Alexander Yebralidze ( ka, ალექსანდრე ებრალიძე, ''alek’sandre ebralidze''; , ''Aleksandr Iosifovich Yebralidze'') (born June 20, 1955) is a Russian

tycoon A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

of Georgian origin. He is the Director General of the Center for Humanitarian and Business Cooperation OJSC and runs several businesses in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

. He advanced an ambition to become

President of Georgia The president of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პრეზიდენტი, tr) is the ceremonial head of state of Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U ...

in May 2009, triggering controversy in the Georgian political circles.Senior MP Claims Russian Link to Mukhrovani Mutiny

Civil Georgia ''Civil Georgia'' ( ka, სივილ ჯორჯია) is a Tbilisi-based daily news website run by Georgian NGO UN Association of Georgia. Creation and funding Civil Georgia was founded in July 2001 and is trilingual in Georgian, Engli ...

. May 23, 2009

Businessman career

Born in

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second-largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast ...

, then- Soviet Georgia, Ebralidze has lived in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg, Russia) since age 15. He graduated from the State Russian Herzen Pedagogical University. Yebralidze started out as a businessman in 1989. He was jailed twice around the same time: first for a robbery, and then for

hooliganism Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, often in connection with crowds at sporting events. A hooligan is a person that engages in illicit reckless behaviors and is a public nuisance. Etymology ...

and resistance to the police.Петербургский бизнесмен хочет стать президентом Грузии

Komsomolskaya Pravda ''Komsomolskaya Pravda'' (; ) is a daily Russian tabloid newspaper that was founded in 1925. Its name is in reference to the official Soviet newspaper '' Pravda'' (English: 'Truth'). History and profile During the Soviet era, ''Komsomolskaya ...

. April 28, 2009 Ebralidze then forged close relations with the Russian authorities and made his fortune as a trader and property developer in the early 1990s. As of 2009, he is the director general and co-owner of the Taleon group, owning a fashionable club and luxury hotel housed in historical mansions in St. Petersburg, as well as the owner of several elite shops and markets.Грузинский «император» Петербурга
Freelance Bureau. September 30, 2002

Political activities

In May 2009, Ebralidze attended the "assembly of peoples of Georgia" in

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

, Russia, organized by the critics of Georgian government. He announced having ambition to become a president of Georgia, triggering protest from several delegates from

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

who walked out of the meeting hall after Ebralidze's announcement. Ebralidze said he had been waiting for twenty years and now he was "giving up his modesty". He said he was a supporter of Georgia's "neutrality" and close ties with Russia. He added that Georgia’s territorial integrity and friendly relations with Russia were his major goals.Russia-Based Expat Tycoon in Georgian TVs’ Spotlight
Civil Georgia. May 31, 2009 Givi Targamadze, senior member of the

Parliament of Georgia The Parliament of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პარლამენტი, tr) is the supreme national legislature of Georgia. It is a unicameral parliament, currently consisting of 150 members elected through fully pr ...

for the ruling

United National Movement United National Movement (UNM; ka, ერთიანი ნაციონალური მოძრაობა, tr) also colloquially known as the Natsebi is a liberal conservative political party in Georgia. Tina Bokuchava serves as the p ...

party accused Ebralidze of being behind the

2009 Georgian attempted mutiny The 2009 Georgian mutiny was a mutiny by a Georgian Army tank battalion based in Mukhrovani, east of the capital Tbilisi on 5 May 2009. It is not yet known how many soldiers took part. Later that day, the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs of ...

with the aim of “at least to trigger unrest in Georgia” or “at maximum to pave the way for entry of the Russian occupation forces in Tbilisi.” Ebralidze dispatched his attorney lawyer in Tbilisi to formally request the Georgian chief prosecutor’s office to probe into the allegations. He said he would seek for public apology from Targamadze. Ebralidze has set the future presidential elections of 2013, when President

Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil "Misha" Saakashvili (born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist. He was the third president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from 25 January 2004 to 17 November 2013. He is the founder and former chair ...

’s second and final term in office expires, as his target. It remains unclear how Ebralidze can run for presidency since he has not lived in Georgia for last 40 years and has no Georgian citizenship. He has avoided answering questions about the issue.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yebralidze, Alexander 1955 births Businesspeople from Saint Petersburg Russian people of Georgian descent People from Batumi Living people Criminals from Saint Petersburg