Fake Grave of Stalin’s Father and Modernity
(Materials for the Biography of Joseph Stalin)
Tengiz Simashvili
https://www.eresearchjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/3.-Tengiz-Simashvili-Stalins-Father-2020-777-1.pdf
As is officially known, Joseph Jughashvili (Stalin)’s father, Besarion (Beso) Jughashvili, died of illness in Tbilisi at the so-called “Mikhail Hospital.” In the present study, I introduce archival materials that I have discovered in the Georgian historical archives concerning Stalin’s father. According to these documents, Besarion Jughashvili died on 12 August 1909. The archival evidence includes detailed records of his illness, as well as the attending physician’s signature confirming the diagnosis (see Figures 1–2).
It is important to emphasize that Soviet-period documentary materials preserved in Georgian archives contain a number of intriguing references related to Stalin’s family history. In particular, one document preserved in the Archive of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia reports that in 1906 a postman delivered a newspaper stating that Beso Jughashvili had allegedly been killed on Vanki Street. According to the same document, “Soso was deeply distressed” upon receiving this information. In addition, there exists a memoir of contemporaries in which an informant claims to have attended Besarion Jughashvili’s funeral procession, which allegedly proceeded from the hospital to the Kukia Cemetery in Tbilisi.
At the same time, some biographers of Stalin do not accept this version of events and instead propose alternative interpretations. For instance, Roman Brackman argues that Besarion Jughashvili was murdered in Telavi in March 1906.
Within the archival materials I have examined, there are also several letters dated 1954 written by an anonymous author. These letters claim that the grave of Besarion Jughashvili is located in Telavi. Indeed, in the northeastern section of the so-called “Georgian Cemetery” in Telavi, there exists a grave marked with an inscription bearing the name “Beso Jughashvili,” accompanied by a tombstone with a carved image (see Figures 3–5).
These letters were addressed to the Department of Propaganda and Agitation of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia. One of the letters states:
“To Comrade Gunia, Head of Propaganda and Agitation of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of GeorgiaIt is clear to everyone that Stalin passed away and not died. Why is his father’s real grave concealed? Why are the photographs of Beso—Stalin’s father—hidden? Why do they not raise this issue with the employees of the Institute of Marx-Engels-Lenin? … His grave is in Telavi, and there are still elderly people alive who knew him…”
The author of the letter accuses Party officials of deliberately concealing the true burial place of Stalin’s father and of acting against Stalin’s legacy. He further claims that he informed Giorgi Elisabedashvili, a schoolmate of Stalin from the Gori Orthodox Seminary, who allegedly advised him not to pursue the matter further or to destroy the collected materials.
In another passage, the author writes that his elderly parent, aged eighty, personally remembered Beso Jughashvili and confirmed that he was buried in Telavi. According to this testimony, Beso was taken there due to family circumstances and allegedly died in the household of his niece. The same narrative suggests that on the third day he was removed and later buried in Telavi, where local acquaintances were allegedly present at the time.
It is evident that the author attempts to construct a narrative in which Besarion Jughashvili’s death and burial occurred in Telavi, rather than Tbilisi. The letter repeatedly emphasizes that this information is being “concealed” and that official institutions are suppressing the truth.
The same anonymous correspondent appears to have sent another letter, signed “Truth Teller,” which is written in the same handwriting and style. This second letter provides additional details concerning a female relative of Besarion Jughashvili, who allegedly lived at that time and firmly believed that the grave was located in Telavi. According to the author, this woman, because she insisted on revealing the truth, was subjected to pressure and harassment, and ultimately committed suicide.
The letter further alleges that representatives of the archival and ideological institutions threatened witnesses and discouraged any investigation. The author claims that he brought several individuals to confirm the existence of the grave in Telavi, but that he was warned by officials such as Nadezhda Sturua and Jashiashvili not to continue the investigation, under threat of legal consequences.
The same letter also states that the author was in personal contact with individuals who knew Ekaterine Geladze, Besarion Jughashvili’s wife. This suggests, according to the author, that he had direct access to oral testimonies from people connected to Stalin’s family environment. Furthermore, the existence of a niece living in Telavi is mentioned, although this detail is not corroborated by other archival sources.
After the publication of a short article on the alleged Telavi grave, I received several responses from readers. Some expressed general interest, while others directly asserted that the grave located in Telavi indeed belongs to Besarion Jughashvili. A number of elderly residents of Telavi recalled that in the early twentieth century the Georgian Cemetery contained a different type of grave structure, which included a stone bearing the inscription “Beso Jughashvili” and a carved cross.
In the course of my research, I also identified an old tombstone attributed to Besarion Jughashvili. This stone, which is believed to have been removed from the alleged burial site, is currently preserved in the archaeological collection of the Telavi Historical Museum. The stone is significantly damaged, and part of the inscription has been eroded over time (see Figure 6). Nevertheless, the carved cross remains visible, and fragments of the inscription “Be…” and “Jugh…” can still be clearly identified (see Figure 7).
According to specialists in the field, the tombstone is made of sandstone, a relatively soft sedimentary rock commonly used in the early twentieth century for the graves of ordinary individuals. Due to its layered structure, such stone is particularly susceptible to long-term environmental damage and erosion.
Although some sources continue to maintain that Besarion Jughashvili was buried in Tbilisi at the Kukia Cemetery, I attempted to investigate how a tombstone bearing his name could have appeared in Telavi and whether additional documentary evidence exists to support this claim.
In the Central Historical Archive of Georgia, I examined the parish registers of three churches operating in Telavi during the first decades of the twentieth century. However, I was unable to locate any record confirming Besarion Jughashvili’s death or burial in Telavi. It should be noted that several parish registers from this period are missing, including those from 1902 and 1906. One of the key institutions responsible for recording births, marriages, and deaths—the Holy Transfiguration Church (Ghvtaeba)—served the majority of Telavi’s population, including various ethnic groups. Nevertheless, its archival records for the relevant period are incomplete.
Given the absence of documentary confirmation, I also conducted oral history interviews with local residents. In this context, I identified Estate (Baia) Chikvaidze, son of Mikheil Chikvaidze, whose father reportedly constructed an iron fence around the alleged grave of Besarion Jughashvili and maintained it until his death in 1975.
According to his testimony, the eastern section of the Georgian Cemetery in Telavi was overgrown with shrubs in the early 1960s. During this period, his father accidentally discovered an old tombstone bearing the inscription “Beso Jughashvili” and a small carved cross. Mikheil Chikvaidze, who reportedly admired Stalin, subsequently built an iron fence around the grave and installed a marble plaque with an inscription and a photograph of Besarion Jughashvili. According to the testimony, these elements were visible at the site for a considerable period and may still be partially present today (see Figures 8–9).
Estate Chikvaidze further confirmed that the tombstone preserved in the Telavi Historical Museum is the original stone from this grave. He also stated that the stone remained in place even after the construction of the fence, but later disappeared under unclear circumstances. Additionally, he provided photographic material, including an image showing Stalin’s grandson, Evgeny Jughashvili, with his wife visiting the alleged grave in Telavi during the 1970s (see Figure 10).
Based on the available evidence, archival documentation strongly suggests that Besarion Jughashvili was hospitalized in the “Mikhail Hospital” in Tbilisi and died there on 12 August 1909 from liver cirrhosis. The medical documentation, including the physician’s signature and associated records, supports this conclusion. According to the same official sources, his body was subsequently buried at the Kukia Cemetery in Tbilisi.
At the same time, alternative narratives persist, based on anonymous correspondence, oral testimonies, and local memory, which claim that his burial place is located in Telavi. These accounts, however, are not supported by verifiable archival documentation and contain internal inconsistencies.
In conclusion, the evidence suggests that the widely circulated story of Besarion Jughashvili’s grave in Telavi should be regarded as a historical myth rather than a documented fact. Nevertheless, the persistence of this narrative is itself a significant historical phenomenon, reflecting the complex interaction between archival history, oral memory, and Soviet-era myth-making processes. The precise origins and motivations behind this tradition remain unclear and warrant further scholarly investigation. It is possible that future archival discoveries will provide additional clarification on this issue.
Abstract
The biography of Joseph Stalin remains surrounded by numerous myths and contested narratives, many of which extend to the history of his family. Georgian archival collections contain extensive materials related to Stalin’s relatives, particularly his father, Besarion (Beso) Jughashvili. A long-standing local belief maintains that his grave is located in Telavi, in eastern Georgia, within the so-called Georgian Cemetery.
This article critically examines this claim through the analysis of archival materials preserved in the Central Historical Archive of Georgia and the Archive of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. According to official documentation, Besarion Jughashvili died in Tbilisi on 12 August 1909 in the “Mikhail Hospital” as a result of liver cirrhosis, and was buried at the Kukia Cemetery.
In contrast, alternative narratives based on anonymous letters from 1954, oral testimonies, and local memory traditions suggest that his burial place is located in Telavi. These accounts describe a grave marked with his name and imply a different place of death and burial. However, the absence of corroborating archival evidence, together with inconsistencies in these narratives, indicates that the Telavi burial story should be interpreted as a historical myth.
The study argues that while archival evidence supports a burial in Tbilisi, the persistence of the Telavi narrative reflects broader processes of memory construction, local tradition, and Soviet-era ideological and myth-making practices.
Keywords: Georgian archives, Joseph Stalin, biography, fake grave, Soviet documents, historiography, Soviet Union
References
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Unknown Author (1970s). Stalin’s grandson Evgeny Jughashvili with his wife at the alleged grave of Beso Jughashvili in Telavi [Photograph]. Telavi, Georgia: “Cemetery of Georgians.”
