Propaganda in Pre-Soviet Caucasian Press at The Example of Comparative Analysis of Georgian Newspapers: ‘Ertoba’ (1919) and ‘Sakartvelo’ (1919)

In Georgia, as well as in Transcaucasia in general, from the first appearance of print media until the beginning of the twentieth century, only the interests of Tsarism were pursued in the press. The Tsarist and Communist press used similar propaganda styles while advancing different political interests. The shifting political climate of the transition period fostered media content distinct from Tsarist influence and shaped by relative freedom. Propaganda texts were, of course, still to be found in the pre-Soviet Caucasian press, but pluralism, the striving for independence of the countries conquered by the Russian Empire, and chaos created a different situation. This paper discusses the peculiarities of the propaganda activities of the pre-Soviet Caucasian press of the beginning of the twentieth century using the Georgian newspapers published in 1919: the social-democratic, Ertoba (Unity) and the national-democratic, Sakartvelo (Georgia).