Československo-gruzínské diplomatické vztahy v období Gruzínské demokratické republiky (1918-1921): Osobnost Jaroslava Svatoše – prvního československého konzula v Gruzii. Czechoslovak-Georgian diplomatic relations in the period of the Georgian Democratic Republic (1918-1921): Personality of Jaroslav Svatoš – first Czechoslovak consul in Georgia

This dissertation examines the development of Czechoslovak-Georgian diplomatic relations between 1918 and 1921 through the life and activities of Jaroslav Svatoš (1871-1932), a teacher, directer of secondary schools, cultural activist and chairman of the Czechoslovak National Union in Tiflis and later Honorary Consul of the Czechoslovak Republic in Georgia. The study aims to reconstruct and interpret Svatoš´s role within the broader political, cultural, and social frameworks of the South Caucasus and Czechoslovak foreign policy. His long-term engagement in the multicultural environment of Tiflis makes him a unique figure who transcended the position of an expatriate and became an intermediary between two newly formed European states. The dissertation is based on extensive analysis of ego-documents (Svatoš´s memoirs from 1927), period press, archival materials from the Czech Republic, Georgia and Italy, and above all on a critical examination of the archival collection Tiflis, Josef Svatoš, Political Reports, 1921 held at the Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. These documents constitute a previously unused set of diplomatic reports capturing the fall of the Democratic Republic of Georgia in Feburary 1921, the subsequent Sovietization of the country, and the transformation of Svatoš´s position from community leader into an official representative of Czechoslovakia. The work focuses on three major thematic areas. The first part reconstructs Svatoš´s biography with emphasis on his pedagogical and cultural activities and his role in shaping the Czech minority community in the Caucasus, including the establishment of the Sokol movement. The second part examines the ideological foundations of the Czechoslovak foreign policy towards Russia and the South Caucasus, interpreting the „Georgian question“ as a part of the broader „Russian question“ of then Czechoslovak international politics. The third part offers a critical analysis of Svatoš´s diplomatic correspondence, assessing its significance for understanding the evolution of Czechoslovak-Georgian diplomatic relations. A separate chapter explores the influence of the 1920 Czechoslovak constitution on the 1921 Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Georgia – a transfer in which Svatoš played a decisive role. The dissertation demonstrates that Jaroslav Svatoš was an important and previously overlooked figure in Czechoslovak cultural and diplomatic activities in the South Caucasus. It also shows that Czechoslovak-Georgian diplomatic relations were shaped not only by formal diplomatic efforts, but also by informal networks, cultural exchange, and individual agency. By integrating these dimensions, the work contributes to a deeper understanding of Central European diplomacy and the historical foundations of modern Czech-Georgian diplomatic relations.