Talk:1991–1992 Georgian coup d'état
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The number of Kitovani soldiers in Rkoni and those who pledged to the opposition during the coup
[edit]The article states:
"Tengiz Kitovani, opposing this decision, left Tbilisi with a force of around 15,000 armed men and set up camp in the Rkoni Gorge, around 40 kilometers north of the capital.[22]"
The source for that is Jones S. F., Georgia: A Political History Since Independence, 2015.
The number of 15,000 armed men seems absurdly high. Putting aside the logistic challenges of gathering, equipping and housing that many troops for the fledgling Georgian state, which had problems mustering even a few thousand men with the war against separatists a year later (during the first battle of Sokhumi in August 1992, Kitovani had only about 1000 soldiers, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sukhumi_(1992) certainly not more than 2000), there's simply not enough place for that amount of soldiers in Rkoni Gorge. While Gamsakhurdia did order the creation of the National Guard (essentially, the Georgian army) of 20, 000, this was only on paper. The actual number of soldiers conscripted was far lower.
This can be seen, to some extent, from the casualty figures during the coup, where officially only 113 people died during two weeks of intense fighting suggesting numbers nowhere near 15 or even 10 thousand for both sides.
The article then suggests that during the actual coup "an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 members of the Guard pledged allegiance to the opposition's struggle, only a small part of these combatants participated in the Tbilisi battle, while the other soldiers remain in South Ossetia or Abkhazia to calm the ethnic tensions."
There's no source indicated on the supposed "pledge" and I do not think that any militia or even the National Guard claimed membership numbers higher than 5 thousand (Mkhedrioni did talk about 6 thousand, but actual numbers seem to be lower for them too).
As for Kitovani soldiers in Rkoni, a Georgian source I found (Georgian historian and journalist Dato Gamtsemlidze) basically knocks two full zeroes out, claiming that the only the "elite" of the Guard left with Kitovani in Rkoni Gorge, around 100-150 men, which, even if somewhat underestimates the number "armed men", is still much closer approximation to real numbers than highly improbable 15,000.
http://experti.ge http://experti.ge/kartuli28.htm
These unlikely numbers stand out like a sore thumb, because in other instances the article is pretty much spot on and has more or less accurate estimates for the number of soldiers.
Addition: I found a source claiming that Kitovani's forces moving out of Tbilisi numbered 2 000 men.
"The turning point was the coup attempt in Moscow (August 19–21, 1991). Gamsakhurdia was so alarmed that he ordered the National Guard to disarm. Kitovani refused to comply and moved his forces (some 2,000 men) outside Tbilisi, setting up a military camp that became a base for the opposition".
Source:Zürcher C., Baev P., Koehler J., Civil Wars in the Caucasus, in: Understanding Civil War, volume 2: Europe, Central Asia, and Other Regions, Ed. Collier P., Sambanis N., The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Washington, 2005, p.266-267.
There is however no reference for this claim. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Marovaso (talk • contribs) 09:42, 17 August 2019 (UTC)
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