Giorgi (Gia) Karkarashvili ( ka, გიორგი
იაყარყარაშვილი) (born October 31, 1966) is a
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
politician and retired
major general
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
who served as Georgia's Minister of Defense from May 1993 to March 1994. A former
Soviet army
uk, Радянська армія
, image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg
, alt =
, caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army
, start_date ...
captain, he was a high-profile military commander during the
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
and wars against the secessionists in
Abkhazia
Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...
and
South Ossetia
South Ossetia, ka, სამხრეთი ოსეთი, ( , ), officially the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked state in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated populat ...
in the 1990s. A gunshot wound received in the 1995 attack in Moscow left him severely disabled. He was member of the
Parliament of Georgia
The Parliament of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პარლამენტი, tr) is the supreme national legislature of Georgia. It is a unicameral parliament, currently consisting of 150 members; of these, 120 are proportio ...
from 1999 to 2004. He is currently member of the
Our Georgia – Free Democrats
Free Democrats ( ka, თავისუფალი დემოკრატები, ''t’avisup’ali demokratebi''), previously known as Our Georgia – Free Democrats, is a political party in Georgia founded by Irakli Alasania, Georgia's for ...
party led by
Irakli Alasania
Irakli Alasania ( ka, ირაკლი ალასანია) (born 21 December 1973) is a Georgian politician, soldier and former diplomat who served as the Minister of Defense of Georgia from 2012 to 2014. He was Georgia's Ambassador to th ...
.
Early career
Born in
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...
, then-
Soviet Georgia
The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgian SSR; ka, საქართველოს საბჭოთა სოციალისტური რესპუბლიკა, tr; russian: Грузинская Советская Соц ...
, Karkarashvili graduated from the
Tbilisi Higher Artillery Command School
The Tbilisi Higher Artillery Command School () was one of the military institutions of the USSR. In different years she trained specialists of various military specialties. It was located in Tbilisi in the Georgian SSR.
History
The school was ...
in 1987 and served in the Soviet military in
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
, Afghanistan, and Georgia until January 1991 when he resigned as a captain and recruited the Georgian deserters from the Soviet army into the paramilitary unit Tetri Artsivi ("White Eagle") which was soon integrated into the
National Guard of Georgia
The National Guard of Georgia (NG, ka, საქართველოს ეროვნული გვარდია, ''sak'art'velos erovnuli gvardia'') is a branch of the Defense Forces of Georgia. It is tasked with responding to external ...
. Karkarashvili became commander of the Guard in Tbilisi. He took part in fighting against the South Ossetian militias in the early months of 1991 and was promoted to colonel.
In December 1991, Karkarashvili joined the
Tengiz Kitovani
Tengiz Kitovani ( ka, თენგიზ კიტოვანი) (born June 9, 1938) is a retired Georgian politician and military commander with high-profile involvement in the Georgian Civil War early in the 1990s when he commanded the Natio ...
-led rebellious faction of military in a
violent coup against
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Zviad Gamsakhurdia
Zviad Konstantines dze Gamsakhurdia ( ka, ზვიად გამსახურდია, tr; russian: Звиа́д Константи́нович Гамсаху́рдия, Zviad Konstantinovich Gamsakhurdiya; 31 March 1939 – 31 December 1 ...
and headed a storm of the government's building which ended in Gamsakhurdia's flight from Tbilisi in January 1992. Karkarashvili then commanded a force of the post-coup regime – the Military Council – which operated against Gamsakhurdia's supporters in western Georgia and commanded a march of the National Guard detachment into Abkhazia in a show of force to deter secessionist sentiments in the area. When fighting resumed in South Ossetia in May 1992, Karkarashvili was put in command of Georgian forces which recovered several ethnic Georgian villages, winning to its 26-year-old commander the rank of major-general. He soon resigned, citing dissatisfaction with Shevardnadze's acceptance of Russian-proposed terms of the peace settlement.
[The Georgian Chronicle, May 1993](_blank)
. Caucasian Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development
Commander in Abkhazia
In August 1992, the rising tensions in Abkhazia escalated into armed conflict. Karkarashvili was put in command of the Georgian troops in the regional capital
Sukhumi
Sukhumi (russian: Суху́м(и), ) or Sokhumi ( ka, სოხუმი, ), also known by its Abkhaz name Aqwa ( ab, Аҟәа, ''Aqwa''), is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the capital and largest city of ...
. His televised address broadcast (in Russian) by the local Sukhumi channel on August 25, 1992, in which warned the secessionist leaders that “if 100,000 Georgians die, then all 97,000
bkhazianson your side will be killed” sparked much controversy. His words have been cited in different forms in different sources and received by the Abkhaz side as a threat to cleanse the region of its Abkhaz populace. Years later, in a February 2009 interview to a Tbilisi-based
Maestro TV
Maestro ( ka, მაესტრო) is a Georgian television channel launched in February 1995, located in Tbilisi.
Satellite dishes' affair
On July 2, Maestro TV announced that one of its co-owners and its financial backer, Maka Asatiani, wa ...
, Karkarashvili claimed that the televised address was edited to make it appear he threatened to destroy the Abkhaz. “By the way
Alexander Ankvab
Aleksandr Zolotinskovich Ankvab ( ; ab, Алықьсандр Золотинска-иԥа Анқәаб, ka, ალექსანდრე ზოლოტინსკის ძე ანქვაბი, russian: Алекса́ндр Золот ...
, who is now prime minister of Abkhazia, was present there when my address was being recorded and he can confirm my words,” he added, explaining that Ankvab was arrested by the Georgian forces, but soon released upon his own instruction.
[Abkhaz War-Time Commander Joins Alasania Team](_blank)
Civil Georgia
''Civil Georgia'' ( ka, სივილ ჯორჯია) is a Tbilisi-based free daily news website run by Georgian NGO UN Association of Georgia. It is supported by USAID, Friedrich Ebert Foundation and Swiss Agency for Development and Coope ...
. February 19, 2009
Karkarashvili commanded the Georgian forces throughout the war in Abkhazia. He suffered the first major setback at
Gagra
Gagra ( ka, გაგრა; Abkhaz and Russian: Гагра) is a town in Abkhazia/Georgia, sprawling for 5 km on the northeast coast of the Black Sea, at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains. Its subtropical climate made Gagra a popular hea ...
in October 1992, when the Abkhaz forces and the allied
North Caucasian militants under
Shamil Basayev
Shamil Salmanovich Basayev ( ce, Салман ВоӀ Шамиль ; russian: Шамиль Салманович Басаев; 14 January 1965 – 10 July 2006), also known by his kunya "Abu Idris", was a senior military commander in the Cheche ...
’s command took that town in a surprise attack, repulsing Karkarashvili's hastily organized counterattack. The battle took life of Karkarashvili's younger brother Gocha. Karkarashvili was able to defend Sukhumi until September 1993, when the beleaguered Georgian troops – now suffering in-fighting between rivaling factions – retreated from much of Abkhazia.
Minister of Defense
During the war in Abkhazia, the young general gained reputation of an energetic and dynamic commander, for which he was popular with the military. He was frequently critical of Shevardnadze's policies and displayed a tendency to independent decision-making. Nevertheless, in May 1993, Shevardnadze made him Minister of Defense, partly for his desire to sideline Tengiz Kitovani, the self-minded field commander and Karkarashvili's predecessor as minister. Karkarashvili attempted to make the Georgian military more integrated and disciplined. He named the Russian and Israeli armies to be models on which to build the Georgian military.
From October to November 1993, Karkarashvili took command of the government forces in a brief civil war reincited by Gamsakhurdia's attempt to regain power. In February 1994, he resigned his position in the government, citing Shevardnadze's decision to bring Georgia into the
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...
, legalize the Russian military bases in Georgia, and to appoint
Igor Giorgadze Igor Panteleimonovich Giorgadze ( ka, იგორ პანტელეიმონის გიორგაძე; born 23 July 1950) is a Georgian politician-in-exile, a former Minister of State Security (1993–1995) and the current leader of th ...
to state security ministry. He was later implicated in an embezzlement scandal and accused of supplying classified military information to the Abkhaz and Russian commanders during the war.
Assassination attempt and return to politics
In September 1994, Karkarashvili went to Moscow and enrolled into the Russian
General Staff Academy. Early on January 25, 1995, Karkarashvili and his former deputy Major-General Paata Datuashvili were assaulted by three masked gunmen near the academy dormitory in Moscow. Datuashvili was killed on the spot. Karkarashvili – heavily wounded in head – survived, but was permanently disabled and left in wheelchair. The most popular explanation of the attack was that it was ordered by those interested in elimination of key witnesses of the 1991 coup and the Abkhaz war.
Returning to Georgia, Karkarashvili kept a lower profile and worked for the
Public Defender
A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Hungary and Singapore, ...
’s office in Tbilisi from 1998 to 1999. In November 1999, he was elected to the Parliament of Georgia on the
New Rights
The New Rights Party (NRP) ( ka, ახალი მემარჯვენეები, ''Akhali Memarjveneebi''), also translated as New Conservative Party (NCP), was a political party in Georgia. It was an associate member of the Internation ...
party ticket. As a member of pro-Shevardnadze election bloc, Karkarashvili ran for the parliament again in November 2003. The protests over the elections resulted in Shevardnadze's resignation in the
Rose Revolution
The Rose Revolution or Revolution of Roses ( ka, ვარდების რევოლუცია, tr) was a nonviolent change of power that occurred in Georgia in November 2003. The event was brought about by widespread protests over the ...
and in the snap parliamentary elections which brought Karkarashvili to the Parliament as a
majoritarian
Majoritarianism is a traditional political philosophy or agenda that asserts that a majority (sometimes categorized by religion, language, social class, or some other identifying factor) of the population is entitled to a certain degree of primac ...
for Tbilisi's
Isani constituency in March 2004. He resigned his seat over health problems in November 2005.
Opposition
Karkarashvili came again to public attention after the
August 2008 war between Georgia and Russia. He produced a report in which he accused the Georgian government for having mismanaged military operations. In February 2009, he joined a political group of Irakli Alasania, Georgia's former UN envoy, who withdrew into opposition to President
Mikheil Saakashvili
Mikheil Saakashvili ( ka, მიხეილ სააკაშვილი ; uk, Міхеіл Саакашвілі ; born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist. .
In May 2009, Karkarashvili's name was implicated by the retired officer Gia Ghvaladze, arrested in connection with the
failed army mutiny as an alleged sympathizer with the coup plot. Karkarashvili rejected any links with the mutiny and released video footage showing him talking with the certain Melikidze who allegedly was trying to persuade him to take part in the mutiny. The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs expressed its gratitude to Karkarashvili for information provided by him as it helped to arrest Melikidze and prevent an assassination attempt on Interior Minister
Vano Merabishvili
Ivane "Vano" Merabishvili ( ka, ივანე "ვანო" მერაბიშვილი; born 15 April 1968) is a Georgian politician and 9th Prime Minister of Georgia from 4 July to 25 October 2012. A former NGO activist, he became dire ...
.
On the Failed Military Mutiny
Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. May 5, 2009
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karkarashvili, Giorgi
1966 births
Living people
Politicians from Tbilisi
Free Democrats (Georgia) politicians
Government ministers of Georgia (country)
Generals from Georgia (country)
Generals of the Defense Forces of Georgia
Soviet military personnel of the Soviet–Afghan War
Diplomats from Tbilisi