Koba Kobaladze ( ka, კობა კობალაძე; born July 7, 1969) is a retired major-general of the

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 ...

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

who served on top military posts early in the 2000s. On May 5, 2009, he was arrested by the

Georgian Police Law enforcement in Georgia is conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. Currently, there are more than 42,000 registered police officers. History The Georgian police introduced an 022 emergency dispatch service in 2004. As of 201 ...

on charges of plotting an army mutiny.Former Commander of National Guard Arrested
''

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 ...

''. May 5, 2009

Military 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� ...

, Kobaladze served in the Soviet military from 1987 to 1989. In 1991 he volunteered in 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 ...

, with which he took part in the

conflicts Conflict may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Conflict'' (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Stuart Paton * ''Conflict'' (1936 film), an American boxing film starring John Wayne * ''Conflict'' (1937 film) ...

in post-Soviet Georgia. Kobaladze took an active part in the War in Abkhazia and was one of the senior commanders. During one of the battles he was severely wounded near Gagra. Kobaladze received nine bullets to the chest and survived but never managed to fully recover.Generals’ club statement
Kobaladze graduated from the Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne Command School in 1996 and

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (russian: Военная академия имени М. В. Фрунзе), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (rus ...

(

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

) in 1999. In 2000, Colonel Kobaladze was appointed commander of land forces of the Georgian Ministry of Defense. He was retrained at

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

centers in the

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, and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

from 2001 to 2003. In 2001, he was made a commander of the National Guard of Georgia, a post he resigned in 2004. In 2009, he was among the founders of the NGO Generals' Club.

Arrest and trial

In May 2009, Kobaladze was arrested on charges of plotting the abortive mutiny in a Georgian tank battalion, which – the authorities suggested – was part of a Russian-backed coup plot. He was acquitted of this charge on 11 January 2010. The judge found Kobaladze guilty of illegally keeping a firearm and hand-grenades and sentenced him of eight months in prison. But as Kobaladze had already spent eight months in detention, he was immediately released from the courtroom. Kobaladze is the only Georgian to be awarded with all three ranks of

Vakhtang Gorgasali Order Orders, decorations, and medals of Georgia are the orders, state decorations and medals that are granted by the national government of Georgia for meritorious achievements in national defense, state improvement, and the development of democracy and ...

.ქართველ გენერალთა კლუბის ”ომი და მშვიდობა”
RFE/RL. March 29, 2009

References

1969 births Generals of the Defense Forces of Georgia Military personnel from Tbilisi Living people Frunze Military Academy alumni Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne Command School alumni {{Georgia-mil-bio-stub