SUMMARY
National Guard and Mkhedrioni were the two major paramilitary groups active first in the separatist Republic of Georgia, and later, briefly in the independent state. While they were two separate groups, they acted together to oust Zviad Gamsakhurdia, independent Georgia’s first president, from power in December 1991.
The establishment of the National Guard was initiated at the beginning of 1991 as part of the Republic of Georgia’s struggle for independence. It was intended to form the core of a future national army and was under the leadership of Tengiz Kitovani, a former artist with a criminal record. He later served as the minister of defense of Georgia.
Due to financial restraints, the National Guard consisted of volunteers instead of being based on conscription. The group engaged in arms trading, extortion and other criminal activities to raise the necessary funds. By the summer of 1991, the group consisted of about 1000 armed men.
While the creation of the National Guard was intended to support an independent Georgia, the National Guard resisted integration into the structures of the emerging state. Moreover, the National Guard eventually participated in the coup against the president Zviad Gamsakhurdia in December 1991.
Together with the National Guard, the paramilitary group Mkhedrioni took part in ousting Gamsakhurdia in December 1991. Founded already in 1988, Mkhedrioni, or “Horsemen-Warriors”, was originally associated with the Georgian National Independence Party. By the summer of 1991, the group, which was led by Jaba Ioseliani, consisted of approximately 1000 fighters. Ioseliani was a warlord with an extensive criminal biography and connections.
Similar to the National Guard, Mkhedrioni relied on criminal activities for its funding. According to its official statements, the group’s goal was to protect the country, but like the National Guard’s leadership, also Ioseliani was critical of the Georgian president, Gamsakhurdia.
After the coup in late 1991, the National Guard and Mkhedrioni did not dissolve, but were considered to act under the Government of Georgia. The newly independent state as such had no proper army of its own and, thus, relied on paramilitary groups controlled primarily by Kitovani and Ioseliani.
Tengiz Kitovani was arrested in 1995 and sentenced to imprisonment. Mkhedrioni was outlawed in 1995 as well, shortly after the arrest of Jaba Ioseliani. Ioseliani was sentenced to imprisonment in 1998. President Shevardnadze announced an amnesty to Ioseliani in 2000 and Kitovani in 1999.
