Chapter 203 Leader of the Opposition
The major political turning points in Hungary and Poland sounded the alarm for the top leaders of the Soviet Union. Shevardnadze was urgently sent to Hungary by Gorbachev to communicate with the Hungarian party and government and ask them about their attitude towards the Soviet Union. has changed. If it was just a problem in Hungary, Gorbachev would not be so nervous, but Poland is on the doorstep of the Soviet Union, and the KGB has always been aware that Solidarity's main sources of income are Western anti-Soviet forces and funding from the Vatican. Once Solidarity became a legal organization, Poland's attitude towards the Soviet Union was hard to say.
In contrast, Gorbachev decided to temporarily let Shevardnadze visit the Warsaw Pact countries, emphasizing their alliance with the Soviet Union and ensuring that the Soviet Union's security would not be infiltrated by NATO and the Western camp. As for the Georgian issue, Gorbachev still hoped to resolve the issue through negotiations. So Georgia, the hot potato, returned to Ryzhkov again.
After the last meeting with Shevardnadze, the Georgian opposition began to show blind optimism. They believed that the Soviet government would not guess what methods they would take. Therefore, who can say no to the separatist behavior of the Abkhaz people on behalf of the Georgian people has become a topic of greatest concern to these opposition groups. So a big drama of fighting for power first inevitably appeared among the Georgian opposition. The opposition began to attack each other in order to gain leadership, accusing each other of being traitors to Georgia. All kinds of ghosts and monsters emerged one after another, all intent on gaining political capital for themselves in the name of Georgia. In Abkhazia and Tbilisi, people abuse each other in the newspapers every day, and the end result is that no one can make the other give up the leadership.
What can a group of mobs achieve? Apart from a few intellectuals, some of these people are political speculators who are afraid of chaos. When the strength of all organizations is similar, it is impossible for these organizations to unite to accomplish anything. Unless there is a powerful figure who can bring the various factions of the Georgian opposition to their knees, by whatever means, then the opposition will have a real political future.
Unfortunately, such a figure soon appeared in the opposition, and he was Zviad Gamsakhurdia, the son of the Georgian literary giant Konstantin Gamsakhurdia.
Speaking of Jamsahurdia and his son, we have to start with Constantine. Konstantin is a Georgian literary giant and enjoys a high reputation in the Georgian literary world. Konstantin himself is a Georgian nationalist and has always taken a hostile attitude towards the Soviet Union’s rule of Georgia. Because of his huge influence, the Soviet government did not dare to act rashly towards him. The only way to prevent Constantine from promoting Georgian nationalism is by banning his works. It was under the influence of his father that Zvyad soon joined Georgia's movement against Soviet rule.
Zvyad started to form a secret anti-Soviet society when he was in middle school. He was quickly arrested by the KGB, but due to his father's huge influence, the KGB did not punish him. This made Zviard even more unscrupulous. After entering university, Zviard began to follow in his father's footsteps and create anti-Soviet works. This time the KGB did not show mercy. Adhering to Khrushchev's assertion that people who commit crimes in socialism are mentally ill, Zviad was sent to a mental hospital by the KGB and placed under house arrest.
Zviad stayed inside for more than half a year, and finally chose to give in. He admitted his mistake to the KGB, and the KGB recorded Zvyad's confession, which was overjoyed and played continuously on Georgia's TV tower. Then the KGB chose lenient treatment for Zvyad. He was exiled to a farm in the Dagestan region of Russia to undergo labor reform, while his companion was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Although Zvyad's confession in a psychiatric hospital has tarnished his reputation among Georgia's anti-government factions, it has made him known to many Georgians. Fearing that the Soviet Union would not be in chaos, the Nobel Prize Review Committee also nominated him as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize in the same year, but he did not win the prize in the end.
Zvyad is regarded as a traitor by many senior Georgian oppositionists, but as a hero by ordinary Georgians with nationalist tendencies. This allowed Zvyad to taste the sweetness after the turmoil in Abkhazia. Heroes sometimes do not depend on how many years you have been in prison for your beliefs and how many years you have suffered. Sometimes propaganda is very important. And Zviard, who has an awesome dad and has been on TV, does have a wide reputation in Georgia.
The opposition faction led by Zvyad quickly emerged from Georgia's plethora of opposition groups. Relying on Zviad's personal influence, many young people who support Georgia's independence have chosen to join Zviad's organization, and Zviad, who was once a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize, has supported political Funds can also get more funds. Zviard, who is rich and powerful, finally feels the feeling of being in power.
Under the lure of US dollars, some small and medium-sized opposition groups began to choose to join the Georgian National Union founded by Zviard. Zvyad quickly put forward the slogan "Georgia belongs to Georgians." Under his leadership, the chaotic anti-Abkhaz independence movement finally had signs of unity.
Zviad quickly became the idol of many young people in Georgia by virtue of his own mistakes and the influence inherited from his father, and soon gained a lot of brainless fans. Under the protection of these brainless fans, Zviad's deeds of crying and betraying the anti-Soviet cause in front of the KGB in the mental hospital have become a symbol of death rather than surrender. Those Zwiad's former comrades in arms, even if they spent ten years in prison, could not compare with Zwiad's one-year life in a mental hospital. Although they despise Zviad's character, they don't have Zviad's influence. As a result, the first groups to speak out against Abkhazian independence were quickly marginalized within the movement.
Zviard, who has taken the leadership, is now complacent, and he is planning to launch a larger and more serious protest. This will not only expand his influence, but also make him a real leader in the anti-Soviet struggle. ...