Benia Chkhikvishvili

Benia Chkhikvishvili
ბენია ჩხიკვიშვილი (Georgian)
President of the Republic of Guria
In office
1905–1906
Preceded byPost Created
Succeeded byPost Abolished
Personal details
Born15 January 1880
Saskvavistke, Guria, Kutais Governorate, Russian Empire
Died1924 (aged 42–43)
Suzdal, Russian SFSR
PartySocial Democratic Party of Georgia
Signature

Beniamin "Benia" Chkhikvishvili (also spelled Bénia Tchkhikvichvili, Georgian: ბენია ჩხიკვიშვილი; 1880–1924) was a Georgian politician who was involved in the Social Democratic movement in the early 20th century.

Early political life

Benia, at the age of 27, posing with his Tsarist captors during his prison sentence, 1907

An active member of the Menshevik party, he led the 1905 revolution in Guria ("Gurian Republic"), a Georgian province on the Black Sea. He became a de facto head of the peasant government, sometimes described by the contemporary observers as a "Gurian president" or even "Gurian king". His participation in the Gurian uprising resulted in his imprisonment by the Russian Imperial authorities. During his prison sentence, he posed with his captors and sent the photograph to his sister. He is seated in a leisurely manner, wearing a polka dot shirt, while the soldiers stand guard behind.

During the short-lived independent Democratic Republic of Georgia, he served as a mayor of Tiflis, the capital of Georgia (1919–1920). After the Soviet invasion of Georgia, he immigrated to France, where he became an official owner of the Leuville chateau, a residence of the Georgian government-in-exile.

Final years

In 1923, Benia returned from France to the now Soviet-occupied Georgia so that he could take part in the preparations for a general uprising against the Bolshevik regime. He was, however, arrested and executed.

References

  1. 1 2 "ბენია ჩხიკვიშვილი (Benia Chkhikvishvili)". Biographical Dictionary of Georgia (in Georgian). National Parliamentary Library of Georgia. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  2. ↑ "La République auto-proclamée de Gourie (1905–1906)" [The self-proclaimed Republic of Guria (1905–1906)] (in French). 14 January 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  3. ↑ Stephen F. Jones (2005), Socialism in Georgian Colors: The European Road to Social Democracy, 1883-1917, p. 149. Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-01902-4.
  4. ↑ Otto Kobakhidze. ბენია ჩხიკვიშვილის 6 გადასარევი იმიჯი, Civil Georgia: 16/02/2019
  5. ↑ "Géorgie, France et Géorgie : Bénia Tchkhikvichvili, président de la République auto-proclamée de Gourie (1905–1906)" [Georgia, France and Georgia: Benia Tchkhikvichvili, President of the self-proclaimed Republic of Guria (1905–1906)] (in French). 14 January 2014. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.