Zhiuli Shartava (; March 7, 1944 – September 27, 1993) was 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 the Head of the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia who was killed by Abkhaz militants during the

ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia The ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia,The Guns of August 2008, Russia's War in Georgia, Svante Cornell & Frederick Starr, p 27In Georgia, Tales of Atrocities Lee Hockstander, International Herald Tribune, 22 October 1993On Ruins of Empire ...

in 1993.

Biography

Shartava was born on March 7, 1944 in

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 ...

Abkhaz ASSR The Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (russian: Абхазская Автономная Советская Социалистическая Республика; ka, აფხაზეთის ავტონომიური ს� ...

. An engineer by education, he was elected to 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 ...

in 1992. Shartava chaired the Council of Ministers and the Council of Self-Defence of

Autonomous Republic of 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 ...

during the Georgian-Abkhazian War in 1993. When the city of

fell to the Abkhazian separatist forces on September 27, 1993, Shartava with other members of the Abkhaz Government (

Guram Gabiskiria Guram Gabiskiria ( ka, გურამ გაბესკირია; 2 March 1947 – 27 September 1993) was a Mayor of Sukhumi who was murdered by Abkhaz separatists during the ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia in 1993. Biography Gu ...

Raul Eshba Raul Eshba ( ab, Раул Эшба; ) (1944 – 27 September 1993) was an ethnic Abkhaz politician who was killed in Sukhumi along with Zhiuli Shartava, Guram Gabiskiria, Alexander Berulava and others by Abkhaz separatist rebels during the mass ...

Alexander Berulava ) , birth_date = , birth_place = Sukhumi, Abkhazian ASSR, Georgian SSR, USSR , death_date = , death_place = Sukhumi, Georgia , resting_place = ''Unknown'' , spouse = Natela Gogia , children = , occupation = Journalist, ...

, Mamia Alasania, Sumbat Saakian, Misha Kokaia and others) refused to flee and were captured by the Abkhaz militants. Initially they were promised safety, however Shartava and others from the Council of Ministers were killed by the militants and according to UN report Shartava was tortured. In 2005, American journalist Malcolm Linton displayed his photo materials taken during the war in Abkhazia at the art gallery in Tbilisi, where Shartavas body was identified among the pile of corpses, clearly visible on one of the photographs. On video materials taken during the capture of Sukhumi by the militants, Shartava is carried out from the Government building and physically assaulted, after which he was forced into the van and taken to the outskirts of Sukhumi where he was killed with other Georgian and Abkhaz members of the government and their staff. Shartava's body was handed over to the Georgian side and was buried in the western Georgian city of

Senaki Senaki ( ka, სენაკი; xmf, სანაკი) is a town in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region, western Georgia. It is located at around between the rivers Tekhura/i and Tsivi, at an elevation of 28–38 meters above sea level. Senaki is ...

.Conflict in the Caucasus: Georgia, Abkhazia, and the Russian Shadow (App Labour History Series; No. 3) by Svetlana Mikhailovna Chervonnaia In 1994, Shartava was officially honored as the National Hero of Georgia

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...

in 2004.

References

External links

Government of Abkhazia (-in-exile)
(right-click to open file) {{DEFAULTSORT:Shartava, Zhiuli Assassinated Abkhazian politicians Ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia National Heroes of Georgia 1944 births 1993 deaths Members of the Parliament of Georgia Prime Ministers of Abkhazia Abkhaz–Georgian conflict Abkhazian murder victims 1993 in Georgia (country) People from Sukhumi 20th-century politicians from Georgia (country)

Biography

See also

References

External links