T HE ANATOMY OF MARATHON DEMONSTRATIONS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES

Abstract

There is a term known in macrosociology as “destructive self-confidence’’, which still affects socio-political life of Georgian people. In the late 1980s, along with the rise of national self-awareness in Georgian society, the multifaceted human energy accumulated over decades during the Soviet regime was released that was manifested inadequate activities of people at mara
thon rallies. At this time, Georgian ethnopsychology displayed negative traits (perhaps still unnoticed by the masses) such as cult of a leader, intolerance of dissent, and major discord instead of cooperation, which manifested itself in the permanent disruption of the unity of the national movement and the public. There was a confrontation even in the discredited and already weakened communist camp.
It seemed that all public figures felt the approaching danger, therefore all of them tended to assume responsibility for the consolidation of the nation. The archival material preserved at the Public Broadcaster provides reliable information for re
searching public opinion and the ethos of that rallies. While working at the channel, I had the opportunity to perceive the digital chronicle of our country and take the pulse of the era. Before making any assessment, I would like to revive on paper the ethos of the people participating in those events and let the reader judge for himself whether our country had a chance to avoid the upcoming bloody tragedies.