Jason Kereselidze

Jason Mathes dze Kereselidze (Georgian: იასონ მათეს ძე კერესელიძე, born 1891 - died May 20, 1923 ) was a Georgian public figure who was part of the anti-Soviet national liberation movement. His pro-independence activities resulted in his arrest and execution by the Russians.

Biography

Kereselidze was born in Tbilisi. He was one of three brothers and the younger brother of Leo Kereselidze, who would go on to be a general in the Georgian Legion. According to Mikheil Tsereteli's writings in Bedi Kartlisa, patriotism was an important part of the Kereselidze household and the "sons brought from their father's house the duty to fight for their homeland, a burning love for it".[1]

Since 1913, he was a member of the Society for the Spreading of Literacy among Georgians for Gori, Georgia.[2]

Following the Red Army invasion of Georgia in 1921, he was active in the military center of the National Democratic Party of Georgia and the Georgian Independence Committee.[3]

Due to his pro-independence activities, Kereselidze was arrested and executed by the Bolsheviks on May 20, 1923, in Tbilisi, in the area of what is now Vake Park.[4] He was shot alongside numerous other prominent Georgian anti-Soviet figures, such as Kote Abkhazi and Aleksandre Andronikashvili. Kereselidze's last words before execution were to sing Dideba, Georgia's national anthem at the time.[5]

In 2023, Kereselidze was officially recognized as National Hero of Georgia.[6] There is a street named after him in Tbilisi.

See also

References

  1. ^ იასონ მათეს ძე კერესელიძე, ქართველთა შორის წერა-კითხვის გამავრცელებელი საზოგადოების წევრები, National Parliamentary Library of Georgia, Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  2. ^ იასონ მათეს ძე კერესელიძე, ქართველთა შორის წერა-კითხვის გამავრცელებელი საზოგადოების წევრები, National Parliamentary Library of Georgia, Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  3. ^ იასონ კერესელიძე, Biographical Dictionary of the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia, retrieved: October 6, 2024
  4. ^ იასონ კერესელიძე, Biographical Dictionary of the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia, retrieved: October 6, 2024
  5. ^ იასონ კერესელიძე, Biographical Dictionary of the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia, retrieved: October 6, 2024
  6. ^ საქართველოს პრეზიდენტის განკარგულება N04/07/02 2023 წლის 4 ივლისი საქართველოს ეროვნული გმირის ორდენით დაჯილდოების შესახებ, Administration of the President of Georgia, 4 July 2023.