The Georgian First Secretary who asked Moscow for troops, then resigned after 21 died
Patiashvili later recalled: 'Gorbachev phoned and said, in a tone that left no room for argument: The square must be cleared immediately, and the army will handle it. I understood he knew about the plan and supported it.'
He succeeded Shevardnadze as First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party in 1985, but dismantled most of his predecessor's reform experiments and drove the opposition underground. In April 1989, facing independence protests sparked by the Abkhaz autonomy dispute, he asked Moscow to send troops and on 8 April convened the republic's Defence Council, which decided to disperse the demonstrators by force. Before dawn the next day, Soviet troops armed with sapper shovels and poison gas descended on unarmed civilians, killing 21; Patiashvili accepted responsibility and resigned within two weeks. He remained in Georgian politics, twice ran for president against Shevardnadze, and supported the 2003 Rose Revolution, though he later criticized Saakashvili.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1965–1973Komsomol posts in Georgia, rising to First Secretary
- 1973–1974First Secretary, Gori District Party Committee
- 1974–1985Secretary for Agriculture, CP of Georgia
- 1985–1989.4First Secretary, CP of Georgia
- 1989–1991Director, scientific-production association and research institute
- 1995, 2000Presidential candidate, runner-up to Shevardnadze
Related historical events
The April 1989 crackdown and political responsibility
After the March 18, 1989, Likhni assembly intensified tensions over Abkhazia’s status, Georgian independence groups staged demonstrations in Tbilisi. From April 4, tens of thousands gathered on Rustaveli Avenue in front of the government building, and some went on hunger strike. On April 7, Jumber Patiashvili asked the Soviet leadership for reinforcements to restore order. At a meeting of the republic’s Defence Council the next day, Soviet commanders promised that the operation would end without bloodshed, and the plan to disperse the demonstrators was approved.
At dawn on April 9, Soviet troops broke up the gathering in front of the government building. Contemporary reporting said soldiers used truncheons, entrenching shovels and chemical agents; 700 people were treated in Tbilisi hospitals. The death toll and causes were disputed even at the time. The official account gave 19 deaths in the dispersal and one additional death later that day; on April 25, new party leader Givi Gumbaridze acknowledged that some had died from poisoning by a toxic gas. Patiashvili resigned, accepting responsibility for the tragedy, while the succeeding leadership said a small group in the Georgian party leadership had decided to send troops without consultation. The accounts document involvement by Georgian party authorities and Soviet military commanders in requesting and approving the operation, but do not establish that Patiashvili issued the final operational order.