He was in prison under Stalin and Khrushchev, Brezhnev and Gorbachev, Yeltsin and Gamsakhurdia. After spending almost half his life in places not so distant, Jaba Ioseliani became an authoritative criminal, political and scientific figure in Georgia. A thief in law, nicknamed Duba, he was the de facto ruler of the country from 1991 to 1995.
The childhood and youth of the criminal authority, the first conclusions
Jaba Konstantinovich Ioseliani, whose biography is considered in this article, was born in 1926 in the Georgian city of Khashuri. The boy's father worked on the railway, and his mother was a teacher. The childhood of the future criminal authority passed in poverty. Orphaned early, he was brought up on the street and earned his living by theft. Ioseliani received his first term as a 16-year-old teenager. For the theft with robbery, the Molotov District Court of Tbilisi sentenced him to 5 years in prison.
In 1948, the guy received parole. Having gone to the Northern capital, according to a fake certificate (he had not finished high school at that time), Jaba entered the Leningrad University named after Pushkin at the Faculty of Oriental Studies. With brilliant intelligence, he became one of the best students. Teachers, not tired of praising the mental abilities of their excellent student and activist, were amazed when they suddenly found out that in his free time he was engaged in illegal activities. In 1951, Dzhaba Konstantinovich was arrested in Leningrad and received 1 year in prison for hooliganism.
The beginning of literary activity
Soon after the second term, a third followed. This time, Ioseliani was caught in an armed attack with murder and was sent to jail for 25 years. While in prison, he, unlike his cellmates, while spending time playing cards, began to write. Jaba's stories were so expertly written that, despite his presence in places not so distant, they began to publish in literary magazines. Ioseliani Jaba Konstantinovich jokingly called his work of the period of the conclusion of "chamber literature." Prominent cultural figures of the Georgian SSR became interested in the fate of the talented writer-prisoner. At their request in 1965, Ioseliani was released ahead of schedule.
Life of Ioseliani in the 60s - the first half of the 80s
Once free, 38-year-old Jaba decided to start a new life. He received secondary education in evening school, after which he entered the Tbilisi Theater Institute, first defended his Ph.D. and then his doctoral dissertation. Having become a professor, he worked at a theater institute as a teacher. While giving lectures to students, I could not forget about my criminal past Jaba Ioseliani. The thief in law was involved in the mediation of the illegal supply of Georgian fruits and vegetables to the countless markets of the Soviet Union. For his services, the former prisoner received good money, which allowed him to live for his pleasure. However, this did not prevent him from expressing dissatisfaction with the share that fell to him for the dirty and risky work he was doing. In his opinion, it was “not according to concepts”, and their criminal authority tried to strictly adhere to. Ioseliani was such a colorful and charismatic figure that in the early 70s the famous Georgian writer Nodar Dumbadze made him the prototype of the hero of his novel “White Flags” Lemons Devdariani, who secured the glory of an “honest” thief in law.
Literary work
Combining teaching at a theater institute with criminal activity, Ioseliani Jaba Konstantinovich found time for literary activity. He wrote scientific articles, monographs, and fiction. The authorship of the thief in law owns 6 plays, which were subsequently staged on the stages of Tbilisi theaters. From fiction, his novels “Train No. 113”, “Country of Limonia” and “Three Dimensions” gained the greatest popularity. Written in a lively and vibrant language, they capture the attention of readers from the first pages and do not let it go until the very end.
Coming into politics, the creation of Mkhedrioni
In the mid-80s, Jaba Ioseliani, whose photo can be seen in the article, enthusiastically received the news about the beginning of perestroika. Having given up teaching and having stopped writing, he began to take an active part in the political life of Georgia. In 1989, he created the nationalist paramilitary formation "Mkhedrioni" ("Horsemen"). Its members called themselves the successors of medieval partisan detachments fighting against the Turkish and Persian conquerors. They took an oath to protect the Georgian lands and the people living on them. Members of the Mkhedrioni wore sweaters, jeans, jackets and sunglasses that could not be removed even indoors. Each “rider” had a medallion around his neck with his name and blood type on one side and the image of George the Victorious on the other.
The organization, created by Jaba Ioseliani, was essentially an illegal criminal group dominated by criminals, drug addicts, and street children. Soon members of the Mkhedrioni entered the Georgian parliament. The group of Jaba Konstantinovich took part in most of the armed conflicts taking place on Georgian territory. But the main achievement of the "horsemen" is that they overthrew the regime of Zviad Gamsakhurdia and helped Eduard Shevardnadze come to power.
Attempt to seize power
In 1990, multi-party elections were held in Georgia, in which the Communists were defeated. The Supreme Council of the republic was headed by Zviad Gamsakhurdia, to whom Ioseliani had a personal dislike. The thief in law called him "fascist" and accused him of violating human rights and freedoms. In early 1991, Jaba Konstantinovich tried to bring Mkhedrioni fighters to Tbilisi, for which he was captured by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and thrown into jail.
In the spring of the same year, Georgia receives the status of an independent republic, and Gamsakhurdia becomes its president. All these events were monitored from Jaba Ioseliani prison. A thief, accustomed to living according to concepts, during this period of time was powerless and could not prevent his opponent from coming to power.
Military coup
The policy pursued by Gamsakhurdia was ill-conceived and inconsistent, because of which he quickly lost the support of society. In August 1991, after an anti-government coup in Moscow, he disbanded the National Guard at the direction of the State Emergency Committee, thereby making an unforgivable mistake for himself. The guards, having refused to join the ranks of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, unite with Mkhedrioni and in December 1991 carry out a coup d'etat, overthrowing Gamsakhurdia and freeing Ioseliani from prison. Once free, Jaba Konstantinovich, together with the commander of the guards, Tengiz Kitovani creates the Military Council, which subsequently transforms into the State Council. However, the new government did not enjoy the support of people, and then Ioseliani invited Eduard Shevardnadze to the post of chairman of the created State Council. According to the criminal authority, he was the most suitable candidate in order to lead the country.
Ioseliani in the first half of the 90s
From the moment Shevardnadze came to power until 1995, the actual ruler of Georgia was Jaba Ioseliani. His biography testifies that throughout this period he influenced the politics in the country, relying on the support of the militarized group he created. Although Ioseliani himself brought Shevardnadze to power and helped him become president, he was not pleased with his actions as head of state. Tensions between politicians led to the fact that in August 1995 the fighters of Mkhedrioni and their leader were accused of organizing an attempt on Eduard Shevardnadze. As a result, Jaba Konstantinovich was arrested and after a lengthy trial sentenced to eleven years in prison. The group he created was outlawed.
Last years
In 2001, Eduard Shevardnadze unexpectedly pardoned his former ally. Upon his release, the 75-year-old Ioseliani decided to go into politics again. He ran for deputies in the ongoing by-election to the Georgian parliament, but suffered a crushing defeat. Not wanting to sit idle, Jaba Konstantinovich returned to literary activity. Shortly before his death, he visited Moscow with the presentation of his books translated into Russian. The thief in law died on March 4, 2003 from a stroke. He was buried in Tbilisi on the territory of the Didubian pantheon of famous people of Georgia.