Merab Kostava in 1988
Merab Kostava (Georgian: მერაბ კოსტავა) (Tbilisi, May 26, 1939 - Boriti, October 13, 1989) was a Georgian dissident, musician and poet. He was a forerunner for Georgian independence of the Soviet Union. He worked closely with the former President Zviad Gamsachoerdia.
In 1954 Kostava and Gamsachoerdia founded the Gorgasliani youth youth organization. From 1956 to 1958 he was accused of accusing anti-Soviet activities, including the spreading of anti-communist writings and propaganda, in captivity.
In 1962 he completed his studies at the Conservatory of Tbilisi. Until 1977 he worked as a piano teacher at a music school in Tbilisi.
In 1973, he established a Human Rights Defense Initiative with Gamsachoerdia. In 1975 he became a member of Amnesty International and in 1976 he was co-founder of the Georgian Helsinki Committee, which was an early national breakdown of the International Helsinki Human Rights Federation. From 1976 to 1977 and from 1987 to 1989 he was board member.
In 1977 he was arrested with Gamsachoerdia again. He was sentenced to a work penalty in a Siberian punishment camp. In 1978, the American Congress presented Kostava and Gamsachoerdia as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.
In 1987 Kostava came free, and a year later he founded the Ilia Association of Justice, named after the Georgian nationalist Ilia Tsjavtsjavadze. In 1988 and 1989 he was one of the most important organizers of some peaceful demonstrations for Georgian independence of the Soviet Union. On April 9, 1989, the army struck down one of these events in Tbilisi, including using tear gas. As a result, nationalism and anti-Soviet feelings in Georgia became stronger, including in the Supreme Soviet of Georgia. Shortly after the tragedy of April 9, April 29, 1989, Kostava was arrested again. After 48 days he was released again.
In 1989 he died in a car accident on the Rikotipas near Boriti village. He was buried in the Pantheon of Tbilisi: a cemetery on the Mtazminda mountain for prominent Georgian poets and statesmen.
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