Soviet Plan to respond to the Political Crises in the Soviet Republics

As Gorbachev’s reforms began to take hold across the Soviet Union, various Soviet Republics became hotbeds of nationalist, anti-Soviet movements The Georgian SSR was one of the centers of such acitivties with protests in Georgia reaching their peak on April 4, 1989, when tens of thousands of Georgians gathered in the city of Tbilisi. Local Soviet authorities lost control over the situation in the capital and on April 9, Soviet troops surrounded the demonstration area and advanced on the Georgian demonstrators. In the rush to escape and as a result of the Soviet attacks, 19 people were killed among them 17 women, who were crushed and trampled by the fleeing mob. The following day, the Soviet government issued the statement blaming the demonstrators for causing unrest and danger for the safety of the public. Also in the days following, the Central Committee of the Communist Party passed the following decision. Despite the promise of the Gorbachev reform movements of perestroika (reconstruction) and glasnost (openness), popular protest was a clear threat against Soviet authority. In this official response, the media, the Party, and official youth organizations were instructed to work together to prevent future "ethnic strife" or other "inflammatory actions." It is important to note, however, that the language of perestroika (rooting out "bureaucratism") was used here to suppress protests. This is one sign that the Gorbachev reforms were not meant to weaken the Communist Party, but rather to reinvigorate Communism. On April 9, 1991, the second anniversary of the tragedy, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia proclaimed Georgian sovereignty and independence from the Soviet Union.