Dimitri Kipiani
| Dimitri Kipiani | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Kipiani wearing gubernatorial regalia. C. 1870s by Alexander Roinashvili
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| Marshal of Nobility of Tiflis | |
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In office 1875–1878 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
April 14, 1814 Mereti, Governorate of Tbilisi, Georgia, Russian Empire. |
| Died | October 24, 1887 (aged 73) Stavropol, Russian Empire |
| Resting place | Pantheon of the Holy Mountain, Tbilisi, Georgia |
| Nationality | Georgian |
| Alma mater | Tiflis School of Nobility (Presently, the First Classical Gymnasium) |
| Profession | Statesman, publicist, writer, translator |
| Religion | Eastern Orthodox |
Prince Dimitri Ivanes dze Kipiani (Georgian: დიმიტრი ყიფიანი alternatively spelled as Qipiani) (April 14, 1814 – October 24, 1887) was a Georgian statesman, publicist, writer and translator. A leader of Georgia's liberal nobility, he was known for his work in support of the Georgian culture and society, a cause that led to his 1886 exile and murder at the hands of Russian Imperial authorities. In 2007 he was canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church as a saint.
He was born to a noble family in the village of Mereti near Gori, Georgia, then part of Imperial Russia. Having graduated from the Tiflis School of Nobility in 1830, he then worked there as a teacher. Following the collapse of the 1832 Georgian plot against the Russian rule, to which Kipiani was a participant, he was deported to Vologda, where he briefly worked for the local governor's chancellery. Allowed to return to Georgia in 1837, he entered the civil service and held, until 1864, various positions at the viceregal office. During his tenure, he became a prominent spokesman for liberal nobility. During the emancipation reform, he was entrusted with the task of formulating the noble position and charged, in 1862, with devising a way to free the Georgian serfs. His plan did not well compensate the serfs; they would not be given any land, but rather would continue to farm their landlord's plots and pay for the use of it. Subsequently, he was actively involved in the emancipation program, articulating the interests of the small and middle nobility. He was elected as a Marshal of the Nobility of the Tiflis and Kutaisi guberniyas from 1864 to 1870 and from 1879 to 1886, respectively. In the period of 1876-1879, he served as a mayor of Tiflis.
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