Ivane Kazbegi (June 11, 1860 — December 2, 1943) was a Georgian

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

 soldier, who served, successively, in the Imperial Russian, Georgian

Democratic Republic of Georgia

The Democratic Republic of Georgia , 1918–1921, was the first modern establishment of a Republic of Georgia.The DRG was created after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917...

 and Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 armies.

Ivane Kazbegi was born into the family of General Giorgi Kazbegi of noble descent

Kazbegi family

The Kazbegi , originally known as Chopikashvili , was an influential clan from the northeastern highland Georgian district of Khevi....

. Trained at a military college in St. Petersburg, he joined the Imperial Russian army in 1878. As an artillery lieutenant-colonel, he took part in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-05

Russo-Japanese War

The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...

. He was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1912 and to that of major-general in 1915. During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, Kazbegi was a deputy commander of the Caucasian Grenadier Artillery Brigade. After Georgia's declaration of independence in 1918, he served for the Georgian Ministry of War and headed its administrative division. The Soviet invasion of Georgia in 1921 forced him into exile to Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

, whence he moved to Poland in 1922. Like many of his Georgian colleagues

Georgian emigration in Poland

The documented ties between Georgia and Poland reach back to the 15th century, when the Georgian King Konstantin sent a diplomatic mission to the Polish King Alexander Jagiellon. Later, Polish King Jan III Sobieski tried to establish contacts with Georgia...

, Kazbegi became a contract officer for the Polish army. In 1926, he became a major general in the Polish service and lectured at the Military Academy. He retired in 1934 and died in Warsaw

Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

, being interred at the Powązki Military Cemetery

Powązki Military Cemetery

Powązki Military Cemetery is an old military cemetery located in the Wola district, western part of Warsaw, Poland. The cemetery is often confused with the older Powązki Cemetery, known colloquially as "Old Powązki"...

.