Kakutsa Cholokashvili
Encyclopedia
Kaikhosro Cholokashvili ' onMouseout='HidePop("921")' href="/topics/French_language">French
manner: Kakoutsa Tcholokhachvili) commonly known as Kakutsa (ქაქუცა, a hypocorism of Kaikhosro) (July 14, 1888 – June 27, 1930) was a Georgian
nobleman and military commander, regarded as a National Hero of Georgia. Formerly a Colonel
in the armies of Imperial Russia and the Democratic Republic of Georgia
and a World War I
veteran, he led, in the early 1920s, a guerrilla resistance against the Bolshevik
regime established by the Soviet Russian Red Army
in 1921. After the unsuccessful 1924 August Uprising against the Soviet Union
, in which Cholokashvili commanded the largest single unit of the insurgent fores, he fled to France
, where he died of tuberculosis
. His remains were moved to the Mtatsminda Pantheon
, Tbilisi
, Georgia, in 2005.
in the family estate at Matani
, Kakheti
, eastern Georgia (then part of the Tiflis Governorate
, Imperial Russia).
Cholokashvili graduated from the Tiflis Gymnasium for Nobility in 1907, and enlisted in the Imperial Russian army
. After having served in the Tver
Dragoon
Regiment, he retired in 1912 and returned to Georgia, where he married Princess Nino née Meghvinetukhutsesi in 1913. With the outbreak of the World War I
in 1914, he was recalled to active service and assigned to lead a cavalry squadron on the Austrian front. Wounded later that year, he was transferred to the Caucasus Front
. During the Battle of Sarikamish in December 1914, he commanded a cavalry squadron within the corps led by General Gabashvili and distinguished himself by capturing and defending the strategic "Eagle's Nest" against the overwhelming Ottoman
troops. He was severely wounded again and awarded a golden saber for his valor. After a medical course at the Tiflis St. Nino hospital, he was enlisted in the nascent Georgian Cavalry Legion which marched in Iran
as part of General Baratov
's 1915 expedition, and made a raid into Mesopotamia
, where he joined the British
expeditionary forces in 1916.
After the Russian Revolution of 1917
, he returned to Georgia and became involved in the Georgian independence movement. He joined the National Democratic Party of Georgia in mid-1917 and helped organize national cavalry units early in 1918. On May 26, 1918, Georgia declared independence as the Democratic Republic of Georgia
. Promoted to Colonel
, he commanded a cavalry division in the wars with Armenia (1918), Russia
(1921), etc. He also briefly served as Deputy Defense Minister in 1919.
The Soviet invasion early in 1921 led to the fall of independent Georgia and the establishment of the Georgian SSR ruled by a Bolshevik
Revolutionary Committee (Revkom). Cholokashvili did not follow many of his compatriots into emigration, but withdrew into mountains to organize guerrilla resistance
to the new regime. In March 1921, he led a small partisan group "The Conspirators of Georgia" which engaged in a series of skirmishes with the Red Army and Cheka
units in his native region of Kakheti. After a clash at Sighnaghi
in June 1922, Cholokashvili moved to the mountainous district of Khevsureti
where he rallied local peasants against the Soviet government. The Red Army, supported by aviation, overran the area, but Cholokashvili managed to escape to neighboring Chechnya
whence he made an inroad into Georgia in November 1922. His brother, Simon, was killed in action, while his family members were arrested and his father-in-law was later executed by the Cheka.
The most intense fighting erupted during the August Uprising in Georgia
in 1924, the banner of which was entrusted to Cholokashvili. He took the town Manglisi in a surprise attack on August 29, but could not get reinforcement and moved to the eastern Georgian mountains where he seized control of Dusheti
and crushed the Red Army
units at Svimoniant-Khevi on September 3. Despite the uprising was generally unsuccessful and brutally suppressed, Cholokashvili refused to surrender and tried to organize, though vainly, sortie to Tbilisi on several occasions. He fought his last engagement at Khev-Grdzela in Kakheti
in mid-September and could escape unbeaten despite being vastly outnumbered and shelled by the Red Army artillery. Eventually, the partisans' forces exhausted and Cholokashvili had to flee to Turkey
where he was joined by several emigrants and moved to France
.
He lived a hard life in France and died of tuberculosis
in 1930. Buried initially at the Cimetière de Saint-Ouen
he was moved in a few years to the Leuville Cemetery at Leuville-sur-Orge
, a burial ground of the Georgian emigration to France.
On November 20-21, 2005, he was moved to another grave at the Mtatsminda Pantheon
, Tbilisi
. The burial was attended by all high-ranking officials and thousands of Georgians from various regions of Georgia. His portrait graces the new banknote in value of 200 Lari
. His name has also been given to a street in popular Vake district in Tbilisi where ironically the Russian embassy
is located.
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
manner: Kakoutsa Tcholokhachvili) commonly known as Kakutsa (ქაქუცა, a hypocorism of Kaikhosro) (July 14, 1888 – June 27, 1930) was a Georgian
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
nobleman and military commander, regarded as a National Hero of Georgia. Formerly a Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
in the armies of Imperial Russia and the Democratic Republic of Georgia
Democratic Republic of Georgia
The Democratic Republic of Georgia , 1918–1921, was the first modern establishment of a Republic of Georgia.The DRG was created after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917...
and a World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
veteran, he led, in the early 1920s, a guerrilla resistance against the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
regime established by the Soviet Russian Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
in 1921. After the unsuccessful 1924 August Uprising against the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, in which Cholokashvili commanded the largest single unit of the insurgent fores, he fled to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where he died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. His remains were moved to the Mtatsminda Pantheon
Mtatsminda Pantheon
The Mtatsminda Pantheon of Writers and Public Figures is a necropolis in Tbilisi, Georgia, where some of the most prominent writers, artists, scholars, and national heroes of Georgia are buried. It is located in the churchyard around St. David’s Church "Mamadaviti" on the slope of Mount Mtatsminda...
, Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
, Georgia, in 2005.
Early life and career
Born into the prominent aristocratic family of Prince Ioseb CholokashviliCholokashvili
Cholokashvili is a former noble family in Georgia. It claimed an exotic foreign lineage and first appeared in the eastern Georgian province, and later kingdom, of Kakheti in 1320...
in the family estate at Matani
Matani
Matani is a village in the Kakheti region, Georgia. In the village is a 5th-century basilica, Tskhrakara and the ruins of an old palace of the Cholokashvili noble family....
, Kakheti
Kakheti
Kakheti is a historical province in Eastern Georgia inhabited by Kakhetians who speak a local dialect of Georgian. It is bordered by the small mountainous province of Tusheti and the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north, Russian Federation to the Northeast, Azerbaijan to the Southeast, and...
, eastern Georgia (then part of the Tiflis Governorate
Tiflis Governorate
Tiflis Governorate was one of the guberniyas of the Russian Empire with its centre in Tiflis . In 1897 it constituted 44,607 sq. kilometres in area and had a population of 1,051,032 inhabitants...
, Imperial Russia).
Cholokashvili graduated from the Tiflis Gymnasium for Nobility in 1907, and enlisted in the Imperial Russian army
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
. After having served in the Tver
Tver
Tver is a city and the administrative center of Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: 403,726 ; 408,903 ;...
Dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
Regiment, he retired in 1912 and returned to Georgia, where he married Princess Nino née Meghvinetukhutsesi in 1913. With the outbreak of the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1914, he was recalled to active service and assigned to lead a cavalry squadron on the Austrian front. Wounded later that year, he was transferred to the Caucasus Front
Caucasus Campaign
The Caucasus Campaign comprised armed conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire, later including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Central Caspian Dictatorship and the UK as part of the Middle Eastern theatre or alternatively named as part of the Caucasus Campaign during World War I...
. During the Battle of Sarikamish in December 1914, he commanded a cavalry squadron within the corps led by General Gabashvili and distinguished himself by capturing and defending the strategic "Eagle's Nest" against the overwhelming Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
troops. He was severely wounded again and awarded a golden saber for his valor. After a medical course at the Tiflis St. Nino hospital, he was enlisted in the nascent Georgian Cavalry Legion which marched in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
as part of General Baratov
Nikolai Baratov
Nikolai Nikolaevich Baratov was an Imperial Russian Army general during World War I and the Russian Civil War.- Biography :...
's 1915 expedition, and made a raid into Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
, where he joined the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
expeditionary forces in 1916.
After the Russian Revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
, he returned to Georgia and became involved in the Georgian independence movement. He joined the National Democratic Party of Georgia in mid-1917 and helped organize national cavalry units early in 1918. On May 26, 1918, Georgia declared independence as the Democratic Republic of Georgia
Democratic Republic of Georgia
The Democratic Republic of Georgia , 1918–1921, was the first modern establishment of a Republic of Georgia.The DRG was created after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917...
. Promoted to Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
, he commanded a cavalry division in the wars with Armenia (1918), Russia
Red Army invasion of Georgia
The Red Army invasion of Georgia also known as the Soviet–Georgian War or the Soviet invasion of Georgia was a military campaign by the Soviet Russian Red Army against the Democratic Republic of Georgia aimed at overthrowing the Social-Democratic government and installing the Bolshevik regime...
(1921), etc. He also briefly served as Deputy Defense Minister in 1919.
Partisan leader
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
Revolutionary Committee (Revkom). Cholokashvili did not follow many of his compatriots into emigration, but withdrew into mountains to organize guerrilla resistance
Kakhet-Khevsureti Rebellion
The Kakhet–Khevsureti Rebellion was a rebellion in 1921 against the Bolshevik forces in the Kakheti and Khevsureti regions of Georgia following the Red Army invasion of Georgia....
to the new regime. In March 1921, he led a small partisan group "The Conspirators of Georgia" which engaged in a series of skirmishes with the Red Army and Cheka
Cheka
Cheka was the first of a succession of Soviet state security organizations. It was created by a decree issued on December 20, 1917, by Vladimir Lenin and subsequently led by aristocrat-turned-communist Felix Dzerzhinsky...
units in his native region of Kakheti. After a clash at Sighnaghi
Sighnaghi
Sighnaghi is a town in Georgia's easternmost region of Kakheti and the administrative center of the Sighnaghi District. It is one of the country's smallest towns with a population of 2,146 as of the 2002 census. Sighnaghi's economy is dominated by production of wine,traditional carpets and...
in June 1922, Cholokashvili moved to the mountainous district of Khevsureti
Khevsureti
Khevsureti/Khevsuria is a historical-ethnographic region in eastern Georgia. They are the branch of Kartvelian people located along both the northern and southern slopes of the Great Caucasus...
where he rallied local peasants against the Soviet government. The Red Army, supported by aviation, overran the area, but Cholokashvili managed to escape to neighboring Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
whence he made an inroad into Georgia in November 1922. His brother, Simon, was killed in action, while his family members were arrested and his father-in-law was later executed by the Cheka.
The most intense fighting erupted during the August Uprising in Georgia
August Uprising in Georgia
The August Uprising was an unsuccessful insurrection against Soviet rule in the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic from late August to early September 1924....
in 1924, the banner of which was entrusted to Cholokashvili. He took the town Manglisi in a surprise attack on August 29, but could not get reinforcement and moved to the eastern Georgian mountains where he seized control of Dusheti
Dusheti
Dusheti is a town in Georgia, situated in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region, 54 km northeast of the nation’s capital of Tbilisi.Dusheti is located on both banks of the small mountainous river of Dushetis-Khevi at the foothills of the Greater Caucasus crest at an elevation of 900 m above sea level...
and crushed the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
units at Svimoniant-Khevi on September 3. Despite the uprising was generally unsuccessful and brutally suppressed, Cholokashvili refused to surrender and tried to organize, though vainly, sortie to Tbilisi on several occasions. He fought his last engagement at Khev-Grdzela in Kakheti
Kakheti
Kakheti is a historical province in Eastern Georgia inhabited by Kakhetians who speak a local dialect of Georgian. It is bordered by the small mountainous province of Tusheti and the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north, Russian Federation to the Northeast, Azerbaijan to the Southeast, and...
in mid-September and could escape unbeaten despite being vastly outnumbered and shelled by the Red Army artillery. Eventually, the partisans' forces exhausted and Cholokashvili had to flee to Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
where he was joined by several emigrants and moved to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
He lived a hard life in France and died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
in 1930. Buried initially at the Cimetière de Saint-Ouen
Cimetière de Saint-Ouen
The Saint-Ouen Cemetery is located just north of Montmartre at Saint-Ouen, near Paris, France. The cemetery consists of two parts. The first, located on Rue Adrien Lesesne opened in 1860 and the second at 2 Avenue Michelet was opened on September 1, 1872....
he was moved in a few years to the Leuville Cemetery at Leuville-sur-Orge
Leuville-sur-Orge
Leuville-sur-Orge is a commune south of Paris, France. It is situated in the Essonne department in the Île-de-France region.Inhabitants of Leuville-sur-Orge are known as Leuvillois.-Geography:...
, a burial ground of the Georgian emigration to France.
Legacy
Cholokashvili's name was banned throughout 70 years of the Soviet Union. With a new tide of national-liberation movement in the late 1980s, he reemerged as a major symbol of Georgian patriotism and national resistance to the Soviet rule, his portraits seen elsewhere at protest manifestations. Public interest to his person further increased after his most trusted friend and comrade in arms, Alexandre Sulkhanishvili, returned from emigration bringing Kakutsa's famous banner of rebellion back to Georgia in 1990.On November 20-21, 2005, he was moved to another grave at the Mtatsminda Pantheon
Mtatsminda Pantheon
The Mtatsminda Pantheon of Writers and Public Figures is a necropolis in Tbilisi, Georgia, where some of the most prominent writers, artists, scholars, and national heroes of Georgia are buried. It is located in the churchyard around St. David’s Church "Mamadaviti" on the slope of Mount Mtatsminda...
, Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
. The burial was attended by all high-ranking officials and thousands of Georgians from various regions of Georgia. His portrait graces the new banknote in value of 200 Lari
Georgian lari
The lari is the currency of Georgia. It is divided into 100 tetri. The name lari is an old Georgian word denoting a hoard, property, while tetri is an old Georgian monetary term used from the 13th century....
. His name has also been given to a street in popular Vake district in Tbilisi where ironically the Russian embassy
Embassy of Russia in Tbilisi
The Embassy of Russia in Tbilisi was the diplomatic mission of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Georgia. The chancery is located at 51 Chavchavadze Avenue in Tbilisi. On August 29, 2008, Georgia ordered the Russian ambassador Vyacheslav Kovalenko and all other Russian diplomats to leave...
is located.