ჭაბუა ამირეჯიბი

Mzechabuk "Chabua" Amirejibi, (often written as "Amiredjibi", Georgian: მზეჭაბუკ "ჭაბუა" ამირეჯიბი) (born November 18, 1921) is a Georgian novelist and Soviet-era dissident notable for his magnum opus, Data Tutashkhia, and a lengthy experience in Soviet prisons.

Amirejibi's most famous novel and one of the best works in modern Georgian literature, Data Tutashkhia (დათა თუთაშხია, 1971-5), achieved sensational success for the magazine Tsiskari and fame for the writer himself. Conceived while in Amirejibi’s years in prison, it was only through the intervention of the contemporary Georgian Communist Party chief Eduard Shevardnadze that this substantial novel of over 700 pages, passed the Soviet censors and got published. The novel is a story of a Georgian outlaw of the Imperial Russian period, a very popular theme in Georgian literature, and combines thrilling escapades with Dostoevskian dealings with the fate of an individual and national soul. The story is narrated by a Russian gendarme, Count Szeged, who frequently passes the story-telling on to other characters. The novel follows the life of outlaw Data Tutashkhia, who spends years eluding capture by the Tsarist police. They are led by Data's cousin, his detached and imperturbable double, Mushni Zarandia. The book, and the feature film based on it, turned Data Tutaskhia into an iconic hero, widely popular in Georgia.

Amirejibi has been decorated with the highest civil orders of Georgia and several Russian and international literary awards.