 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Akaki Mgeladze" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(September 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Akaki Mgeladze | |
|---|---|
| აკაკი მგელაძე (Georgian) Акакий Мгеладзе (Russian) | |
| First Secretary of theGeorgian Communist Party | |
| In office 2 April 1952 – 14 April 1953 | |
| Preceded by | Kandid Charkviani |
| Succeeded by | Aleksandre Mirtskhulava |
| First Secretary of theCommunist Party of Abkhazia | |
| In office February 1943 – November 1951 | |
| Preceded by | Mikhail Baramiya |
| Succeeded by | Shota Getia |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1910 Melekeduri,Ozurgeti uezd,Kutaisi Governorate,Russian Empire |
| Died | 1980 (aged 69–70) Ozurgeti,Guria,Georgian SSR,Soviet Union |
| Nationality | Soviet |
| Political party | Communist Party of the Soviet Union |
Akaki Mgeladze (Georgian:აკაკი მგელაძე;Russian:Ака́кий Ива́нович Мгела́дзе; 1910–1980) was aSoviet politician. He served asFirst Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party from 1952 to 1953, and before that was First Secretary of theCommunist Party of Abkhazia from 1943 until 1951, as well as previously leading both the Georgian and AbkhazianKomsomol andGruzneft.
Born in theGuria region ofGeorgia, into theMgeladze family, then part of the minorRussian nobility. Mgeladze had grown up inAbkhazia and was serving with the military on theTranscaucasus Front when he was appointed head of the Communist Party of Abkhazia byJoseph Stalin. Under Mgeladze,Georgian was made the language of instruction in Abkhazia, replacingAbkhaz andRussian at the start of the 1945–1946 academic year.
After the Second World War, Mgeladze became a confidant of Stalin, who nicknamed him “Comrade Wolf”.[1] He made a declaration that Abkhazia would produce lemons for the entirety of the Soviet Union after Stalin repeatedly showed him lemon trees.[2] Using his influence with Stalin, Mgeladze manoeuvred against head of theMinistry of State SecurityLavrentiy Beria, denouncing his corruption and that of Stalin’s other confidantKandid Charkviani, who was an ally of Beria.[3] Mgeladze succeeded in convincing Stalin to turn against Charkviani and strengthened his distrust of Beria.[4] In March 1952 Mgeladze was appointed First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party by Beria, replacing Charkviani.[5]
He held his position until he was forced out by Beria in April 1953, after Stalin's death. Forced to admit that he took bribes while head of the Communist Party of Abkhazia, Mgeladze was only able to remain a Party member because his successor in Georgia,Aleksandre Mirtskhulava, refused to expel him. After that he served as the chairman of theBibnisi collective farm, located in theKareli Municipality.
Mgeladze wrote a memoir,Сталин Каким я его знал: Страницы недавнего прошлого (Stalin As I Knew Him: Pages of the Recent Past), and died in 1980. For his efforts Mgeladze was awarded twoOrders of Lenin, as well as theOrder of the Red Banner of Labour,Order of the Red Star,Order of the Patriotic War, twoOrders of the Badge of Honour, and others.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party 1952–1953 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | First Secretary of the Abkhazian Communist Party 1943–1951 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
Leaders of Georgia since 1918 | |
|---|---|
Democratic Republic of Georgia Prime Minister | .svg) |
| Georgian SSR Chairmen of the Revolutionary Committee | |
| Georgian SSR First Secretaries of Georgian Communist Party | |
Modern Georgia  Presidents | .svg)  |
| Elections | |
* Acting head of state | |
.svg)
.svg)