Mkhedrioni The Mkhedrioni was a paramilitary group and political organisation in the Republic of Georgia , outlawed since 1995 but subsequently reconstituted as the Union of Patriots political party . Founded in 1989 by Jaba Ioseliani , the Mkhedrioni presented itself as the heir to historic Georgian guerrilla groups who fought Persia and Ottoman occupiers . The group ' s name means " horsemen " , translated literally , but in Georgian it has a meaning closer to " knights " ( this alternative translation has occasionally been used ) . Each member of the organization would take an oath to defend Georgia ' s people , the Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church and Georgia ' s land , and wore a medallion with a scene of Saint George slaying the dragon on one side and the bearer ' s name and blood type on the other . The establishment of the Mkhedrioni took place as Georgia moved towards independence in the final years of the Soviet Union . Relations between Georgian nationalists and the country ' s national minorities , especially the Abkhaz and Ossetians , were difficult at best even during Soviet rule and grew more tense during the rise to power of the nationalist dissident Zviad Gamsakhurdia . The Mkhedrioni was one of a number of nationalist paramilitary groups established during this period as a counterbalance to similar paramilitary organisations set up by rival nationalists elsewhere in Georgia . The Mkhedrioni ' s members gained an unpleasant reputation as heavily armed thugs who engaged in violent intimidation of their rivals . They were highly visible , wearing what amounted to a uniform of jeans , sweaters and jackets , topped off by sunglasses ( even worn indoors ) . Leaders wore Armani suits bulging with guns , according to one author . Mkhedrioni relied on illegal sources of income ( targeting gasoline supplies ) and exploited connections with Moscow ' s Georgian underworld . Mkhedrioni members were often accused of criminal activity , extorting " protection money " from businesses in areas which they effectively controlled , operating roadblocks where drivers would be " fined " , smuggling drugs and committing robberies . By 1991 , the Mkhedrioni was claimed to have had about 1 , 000 fighters and 10 , 000 associate members - considerably more than the official state National Guard . Despite Gamsakhurdia and Ioseliani sharing a broadly similar nationalist outlook , the two men fell out badly shortly after Gamsakhurdia came to power in November 1990 . In February 1991 , Ioseliani was imprisoned without trial , along with many of his supporters , and the Mkhedrioni was banned . In August 1991 , just after the Soviet coup attempt , Gamsakhurdia sacked Tengiz Kitovani , the commander of Georgia ' s National Guard , and his Prime Minister Tengiz Sigua resigned around the same time . Kitovani soon formed an anti - Gamsakhurdia alliance with Sigua and the imprisoned Ioseliani . In December 1991 , Kitovani ' s supporters released Ioseliani from jail and launched a violent coup d ' etat against the Gamsakhurdia government in alliance with the Mkhedrioni . Intense gun battles took place in the streets of Tbilisi between the rebels and " Zviadists " holed up in the state parliament building during December 1991 - January 1992 , which ended with Gamsakhurdia fleeing to the breakaway Russian republic of Chechnya . At least 100 people were killed in the fighting . The Mkhedrioni after Gamsakhurdia . The Mkhedrioni played a crucial role in suppressing the remaining " Zviadists " after the downfall of Gamsakhurdia . Eduard Shevardnadze , a former Soviet foreign minister , was brought in to provide a respectable face for the new government , but it remained dependent on the Mkhedrioni : even inside the parliament building , Mkhedrioni gunmen had a constant presence as " bodyguards " for Jaba Ioseliani , who was now a member of parliament . Mkhedrioni were given the role of the interior forces under the new government . In 1993 , worsening civil strife in Abkhazia prompted the Mkhedrioni and National Guard to launch a joint operation in the region to root out separatists and Gamsakhurdia supporters . This resulted in a disastrous defeat for the pro - government forces , who were driven out of Abkhazia along with virtually the entire ethnic Georgian population of the region : over 10 , 000 people were killed in the fighting . In September 1993 , Gamsakhurdia took the opportunity to launch an armed uprising in western Georgia in an attempt to return to power . The Mkhedrioni played an important role in suppressing the uprising and were for a while given semi - official status as the " Georgian Rescue Corps " . Russia n intervention ensured Gamsakhurdia ' s defeat and on December 31 he reportedly committed suicide , though it has also been stated , and widely believed within Georgia , that he was murdered . Mkhedrioni forces were alleged in press reports to be responsible for his death , but they denied this . The Mkhedrioni were subsequently given responsibility for rooting out " Zviadists " in western Georgia , which they did with a brutal efficiency that was widely criticised by foreign governments and international human rights organisations . Shevardnadze responded by gradually limiting the organisation ' s power . Although Ioseliani remained head of the supposedly civilianised organisation , it continued to function as a private army . In early 1995 , Shevardnadze ordered it to disarm , accusing it of deep involvement in organised crime . He narrowly escaped assassination in a bomb attack on August 29 , 1995 , which he blamed on a shadowy coalition of " mafia forces " including Ioseliani and others . Other acts of political violence were also blamed on the Mkhedrioni . The organisation was outlawed and Ioseliani imprisoned , although many regarded the claim that it had been involved in the bombing as being inconclusively proven . In spite of its banning , the Mkhedrioni continues to have a somewhat shadowy existence in Georgian politics . A number of members , led by Tornike Berishvili , recreated it in 1999 as an ostensibly political rather than paramilitary organisation . It has been claimed that the Mkhedrioni has had relations with Chechen separatists and continues to be involved in criminal and paramilitary activities , including continued guerrilla attacks in Abkhazia . Jaba Ioseliani was released from prison in an amnesty in April 2000 and resumed his post as head of the Mkhedrioni , declaring his intention to run for President and participate in the November 2003 parliamentary elections . However , Ioseliani died of a heart attack in March 2003 . When the Mkhedrioni failed to secure registration to stand in elections under its own name , it reconstituted itself in November 2002 as a political party called the " Union of Patriots " in alliance with former Gamsakhurdia supporters . It was again refused registration by the government . Its leader Badri Zarandia was assassinated on January 8 , 2003 .