Politics and Economics

Prince Petr Ivanovich Bagration (1765 – 1812) was among the most outstanding military leaders of the Russian Empire. A disciple of the legendary Field Marshal Alexander Suvorov, he was a symbol of Russian martial triumphs. Only a few contemporary commanders were as popular as General Peter Bagration. His military career was astonishing. During the thirty years of his army service, Bagration fought in 20 campaigns and almost 150 battles and minor skirmishs, successfully commanding at all unit levels.

Princess Ekateriné Dadiani (March 19, 1816 – August 13, 1882) was a prominent 19th-century Georgian aristocrat and the last ruling princess of the Western Georgian Principality of Mingrelia in southeast Europe. She played an important role in resisting Ottoman influence in her principality and was at the center of Georgian high society, both inside the country and abroad.

Grigol Uratadze (1880 – 1959) was a Georgian Social Democratic politician, diplomat and author. His name is also spelled Grégoire Ouratadze in a French manner. In 1912, Uratadze, together with Vlasa Mgeladze, was part of the Georgian delegation to Vienna where Leon Trotskyorganized his short-lived union of social democratic factions as an alternative to Lenin’s narrow notion of party unity. A close associate of Noe Zhordania, he figured prominently in the development of Menshevism in Georgia and took an active part in the establishment of an independent republic of Georgia in 1918. As a Georgian plenipotentiary in Moscow, he signed a May 7, 1920 treaty with Soviet Russia in which Georgia’s independence was de jure recognized. The Red Army invasion of Georgia (1921) forced him into exile to France where he authored several monographs, numerous articles on the revolutionary movement in Georgia and the Soviet nationalities policy.

At the outbreak of World War II, most of the Georgian officers took part in the 1939 Defensive War, and several of them commanded their own regiments composed of Polish soldiers. The most notable officers were: Zakaria Bakradze, generał dywizji, deputy commander of Polish 15th Infantry Division.Aleksandre Chkheidze, generał brygady, deputy commander of Polish 16th Infantry Division. Ivane Kazbegi, generał brygady. Aleksandre Koniashvili, generał brygady. Kirile Kutateladze, generał brygady. Aleksandre Zakariadze, generał brygady. Viktor Lomidze, the commander of ORP Gryf.Jerzy Tumaniszwili, captain of the navy, who was awarded Virtuti Militari. Valerian Tevzadze, podpułkownik, the commander of the northern sector of the Polish defences during the siege of Warsaw. Mikheil Kvaliashvili, major, the commander of a cavalry battalion within the 15th Uhlans Regiment. Several Georgian officers were captured by the Soviet forces during the 1939 campaign. General Chkheidze, Major Mamaladze, Captain Skhirtladze and Captain Rusiashvili were killed during the infamous Katyn Massacre, from 1940 to 1941. Many others spent several years in the gulag camps.

Nino Abesadze (born 12 April 1965) is an Israeli politician and journalist who served as a member of theKnesset for Kadima between 2009 and 2013.

Prince Dimitri Zedguinidze-Amilakhvari, more commonly known as Dimitri Amilakhvari (October 31, 1906 - October 24, 1942) was a French military officer andLieutenant Colonel of the French Foreign Legion, of Georgian origin who played an influential role in the French Resistanceagainst Nazi occupation in World War II, and became an iconic figure of the Free French Forces.

Gocha Vetriakov is a former Georgian naval officer who commanded the Georgian Navy from 2005 to 2006. A native of Tbilisi and of Russian ethnic descent, Gocha Vetriakov graduated from the Vladivostok maritime college inRussia and then joined the ranks of the Coast Guard of Georgia. He then held various positions in intelligence and defense structures of Georgia in the administrations of Eduard Shevardnadze and Mikheil Saakashvili. From 2005 to 2006, Vetriakov, then Captain 3rd Rank, was the commander of the Georgian Navy. He resigned from his office in April 2006 and left Georgia for the United States in May 2007, alleging pressure from the then-Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili. He then majored in security and global studies at the American Military University. In December 2012, the newly elected Parliament of Georgia granted him the status of a political exile.

Tengiz Gudava (November 28, 1953 – April 16, 2009) was a Georgian author and human rights activist who was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1987 and worked for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty for 17 years.

Prince Simon Sidamon-Eristavi (February 6, 1891 – September 14, 1964) was a Georgian aristocrat and soldier, who began his career in the Imperial Russian army and became one of the leading officers in the Democratic Republic of Georgia. Following the sovietization of Georgia in 1921, he emigrated to the United States, where he was known as Simon Sidamon-Eristoff after his Russified surname and worked as an engineer. His sonConstantine and grandson Andrew had political careers in the United States.