Georgian Guard

The Georgian Guard is a militia/warlord group founded by Davit Patarava.

Poltical Situation
Georgia has been in a turbulent state since the Turkish invasion in 1970. Russia abandoned its former possession in it's time of need and left the Caucasus to it's own weakened armies. They weren't strong enough. Although the Georgians lasted a few weeks longer than the Armenians, it wasn't to last. The Turks overthrew the 'corrupt' republic that had stood for 14 years, burned the flag, publicly executed the entire Georgian government and ripped the constitution to shreds, all in the horrified eyes of a large crowd. The Ottoman Flag was flown proudly above the remains of Georgian independence in Freedom Square and the Turks were quick to introduce changes to the region. Islam was promoted while the local Orthodox Christian religion was suppressed. Revolts and protests were punished swiftly and brutally.

While the ASF were fighting their war against the Ottomans in Armenia, similar revolts sprouted in Georgia, inspired by the ASF's vision of a better future. The former Georgian army re-organised itself into a secret society and began a campaign against the Ottoman governors and soldiers. It proved highly popular among the Georgian populace, who disliked the promotion of Islam and the brutality of the foreign soldiers.

After seven months of fighting and espionage across the country, the Turks were pushed from Georgia and eventually, the Caucasus. A temporary government of leaders of the resistance was set up and they promised elections within the month. But they never came. Faced with ethnic revolution in Abkhazia, border attacks from Dagestan, high unemployment, a high crime rate, and political ineptitude the government collapsed in late 1976. A 'rush for Georgia' began, as Dagestani's poured over the north-eastern border and Ossetians over the northern border. To this day, the north is still occupied by Ossetian/Dagi backed warlords. The country was split into bickering warlords, most who were former members of the temporary government or foreign players from Ossetia or Dagestan. Each warlord claims his turf is the real Georgian Republic successor, although often it is a simple authoritarian military dictatorship. They inhabit cities and occasionally entire regions. The Georgian lira, having little value outside of Georgia, is still used in Georgia as a currency by all warlord 'states'.

Formation of the Georgian Guard
The Georgian Guard was set up in the port city of Batumi by Davit Patarava in early 1977 as a 'home guard' militia, aiming to protect the citizens of eastern Batumi from hostile warlords, foreign forces and bandits that inhabit the countryside. The Guard was originally set up by Davit after his wife and second child were attacked, raped and killed by a drunken squad of rogue soldiers. Davit gathered his friends together and they hunted down the soldiers in retaliation. The soldiers were later found with smashed skulls, Glasgow smiles and broken knees in a ditch. None were alive.

The Guard was formed by this circle of friends and now operates across Batumi, as an anti-warlord force protecting the people from brutality and helping the community. They are an apolitical group, caring only for the people of Georgia. They boast a growing membership, an arsenal consisting of every weapon from shotguns to slingshots, several successful attacks on the warlords and strong support from the people. The Guard has achieved notoriety among the warlords as a troublesome group that attacks in hit-and-run tactics.

At the moment, there are no plans to revive the Republic of Georgia from the Guard. However, they strongly support overthrowing the current warlord in the area due to the high taxes on imported food, lack of representation for the Georgian people and the increased brutality of soldiers. Davit, a grim, older man, came out of obscurity to form this group and currently spends all his days dedicated to the Guard. What he did before the Guard is only known amongst his close friends and his surviving son, Giorgi Patarava. The group has gained much popularity among the cities lower classes and is known to be in contact with other organisations in Georgia, such as the nationalist Georgian National Front and the communist-leaning People's Liberation Force of Georgia.