Clientelism and Nationality in an Early Soviet Fiefdom: The Trials of Nestor Lakoba

Description

Based on extensive original research, this book tells the astonishing story of early Soviet Abkhazia and of its leader, the charismatic Bolshevik revolutionary Nestor Lakoba. A tiny republic on the Black Sea coast of the USSR, Abkhazia became a vacation retreat for Party leaders and a major producer of tobacco. Nestor Lakoba became the unquestioned boss of Abkhazia, constructing a powerful local ethnic "machine" that became an influential component of Soviet patronage politics, provoking along the way accusations of nepotism, corruption, blood feuds, embezzlement, racketeering, and extrajudicial murder on a scale that shocked even hardened Communist Party investigators. Lakoba and his group faced a series of trials, investigatory commissions, and tribunals over allegations of malfeasance, yet they were repeatedly able to convince their powerful patrons of their irreplaceability, until at last they were destroyed through a public show trial during the peak of the Stalinist Terror. Through the prism of tiny Abkhazia, this book provides invaluable insights into the nature of the early Soviet system and the governance of Soviet national republics. Cover Endorsement Page Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Foreword Preface Abbreviations Chapter 1: Introduction Informal networks, nationality, and Soviet power in the periphery Bolshevik institutionalized authority and local “capture” Abkhazia – the Soviet “Riviera” Nestor Apollonovich Lakoba and Caucasian clientelism Notes Chapter 2: “Kiaraz” and the formation of an early Soviet ethnic leadership cohort National awakening and revolution The February and October revolutions The first Bolshevik attempt to seize power in Abkhazia and the “Sukhum Commune” – April–June 1918 The defeat of the Sukhum Commune and return to the underground Soviet power comes to Abkhazia – Spring 1921 Notes Chapter 3: Consolidating leadership in early Soviet Abkhazia Lakoba’s Kiaraz-based grouping establishes its leadership position The break with Eshba: status vs. rents and privileges Ethnicity, legitimacy, and Soviet power Lakoba vs. “the opponents” – November 1922 Lakoba vs. the Alexei Agrba group – 1923–1924 Notes Chapter 4: The “Rif Revolt” Much ado about tobacco The “Abkhazian question” and the Azatyan commission The sparking of the “Rif Revolt” – the Gudauta meeting The gathering at Alaniya’s apartment The 41 allegations The Beria and Stel’makh commission At the Presidium of the Georgian central committee The recall telegram and the Bakhtadze declaration The final showdown in Tiflis Lakoba triumphant Notes Chapter 5: Patronage, nationality, and Tsebelda tobacco Managing patrons Nationality and clientalism Tsebelda and tobacco A joint meeting of the Party cells Notes Chapter 6: The Mirzabekyan Commission – 1928–1929 The gathering storm The all-union Central Control Commission demands action Presenting and discussing the Mirzabekyan report in Tiflis A routine whitewash Notes Chapter 7: The Deluge – 1929–1930 The Kadyrov report – June 1929 The “Tsebelda affair” The Transcaucasian network hits back – Summer 1929 The Geurkov and Kelekia report—September 1929 The Tseitlin report to the Central Committee Stalin intervenes The Caucasian network backs Lakoba The Sturua commission whitewash Closing arguments Notes Chapter 8: The changing circumstances of the 1930s Nestor and Lavrenty Collectivization and the Gudauta peasant uprising Lakoba, Ladariya, and the Party reprimand Beria vs. Lakoba Notes Chapter 9: Lakoba’s final trial The death and transformation of Lakoba to “Enemy of the People” 1937 - Show Trial and Executions of Lakoba’s Clients Notes Chapter 10: Identity, contestation, and memory The denouement – Abkhazia after Lakoba Changing tides and brewing storms Epilogue: Soviet nationality policy, national identity, and unintended consequences of memory Notes Bibliography Index