Dimitri Kipiani (1814–1887). Georgian writer, publicist, and public figure. Born in the village of Mereti, Kipiani graduated from a gymnasium in Tbilisi and began his career as a teacher. He participated in the 1832 conspiracy of the Georgian nobles and was exiled to Siberia, where he remained for five years.
Returning to Georgia in 1837, he served in various positions in the Russian administration and became a member of viceroy’s (Prince Alexander Bariatinsky) council. In 1864–1870, he served as marshal of nobility of Tbilisi province and, in 1885–1886, as the marshal of nobility in Kutaisi province. He governed Tbilisi from 1875–1878.
Dimitri Kipiani was actively involved in the rising national movement in Georgia and became a close associate of Ilia Chavchavadze, Akaki Tsereteli, and others. He helped establish the Georgian Bank for Nobility, the Society for the Advancement of Learning among Georgians, and the Georgian Drama Society. In the late 1860s, he spearheaded the efforts to emancipate the serfs in Georgia. His articles were important in reviving and reforming the Georgian language, which, Kipiani believed, was a prerequisite for the revival of national consciousness.
He translated many European works into Georgian as well as Georgian literary pieces into Russian. In 1882, he produced “Akhali kartuli gramatika”, which set new standards of teaching Georgian grammar.
In 1886, he gained fame with his critical response to the Russian Exarch Pavel, who anathematized the entire Georgian nation after the assassination of the rector of the Tbilisi Seminary.
Kipiani was arrested for his actions and was exiled to Russia where he was murdered (possibly by Tsarist agents) in Stavropol on 5 November 1887.
His funeral in Tbilisi drew enormous crowds and turned into a demonstration condemning the Russian administration of Georgia.