Merab Kostava ( ka, მერაბ კოსტავა) (May 26, 1939 – October 13, 1989) was a Georgian dissident, musician and poet; one of the leaders of the National-Liberation movement in Georgia. Along with

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 ...

, he led the dissident movement in Georgia against the Soviet Union and was active in protests for an independent Georgia, until his death in a car crash in 1989.

Life

Kostava was born in 1939 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 ( ...

, 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 ...

USSR 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 ...

(the current capital of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

). In 1954, Kostava and

founded the Georgian youth underground organization "Gorgasliani," a tribute to Vakhtang Gorgasali, the medieval Georgian king who supposedly founded the capital,

. Between 1956 and 1958 Kostava, together with Gamsakhurdia and several other members of this organization were jailed by the

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

for "anti-Soviet activity." The charges against Kostava and Gamsakhurdia included the dissemination of anti-communist literature and proclamations. Kostava graduated from the

Tbilisi State Conservatoire Tbilisi State Conservatoire ( ka, თბილისის სახელმწიფო კონსერვატორია, ''Tbilisis Saxelmc̣ipo Ḳonservaṭoria'') is the State Conservatoire of Georgia, located in the capital Tbilisi. ...

in 1962. From 1962–1977 he was a teacher at a local music school in Tbilisi. In 1973, Kostava and Gamsakhurdia established the Initiative Group for defence of Human Rights. In 1976 Kostava co-founded the Georgian Helsinki Group (later renamed the Georgian Helsinki Union in 1989). From 1976–1977 and 1987–1989 Kostava was a member of the Governing Board of the abovementioned human rights organization. After 1975 Kostava was a member of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

. In 1977, Kostava and Gamsakhurdia were arrested and jailed, charged with spreading anti-Soviet propaganda, the result of them raising awareness about the systemic pillaging of Georgian church artifacts and the deportation and subsequent treatment of the Georgian Muslims. In 1978, Kostava and Gamsakhurdia were nominated to the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

by the Congress of the USA. They were sentenced to three years in prison and two years in exile to

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. Although Kostava was supposed to be released from prison in 1982, he was sentenced to additional three years in camp and two years in exile on 15 December 1981 in controversial circumstances for allegedly "insulting an officer of the law". He was sent to

Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and , ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 587,891 Irkutsk is the List of cities and towns in Russ ...

to serve his sentence and began the hunger strike in protest, which in overall lasted for 13 monthes. Kostava was released from prison in May, 1987. In 1988, he co-founded the Society of Saint Ilia the Righteous and was one of the leaders of this political pro-independence organization. From 1988–1989 he was one of the organizers and active participants of most (if not all) peaceful pro-independence political actions within the

Georgian SSR 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 ...

. On April 9, 1989 Kostava was jailed again but was released after 45 days under public pressure. Merab Kostava was active in the underground network of

Samizdat Samizdat (, , ) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the documents from reader to reader. The practice of manual rep ...

publishers, co-publisher of the Georgian underground periodical "Okros Satsmisi" ("The Golden Fleece"). He was the author of many important literary and scientific works.

Death

On October 13, 1989, Merab Kostava died in a car crash near Boriti under suspicious circumstances. In 2013, he was posthumously awarded the title and Order of National Hero of Georgia.

Remembrance

There are streets named after Merab Kostava 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 ...

Rustavi Rustavi ( ka, რუსთავი ) is a city in the southeast of Georgia, in the region of Kvemo Kartli and southeast of capital Tbilisi. It has a population of 127,154 (January 2024), making it the third most populous city in Georgia. Its eco ...

and

Shindisi ''Shindisi'' () is a 2019 Georgian drama film directed by Dito Tsintsadze. It was screened at the 2019 Shanghai International Film Festival. It was selected as the Georgian entry for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, Best In ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kostava, Merab 1939 births 1989 deaths Burials at Mtatsminda Pantheon Musicians from Tbilisi Mingrelians Politicians from Tbilisi Male poets from Georgia (country) Soviet dissidents Nationalists from Georgia (country) Dissidents from Georgia (country) Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic Prisoners and detainees from Georgia (country) Prisoners and detainees of the Soviet Union Road incident deaths in the Soviet Union 20th-century poets from Georgia (country) National Heroes of Georgia