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{{Short description|Former Georgian military commander and politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
'''Emzar Kvitsiani''' ({{lang-ka|ემზარ კვიციანი}}, {{Audio|En-us-Emzar Kvitsiani from Georgia pronunciation (Voice of America).ogg|[ɛmzɑr kʼvitsʰiɑni]}}; born April 25, 1961) is a former [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] military commander and warlord active in [[Abkhazia]]'s [[Kodori valley]], which he ran ''de facto'' through his militia from 1992 until being ousted by the Georgian government forces in 2006. He fled to [[Russia]], but, in 2014, he was arrested on his return to Georgia, initially sentenced to 16 years in jail, and then released under a plea bargain in early 2015.<ref name="RFE on release">{{cite news|last1=Fuller|first1=Liz|title=Georgian Court Releases Jailed Warlord|url=http://www.rferl.org/a/georgia-kvitsiani-russia/26818432.html|accessdate=23 October 2016|agency=Radio Free Europe|date=28 January 2015}}</ref> He is now one of the leaders of the [[Alliance of Patriots of Georgia]].<ref name="AofP Website">{{cite web|last1=Alliance of Patriots of Georgia|title=Leadership: Emzar Kvitsiani|url=http://patriots.ge/leadership-emzar-kvitsiani/|accessdate=23 October 2016}}</ref>▼
{{Infobox military person
| name = Emzar Kvitsiani
| image = Emzar Kvitsiani (VOA).jpg
| caption = Kvitsiani in 2006
| native_name = ემზარ კვიციანი
| native_name_lang = ka
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1961|4|25|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Chkhalta]], [[Abkhaz ASSR]], [[Georgian SSR]], [[Soviet Union]] (now [[Abkhazia]], Georgia)
| allegiance = Georgia
| commands =
| battles = {{tree list}}
* [[Abkhaz–Georgian conflict]]
** [[War in Abkhazia (1992–1993)]]
** [[2001 Kodori crisis]]
** [[2006 Kodori crisis]]
{{tree list/end}}
}}
▲'''Emzar Kvitsiani''' ({{lang-ka|ემზარ კვიციანი}}, {{Audio|En-us-Emzar Kvitsiani from Georgia pronunciation (Voice of America).ogg|[ɛmzɑr kʼvitsʰiɑni]}}; born 25 April
== Career ==
Kvitsiani was born in 1961 in the village of [[Chkhalta]], part of the predominantly ethnic Georgian [[Svans|Svan]] upper Kodori valley in the then-[[Abkhaz ASSR|Soviet Abkhazia]], an [[autonomous republic]] within the [[Georgian SSR]]. He finished the [[Novosibirsk State University of Economics and Management|Novosibirsk Institute of National Economy]] and later graduated the
After the [[War in Abkhazia (1992–1993)|secessionist war]] broke out in Abkhazia in 1992, Kvitsiani organized a militia force of several hundred fighters named ''Monadire'' ("the Hunter") in the upper Kodori valley in order to fend off the Abkhaz threat. He succeeded in keeping the strategically crucial gorge under the control of his militia after the retreat of the Georgian forces from Abkhazia in 1993, though militia in the area reportedly also demanded money and possessions from fleeing civilians, in exchange for passage.<ref name="MartenBook" /> Following the war, Kvitsiani maintained nominal dependence on the central government of Georgia. The then-[[President of Georgia]] [[Eduard Shevardnadze]] attempted to channel Kvitsiani's activities into the legal framework of the Georgian state apparatus. Kvitsiani was appointed deputy special state envoy to the Kodori valley in 1997 and then special state envoy to that area in 2000. He and his men entertained good relations with the Abkhaz people despite numerous skirmishes and incidents occurring over the years. According to his own claims, Abkhaz representatives occasionally tried to persuade him to sign a four-sided treaty that would effectively transfer control of the valley over to the Sukhumi administration. Kvitsiani however always refused and also countered various armed incursions, mostly in a pacifying manner.<ref
Kvitsiani's role in the abduction of the [[United Nations]] and Georgian officials in Kodori in the 1990s, the [[2001 Kodori crisis]], and various supposed criminal activities in the region have been disputed.<ref name=lenta/><ref name="Marten"/
After his ouster from the Kodori valley, Kvitsiani eventually fled to
== Arrest and trial ==
On 28 February
== Political
Kvitsiani is one of the leaders of the [[Alliance of Patriots of Georgia]], a populist party that gained six seats in the parliamentary elections in Georgia in October 2016.<ref name="AofP Website" />
In 2018, Kvitsiani proposed a law to ban the wearing of [[burqa]] and [[niqab]] in public. The parliament of Georgia considered the proposal.<ref name="dfwatch.net">{{Cite web|url=https://dfwatch.net/georgias-parliament-to-consider-a-ban-on-wearing-burqa-and-niqab-in-public-52732|title = Georgia's parliament to consider a ban on wearing burqa and niqab in public|date = 26 December 2018}}</ref> Kvitsiani has also been seen at several rallies in Tbilisi held by [[Georgian March]], a far-right, anti-LGBT and anti-immigration group.<ref name="dfwatch.net"/>
During a televised interview in April 2018, Kvitsiani said that he was forced to collaborate with Russian special services, notably with the [[GRU (Russian Federation)|GRU]]. He said that he was forced to make statements by them, although "as for statements, for me an important thing was, that they [Russian special services] would not offer me any activities, but statements meant nothing for me." He said that his family was held in Moscow and he had to make these statements to save his family.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://saqinform.ge/news/37514/kodoris+movlenebi+-+emzar+kviciani+adasturebs%2C+rom+ruseTis+specsamsaxurebis+davalebas+asrulebda.html|title=
კოდორის მოვლენები - ემზარ კვიციანი ადასტურებს, რომ რუსეთის სპეცსამსახურების დავალებას ასრულებდა|date=April 2018|website=Georgian Information Agency|access-date=3 March 2024}}</ref>
== References ==
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