Surguladze, Peter Rostomovich

Born in October 1873 in the village of Chibati, Ozurgeti district, in the family of a peasant Rostoma Surguladze. He was educated at the Ozurgeti city school. In 1894 he graduated from the Alexander Pedagogical Institute in Tiflis, after graduation he began teaching. He was a senior teacher at the Kutaisi elementary school, then taught history at the Tiflis private gymnasium. From that time on, he was involved in the work of Mesame-dasi (the third troupe). He had close relations with Yakov Gogebashvili . In the early 1900s, he was arrested for political reasons and fired. He was engaged in journalistic work, participated in the publication of the Social Democratic press. After the revolution of 1905, he left the Social Democratic Party and worked as a teacher in the Georgian gymnasium in Tiflis. Since 1906, he worked in the Socialist-Federalist Party . In the late 1900s, together with his allies, he formed a group aimed at ensuring the full independence of Georgia. Since 1908, the group has been published in the magazine "Nation" ("ერს"). Which was closed by the authorities in 1909. The publication was renamed "Georgian News" ("საქართველოს მოამბის"). He was arrested a second time on August 7, 1910, and held accountable for publishing an article by George Gvazava in a newspaper that he edited. Sentenced to one year in prison. In order to avoid punishment, he emigrated illegally. In 1910, he founded the “Group of Georgian Separatists” in Geneva and published the newspaper “Free Georgia”. In 1913 he was arrested for trying to illegally return to Georgia. During the First World War, in 1914, he formed the “Georgian Independence Committee”, participated in the formation of the Georgian Legion and illegally imported weapons into Georgia. In 1917, he was one of the founders of the National Democratic Party, a member of the Central Committee of the party.

Member of the National Council of Georgia since 1917, signed the Act of Independence. Since 1919 he was a member of the Constituent Assembly. During the years of the existence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia (1918-1921), Peter Surguladze served a diplomatic mission both in international negotiations and in resolving the difficult political situation in the country. In March 1919, together with Georgy Anzhaparidze , Huseyn Mammadov and Samson Pirtskhalava, he was elected to a special commission created to study the causes of the Akhaltsikhe uprising ^[1] .

At the beginning of 1921 he went to Istanbul to start a business. After Sovietization, Georgia remained in Istanbul, where he was involved in the political and social life of the emigration. There he continued to work on the international recognition of the independence of Georgia, the Georgian language and literature, as well as many other national issues.

He died suddenly in 1931 from a heart attack. Buried in Istanbul.

• ირაკლი ხვადაგიანი. საქართველოს დამფუძნებელი კრება 1919. საბჭოთა წარსულის კვლევის ლაბორატორია. გვ.368-369, თბ., 2016
• "თეთრი გიორგი" N43-44, აგვისტო-სექტემბერი, 1931
• "სამშობლო" N11 აპრილი, 1932
• "დამოუკიდებელი საქართველო" N69, სექტემბერი, 1931

საქართველოს დემოკრატიული რესპუბლიკა (1918-1921)