Mkhedrioni
| Mkhedrioni | |
|---|---|
| Participant in Georgian Civil War and War in Abkhazia (1992–93) | |
| Active | 1991-1995 |
| Ideology | Georgian nationalism |
| Leaders | Jaba Ioseliani |
| Area of operations | Georgia |
| Opponents |
 Gamsakhurdia's government in exile AbkhaziaBagramyan Battalion  Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus
|
The Mkhedrioni was a paramilitary group and political organisation in the Republic of Georgia, outlawed since 1995 but subsequently reconstituted as the Union of Patriots political party.
Founded in 1989 by Jaba Ioseliani, the Mkhedrioni presented itself as the heir to historic Georgian guerrilla groups who fought Persia and Ottoman occupiers. The group's name means "horsemen", translated literally, but in Georgian it has a meaning closer to "knights" (this alternative translation has occasionally been used). Each member of the organization would take an oath to defend Georgia's people, the Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church and Georgia's land, and wore a medallion with a scene of Saint George slaying the dragon on one side and the bearer's name and blood type on the other.
The establishment of the Mkhedrioni took place as Georgia moved towards independence in the final years of the Soviet Union. Relations between Georgian nationalists and the country's national minorities, especially the Abkhaz and Ossetians, were difficult at best even during Soviet rule and grew more tense during the rise to power of the nationalist dissident Zviad Gamsakhurdia. The Mkhedrioni was one of a number of nationalist paramilitary groups established during this period as a counterbalance to similar paramilitary organisations set up by rival nationalists elsewhere in Georgia.
The Mkhedrioni's members gained an unpleasant reputation as heavily armed thugs who engaged in violent intimidation of their rivals. They were highly visible, wearing what amounted to a uniform of jeans, sweaters and jackets, topped off by sunglasses (even worn indoors). Leaders wore Armani suits bulging with guns, according to one author. Mkhedrioni relied on illegal sources of income (targeting gasoline supplies) and exploited connections with Moscow's Georgian underworld. Mkhedrioni members were often accused of criminal activity, extorting "protection money" from businesses in areas which they effectively controlled, operating roadblocks where drivers would be "fined", smuggling drugs and committing robberies. By 1991, the Mkhedrioni was claimed to have had about 1,000 fighters and 10,000 associate members - considerably more than the official state National Guard.
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