Author: Giorgi Pantsulaia
Niko Nikoladze, a great Georgian public figure, thinker, and publicist, is celebrated as “the first Georgian journalist of European significance.” He was a versatile political and practical leader—an exceptional financier, economist, and lawyer—renowned for his innovative thinking. Archil Jorjadze once called him “a man of great business.” At the same time, the eminent Georgian, Ilia Chavchavadze, acknowledged his brilliance by stating, “I have immense respect for Niko Nikoladze’s intelligence, insight, and talent.” German scholar Arthur Leist described him as “undoubtedly the most talented figure to influence Georgia.” Likewise, the notable Georgian politician and critic Geronti Kikodze highlighted Nikoladze as “a crucial and colorful figure among the intellectuals of the 1860s—a completely new type of intellectual and one of the first proponents of European democratic thought in Georgia.”
Nikoladze’s paternal ancestors hailed from the village of Skande in the Terjola municipality. His grandfather, Mamuka (Mathe) Nikoladze, fled from his overlord in his youth and settled in Kartli, where he later married Anastasia (Tasso) Oniashvili. In the early 19th century, he returned to Imereti and established himself as a trader in Kutaisi.
Like his father, Niko’s father, Jacob, was an astute merchant whose business activities extended beyond Georgia, reaching Russian and European markets. Jacob, along with his wife Elisabeth, placed great value on education and literature. Niko’s mother, Elisabeth Lortkipanidze, came from the nobility of Didi Jikhaishi and was highly educated for her time, knowing The Knight in the Panther’s Skin by heart. She would often read this and other Georgian literary works to her family.
Born on September 27, 1843, on the Feast of the Cross in Kutaisi, Niko Nikoladze was the second child and first son among eight siblings. He also had eight cousins: Natalia, Anastasia, Vladimir, Olympiada, Ekaterine, Efrosine, and Konstantin (the seventh child, Giorgi, died four months old). His brothers, Vladimir and Konstantin, both became journalists and studied at European universities. His sisters, Ekaterine and Olympiada, were among the first Georgian women to pursue higher education abroad, in France and Switzerland.
In 1850, Nikoladze enrolled at the classical gymnasium in Kutaisi. By 1860, as a student in his final year, he published his first journalistic pieces in Tsiskari magazine. His articles, “Khabarda and Lotto in Kutaisi” and “Kutaisi Gossiper,” sharply criticized the Kutaisi society and advocated for the Georgian language. Historian Dimitri Bakradze praised the young writer, recognizing his talent—a talent that would drive Niko’s lifelong dedication to writing.
After graduating from the Kutaisi Gymnasium in 1861, despite his father’s hopes that he would enter the family’s commercial ventures, Nikoladze followed the advice of historian Dimitri Bakradze and Governor-General Grigol Eristavi and traveled to St. Petersburg to continue his education. He enrolled at the Faculty of Law at St. Petersburg University. In October, Nikoladze was arrested for participating in student demonstrations against the government’s university policies. Initially imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress, he was later transferred to Kronstadt Prison. After three months, he was released, expelled from the university with a “wolf ticket” (a document barring him from further academic study), and banned from remaining in St. Petersburg. However, Nikoladze defied the ban, continuing to reside in the city illegally and sharing quarters with Akaki Tsereteli, who had not been involved in the student protests at that time.
In 1862, he left Russia and embarked on a journey through Europe, immersing himself in its intellectual and cultural life. Over the next four years, he lived in London, Paris, Geneva, Zurich, and Berlin, forming relationships and collaborating with notable European figures, including Victor Hugo, Émile Zola, and Alphonse Daudet. In 1865, he met Karl Marx in London, becoming the only Georgian to know the revolutionary thinker personally. Although Marx offered him a role as the representative of Transcaucasia in the First International, Nikoladze declined.
In 1865 Nikoladze studied philosophy and political economy at the Sorbonne in Paris, where he was inspired by Switzerland, a small, mountainous, multi-ethnic country like Georgia, yet prosperous and respected. In 1865, he transferred to the University of Geneva and later to the University of Zurich, where he earned his doctoral degree in 1868. His dissertation, written in French, was titled Disarmament and its Economic and Social Consequences—making him the first Georgian to obtain a doctoral degree abroad and the first to address peace and disarmament in a scholarly work.
Returning to Georgia in 1869, Nikoladze joined forces with Ilia Chavchavadze and others in leading the national liberation and social rights movement. During the 1870s, alongside Giorgi Tsereteli and Sergey Meskhi, he founded the “New Youth” group, later known as the “Meore Dasi,” and contributed to publications such as Mnatobi (1869-1870), Krebuli (1871-1873), and Droeba (869-1877).
Niko Nikoladze, a prominent Georgian statesman and visionary, played a pivotal role in laying the groundwork for large-scale economic and infrastructural projects in Georgia during the late 19th century. Among his notable achievements was the founding of Georgia’s first international joint-stock company, “Nakhshira,” which focused on the extraction and processing of manganese and coal in the Chiatura, Tkibuli, and Tkvarcheli regions for export. His initiatives helped establish connections with European entrepreneurs, drawing significant international interest in Georgia’s mineral resources.
Nikoladze also had a profound impact on the development of Georgia’s railway system. He was instrumental in the construction of the first Transcaucasian railway line, the Poti-Tbilisi line, which was completed in 1872. Additionally, he played a key role in the development of railway branches in Tkibuli, Chiatura, Tkvarcheli, and Zugdidi, as well as the construction of the Surami Pass tunnel from 1884 to 1888. In 1915, he was elected director of the board of the Kakheti Railway Society, further solidifying his influence in the country’s transportation infrastructure. In recognition of his contributions to the Poti-Tbilisi railway, Nikoladze was awarded a golden token, granting him free first-class travel across the Russian railway system.
In 1873, the Georgian intelligentsia associated with the newspaper Droeba undertook a remarkable initiative by sending a group of young Georgian women to Switzerland to pursue higher education. Among these pioneers were Niko Nikoladze’s first and second wives, Bogumila Zemianskaya and Olga Guramishvili, as well as his sisters Olympiada and Ekaterine. The group also included his cousins, the Kheltuplishvili sisters, and several other prominent women such as Ekaterine Melikishvili, Pelagia Natsvlishvili, Mariam Tsereteli, and Fefo Eliozishvili.
In 1873, under the leadership of Niko Nikoladze and Giorgi Tsereteli, Georgian students in Switzerland formed the organization “Ugheli,” with Nikoladze serving as its ideological leader.
In 1881, Niko Nikoladze (1843-1928) attended the International Congress of Electricians in Paris, where the French physicist and engineer Marcel Deprez (1843-1918) presented his invention, which involved the transmission of electric current over long distances through thin wires. The members of the French Academy of Sciences initially met Deprez’s innovative idea with skepticism. However, Nikoladze not only believed in the feasibility of this concept but also foresaw the future benefits it could bring. He successfully convinced the Rothschilds, leading to the electrification of Paris in 1886, powered by a hydroelectric station built on the Crail waterfall.
Niko Nikoladze recognized the significant positive impact electrification would have on Georgia’s mountainous regions. After the launch of the power plant at Niagara Falls, he began studying the possibility of similar projects in Georgia. He consulted with engineers, including Boris Ibanitsky, who had witnessed the Niagara plant, and Theodore von Ropp, the creator of the “Zrudei” hydroelectric station. As early as 1903, Nikoladze was working on an electrification project for Western Georgia, with a focus on the Rioni and Enguri rivers. Later, his son, Giorgi Nikoladze, joined the effort, and together they concluded that constructing a power station on the Enguri would be more feasible. On Niko Nikoladze’s instructions, Giorgi Nikoladze spent five months exploring the Enguri valley with the renowned electro-metallurgist, Baron von Ropp. However, due to a lack of financial resources, the realization of their idea was delayed. Today, Engurhesi is the largest hydroelectric power station in the Caucasus, proving that Nikoladze’s prediction was accurate and that their initiative was successfully implemented, even if it took several decades.
There is no other public figure in Georgia who, alongside his multifaceted public service and journalistic work, achieved as much for his people and country as Niko Nikoladze did. He was a versatile and practical leader, and his life motto was: “Every word a writer utters should be backed by action, and words should turn into deeds.”
Nikoladze is credited with harnessing Georgia’s natural resources and applying them to industry. It is hard to find an area of practical activity in Georgia where “Great Niko” did not leave his mark. He was behind major projects such as the Tbilisi Aqueduct, the Port of Poti, the Trans-Caucasian Railway, the Grozny-Poti Canal project, and many others. Through the development of trade and industry, he facilitated the introduction of capitalism. While living in Europe, he clearly saw the vital role that banking and trade played in a country’s development and progress. This is why he aspired to see Georgia’s economy evolve in a similar way.
Another cause for which Niko Nikoladze strongly advocated was local governance and self-administration. In fact, he was one of the first to address the necessity of creating “Eroba” (local self-government institutions within the Russian Empire.) He himself was later elected to Tbilisi’s self-government body.
Niko Nikoladze also insisted that the capital should have a sanitary doctor and a disinfection chamber, and he actively pursued this issue. Eventually, both were funded. He requested Petre Melikishvili, head of the chemical laboratory in Odessa, to design the disinfection chamber. Thanks to Nikoladze’s efforts, in 1886, a sanitary doctor was appointed in Tbilisi, and a disinfection chamber was built on Madatov Island. Prior to this, the city had very poor sanitary conditions as there was no such facility.
Nikoladze also proposed the idea of establishing a sewage system in the capital. The project, financed by the city council at the time, was developed by the French engineer Lind Lei. Before this, the city had no unified sewage network.
Moreover, until 1883, Tbilisi had no public municipal transport. Although there were phaetons and omnibuses, there was no organized municipal transportation. At Nikoladze’s insistence, a horse tram was introduced in Tbilisi. The tram was pulled by two horses and ran on tracks.
Nikoladze also envisioned creating a series of artificial lakes on the territory of the Tbilisi Sea. These interconnected lakes would not only enhance the area’s appeal but would also mitigate the cold and windy climate, turning the location into a resort area.
The original idea and project for transporting Baku oil through Georgia can be credited to Niko Nikoladze. He developed a unique plan for constructing the Baku-Batumi oil pipeline and, in the 1880s, brought the Rothschilds to Georgia to finance and execute this project.
Towards the end of his life, in 1927-1928, Nikoladze designed a second oil pipeline project—the Grozny-Poti oil pipeline. His vision was to connect these two pipelines—Baku-Batumi and Grozny-Poti—to the port of Poti, where the oil could be refined and exported, providing significant economic benefits to the country. He even had disputes with the Nobel brothers, who had invested heavily in Baku oil and controlled the Transcaucasian railways, arguing that the pipelines should pass through Georgia rather than through the North Caucasus to Kerch and Sevastopol, which were within Russian territory.
Niko also played a role in establishing Georgia’s first telegraph line, built by the German engineer Niko Bunge, connecting Tbilisi to Kojori. Throughout his career, he successfully initiated and completed numerous projects.
In 1894, Niko was elected as the head of the city of Poti. His decision was met with responses from prominent Georgian figures like Ilia Chavchavadze and Akaki Tsereteli. In a light-hearted jest, Ilia even wrote a humorous poem dedicated to him:
“He had not enough space on the land
So he found Poti swamp,
Big Niko,
Kwa-Kwa-Kva, Big Niko.”
Even in the 1870s, Niko Nikoladze recognized the significant geopolitical importance of Poti as the shortest transit route between Berlin and Beijing—Berlin-Poti-Beijing—with Poti envisioned as a powerful bridge along this corridor.
Nikoladze held his position for eighteen years, but within just ten years, he achieved what many considered a “miracle.” He transformed Poti from a malaria-infested, marshy area filled with wooden shacks into a major European-style port city.
For Poti’s development, Nikoladze drew inspiration from the urban plans of Paris and New York, adopting a radial, sun-like design. He constructed the city’s first reinforced concrete building—a temple modeled after Hagia Sophia. The city was built around this structure, with twelve main streets radiating outward like the twelve apostles, giving the city the shape of a rising sun.
He drained the swamps, protected the city from the sea with reinforced concrete barriers, and built key infrastructure such as gymnasiums for men and women, hospitals, and an impressive social infrastructure. Most notably, he built the port of Poti, where he imposed customs duties on all incoming and outgoing ships. The revenue generated from these duties significantly contributed to the city’s development. Nikoladze also constructed a power station on the Kaparchina River, and by the beginning of the century, the roads leading to the city, as well as the city and the port itself, were fully illuminated.
In 1886, Nikoladze returned to his homeland in Didi Jikhaishi, where he purchased 25 hectares of land and established a European-style experimental farm. He engaged in various agricultural activities, managing forested areas, arable land, vineyards, vegetable gardens, orchards, and pastures, all while ensuring profitable and sustainable use of the land.
Niko Nikoladze introduced various species of animals, birds, and plants from different European countries. He crossbred local breeds and distributed them throughout the village. He also imported agricultural machinery and tools, as well as different varieties of grapevines from Europe, which he planted alongside Georgian varieties to establish vast vineyards. An accomplished vintner and winemaker, Nikoladze participated in international symposiums of winegrowers and winemakers in Lyon and Odessa. He personally created a remarkable dendrological park around his house, planting endemic tree species imported from abroad. Additionally, he constructed an irrigation canal from Matkhodi to Yaneti.
In Didi Jikhaishi, Nikoladze opened schools where the first teachers were members of his family. His wife, Olga, opened a women’s gymnasium, making Didi Jikhaishi the only village in the entire Russian Empire with such a facility. In this school, Olga introduced polytechnic education alongside basic subjects. Students learned practical skills such as silk care, spinning thread, rug and carpet weaving, bamboo furniture making, basketry, house construction, and vineyard and garden maintenance.
Nikoladze also established a post-telegraph office, a hospital, and a pharmacy in the village. He founded a weekly market, the “Wednesday Market,” where peasants from villages across Western Georgia traded agricultural products. For Nikoladze, trade was a matter of honor and a key driver of the country’s economic revival. He believed that trade encouraged self-discipline, honest work, and the formation of a civil society. As examples of nations prospering through trade, he cited Japan, which he viewed as a country of the future, and the Jewish people, who he predicted would soon establish a powerful state—a prediction that history later validated.
Nikoladze also built the Yaneti railway station and planned to construct a micro-hydroelectric power station on the Gubistskali River. He developed numerous bridges over rivers and initiated significant infrastructure projects. In Jikhaishi, he founded the People’s Bank, and by the early 20th century, the reforms he introduced had made the village so financially and economically advanced that it was even called “Akhalkalaki.”
In the 1920s, when the Communists took control of Georgia and the Red Terror began, Nikoladze’s family was dispossessed and forced to leave their home. In an effort to preserve the house and the European-style farm, Nikoladze opened a two-year agricultural school in his residence in 1925. This school was transformed into an agricultural technical college in 1930, with Nikoladze’s farm serving as the institution’s training base.
Niko Nikoladze witnessed both Georgia’s independence and its loss, as well as the entry of Soviet occupiers into the country. He addressed his homeland with these heartfelt words: “As long as I can remember, I have had only one desire. I worshipped no one but God, and I loved you. I believed in you and served you, whether ill or well, to the best of my ability. I loved you, considering your fate and misfortune as my own. I traveled all over Europe, through many excellent countries and pleasant societies, spending months and years abroad. But everywhere I went, I thought only of you, of serving and benefiting you. Neither the esteemed society of France, the beauty of Italy, nor the freedom of Switzerland ever captured my heart or swayed my feelings. Instead of turning away and forgetting, as others did, my small and unknown country and my people, I constantly thought of how I could be of use to you—both abroad and at home—as a writer and as a quiet servant, always remaining faithful to you.”
Niko Nikoladze’s name is closely associated with the declaration of Georgia’s independence in 1918 and the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Georgia. He actively worked to prepare the groundwork for restoring independence. Nikoladze had extensive experience in dealing with Turkey in the Caucasus region, and due to his expertise and contacts, he joined the Georgian delegation led by Akaki Chkhenkeli in Batumi in the spring of 1918. With German support already secured, only a truce with Turkey was needed to declare independence. On May 25, 1918, Nikoladze wrote to Noe Jordania from Batumi, urging him not to delay the declaration of independence. The following day, on May 26, a truce with Turkey was signed, and within an hour, the Act of Independence was proclaimed in Tbilisi, establishing the independent Republic of Georgia. Together with Zurab Avalishvili, Nikoladze then traveled from Batumi to Poti to develop the country’s economic program, and three days later, they departed for Germany to present this document.
Nikoladze was the honorary chairman of the Presidium of the National Democratic Party. In 1919, he was elected to Georgia’s Constituent Assembly as part of the eight-member delegation representing the National Democratic Party. The Committee for the Liberation of Georgia in Germany honored him with the Georgian “Order of Legionnaires,” featuring an image of Queen Tamar, as a tribute to his service in the struggle for Georgia’s independence.
In 1924, Nikoladze returned to Georgia and founded the first honorary society, “Georgian Book,” dedicated to reviving Georgian literature and writing. As its board chairman and author of its charter, Nikoladze played a key role in this society.
That same year, Nikoladze was invited to serve as a consultant for the construction of Zahesi (Zahesi Hydroelectric Power Plant), which was recognized as an expert in electrification. The project was led by Besik Chichinadze, Georgia’s first hydro engineer and Nikoladze’s nephew, while Nikoladze provided consultation on various aspects of the project.
The great Niko Nikoladze passed away on April 1, 1928, at the age of 84. He is buried in the Mtatsminda Pantheon of Writers and Public Figures, alongside his close friend Akaki Tsereteli.