Levan Sharashenidze ( ka, ლევან შარაშენიძე; , ''Levan Levanovich Sharashenidze'') (24 March 1931 – 2012) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and Georgian military officer and Defense Minister of Georgia (1992).

Education and career

Born in

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 ( ...

, Sharashenidze was trained at the

Alma-Ata Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains in southern Kazakhstan, near the border wi ...

Airborne Service School. He also studied law at the

Vilnius University Vilnius University ( Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher education institutions in Central and Ea ...

and was further educated at the

Lenin Military-Political Academy The V. I. Lenin Military-Political Academy (), abbreviated as VPA, was a higher military educational institution of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1919 to 1991 that provided advanced training to political workers. History The predecessor of ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. In 1953, he joined the Soviet military, going through the ranks from a paratrooper platoon commander to deputy chief of political directorate of the

Transcaucasian Military District The Transcaucasian Military District, a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, traces its history to May 1921 and the incorporation of First Republic of Armenia, Armenia, Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, Azerbaijan, and Democratic Republic ...

(1976-1979) and

military commissar Commissar (or sometimes ''Kommissar'') is an English transliteration of the Russian (''komissar''), which means 'commissary'. In English, the transliteration ''commissar'' often refers specifically to the political commissars of Soviet and E ...

of the

Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Georgia, the Georgian SSR, or simply Georgia, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union from its second occupation (by the Red Army) in 1921 to its independence in 1991. Cotermin ...

(1979-1992). In 1989 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general of the Soviet army.Шарашенидзе Левам Леванович
. Кто есть кто в России и ближнем зарубежье, M., 1993, cited at ''personize.ru''. Accessed March 21, 2012.

Service in independent Georgia

Sharashenidze retained his post of the country's military commissar after Georgia declared independence from the Soviet Union in April 1991. He was involved in a military coup against Georgia's first elected

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Zviad Gamsakhurdia Zviad Konstantines dze Gamsakhurdia ( ka, ზვიად კონსტანტინეს ძე გამსახურდია; ; 31 March 1939 – 31 December 1993) was a Georgian politician, human rights activist, dissident, profes ...

(December 1991–January 1992).გამსახურდია მე დავამხე: მის თვითმფრინავებს გამანადგურებლები დავადევნე, მაგრამ გროზნოში მაინც დასვეს
''Akhali Taoba'', 2002-08-18. Electronic Archive of Georgian Press. Accessed March 21, 2012. In the course of the coup, the rebel Military Council appointed Sharashenidze Georgia's defense minister on January 3, 1992. On May 8, 1992,

Eduard Shevardnadze Eduard Ambrosis dze Shevardnadze ( ka, ედუარდ ამბროსის ძე შევარდნაძე; 25 January 1928 – 7 July 2014) was a Soviet and Georgian politician and diplomat who governed Georgia (country), Georgi ...

, Georgia's new head of state, dismissed Sharashenidze as the minister, replacing him with

Georgia National Guard The Georgia National Guard is the National Guard of the United States, National Guard of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, and consists of the Georgia Army National Guard and the Georgia Air National Guard. (The Georgia State Defe ...

chief

Tengiz Kitovani Tengiz Kitovani ( ka, თენგიზ კიტოვანი ''tengiz k’it’ovani''; 9 June 1938 – 13 November 2023) was a Georgian politician and military commander with high-profile involvement in the Georgian Civil War early in the ...

. Sharashenidze was, instead, made a chief adviser to the Ministry of Defense of Georgia. In his capacity, he was present at the Georgian headquarters and was involved in the diplomatic efforts with

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

during the war with separatists in Abkhazia (1992–1993). He has described himself as being of a "pro-Russian" orientation. After 1995, Sharashenidze has had no noticeable political and military role in Georgia.

Death

Sharashenidze in 2012, at the age of 81.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharashenidze, Levan 1931 births 2012 deaths Soviet Georgian generals Soviet lieutenant generals Generals of the Defense Forces of Georgia Ministers of defence of Georgia Government ministers of Georgia (country) Military personnel from Tbilisi Lenin Military Political Academy alumni Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne Command School alumni Personnel of the Soviet Airborne Forces