Georgian PM celebrates First Democratic Republic General Giorgi Mazniashvili as “great military leader” on anniversary
The PM also emphasised the “unselfish” service of Mazniashvili would remain a guide for generations of Georgians. Photo: Government's Administration.
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General Giorgi Mazniashvili, leader of armed forces in the tumultuous years of Georgia’s First Democratic Republic, has been celebrated by the country’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili as a “great military leader” on an anniversary of the historical figure’s birth on Wednesday.
Garibashvili marked the 152nd anniversary of the birth of Mazniashvili, who was distinguished with the title of the National Hero of Georgia in 2013, by praising the General as a “fighter dedicated to the unity of his homeland”, the Government Administration said.
Mazniashvili holds a “special” place in the military history of Georgia, the head of the Government said while calling the leader "one of the creators of the modern Georgian army, a strategically remarkable Commander-in-Chief [and] an example of courage and perseverance”.
The PM also emphasised the “unselfish” service of Mazniashvili would remain a guide for generations of Georgians.
Born in 1870, the Georgian military leader served in the Tsarist Russian army during the Empire’s control over Georgia, taking part in conflicts including the Russian-Japanese war and World War I.
Wounded in combat in both wars, Mazniashvili returned to Georgia following the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution that overthrew the Tsar, and served the 1918-1921 First Democratic Republic against attacks from Ottoman, Armenian and Soviet forces in the tumultuous years between the late 1910s and early 1920s.
Photo: Ghn.ge
Escaping into exile following the young Republic’s occupation and subsequent Sovietisation in 1921, Mazniashvili later returned to his homeland from France but was prevented from continuing his professional service and had to take up farming in his native village of Sasireti.
During the Stalinist repressions of the late 1930s, both his son and himself were arrested and shot by Soviet authorities, with the location of Mazniashvili’s grave still unknown.
Beside the 2013 title of the National Hero of Georgia, Mazniashvili’s legacy is also celebrated with medals of the Ministry of Defence of Georgia, named after the General.
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On Sunday the anniversary of the birth of General Giorgi Kvinitadze, the historical figure and the Commander in Chief of the army of the First Democratic Republic of Georgia, is celebrated by the country’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili by saying that his name will remain “forever” in the history of Georgia and in the memory of “each Georgian”, as well as “future generations”.