Special Transcaucasian Committee OZAKOM

a regional body of the bourgeois Provisional Government. It was formed on Mar. 9 (22), 1917, and was located in Tbilisi. The committee consisted of members of the Fourth State Duma, including the Cadet V. A. Kharlamov (president), the Dashnak M. I. Papadzhanov, the Musavatist M. Iu. Dzhafarov, the Menshevik A. I. Chkhenkeli, and the Social Federalist K. Abashidze. Its rights and responsibilities were determined by laws governing the Caucasian Namestnichestvo (vicegerency)— laws promulgated before the overthrow of the tsarist regime. With the cooperation of the Transcaucasian soviets—dominated by Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries—the Special Transcaucasian Committee called on the people to carry the war on to a victorious conclusion and advocated peace between classes and within the nation.

The committee defended the interests of the capitalists and landlords, making use of various deceptive promises and half measures for this purpose—for example, the establishment of conciliatory commissions and offices and special committees; it also resorted to military force. The committee continued to function until the formation of the Transcaucasian Commissariat on Nov. 15 (28), 1917.