Prince Konstantine (Kote) Abkhazi ( ka, კონსტანტინე (კოტე) აფხაზი) (November 17, 1867—May 20, 1923), 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 ...

military officer, politician and public figure. During the

Imperial Russian The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The ...

rule, he was a

General-major 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 ...

Artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

in the

tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

's army (1916) and in the national army of the

Democratic Republic of Georgia The Democratic Republic of Georgia (DRG; ka, საქართველოს დემოკრატიული რესპუბლიკა ') was the first modern establishment of a republic of Georgia, which existed from May 1918 to F ...

(1918), and a recognized leader of the liberal nobility of Georgia. After the

Soviet Occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into two different ...

of Georgia, he emerged as one of the leaders of an underground

anti-Soviet Anti-Sovietism, anti-Soviet sentiment, called by Soviet authorities ''antisovetchina'' (russian: антисоветчина), refers to persons and activities actually or allegedly aimed against the Soviet Union or government power within the ...

, national-liberation movement. One of the founders of the

Tbilisi State University Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University ( ka, ივანე ჯავახიშვილის სახელობის თბილისის სახელმწიფო უნივერსიტეტი ''Ivane Javaxishvi ...

in 1918 and Chairman of the Georgian National-Democratic Party in 1921-1923. In 1923, he was arrested and executed by the Soviet security police (so-called " Cheka").

Early life and career

Konstantine (Kote) Abkhazi was born in the village of Kardenakhi, Kakheti (Eastern Georgia), to a wealthy aristocratic family,The Princes

Abkhazi Abkhazi ( ka, აფხაზი; also known as Abkhazishvili) was a princely family in Georgia, a branch of the Shervashidze family from Abkhazia. According to the genealogical treatise by Prince Ioann of Georgia (1768-1830), the ancestors of t ...

descended from the Shervashidze dynasty of Abkhazia whose member fled the Ottoman hegemony over Abkhazia to Kakheti, where they were enfeoffed, in 1654, by King Teimuraz I with an estate at Kardebakhi, formerly a possession of the extinct line of the

Vachnadze The Vachnadze ( ka, ვაჩნაძე) was a Georgian noble family, a principal line descending from the early medieval Donauri dynasty of Kakheti. Their offshoots were the Beburishvili (probably also Babadishvili). The family has produced sev ...

house. Their title was recognised by the Russian Senate in 1826, reconfirmed in 1850. the son of the General-major of the tsarist Russian army, Prince Nikoloz (Niko) Abkhazi and Princess Nino née Chavchavadze, the sister of an outstanding Georgian writer and public figure Ilia Chavchavadze. Abkhazi graduated from the Tbilisi Cadet Corps and the

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Military Academy and joined the Russian army in 1890. Later, he was actively involved in Georgia's public life and sponsored several social and economic projects, including the construction of the Kakhetian railway between 1906 and 1913. In 1913, he was elected the marshal of nobility of the

Tiflis Governorate The Tiflis Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire with its administrative center in Tiflis (present-day Tbilisi). In 1897, it constituted 44,607 sq. kilometres in area and had a population ...

, but he was called to an active army service with the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1914. Being promoted to

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 ...

in 1916, he commanded an artillery brigade from 1914 to 1916. In 1916, he was elected to the

State Duma of the Russian Empire The State Duma, also known as the Imperial Duma, was the lower house of the Governing Senate in the Russian Empire, while the upper house was the State Council. It held its meetings in the Taurida Palace in St. Petersburg. It convened four time ...

for Tiflis.

Revolution

Returning to Georgia, he was reelected the marshal and helped found the National Democratic Party of Georgia in 1917. Under his leadership, Georgian nobility declared its property national. Abkhazi was involved in the establishment of

in February 1918 and in the proclamation of independence of the

in May 1918. In 1917-1919 he was a Member of the

National Council of Georgia The National Council of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს ეროვნული საბჭო, ''sakartvelos erovnuli sabcho'') was the first delegated legislative body formed by Georgia's major political parties and social organ ...

. He became a Chairman of the National-Democratic Party in 1921. Early in 1921, Georgia was invaded and occupied by

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

, forcing the Georgian government to flee the country. Abkhazi stayed in Georgia, however, and joined the underground movement

Committee for Independence of Georgia The Committee for the Independence of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს დამოუკიდებლობის კომიტეტი, ''Sak’art’velos damoukideblobis komiteti'') or the Parity Committee (პარი� ...

where he headed its Military Center. He guided the organization of guerrilla groups in

Pshavi Pshavi ( ka, ფშავი) is a small historic region of northern Georgia, nowadays part of the Mtskheta-Mtianeti ''mkhare'' ("region"), and lying chiefly among the southern foothills of the Greater Caucasus mountains along the Pshavis Aragvi ...

Khevsureti Khevsureti ( Georgian: ხევსურეთი, ''a land of valleys'') is a historical-ethnographic region in eastern Georgia. They are the branch of Kartvelian ( Georgian) people located along both the northern (Pirikita khevsureti, Georgia ...

, and Kakheti (1921–23). However, in March 1923, Abkhazi and 14 other members of the Military Center (

Alexander Andronikashvili Alexander Andronikashvili ( ka, ალექსანდრე ანდრონიკაშვილი) also known as Andronikov (1871 – 1923) was a Georgia (country), Georgian military commander and anti-Soviet resistance leader. Of an old ...

Varden Tsulukidze Varden Tsulukidze ( ka, ვარდენ წულუკიძე) (1865 – 19 May 1923) was a Georgian military commander and anti-Soviet resistance leader. Of a noble family, Tsulukidze served in the Imperial Russian army and was promoted ...

, Colonel Giorgi Khimshiashvili, Rostom Muskhelishvili, Mikheil Zandukeli, Simon Bagrationi-Mukhraneli, Parnaoz Karalashvili, Iason Kereselidze, Ivane Kutateladze,

Simon Chiabrishvili Simon Chiabrishvili ( ka, სიმონ ჭიაბრიშვილი) (1881 – May 20, 1923), was a Georgian politician, national-democrat and public figure. As a member of the anti-Soviet national-liberation movement in Georgia, he was a ...

Alexandre Machavariani Alexandre may refer to: * Alexandre (given name) * Alexandre (surname) * Alexandre (film) See also * Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom o ...

, Elizbar Gulisashvili, Levan Klimiashvili and Dimitri Chrdileli) were arrested by the

GPU A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. GPUs are used in embedded systems, mobi ...

, and were shot for anti-Soviet activities on May 20, 1923. He is quoted to have said prior to the execution: Abkhazi's son, Nicholas (1900-1987) and his

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

-born spouse Peggy Pemberton Carter (died 1994) moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and, beginning from 1946, built a well-known
Abkhazi Garden
at

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. The ...

Literature

* Ushangi Sidamonidze (1997), "Abkhazi, Konstantine". Encyclopedia "Sakartvelo", vol. I, Tbilisi, pp. 256–257. * Journal "Samshoblo", No: 21-22, Paris, 1937. * Journal "Mkhedari", Paris, No: 2, 1929, pp. 22–23. *

Alexander Mikaberidze Alexander Mikaberidze ( ka, ალექსანდრე მიქაბერიძე; born 27 January 1978) is a Georgian lawyer, author and historian who specializes in Napoleonic studies. He is a full professor of history and social scie ...

(2007)
Abkhazi, Constantine
''The Dictionary of Georgian National Biography''. * Levan Urushadze (2012), "For the Biography of General Konstantine (Kote) Abkhazi". Bulletin of the Georgian National Museum, Series of Social Sciences, No 3(48-B), pp. 230–246.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abkhazi, Kote 1867 births 1923 deaths Nationalists from Georgia (country) People from Kakheti People from Tiflis Governorate Marshals of nobility Generals from Georgia (country) Imperial Russian major generals Georgian generals in the Imperial Russian Army Georgian major generals (Imperial Russia) Nobility of Georgia (country) People from Georgia (country) executed by the Soviet Union National Democratic Party (Georgia) politicians People of World War I from Georgia (country) Executed people from Georgia (country) Russian nobility