belong now to an untitled, bastardic branch. It is not clear if HSH Michael or his daughters approved any successoral provisions. The headship may be dormant but it is certainly not extinct.
V. The Sovereign Status
After the annexation of the two realms, none of the Bagratides was considered by the Russian authorities as ‘sovereign’ or ‘equal’ to the ruling houses. Nicholas I formally defined them as the members of what formerly was a Royal House. The reasons for such a mistreatment were mostly political.
The majority of the Bagratids continued to consider themselves as dynasts but were unable to have it formally recognised or at least demonstrated. The family hereditary names and styles were controlled by the Imperial authorities, the traditional continuation of the title “Batonishvili” being abolished in 1812 for the Imeretian House and in 1833 (after yet another unsuccessful princely uprising) for the Kartalinian one. There was no dynastical order to be awarded.
In 1911 a Princess of Blood Imperial of Russia, Tatiana, contracted marriage with a member of the Moukhrani branch, Prince Constantine; Emperor Nicholas II allowed the union; but the problem was that the unequal marriages were prohibited for the Russian dynasts by Alexander III. To make the Prince eligible for such a union Nicholas II preferred, instead of a recognition of the Bagratids’ equality, to issue a special act permitting unequal marriages for the Princes and Princesses of Blood.
This was, in fact, an inner matter of the Russian Imperial law. From the international point of view, the Bagratids were and are to be regarded as sovereign as the House of Russia.
The matter had to be clarified in 1946, when Prince Hercules Bagration of Moukhrani married an Infanta of Spain, Mary Mercedes of Bavaria. His equal status was confirmed by HSH Prince of Blood Imperial Vladimir, more known as HIH Grand Duke and widely believed to be a head of the House of Russia. In his alleged capacity of the dynastic head, the Prince issued an act of recognition “of the regal dignity of the senior branch of the Family of Bagrationi, as well as the right of its members to be called Princes of Georgia and Royal Highnesses”, “to satisfy the just national sentiments of the Georgian nation”. This was basically a clever and plausible move, but the recognition, quite unnaturally, covered the Moukhrani branch only, attributing to it the higher position vis-à-vis the two really royal branches.
In any case, the statement appeared to be effective and the Moukhrani branch gained a wide international recognition as belonging to the dynastical level and as being a separate fons honorum of royal rank, the former being fully correct and the latter being obviously wrong – at least so far.
It is psychologically obvious that in the opinion of many Georgians, the Moukhrani claimant from Spain was preferable to Prince Nugzar: the latter lives all his life in Georgia and is ‘too local’ and ‘too usual’ to be idealised; and he has no male posterity. In 1991 the Moukhrani branch was recognised as royal by the Georgian government; insignia of its order are allowed to be officially worn in Georgia; the recent monarchist declaration of His Holiness and Beatitude Elias II, the Patriarch of Georgia, was implicitly pointing at the Moukhranis; and it may happen that this branch will finally gain a royal crown of its own.
However the House schism, and especially historical and legal realities behind it, were certainly an obstacle for the dynastic unity and thus for the monarchist aspirations. It was obvious that a union of the two branches could solve the problem; but to turn this theoretical consideration into reality was a bold step. Whatever will be the political consequences of the House reconciliation, may the young couple be happy and may God send them bright children of both sexes!
It worth mentioning that the title “Batonishvili” is currently applied to the both reconciliated branches and in future may be restored as the main dynastical title, maybe being translated merely as "Infante of Georgia". In the wedding invitations distributed by the House of Moukhrani the bride was mentioned as Her Royal Highness which is an obvious improvement.
All this, naturally, has its heraldic consequences which I hope to discuss in another text.
* * *
EDITORIAL COMMENT to the original publication [2008-08-10]:
We are publishing this paper about Georgia and its complicated links with Russia in the bitter days of the fratricidal war. Within this context, we stress that this publication is purely academic and has no political goals. Author’s aim was to answer several typical questions, frequently asked by colleagues and by general public, regarding the Bagratids, all the matters discussed having their specifically Russian dimension. This publication is also planned to prepare future discussion of the Bagratids’ heraldry, which cannot be understood without historical and legal explanations.
In any case, we hope that this paper will be able to remind once again of the profound and complicated links between the two countries. Their relations were uneven, they were full of love, vice, trust and injustice – and no simplification is appropriate here; but they were always close, marked by the feeling of the nations’ kinship, and by hope. May it be so today.
© 2006 The.Heraldry.Ru / D.Ivanov, M. Medvedev
http://the.heraldry.ru/text/bagratide.html
Does the wedding ceremony signal Georgia’s return to a monarchy?
On 8th February, the Remembrance Day for the great Tsar David the Builder from the House of Bagrationi, who unified Georgia in the 12th century, members of two royal dynasties will be getting married - Prince David Bagrationi-Mukhraneli and Anna Mukhraneli.
Where exactly the ceremony will take place - in Tbilisi or in the ancient capital Mtskheta - has not yet been decided.32-year old David Bagrationi-Mukhraneli, as the Orthodox news agency Russian line reports, became the head of the Royal House of Georgia last year after his father Prince Georgi Iraklievich Bagrationi-Mukhraneli passed away (1944-2008). David's two younger brothers and sister live in Spain. He came to Georgia together with his father in 2003 and soon obtained local citizenship.Tsarevich David's fiancée, Princess Anna Bagrationi-Gruzinskaya, who is the same age as him, is the eldest daughter of Prince Nugzar Petrovich Bagrationi-Gruzinsky, the head of the Kakhetian branch of the Bagrationi dynasty and a direct descendant on the male line of the last Georgian Tsar Georgi XII (who reigned from 1798 to 1800).As the leader of the "Traditionalists" opposition party Akaki Asatiani told us, the ceremony should be conducted by the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II. It will take place either in the Sameba Cathedral in Tbilisi or in the Patriarch's Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, the seat of the Georgian Orthodox Church, in the ancient capital of Georgia, Mtskheta."This marriage should unite two branches of one of the most ancient Christian royal dynasties in the world," notes the Georgian Patriarchy.
Many people in the country think that in the near future a revival of the constitutional monarchy is possible. The aforementioned Akaki Asatiani stresses: "David and Anna represent two dynastical branches which can both aspire to the throne in equal measure. This reunification removes the question of the legacy of the throne. I personally support the restoration of a constitutional monarchy in Georgia. After all, it is well-known that monarchies are the most stable countries. In Georgia many people suffer from a wild-eyed ambition to be president. I would hope that the restoration of the monarchy would remove this issue."David himself refrained from making any comment about the future structure of the country. "I have no intention of being involved in politics," he said during a telephone conversation with a Georgia Times correspondent. "We are getting married for love and our marriage is not intended to suit state interests." And, looking at it objectively, this is in any case a distant prospect As Akaki Asatiani noted, a future child of the royal Bagrationi couple could become the Tsar of All Georgia. So both the young married couple and supporters of the monarchy will be looking forward to the appearance of a successor.
Incidentally, the idea of a restoration of the constitutional monarchy in Georgia is very popular. Back in 2007 Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II suggested that his nation should contemplate this.He said that in Georgia the conditions had arisen where the people's dream of restoring the constitutional monarchy could be realized. The head of the Georgian Orthodox Church proposed a state structure where "the Tsar reigns, but does not rule". In the Catholicos' opinion, a constitutional monarchy would allow the country to emerge from its political crisis.Many opposition parties have supported this idea.
The former Georgian presidential candidate and now late oligarch Badri Patarkatsishvili expressed his approval. He supposed back then that the country's territorial integrity would be restored thanks to monarchical government.
And another former presidential candidate, leader of the new "New Right" party David Gamkrelidze defined his view in the following way, which has not changed to this day: "I think that a constitutional monarchy is a very interesting system of government, for many reasons. One of its interesting aspects is that we would be able to start talking from a clean slate. There is a single Bagrationi dynasty uniting both Georgians, Ossetians and Abkhazians. Of course, this does not give grounds to succumb to the illusion that as soon as Georgia were to become a constitutional monarchy, all the problems connected with Abkhazia and South Ossetia would immediately be solved. But this would give another chance to start a normal dialogue."
The son of the first Georgian president Konstantin Gamsakhurdia, who is now head of the opposition party "Freedom", also supports this idea.
But Saakashvili just made a joke about it: "My great-grandmother was a Bagrationi. May everyone who wants to restore the monarchy in Georgia take heed. It really would be good if in the future we did away with elections and took up a peaceful form of government, based on family traditions."
To be serious though, Mikheil Saakashvili, as we know, has meanwhile expressed his intention to share his powers, which are without exaggeration immensely extensive, with Georgian parliamentarians. There are plans to examine respective amendments to the Constitution as early as this year.How will events in Georgia ensue? It cannot be ruled out that the opposition forces will be the decisive factorBut there is still no unanimity among them about the preferable form of government for the country. Opposition politicians are demanding extraordinary parliamentary and presidential elections, but at the same time some of them think that it is better to have a presidential republic than a parliamentary one. But out of the ones who have an affinity with the slogan "Georgia without a president", there are a good number who associate Georgia's future with a constitutional monarchy.
Irina Ptashkovskaya
За венчанием – возврат Грузии к монархии?
8 февраля, в день памяти великого царя Давида Строителя из рода Багратионов, объединившего в XII веке Грузию, будут венчаться представители двух царских династий - князь Давид Багратион-Мухранский и Анна Мухранели. Где именно будет происходить церемония - в Тбилиси или в древней столице Мцхета - пока не решено.
32-летний Давид Багратион-Мухранский, как сообщает православное информационное агентство «Русская линия», возглавил Грузинский Царский Дом в прошлом году, после кончины своего отца князя Георгия Ираклиевича Багратион-Мухранского (1944-2008). Два младших брата и сестра Давида живут в Испании. А он вместе со своим отцом приехал в Грузию в 2003 году и вскоре получил местное гражданство.
Избранница царевича Давида, его ровесница княжна Анна Багратион-Грузинская, является старшей дочерью князя Нугзара Петровича Багратион-Грузинского, главы Кахетинской ветви Багратидов и прямого потомка по мужской линии последнего грузинского царя Георгия XII (правил с 1798 по 1800 гг.).Как рассказал нам лидер оппозиционной партии традиционалистов Акакий Асатиани, таинство венчания должен совершить Католикос Патриарх всея Грузии Илия II. Обряд состоится или в кафедральном соборе Самеба в Тбилиси, или в кафедральном патриаршем храме грузинской православной церкви Светицховели в древней столице Грузии - Мцхета.«Данный брак призван объединить две ветви одной из древнейших христианских монарших династий мира», - отмечают в грузинской патриархии.
Многие в стране считают, что в ближайшей перспективе возможно возрождение конституционной монархии. Упомянутый выше Акакий Асатиани подчеркивает: «Давид и Анна представляют две ветви царского рода, которые в равной степени могут претендовать на трон. Воссоединение снимает вопрос о наследии трона. Я лично сторонник восстановления конституционной монархии в стране. Ведь монархические страны, как известно, являются наиболее стабильными. В Грузии многие страдают дикой амбицией - быть президентом. Восстановление монархии, хочется надеяться, снимет этот вопрос».
Сам Давид воздержался от каких либо комментариев относительно будущего устройства страны. «Я не собираюсь заниматься политикой, - сказал он во время телефонной беседы с корреспондентом Georgiatimes. - Наш брак по любви и не предполагает государственных интересов». Да и, объективно говоря, это в любом случае отдаленная перспектива. Как отметил Акакий Асатиани, царем всея Грузии может стать будущий ребенок монаршей четы Багратионов. Так что ждать наследника будут с нетерпением и молодые супруги, и приверженцы монархии.
Кстати, идея восстановления конституционной монархии в Грузии очень популярна. Католикос Патриарх Илия II еще в 2007 году предложил нации задуматься над этим.Тогда он заявил, что в Грузии появились такие условия, когда мечта народа о восстановлении конституционной монархии может осуществиться. Глава грузинской православной церкви предложил такую форму государственного устройства, когда "царь царствует, но не правит". По мнению Католикоса, именно конституционная монархия позволит стране выйти из политического кризиса. Эту идею поддержали многие оппозиционные партии.
Свое одобрение высказывал и экс-кандидат в президенты Грузии, ныне покойный олигарх Бадри Патаркацишвили. Он тогда предположил, что благодаря монархическому правлению будет восстановлена территориальная целостность страны.
А другой бывший кандидат в президенты, лидер новых «Новых правых» Давид Гамкрелидзе так определил свое отношение, которое не изменил до сих пор: «Думаю, что конституционная монархия - это очень интересная система правления, по многим причинам. Одна из ее интересных сторон заключается в том, что у нас появится возможность начать разговор с чистого листа. Династия Багратиони едина как для грузин, так для осетин и абхазов. Конечно, это не основание для иллюзии, что как только Грузия перейдет на правление конституционной монархии, сразу же все проблемы, связанные с Абхазией и "Южной Осетией" разрешатся. Но это дает еще один шанс начать нормальный диалог».
Поддерживает эту идею и сын первого президента Грузии Константин Гамсахуриа, который ныне возглавляет оппозиционную партию «Свобода».
А Саакашвили отделался шуткой: "Моя прабабушка была Багратиони. И пусть будут внимательны те, кто хочет восстановить монархию в Грузии. Действительно, будет хорошо, если мы избавимся в будущем от выборов и перейдем в спокойное русло правления, исходя из семейных традиций".А если серьезно, то, как известно, пока что Михаил Саакашвили выразил намерение поделиться своими, без преувеличений, обширнейшими полномочиями с грузинскими парламентариями. Соответствующие поправки в Конституцию планируется рассмотреть уже в этом году.
Как дальше будут развиваться события в Грузии? Не исключено, что их определяющим началом станут оппозиционные силы. А среди них пока нет единства относительно предпочтительной формы правления в стране. Оппозиционеры требуют досрочных парламентских и президентских выборов, но при этом одни считают, что лучше иметь президентскую республику, а другие - парламентскую. Но из тех, кому по душе лозунг «Грузия - без президента», немало и таких, кто связывает ее будущее с конституционной монархией.
Ирина Пташковская
Sunday, February 15, 2009
D E C L A R A T I O N - BY NEW RIGHTS PARTY OF GEORGIA - Regarding advisability of re-establishing the Constitutional Monarchy
D E C L A R A T I O N
BY NEW RIGHTS PARTY OF GEORGIA
Regarding advisability of re-establishing the Constitutional Monarchy
Considering the experience of centuries-old history, taking into account dramatic events that took place in the country since the independence was regained, having analysed wide international practice and guided by the appeal of Ilia II, the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia - we, the New Rights Party, declare that political structure of Georgia should be the Constitutional Monarchy.
1. What is the Constitutional Monarchy?
"Monarch reigns and not rules"
The constitutional (the same parliamentary) monarchy is the form of the rule when the Monarch is the Head of State, but in reality the state is being ruled by the Parliament elected by people and the government which has the majority within the parliament. The rights of the monarch are strictly regulated by the Constitution and the legislation. During the constitutional monarchy the King mainly has moral impact on the power although he represents the whole people and the nation symbolically. The monarch is the embodiment of the people´s will and character. He is actually the defender of their rights and the patron of each citizen irrespective of their ethnic origin.According to the constitution, the King who is above political and economic ideologies and debates, carries out the role of the state leader, neutral arbiter and the defender of the country unity and independence. He is a guarantor of the smooth functioning of democratic institutions. The fact that up till now, many constitutional monarchs preserve the right of dismissal of the Prime Minister in special circumstances is considered to be a reliable guarantee that the Prime Minister will not turn into an autocrat, dictator and tyrant. There is no way that the constitutional monarchy implies restoration of the property rights to the former nobility.
2. Historical Justice should be restored
The Georgian people have never rejected the king by their own will. We have neither overthrown the king nor massacred the royal family, nor have we annulled the monarchy through the referendum. He was taken away from us by force through the annexation of the Kingdom of Georgia and now the time has come that the people should make its own decision regarding the monarchy in Georgia.
3. End of Bolshevism
Restoration of the constitutional monarchy will finally put an end to Bolshevism in Georgia and the Soviet way of thinking in the political power.
4. Monarch - Guarantor of Nation´s Consolidation
Standing above the party, as a non-political and neutral leader, the Monarch will be a guarantor of the consolidation and uniting of the nation. Different from the President elected by the majority, the constitutional monarch is the Head of State of both majority and minority and the image of the whole nation, the symbol and, most importantly, a neutral arbiter.The King belongs to everyone and no one feels as a loser.
5. Constitutional Monarchy - a real opportunity for Territorial Conflict Resolution
Constitutional monarchy is an absolutely new opportunity for conflict resolution in Abkhazia and of co-living together with Abkhazians in one united state. It is the monarchy which gives the possibility for coexistence to several state entities of high autonomy within this monarchy (e.g. United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; Belgium, Spain, etc.).
6. Constitutional Monarchy - Guarantor for Political and Economic Stability
Monarch is the guarantor of stability and constitutionalism, especially during the political crisis. He is an objective and neutral arbiter who ensures that nobody conducts usurpation or misappropriation of the power (e.g. Juan Carlos I, King of Spain, who stood up to the military coup of February 23, 1981).There are 41 constitutional monarchies worldwide today.There are 3 countries which are constitutional monarchies (UK, Canada and Japan) in the unity of the largest industrial countries of the world, in the so-called "G7";There are 8 countries (out of 26) in NATO: United Kingdom, Canada, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway and Denmark.In the European Union there are 7 (out of 27 members): Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, United Kingdom, and Spain.
7. Constitutional Monarch - Genuine Defender of the National Originality
In the process of globalisation it is the King and his family who can be the guarantor for maintenance of national originality and identity. His duties would include caring for and supporting of cultural heritage, purity and promotion of the language, national science, education and culture.
8. Georgia may become the first Christian Orthodox country to restore monarchy in its own state.
9. What will it cost to the state to upkeep a monarch?
One can be flat in saying that not more, if not less, than it costs to upkeep the current President of Georgia today with his residences, cars, helicopters, airplanes, trips abroad, enormous chancery and numerous guards.
10. Who will become the King of Georgia?
The personal identity of the future monarch should not become the subject of discussion and dispute of political and civil groups. Monarchy is the right given by God (Divine Right) and correspondingly after a two century interval, it is appropriate that the question of the heir to the throne should be determined by the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia and the Holy Synod of the Apostolic Orthodox Church of Georgia.
11. Who is entitled to solve the question of restoration of the Constitutional Monarchy in Georgia?
This issue to be solved by people only. The people of Georgia through the public referendum should define the state structure of future Georgia. The referendum should be held in autumn of 2008 together with the Parliamentary elections. In case the people give their support to the constitutional monarchy, the newly elected parliament would be obliged to work out and officially adopt a new constitution and legislative basis in accordance with the constitutional monarchy. The Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia and the Holy Synod will use this interval for selection and preparation of the future monarch.
God save us!
Tbilisi, GEORGIA
October 8, 2007
New Rights Party of Georgia
Headquarters Address:
3 Bevreti st., Tbilisi, 0114, Georgia Phones:
(+995 32) 72 21 01 / 72 03 18 Fax: (+995 32) 72 38 58
E-mail: ncp@ncp.ge
Contact person: Mrs. Mariana Maisuradze E-mail: mariana@ncp.ge
საუკუნის ჯვრისწერა
ბევრი წყვილი შეეცადა ქორწინება საგანგებოდ 8 თებერვლისთვის დაემთხვია. ამას ორი მიზეზი განაპირობებდა: მრავალი წლის შემდეგ მათ შთამომავლობისთვის სათქმელი ექნებათ, რომ დავით აღმაშენებლის ხსენების დღეს დაქორწინდნენ, სწორედ იმ დღეს, როდესაც წმინდა სამების საკათედრო ტაძარში ჯვარი დაიწერეს ბაგრატოვანთა ორი შტოს მემკვიდრეებმა - ანა ბაგრატიონმა და დავით ბაგრატიონ-მუხრანელმა. სრულიად საქართველოს კათოლიკოს-პატრიარქის ილია II-ის ავადმყოფობის მიუხედავად, ჯვრისწერა არ გადაიდო. გავრცელებული ინფორმაციით, პატრიარქმა ასე ისურვა.
ბაგრატიონთა წყვილი უწმინდესის საქართველოში არყოფნის გამო შეეცადა, რიტუალი დაგეგმილზე ნაკლებპომპეზური ყოფილიყო, მაგრამ მაინც ლამაზი სანახაობა გამოვიდა, რომელსაც უამრავი მნახველი ჰყავდა როგორც მცხეთაში, სვეტიცხოვლის ტაძარში, ასევე თბილისში. დარეჯანის სასახლიდან წმინდა სამების საკათედრო ტაძრამდე შეკრებილი ხალხი შეძახილებით ულოცავდა გაბედნიერებას ნეფე-დედოფალს.
განსაკუთრებით კახელები აქტიურობდნენ, ამბობდნენ, ჩვენი დედოფლის (ანა ბაგრატიონი ერეკლე II-ის, კახთა მეფის შთამომავალია) ბედნიერება ჩვენი ბედნიერებაც არის, ბაგრატიონების ლხინს ჩვენი ოჯახებიც იზიარებენო. საპატარძლო ტაძრამდე მამასთან, ნუგზარ ბაგრატიონთან ერთად სწორედ კახელების 50-კაციანმა ცხენოსანთა რაზმმა მიაცილა. დარეჯანის სასახლიდან წმინდა სამების საკათედრო ტაძრამდე მიმავალი ამალა ლამაზი სანახავი იყო. თითქოს მართლა წარსული გაცოცხლდა.
8 თებერვალს დილით, ჯვრისწერამდე, მოვლენები ასე განვითარდა: სასიძო და საპატარძლო სტუმრების თანხლებით სვეტიცხოვლის საკათედრო ტაძარში მივიდნენ, სადაც წირვის დასრულების შემდეგ ეზიარნენ და პატივი მიაგეს წინაპართა, საპატარძლოს პაპის, პეტრე ბაგრატიონისა და სასიძოს მამის, ხორხე-გიორგი ბაგრატიონ-მუხრანელის საფლავებს.
მცხეთაში, სვეტიცხოვლის საკათედრო ტაძარში, ზიარების მიღებამდე ანა და დავითი დიდი წინაპრის, ერეკლე II-ის საფლავის წინ იდგნენ და გარინდებული ელოდებოდნენ ზიარებას. მრევლი გულითადად ულოცავდა ნეფე-დედოფალს გაბედნიერებას.
მცხეთაში ბაგრატიონები მცირე ამალით იყვნენ, სულ ორიოდე მანქანა იტევდა მაყრიონს. მათ წირვის დასრულებისთანავე დატოვეს ტაძარი და თბილისში, დარეჯანის სასახლისკენ გამოემართნენ.
მცხეთიდან საქორწინო მაყრიონი თბილისს გამოეშურა. საპატარძლო დარეჯანის სასახლეში მიაბრძანეს ჯვრისწერისთვის მოსამზადებლად. ანა ბაგრატიონი სასახლიდან ხუთის ნახევარზე გამობრძანდა, სადაც მას მამა და მხედრები ელოდებოდნენ. ულამაზესი თეთრი კაბით შემოსილ დედოფალს მეჯვარე ლიზა ბაგრატიონის გარდა, მხარს უმშვენებდნენ და - მაია ბაგრატიონი, პატარა ქალიშვილები - ირინა და მარიამი და დედა - ლეილა ყიფიანი. ქალიშვილებს დედის გრძელი კაბის შლეიფი მიჰქონდათ. როგორც ცნობილია, კაბის დიზაინი საპატარძლომ თვითონვე შეარჩია და ატელიე «თენეიში» შეაკერინა ქართველ მკერავს. სასიძო დავით ბაგრატიონ-მუხრანელი თეთრ ჩოხაში იყო გამოწყობილი. მას მეჯვარეობას უახლოესი მეგობარი - მიხეილ ახვლედიანი უწევდა.
ჯვრისწერის ცერემონიალი 5 საათზე დაიწყო და ის ეპისკოპოსებმა, მეუფე გერასიმემ და მეუფე თეოდორემ წმინდა სამების საკათედრო ტაძრის წინამძღვარ არქიმანდრიტ ილია ნასიძესთან ერთად აღასრულეს. ჯვრისწერას უცხოეთიდან საგანგებოდ მოწვეული სხვადასხვა სამეფო ოჯახის წარმომადგენლები, დაახლოებით 100-მდე სტუმარი და ნეფე-დედოფლის ნათესავები ესწრებოდნენ. მამა ილია ნასიძის თქმით, დავით ბაგრატიონ-მუხრანელს ქორწინება საგანგებო წერილით მიულოცა ესპანეთის მეფემ, რომელიც სიძეს ნათესავად ერგება.
სამების საკათედრო ტაძარში და მის გარშემო საგანგებოდ მოწვეულ სტუმართა და მოქალაქეთა სიმრავლე იყო. კარიბჭიდან ტაძრისკენ დაგებულ წითელ ხალიჩაზე სიამოვნებით იღებდნენ სამახსოვრო ფოტოებს ჰოლანდიის, ესპანეთის, იტალიის, იაპონიის, თურქეთისა და სხვა სამეფო ოჯახების წარმომადგენლები.
ვიდრე ნეფე-დედოფალი გამოჩნდებოდა, ქართველ სტუმრებს გავესაუბრეთ და შევეცადეთ, მათგან შეგვეტყო, რა დატვირთვას აძლევენ ბაგრატოვანთა ჯვრისწერას. ქართველ სტუმართა სპექტრიც მრავალფეროვანი იყო, თუმცა მათ შორის, დაპატიჟების მიუხედავად, არ ყოფილან ხელისუფლების წარმომადგენლები. პარლამენტარ გია თორთლაძის ვარაუდით, ხელისუფლების წარმომადგენლებს ხელი ევროპაში დაგეგმილ მნიშვნელოვან მოვლენებში მონაწილეობამ შეუშალა. მაგრამ მთავრობის ყველა წევრი არ ყოფილა წასული უცხოეთში. ამან სამღვდელო პირები გააოცა. ითქვა, რომ ეს ქორწინება საქართველოს კათოლიკოს-პატრიარქის თითქმის ოცი წლის ოცნება იყო და თუნდაც ამისთვის უნდა ეცათ პატივი.
მერაბ საყვარელიძე, ჩოხოსანი: - ეს ძალზე მნიშვნელოვანი მოვლენაა, დღეს აღდგა გვარიშვილობის, ერის ძლიერებისთვის ერთ-ერთი უმნიშვნელოვანესი ინსტიტუტი. დღევანდელი დღე ნიშანია იმისა, რომ ერი თანახმაა, აღორძინდეს ყოველივე ის, რაც წაართვეს 200 წლის წინ. წართმეულ ღირსებათა შორის იყო ბაგრატოვანთა გვარიც. 200 წლის განმავლობაში დინასტიის წარმომადგენლები ხშირად მხოლოდ გვარიშვილობის გამო იდევნებოდნენ.
მოდელი თაკო ჩხეიძე: - დღეს ისტორიული დღეა. ეს არ არის მხოლოდ ერთი ოჯახის ბედნიერება, რადგან საქართველო ეკუთვნოდათ ბაგრატიონებს და ბაგრატიონები ეკუთვნიან სრულიად საქართველოს. ტყუილად არის ატეხილი აჟიოტაჟი მონარქიის აღდგენაზე. მონარქია დღეს არ აღდგება, ეს შორეული პერსპექტივაა. ამიტომაც კარგი იქნება, ყველამ დაივიწყოს პოლიტიკა და ამ ლამაზ წყვილს მიულოცოს ბედნიერების დღე. ჩემთვის ყველაზე მთავარია კათოლიკოს-პატრიარქის, ილია II-ის სიტყვა და სურვილი. მან თქვა, რომ ეს ჯვრისწერა უნდა აღსრულებულიყო, ე.ი. ასეც უნდა მომხდარიყო.
თავადაზნაურთა საკრებულოს გამგეობის წევრი ზურაბ ერისთავი: - რა დრო დასჭირდება მონარქიის აღდგენას? ყველაფერი საზოგადოებაზეა დამოკიდებული. გააჩნია, რამდენ ხანში გაითავისებს ქართველობა იმას, თუ რა მნიშვნელობა აქვს სამეფო ტახტის აღდგენას საქართველოსთვის.
ვახტანგ რჩეულიშვილი: - ომის შემდეგ ყველა გულნატკენი ვართ და ნებისმიერი ქართული ტრადიციის აღდგენა კიდევ უფრო სასიამოვნოა ჩვენთვის. რაც შეეხება მეფის ინსტიტუტს, მიმაჩნია, რომ იგი ერთ-ერთი ალტერნატიული გზაა საქართველოს სახელმწიფოებრივი ძლიერებისთვის. ერს სჭირდება არაპოლიტიკური, მაგრამ გამამთლიანებელი ფიგურა, უწმინდესი ამის საუკეთესო მაგალითია. ზოგჯერ პატრიარქი იქნება ერის გამამთლიანებელი, ზოგჯერაც - მეფე.
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