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43-637: Chkhartishvili was born on 20 May 1956 in Zestaponi to a Georgian father and a Jewish mother. He moved to Moscow in 1958. Chkhartishvili worked as assistant to the editor-in-chief of the magazine Foreign Literature , but left in October 2000 to pursue a career as a fiction writer. Influenced by Japanese kabuki theatre, he joined the historical-philological branch of the Institute of Asian and African Countries of Moscow State University as an expert on Japan. He

86-465: A combination of Chkhartishvili's face with that of his wife. Borisova's work, though not overly complicated, is more literary and philosophical in nature. There were three Borisova novels written. Akunin has said that he will not write any more Borisova novels "unless I get a sex-change (surgery)." Zestaponi Zestaponi or Zestafoni ( Georgian : ზესტაფონი , romanized : zest'aponi , Georgian pronunciation: [zestʼapʰoni] )

129-461: A deputy of the 8th State Duma for Putin's United Russia party. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , he made it clear that in case of a world war, Russia would bomb London before Warsaw, Paris or Berlin. In 2022 in an intercepted telephone conversation at 8:00 on 28 February 2022 he yearned to Burn them, damn it, burn [the Ukrainians]! Once you’ve thrown them out of there – finish

172-655: A large ferro-alloy plant processing manganese ore from nearby Chiatura . Zestaponi is in the Kolkheti lowlands, a semi-tropical region with relatively cold winters averaging −4 °C (25 °F) in January and hot summers averaging 24 °C (75 °F) in August. The surrounding countryside is a wine-growing region. The town of Zestaponi and the smaller neighboring town of Shorapani are industrial centers. The Zestaponi ferro-alloy plant processes raw manganese ore shipped by rail down

215-412: A new author, Anatoly Brusnikin, called Девятный спас ( Devyatny Spas , The Ninth Savior). Despite the fact that Brusnikin was a complete unknown, AST spent lavishly on an advertising campaign for the book, which almost immediately resulted in rumors that Brusnikin might actually be Akunin in a new disguise. The rumors about the authorship of Devyatny Spas were also fueled by the total secrecy surrounding

258-453: Is from Zestaponi. Zestaponi is twinned with: Zestafoni.Ge 42°06′30″N 43°02′30″E  /  42.10833°N 43.04167°E  / 42.10833; 43.04167 Andrey Gurulyov Andrey Viktorovich Gurulyov ( Russian : Андрей Викторович Гурулёв ; born 16 October 1967) is a Russian politician and former army officer who is currently a member of the State Duma for

301-460: Is impossible because "it’s a war for survival, for the survival of civilisation, for the survival of our Russia, but not just of Russia – of the countries around us too." In April 2023, he came up with the idea that Putin's regime should reintroduce the Stalinist terror of the 1930s against the " enemies of the people " inside Russia. On 26 May 2023, he suggested that Russia doesn't need to attack

344-468: Is living in London . Chkhartishvili has been called by Igor Pomerantsev the "undisputed champion" of Russian crime fiction, given that as Boris Akunin he "has written more than a dozen crime novels and has been widely appreciated by discerning readers ... and has been translated into many languages." Akunin has been critical of Vladimir Putin 's domestic and foreign policies since the invasion of Georgia and

387-674: Is the administrative center of Zestaponi District in Western Georgia . Zestaponi is the center of an ancient, historical part of Georgia – Margveti, which is a part of Imereti province. Zestaponi is the center of Margveti's Eparchy of the Georgian Orthodox Church. Zestaponi is situated in the furthest east of the Colchis Plateau, and is built on both banks of the Qvirila River . It is an important industrial center, with

430-433: Is there, let's admit it and fight it, otherwise it will be a disaster." In October 2023, on the public television channel Russia-1 , Gurulyov called for the isolation and extermination of all Russian citizens who disagree with the policies of Vladimir Putin . On 6 April 2024, he suggested that Kazakhstan might be the next target for Russian attack after Ukraine. In June 2024, he suggested that Russia should attack

473-440: The 58th Combined Arms Army . The general claimed that he had been dismissed after describing the situation at the front to his superiors. In September 2023, he wrote on Telegram : "Victory is separated from us only by one serious problem of ours — lies. Yes, there is less of it than there was at the beginning of the special military operation, but it is there. False reports, unfortunately, lead to poor decisions at many levels. It

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516-506: The Netherlands with nuclear weapons in order to harm energy supply to Europe. In August 2024, Ukrainian forces crossed the border into Kursk Oblast during the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine resulting in part of the oblast becoming under Ukrainian occupation . Gurulyov criticized the Russian army for failing to defend Kursk Oblast. On 8 August, he said in a television interview that

559-714: The United Russia faction since 21 September 2021, and a former deputy Commander of the Southern Military District of the Russian military from 2016 to 2017. Gurulyov graduated from the Moscow Higher Combined Arms Command School in 1988, beginning his active service in July of that year as a weapons and equipment training platoon commander at the 469th District Training Center in Kuybyshev . He

602-603: The annexation of Crimea . Akunin participated in a fundraiser in 2022 to benefit Russians accused of "discrediting" the Russian army under the Russian 2022 war censorship laws . In December 2023, the pranksters Vovan and Lexus called Akunin and Dmitry Bykov , pretending to be representatives of the Ukrainian Government , and released the recordings of Akunin and Bykov expressing their support for Ukraine. The response in Russia

645-415: The statute of limitations . Allegedly the object of the scheme was to furnish Lieutenant general Nikolai Pereslegin with servants and Pereslegin's daughter, whose company actively participates in bidding and receives government contracts, furnished the appropriate cover with the civilian labour authorities. In 2014-15 Gurulyov was responsible for the 12th reserve command, whose sphere of activities under

688-411: The 3rd century BC. The town of Zestaponi is first mentioned in historical records in the 1560s. The name of the city is connected with the bank of river Kvirila ( Georgian : poni ), upper bank ( Georgian : Zeda poni ), that was used by the local population and foreign travelers from ancient times. In the 1820s a Cossack army was posted in the town, which was then called "Kvirila" after

731-600: The 58th was to increase the territory of the Luhansk People's Republic and the Donetsk People's Republic . From August 2016 to January 2019, Gurulyov served as Deputy Commander of the Southern Military District , and took part in the Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war . In 2019 he left the military service and was appointed Deputy Governor of Zabaykalsky Krai . Since September 2021, he has served as

774-527: The Kvirila valley from Chiatura, supplying 6% of world demand. The largest ferroalloy plant in the country, in 1998 it produced 35,000 tonnes of silicomanganese and 11,000 tonnes of medium-carbon manganese alloy. This was well below its previous peak production of 110,000 tonnes of manganese-based alloys. The British steel trading company Stemcor acquired the ferro-alloy plant in February 2006. Two other plants in

817-812: The Master (following Nicholas Fandorin, Erast's grandson), all published in Russia by Zakharov Books , and the Roman-Kino ("Novel-Film") series set during World War I. Akunin's specialty is historical mysteries set in Imperial Russia . It was only after the first books of the Fandorin series were published to critical acclaim that the identity of B. Akunin (i.e., Chkhartishvili) was revealed. Akunin lived in Moscow until 2014. He has since lived in Britain, France, and Spain. As of 2024 he

860-510: The Russian military knew about the planned Ukrainian invasion of Kursk a month before it happened but "from the top came the order not to panic, and that those above know better." Gurulyov was sanctioned by the UK government in 2022 in relation to Russo-Ukrainian War . Gurulyov is one of the members of the State Duma the United States Treasury sanctioned on 24 March 2022 in response to

903-536: The US state Texas, and should instead focus on Alaska . In response to the Wagner Group rebellion , Gurulyov said: "I am firmly convinced that during wartime, traitors have to be destroyed! Today, no matter who says what, whatever fairy tales they are telling, a bullet to the forehead is the sole salvation for Yevgeny Prigozhin ." In July 2023, Gurulyov published a voice message by Major General Ivan Popov , who commanded

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946-612: The Zestaponi / Shorapani area produce electrical products, aluminum and copper cable and wire. There were more plants in the Soviet era producing fireproof clay, marble and clothing. Zestaponi is also one of the winery-vinery centers of Georgia. Wine prepared from the Tsitsqa and Tsolikouri species are widely known. Zestaponi lies 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) west of the small but ancient fortress town of Shorapani , founded by Pharnavaz I of Iberia in

989-411: The arrest of Akunin in absentia . After the death of Alexei Navalny , Akunin said that "There is nothing more the dictator [Putin] can do to Navalny. Navalny is dead and has become immortal." In June 2024, the online library of Boris Akunin was blocked in Russia due to the library's distribution of Vladimir Sorokin's book The Heritage ( Russian : Наследие , romanized :  Naslediye ). In

1032-559: The division until June 2008, after which he entered the Military Academy of the General Staff , and on graduation in 2010 was appointed chief of staff of the 58th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District , and in January 2012 was appointed commander of the same army. In 2013 he was charged with abuse of power after forging orders and putting two conscripts into "labor slavery". The charges were dropped in 2014 because of

1075-579: The early Middle Ages in Shrosha and Shorapani. Shorapani (Sarapanis) is the toponymy, that is mentioned in old Greek mythology. That was Sarapanis that Jason and his Argonaut friends approached during their travel in old Colchis (Kolkhida). The local football club, FC Zestaponi , plays in the top league in Georgia and twice won the Georgian championship in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 season. The local women's basketball team

1118-597: The house, burn it down! Spit at that f*cking humanism! On 30 August 2022, Gurulyov "encouraged Putin's regime to launch missile strikes on the British Isles", and said that "would be the end of the British Crown." On 2 October 2022, he was talking about "system of lies going from top to bottom" and was suddenly disconnected from Skype . On 18 December 2022, he claimed that a negotiated settlement in Russia's war in Ukraine

1161-460: The person of the author and the fact that his name, A. O. Brusnikin, is an exact anagram of Boris Akunin. AST has also released a photograph of Brusnikin, which greatly resembled Chkhartishvili's face. In January 2012, two years after the second Brusnikin novel was published and just prior to the release of the third one, Chkhartishvili admitted in his blog that it was indeed him hiding under a new nom-de-plume. The reason for creating another alter ego

1204-455: The possibility. At about the same time as Brusnikin had made his appearance, Chkhartishvili's other disguise, Anna Borisova, hit the bookstores relatively undetected. In this literary experiment Chkhartishvili wanted to attempt to write as a woman and to get away from detective and adventure fiction. Similar to the Brusnikin ruse, the "photograph" of Borisova released by the publisher was actually

1247-449: The pseudonym “B. Akunin", decoding "B" as "Boris". "Akunin" (悪人) is a Japanese word that translates to "great bad man". In his novel The Diamond Chariot , the author redefines an "akunin" as a great evil man who creates his own rules. Under the pseudonym Boris Akunin , he has written many works of fiction, mainly novels and stories in the series The Adventures of Erast Fandorin , The Adventures of Sister Pelagia , The Adventures of

1290-644: The river that runs through it. During the Russian Empire , the city was the administrative center of the Shorapani Uyezd of the Kutaisi Governorate . In 1920, the name was changed again to "Jugeli", after a famous revolutionary . In 1921, the city regained its historical name. There are many historical monuments in the Zestaponi region: Zeda Saqara (11th century), Tabakini (6th century), Tseva (11th century), Sanakhshire and other churches, and castles from

1333-736: The year 2000, Akunin was nominated for the Smirnoff-Booker Prize . In September 2000, Akunin was named Russian Writer of the Year and won the " Antibooker " prize 2000 for his Erast Fandorin novel Coronation, or the last of the Romanovs . In 2003, the British Crime Writers' Association placed Akunin's novel The Winter Queen on the short list for the Dagger Award in Fiction . In 2004, he

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1376-466: Was Akunin's desire to write historical novels without a mystery component and to attempt a "Slavophile" look at Russian history in lieu of his usual "Westerner" outlook. The Brusnikin "photograph" was revealed to be a combination of Chkhartishvili's face with the face of a studio designer who made the picture. To date, three Brusnikin novels have been written. Akunin has said he has no definite plans to write more Brusnikin novels, though he remains open to

1419-662: Was a member of the jury at the 26th Moscow International Film Festival . On 10 August 2009, for the contribution to the development of cultural ties between Russia and Japan, he was awarded the prize of the Japan Foundation acting under the auspices of the government. Laureate of the Noma Prize (2007, Kodansha Publishing House, Japan) - "For the best translation from Japanese of works of the writer Yukio Mishima". Two Fandorin novels, The Turkish Gambit and The State Counsellor , were made into big-budget Russian movies. Azazel

1462-466: Was adapted twice for television, first as The Winter Queen , and later as Fandorin. Azazel , produced by Yandex Studios and Kinopoisk streaming service. An English remake of The Winter Queen was in production. It was set to start filming in 2007, but the leading actress, Milla Jovovich , became pregnant, and the production process was delayed to unknown date. Pelagia and the White Bulldog

1505-516: Was champion of Georgia in 2011. The city's stadium was built by Zestaponi Ferro-alloy Plant in 1952 and since its renovation has a capacity of 4,600. The writer Boris Akunin and philosopher Tengiz Tsereteli were born in Zestaponi. The psychologist and philosopher Dimitri Uznadze was born in the nearby village of Sakara in 1886. Famous Georgian actors Shalva Ghambashidze, Ushangi Chkheidze, Sergo and Bukhuti Zakariadze were also born in Zestaponi. World wrestling (Greco-Roman) champion Mikhail Saladze

1548-464: Was designated a " foreign agent " by the Russian Ministry of Justice . This designation requires that the subject identify themselves as a "foreign agent" on social media and any other publications, and imposes heavy financial reporting requirements. Later that month, Russia's Interior Ministry put his name on a wanted list for alleged criminal activity. On 6 February 2024, a Moscow court ordered

1591-524: Was editor-in-chief of the 20-volume Anthology of Japanese Literature , chairman of the board of a large "Pushkin Library”, and is the author of the book The Writer and Suicide (Moscow, The New Literary Review, 1999). He has also contributed literary criticism and translations from Japanese , American , and English literature under his own name. He publishes other critical and documentary works under his real name. Since 1998 he has been writing fiction under

1634-422: Was engaged in literary translation from Japanese and English. Japanese authors Yukio Mishima , Kenji Maruyama , Yasushi Inoue , Masahiko Shimada , Kobo Abe , Shinichi Hoshi , Takeshi Kaiko , Shohei Ooka were published in his translation, as well as representatives of American and English literature ( T. C. Boyle , Malcolm Bradbury , Peter Ustinov , etc.). Under his given name of Grigory Chkhartishvili, he

1677-422: Was made into a TV mini-series in 2009, while The Spy Novel came out in a 2012 theatrical release as Spy . Note: ( The Jack of Spades and The Decorator were published together in a single volume, Special Assignments: The Further Adventures of Erast Fandorin / Особые поручения. In November 2007, AST, one of the publishing houses with which Akunin is affiliated, came out with a historical mystery novel by

1720-474: Was negative: many Russian publishing booksellers, including publishing company AST , ceased publication and distribution of Akunin's and Bykov's works. One of the few booksellers that continued to distribute Akunin's books, Zakharov Books , came under investigation by the Investigative Committee of Russia . Russian politician Andrey Gurulyov called Akunin an "enemy" that "must be destroyed". Akunin

1763-546: Was then added by Rosfinmonitoring to its list of terrorists and extremists, with Akunin specifically believed to be complicit in terrorist activity by the Russian Government . The government also opened a criminal case against Akunin, with allegations of discreditation of the Russian army. In response, Akunin wrote on Facebook: "Terrorists declared me a terrorist." In an article on his website, Akunin has warned Russians abroad to not return to Russia. In January 2024, Akunin

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1806-574: Was transferred to serve as chief of staff of the 272nd Motor Rifle Regiment of the 131st Guards Motor Rifle Division at Borzya in June 2001. Gurulyov became commander of this regiment in June 2002 and rose to serve as 131st Division chief of staff at Yasnaya in December 2003. He was appointed commander of the 5th Guards Tank Division at Kyakhta in March 2006, and promoted to major general in 2007. Gurulyov commanded

1849-679: Was transferred to the Western Group of Forces in Germany in June 1991, and his unit was withdrawn to Samara in 1994. Gurulyov entered the Combined Arms Academy in July 1998, and was sent to gain combat experience in the Second Chechen War in 1999. Returning to the academy, he graduated in 2000 and in June of that year was appointed chief of staff of the 382nd Motor Rifle Regiment of the 122nd Guards Motor Rifle Division at Dauriya . He

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