HISTORICAL PREREQUISITES OF THE GEORGIAN IMMIGRANT PRESS

Abstract

In Georgia, which had become a Russian colony, the national media, along with the national movement, performed the function of awakening national self-consciousness. In the 70s of the 19th century, censorship  particularly intensified against the Georgian independent socio-political press. In 1873, Niko Nikoladze published the 10th issue of the illegal newspaper "Drosha" in Paris in hectographic form. The analysis of issues of national and foreign policy and socialism began precisely on the pages of the illegal press. The paper discusses the political-historical discourse that preceded the publication of the first Georgian printed emigrational newspaper - "Georgia", which was published in Paris in 1903-1905. In 1901, the idea of ​​the necessity of creating a political party, the basis of which was the autonomy of Georgia, was already expressed. There was a need to publish an illegal free organ abroad for open discussion of national-political issues and the future party. The newspaper "Georgia" - the organ of the Socialist-Federalist Party was published before the founding of the party and prepared the ground for its foundation. The purpose of the research is to determine the role of the Georgian immigrant press in the process of forming public opinion based on the influence of the newspaper ,,Georgia”, which has not be fully studied until now. The study explores first period of the Georgian immigrant press, when the immigrant newspaper plays a special role in the life of Georgian political emigration. With the publication of the ,,Georgia” newspaper, a new stage began in Georgian journalism, which has gone through a long path of development. An illegal, free newspaper published in France openly put forward a political demand for the restoration of the state of Georgia in the form of national-terrtoral autonomy.

Keywords: The Georgian immigrant press, Niko Nikoladze, the newspaper “Drosha”, the newspaper “Sakartvelo”, Archil Jorjadze.