Launch of New Book Telling the Story of the First Georgian Republic

Press Release

Next year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of the world's first democratic socialist government, the Georgian Democratic Republic. London-based author Eric Lee has written an important book on this long-forgotten but vital experiment in political history, The Experiment: Georgia's Forgotten Revolution, 1918-21. 

“The first Georgian republic had universal significance,” says Eric Lee. “The Georgian Social Democrats, led by Noe Zhordania, were both Marxists and democrats. They created a multi-party, pluralist democracy with free elections – including womens' suffrage – while at the same time carrying out a radical land reform, strengthening the cooperative movement, and encouraging the growth of independent trade unions with the right to strike. Their experiment in democratic socialism was widely known a century ago, but following the Soviet invasion in 1921, it was largely forgotten. As the world marks the centenary of the Russian Revolution, this is a good time to remind ourselves that another revolution – a humane and democratic one – was possible, as the Georgians proved.” 

Published by Zed Books in London, the official publication date is 15 September. In addition to the English version, translations are being prepared into Georgian, Russian, Esperanto and other languages. The Georgian edition will be published in 2018 by Poezia Press. 

Lee's book was launched at an event at Prospero's Books on Thursday, 14 September. 

The book's website cab be reached here

Also check out the Facebook event for the book launch in Tbilisi here