Koba (folk hero)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Koba (from Turkish : the "indomitable") is the legend of a Caucasian brigand who was revered as a folk hero in Georgia . Koba is the main character in the novel The Parricide by Aleksandre Qasbegi , published in 1883 , a historical novel about the time of the occupation of Georgia by the Russian Empire . Before the October Revolution, Koba was at times the “ nom de guerre ” of Josef Stalin .

The novel The Parricide

The novel The Parricide by Aleksandre Qasbegi tells the love of the farm boy Iago for the pretty Nunu, daughter of a mercenary impoverished after his participation in the uprising of Imam Shamil against Russia. Since he was unable to support his child after the early death of her mother, Nunu came to live with relatives. In her youth, Nunu developed an affection for Iago. The foster parents disapprove of this because they consider him a poor eater. They have sympathy for Grigola, the tyrannical village chief appointed by the Russians. Although he is married, he has fallen in love with Nunu. He pretends to her family that he wants to marry her to his brother. First he has to get rid of Iago. He accuses him of stealing common property and has him locked up at Fort Ananuri . He then forcibly abducts Nunu and rapes her.

Koba, Iago's best friend, witnesses the kidnapping. He manages to get through to Grigola to save Nunu, but comes too late. Koba swears to avenge Grigola's outrage. With another friend, Koba frees Iago from prison. They decide to flee to Chechnya because Russian police and Cossacks are looking for them all over Georgia . The Chechens are portrayed as freedom-loving as they oppose the occupiers in contrast to the Georgians, who are kept in check by people like Grigola.

Nunu has now escaped from Grigola. Koba succeeds in contacting her and arranging a meeting for everyone, including her father, in Vladikavkaz in Ossetia . The night before the planned reunion of Iago and Nunu, the host of Iago and Koba's accommodation reveals their hiding place, Grigola. He hopes for a high reward for this. Shortly after midnight, Grigola appears and kills Iago, their mutual friend and Nunu's father. He wants to blame Nunu for his murder in order to ban her to Siberia for this parricide. Koba escapes Grigola's wrath and Nunu dies of a broken heart at the death of her loved one and father.

The story ends with Koba still avenging Iago and Nunu. He shoots Grigola when he is driving through a deep forest in a carriage with an inspector. Koba is the hero of the novel set against the background of historical facts. He respects friendship, defends truth, is chivalrous to women and helps the law to win.

Stalin as Koba

The Soviet dictator, Josef Stalin, admired Koba's character so much that he chose himself as “nom de guerre” Koba . The entire work is based on the romantic tradition of Georgian chivalry and the mystical laws of the Caucasian mountains. Koba had joined the revolutionary movement in Georgia and was known for his violent "expropriations", i. H. for bank robberies from which the Bolshevik movement was financed. He later called himself "the man of steel" (Stalin). The writer Martin Amis chose the title Koba the Dread (Koba the Terrible) in 2002 for a reckoning with the horrors of Stalinism and the attitude of the Western European left to it.

planet of monkeys

In the three Planet of the Apes feature films Prevolution, Revolution and Survival from 2011, 2014 and 2017, one of the main characters and temporary leader is a vengeful chimpanzee named Koba, who shows various personality traits of the literary Koba and Joseph Stalin.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Isaac Deutscher : Stalin - a political biography , from the English by Artur W. Just and Gustav Strohm. Argon, Berlin 1989, p. 74. ISBN 3-87024-706-1
  2. ^ William Grimes: The Dictator as a Young Poet-Thug . In: New York Times, October 19, 2007. (About the book Young Stalin by Simon Sebag-Montefiore.)