The most unusual thief in law Jaba Ioseliani and his army "Mkhedrioni"

Jaba Ioseliani was a typical thief in law of the old formation. Even in Stalin's times, he openly opposed the authorities and defended the foundations of the criminal world. Nevertheless, this did not prevent him from obtaining a doctorate degree and in the 90s becoming a prominent figure in Georgian politics and the owner of his own well-armed and trained army.

Jaba Ioseliani was born on July 10, 1926 in the small Georgian town of Khashuri. His parents belonged to the Georgian Svan people. The father of the family was a railway engineer, and the mother was a schoolteacher. There were four children in the family, but brother Merab and sister Natela died in childhood. When Jaba was still a child, his parents also died. His older sister Elena took care of his upbringing.

The Ioseliani lived in Tbilisi, where thieves' romance was popular among teenagers. To earn credibility among his peers, Jaba started stealing wallets at school. Later, he willingly resorted to robberies, threatening victims with a knife. The boy's first serious conflict with the law occurred when he was only 15 years old. The teenager was arrested for assault and sent to a children's colony for three years.

At that time, Jaba made a daring escape and was put on the wanted list. But the war began and law enforcement officers were not up to a difficult teenager. The next time the young criminal was caught in 1943. Then 17-year-old Ioseliani was sentenced to 5 years in camps. Already at an advanced age, he admitted that at that time he did not specifically hide from the police. He wanted to go to prison in order to earn criminal authority.

In Stalin's time, convictions at such an early age meant only the way to the bottom. But Jaba Ioseliani was not like the other prisoners. He did not waste time on idle conversations and card games, but got textbooks and engaged in self-education. After being released five years later, the guy first of all got fake documents and a certificate of secondary education, which he did not have.

Strange as it may seem, but the young criminal dreamed of studying further. He planned to enter the Leningrad Pushkin University and become an orientalist. Ioseliani did the impossible — he came to the Northern Capital and successfully entered the university without having a single real document. Unfortunately, Jaba could not finish it. In 1951, he got into a fight and got a year for hooliganism. At the same time, a story with forged documents surfaced.

This time, Jaba served his sentence in the legendary Leningrad "Crosses". He quickly gained authority among the prisoners, showing independence and love of freedom. On Stalin's birthday, Ioseliani shouted twice through the cell window, "Down with the bootlegger!". The leader was so disparagingly called for his magnificent mustache, which was often worn by shoe cleaners. For a brave act, the prisoner was beaten by the guards, after which he was placed in a punishment cell for 20 days.

After serving his sentence, Ioseliani again took up the old — theft and robbery. During one robbery, in 1956, he killed a man and was caught red-handed. This time he was facing a huge sentence of 25 years. In 1960, Jabu, who was serving his sentence, was tried again. This time he received 21 years for "Violating the equality of citizens on the basis of race, nationality or attitude to religion." But according to the laws, a longer term absorbed a shorter one and nothing has changed for the prisoner.

While in the camp, Ioseliani started studying again. He also got a new hobby — he started writing short stories. Several of them were taken with them by a freed countryman of Jaba. He took the manuscripts to a publishing house, where they agreed to publish the prose. After that, Georgian artists became interested in the fate of the nugget-sitter. Writers and poets began to write petitions for the pardon of the talented convict, and in 1965, Jaba, without having served half of his sentence, was released.

Jaba was 39 years old, he was a thief in law and did not even have a school education. The latter bothered him the most. Having left Leningrad without regret, Ioseliani came to Tbilisi and immediately enrolled in evening school. In a couple of years, he mastered the school curriculum and already with a real certificate came to enroll in the Tbilisi Theater Institute. He was accepted to the correspondence department of the Faculty of Theater Studies.

But it didn't seem enough to him and Ioseliani enrolled in graduate school. He defended his PhD thesis without any problems, and then his doctoral thesis. After that, he began teaching theater studies at the Tbilisi Theater Institute. He also wrote plays, 6 of which were staged on the stages of different theaters in Georgia.

Despite the high authority in theatrical circles, there were bad rumors about Doctor of Sciences Ioseliani. In Tbilisi, it was said that in the intervals between scientific work and drama, Jaba Konstantinovich, in order not to forget the "profession", cuts purses in trams and markets. But all this remained at the level of rumors — no one caught the respected theater-goer by the hand.

It was said about Jab Konstantinovich that he lived three lives. The first is a thief in law. The second is a doctor of sciences and a respected person in theatrical circles. Well, Ioseliani's third life was politics. During Perestroika, he realized that big changes were coming. Therefore, theater and science have faded into the background, and politics has become a new area of interest for an extraordinary criminal-intellectual.

Jaba Ioseliani decided not to waste time on trifles and immediately created his own army. It was a paramilitary socio-political organization "Mkhedrioni" ("Militia"). There were different people in this militia. Among them one could meet both ardent patriots and people with several educations, as well as criminals who are ready to do anything for money.

"Mkhedrioni" showed their combat capability during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. Although more than once there was information that the militia, who compared themselves with knights, did not disdain robbery and looting. However, you should not completely trust this, since the parties to the conflict have made a lot of efforts to throw mud at each other.

The fighters of the "Mkhedrioni" could be recognized by large sunglasses and a pendant with George the Victorious. Joining the organization, they swore to protect the Georgian land and its people. In the early 90s, the main opponent of Ioseliani was Zviad Gamsakhurdia, who headed the Supreme Council of Georgia in 1990.

In 1991, Jaba Ioseliani tried to enter Tbilisi with his militants. But they were waiting for him and the leader of the "Mkhedrioni" was behind bars. At the same time, no one brought political charges. Jabe was recalled insulting two women at one of the rallies and was convicted of hooliganism. Ioseliani spent 10 months in jail. In conclusion, he did not waste time in vain and wrote stories.

Meanwhile, Gamsakhurdia became the first president of Georgia. He believed that his opponent was defeated, and that was his mistake. When the president disbanded the National Guard, its fighters joined the ranks of the "Mkhedrioni", strengthening the organization. From prison, Ioseliani gave the command, and his army staged a coup, overthrowing the government and freeing its leader.

Jaba Ioseliani helped Eduard Shevardnadze become the head of Georgia, and then, in 1995, the president. The authority of the founder of "Mkhedrioni" was incredibly high. From 1991 to 1992, Jaba headed the Military Council. At the same time, he did not show vindictiveness to former enemies and did not arrange repressions. Later, Ioseliani received a deputy mandate and became, in fact, a "gray cardinal" under Shevardnadze.

But the new president quickly forgot what he owed to Jaba. He led his own policy and the further he went, the less he listened to Ioseliani's opinion. In 1995, the thief in law passed the deputy mandate. And a little later Shevardnadze accused Jabu and "Mkhedrioni" of organizing an assassination attempt on him. The "Grey Cardinal" once again went to jail, this time for 11 years. And his personal army was disarmed and disbanded.

Just two years later, Ioseliani was pardoned. He tried to sue the authorities, suing for $ 2 million for illegal imprisonment. He lost the trial. After that, the thief in law took part in the presidential elections, but only a few voted for him. Jabe Konstantinovich had no choice but to return to literary activity. He has been consistently successful in this area.

Jaba Ioseliani died on March 4, 2003 at the age of 77 from the effects of a stroke suffered in February. He was buried at the prestigious Tbilisi cemetery — the Didubian Pantheon. Thieves in law, theater actors, writers, politicians and scientists accompanied this amazing man on his last journey. The tombstone of the thief in law is strikingly different from the monuments of other criminal authorities — it is a modest slab of black stone.