Vardiko Nadibaidze
Vardiko Nadibaidze | |
|---|---|
Georgian Armed Forces |
Varden “Vardiko” Nadibaidze (Georgian: ვარდენ [ვარდიკო] ნადიბაიძე; Russian: Варден Михайлович Надибаидзе) (born March 31, 1939) is a retired Soviet and Russian military officer who served as Georgia’s Minister of Defense from 1994 to 1998.
Nadibaidze was born in the village
Transcaucasia. In 1989, he was promoted to major general. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Nadibaidze continued his service in the Russian Army and, in 1992, was made the deputy commander of the Transcaucasian Military District headquartered in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi
.
In the chaotic aftermath of the
Aleksandr Lebed, Chairman of Russia's Security Council, alleged that Nadibaidze was among the Russian officers plotting a coup in support of Grachev. The allegations were dismissed by Nadibaidze.[4] Nadibaidze was a target of criticism from the opposition, most prominently by Giorgi Chanturia, and some government officials, such as Vice-Premier Tamaz Nadareishvili, who accused him of mismanaging the military.[5]
After the 1998 attempt to assassinate Shevardnadze, with its revelations of army complicity, and with Shevardnadze looking to the West, Nadibaidze was replaced, in April 1998, by the United States-trained officer David Tevzadze.[2]
References
- ISBN 1-56324-360-1
- ^ a b Charles Fairbanks et al (January 2001), Strategic Assessment of Central Eurasia, p. 65. Atlantic Council – Johns Hopkins SAIS Central Asia-Caucasus Institute.
- ISBN 0-262-03343-7
- ^ OMRI Daily Digest, Vol. 2, No. 122, 96-06-24
- ^ The Georgian Chronicle, November 1994. Caucasian Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development