1885 – ????
Elisabed Nakashidze – Bolkvadze was elected as a member of National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Georgia from the Social-Democratic Party list in 1919. She was a member of labor commission in the first parliament of Georgia.
In 1921, after the Sovietization of Georgia, Elisabed Nakashidze – Bolkvadze got involved in the anti-Soviet movement. Because of this activity she was arrested several times and then sent to exile. In 1936, the term of her exile was extended for additional five years. According to archive materials, her further fate is unknown.
Center of Sibire
The Georgian Menshevics in Exile
Author: Meri Barbakadze
“The materials of the case reveal that since 1935, an exiled political prisoner, a member of the central committee of the Georgian Social-Democratic (Menshevik) Party, Elisabed Bolkvadze was one of the leaders of an illegal group of Mensheviks established in the Western Siberian city of Kamen…
“Upon the instruction of Elisabed, large meetings were not conducted. ‘We received an instruction from the foreign bureau to refrain from conducting large meetings. Such a form of party activity is not conducive to protecting our cadres; on the contrary, this makes it easy to expose them; this will be followed by repressions from Bolsheviks and our members will be exiled. Our activity requires great conspiracy and we must all understand that well.’ eetings were also held in Elisabed Bolkvadze’s house. They discussed future plans and ways of achieving freedom…
“On 6 April 1936, Elisabed Bolkvadze, who was exiled for Menshevik counter-revolutionary activity to Western Siberia, was arrested again together with her associates. When being in a duty room of the prison, Elisabed addressed her compatriots with the following speech: ‘be cautious of saying anything about your friends when being interrogated; all you must say in one voice that you refuse to provide testimony. No matter what they do, defend our ideas courageously and fight for independent Georgia until you are alive’.”
Excerpt from the protocol of interrogation of Elisabed Bolkvadze:
Western Siberian Department of Interior Ministry
2 July 1936
“In 1923 I was isolated from Georgia. I was arrested for illegal party activity in Guria and was sent to Urals. My activity was sometimes directed against the Soviet authorities that dominate Georgia. Having returned to Georgia from the 1925 exile, I joined the central committee of illegal Social-Democratic party of Georgia. From that time until 1926 I continued illegal activity of the party in Tbilisi. In 1926, I was arrested again and placed in the political isolator of the Upper Urals.
“In 1927, the political isolator was changed into exile and I was exiled to the city of Minusinsk. Since then I am in exile in Siberia.
“According to documents, in 1936, the term of exile of Elisabed Bolkvadze was expiring. By the decision of a special council of the united state political department, on the basis of a new accusation, the term of exile of Elisabed Bolkvadze was extended by an additional five years in 1936.
“The case materials do not show whether Elisabed Bolkvadze – Nakashidze returned to her homeland after the 13-year-long exile. The fate of this lady is unknown.”
Archive Messenger magazine, issue #11, 2011