Leo Kereselidze

Leo Kereselidze ( Georgian ლეო კერესელიძე; * 1885 , † 1944 in Germany ) was a Georgian general and politician. He first fought against Russian rule over Georgia, later against its Soviet occupation.

Life

In 1910 he founded the newspaper Tawisupali Sakartwelo (German: Free Georgia ) with Petre Surgladse . In 1914 he became a co-founder of the Committee for the Independence of Georgia in Germany. In 1915 he joined the Georgian Legion as major general , where he was the highest ranking Georgian officer. From June to December 1918 he was part of Friedrich Kress von Kressenstein's German military mission in the Democratic Republic of Georgia , and helped the Georgian government to set up a national army.

After the Soviet occupation of Georgia by the Red Army , he left his homeland in March 1921 and went into exile in Germany. In 1924 he was, along with Micheil Tsereteli , Grigol Robakidze and Schalwa Maglakelidze, co-founders of the Georgian White Georg resistance organization and became its general secretary. In 1942 he was the godfather of the establishment of the Union of Georgian Traditionalists in exile.

literature

• M. Sioridze: The Committee for the Independence of Georgia (1914-1918) . Adjara Publishing House, Batumi 1998 (in Georgian)
• K. Salia: The Committee of Independent Georgia during World War II . In: Bedi Kartlisa (1962) 39, Paris 1962 (in Georgian)
• G. Shaorispireli: A Brief History of the Committee for the Independence of Georgia . In: Sakartvelo (1944) 110, Berlin 1944 (in Georgian)