Apr 4, 1989-1989
Georgia
Georgian Anti-Soviet Protest
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ACTIVISTS/ACT.GROUPS/DESCRIPTION OF THE GROUP
Supporters of National Democratic Party of Georgia; Soviet Georgians
TARGET
Soviet Union Leaders
WIDELY HELD BELIEF
The Soviet Union should return autonomy to independent states.
CASE NARRATIVE
Issue and Opponent: In 1989, supporters of the National Democratic Party of Georgia and Soviet Georgians decided to protest the Soviet Union to restore Georgia’s autonomy. They directly targeted Soviet leaders
Dilemma Action: At least a hundred Georgian nationalists sat in front of the Government House during a hunger strike while keeping track of the number of days since the strike began. This put the Soviet Union in a dilemma to either give Georgia its autonomy, and lose some of its power/territory, or let at least 100 people suffer the physical health consequences of the hunger strike on the government steps.
Outcome: Georgia would not declare independence until 1991, a whole 2 years after the action.
PRIMARY STRUGGLE/GOAL
NONVIOLENT TACTICS USED
DA TACTICS USED
Hunger strike
CASE NARRATIVE WRITER
SUCCESS METRICS
6 / 12
(MC) Media Coverage
(MSYMP) Media coverage was sympathetic to the activists
(OR) Opponent response
(PS) Dilemma action built sympathy with the public
(PUN) Punishment favored the activists
(SA) Dilemma action appealed to a broad segment of the public
PART OF A LARGER CAMPAIGN
3 / 3
Activist group continued working together after the action
Encouraged more participants to join the movement
Internally replicated by the same movement
RESOURCES
Project documentation
Dilemma Actions Coding Guidebook
Case study documentation
Dilemma_Actions_Analysis_Dataset
SOURCES
Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty, 2014. “April 9, 1989: Soviet Crackdown in Tbilisi,” April 7. Retreived July 21, 2023. (https://www.rferl.org/a/georgia-soviet-demonstrations/25324233.html).
sobchak.org/rus/docs/zakluchenie.htm. Accessed April 15, 2022.
B. Fein, Esther. 1989. “Soviet Georgians Continue Protests for More Autonomy,” The New York Times. Retrieved July 21, 2023. (https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/09/world/soviet-georgians-continue-protests-for-more-autonomy.html).
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