Prince Varden Tsulukidze
Varden Grigorievich Tsulukidze (8 November 1865 - 20 May 1923) was a prince, major-general of the Russian Imperial Army, participant of the First World War. Chevalier of the George Arms (1917). Varden Grigorievich Tsulukidze was born on 8 November 1865 in the noble princely family Tsulukidze. He graduated from the Tiflis Cadet Corps. On 26 August 1884 he entered the Russian Imperial Army as a junker of ordinary rank in the 3rd Alexander Military School, from which he was released as a lieutenant (with seniority from 7 August 1885) in the 8th Transcaspian Rifle Battalion. On 7 August 1889 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, on 15 March 1898 - to the rank of staff-captain, on 6 May 1900 - to the rank of captain. For six years, three months and 25 days - was a company commander, then, 2 years, 11 months and 28 days held the post of battalion commander. On 26 February 1905 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, on 6 December 1910 - to the rank of colonel. Participated in the First World War. Until mid-November 1914 he served in the 208th Infantry Lori Regiment. On 16 November 1914 he was appointed commander of the 205th infantry Shemakha regiment, as of 23 August 1915 he was in the same position. Since 8 December 1915, due to a wound he was in the reserve of ranks at the headquarters of the Caucasus Military District, and as of mid-January 1917 he was in the same position. On 10 April 1916 ‘for military distinctions’ he was promoted to major-general with seniority from 21 April 1915. From
1918 to 1921 he served in the army of the Georgian Democratic Republic. After the establishment of Soviet power in Georgia, in March 1923 he was arrested and accused of participation in the underground organisation ‘Military Centre’. On 20 May 1923 Varden Tsulukidze was shot.
3rd Caucasian rifle squad. The 3rd Druzhina was formed from the Gurian foot squad. The essential difference in this re-forming is that a regular unit was created from an irregular militia unit, the composition of which corresponded to a 4-company rifle battalion. Guria (Ozurgeti district and part of Batumi district) lies on the south-eastern shore of the Black Sea. The inhabitant of this richly vegetated country - the Gurian, although similar in faith and language to his fellow Georgian, is very different in temperament, type and inclinations from the latter. All Gurians are brave, good marksmen and excellent pedestrians in terms of distance and speed of crossing. It is no difficulty for a Gurian to pass, for example, in a day and a half from Ozurget to Kutais, which is about 190 versts by a direct route. So, we see that nature itself brought up in the Gurian an excellent warrior-foot soldier. We first became acquainted with the fighting qualities of this people in the Russian-Turkish campaign of 1829. During this war the militia of the Gurian people, fighting in the ranks of Russian troops, earned a banner with the image of St George on one side and a double-headed eagle on the other. On the border of
the banner are written in gold letters the following words in Russian and Georgian languages: ‘To the militia of our faithful and beloved Gurian people for their loyalty and bravery. The capture of the Turkish camp at the Limani tract on the 5th of March 1829’. This banner is kept in Ozurgeti at the druzhinny church. Back in 1804 the ruling prince of Guria, Mamiya V Gurieli, came under the patronage of Russia, and in 1829 Guria was finally annexed to Russia. Guria had its own militia completely independent of the Russian government even before 1829, the purpose of which was to protect its border from accidental invasion by the Turks. This militia had no permanent membership; service in it was like a universal conscription. Every Gurian capable of bearing arms had to serve for a certain period at the cordon. In all subsequent times the cordon line along the Gurian-Turkish border was occupied by the Gurian foot militia. During the Russian-Turkish wars in the years 1829, 1854-1855-1856, 1877-1878 Guria fielded militia and separate 4-hundred squads; but this Gurian militia was a permanent army in Guria. In 1851 on the 28th of December by the order of the Military Department a Hundred of Guria militia consisting of 110 lower ranks was formed to protect the border of Ozurgeti district from Turkey. It was ordered to be manned with hunters, and in case of their shortage by recruitment. Of course, there was no shortage in manning this hundred, and only the best forces of Guria got there. In 1876 the hundred was transformed into the 1st Guria foot squad of 4-hundred composition. The total number of lower ranks in the druzhina was 691 people. The druzhina was manned by hunters. The druzhina received food and arms from the treasury, and the druzhinin were clothed on their own salary - 5 rubles per month. In the war of 1877 - 1878 the druzhina was a part of the Kobulet detachment. (During the war the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and Reserve Gurian druzhiny were also formed and were part of the 1st Consolidated Irregular Brigade) One of the most difficult tasks fell to the share of this detachment - to advance in the rainy spring season on the terrain presenting all kinds of obstacles, which can only be in nature, such as: huge, liana-covered forests, impassable swamps, steep ascents and descents, and to fight with the warlike and brave people of Adjara, who were defending their homelands. A number of battles at Mukha-Estate, Khutsu-Ubani Tsikhidziri proved excellent fighting qualities of the Gurian squad, and these deeds will make the best pages of its history. For the war of 1877-1878 the Gurian druzhina received the St. George Banner (with the inscription ‘For Excellence in the Turkish War of 1877 and 1878’). At the end of the war the 1st Gurian druzhina was left in full composition, and in 1881 it was compared in content with regular troops and was entirely at the expense of the treasury. It was stationed in the town of Artvin, then in the village of Borchkha. Since 1883 it was stationed in Batum on the cordon line. In 1887, due to the introduction of general military conscription in the Caucasus, the Gurian druzhina was to be abolished, but by the highest command was turned to the 3rd Caucasian (native) rifle druzhina, which was given seniority since 1851 and the St. George banner for the war of 1877-1878 years Gurian druzhina. The Georgian druzhina, which was together with the Gurian druzhina in the same Kabulet detachment, became part of the 1st Caucasian (Native) Rifle Druzhina. In the following year 1888 two more druzhiny No. 2 and No. 4 were formed. Thus, the Caucasian (native) Rifle Brigade was formed, first subordinated to the chief of the Caucasian Rifle Brigade, and from 1890 it received a separate chief of the brigade. From 1892 in Ozurgeti.
The House of Tsulukidze are a Georgian noble family, known in the western part of the country since 1451. According to a traditional account, they were elevated to a princely dignity (tavadi) by King George III of Imereti in 1605. Under the western Georgian kings of Imereti, the Tsulukidze served as Constables of Lower Imereti and had a fiefdom in Racha, with a familial burial ground at the Nikortsminda Cathedral. The Tsulukidze were involved in a series of civil wars which plagued Imereti until the eventual annexation by the Russian Empire in 1810. The family was confirmed as princes (knyaz) of the Russian Empire in 1850. The Tsulukidze family produced several notable political and military leaders from the 17th century into the 20th, including Sophia, Princess of Guria, General Varden Tsulukidze, and the Marxist revolutionary Alexander Tsulukidze.
Awards: Insignia and star of the Imperial Order of Saint Anna, Sash and star of the Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir, Star of the Imperial Order of Saint Stanislaus.
