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David Chavchavadze
David Chavchavadze
David Chavchavadze
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David Chavchavadze (May 20, 1924 – October 5, 2014) was a British-born American author and a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer of Georgian-Russian origin.

Key Information

Life and death

[edit]

Chavchavadze was born in London to Prince Paul Chavchavadze (1899–1971) and Princess Nina Georgievna of Russia (Romanov) (1901–1974), a descendant of a prominent Georgian noble family and the Imperial Russian dynasty.[1] His father, Prince Paul, was a fiction writer and translator of writings from Georgian into English, and an émigré in the United Kingdom, and then the United States. [citation needed]

Chavchavadze entered the United States Army in 1943 and served during World War II as liaison for the U.S. Army Air Force Lend-Lease supply operations to the Soviet Union. During his time in WWII, he trained at Camp Ritchie putting him among the ranks of many Ritchie Boys. After the war, he entered Yale University where he was a member of The Society of Orpheus and Bacchus, the second longest running a cappella group in the United States. He spent more than two decades of his career as a CIA officer in the Soviet Union Division.[2]

After his retirement, Chavchavadze specialized in tracing the nobility of Imperial Russia and authored The Grand Dukes (1989). He also published Crowns and Trenchcoats: A Russian Prince in the CIA (1989) based on his CIA experiences, and translated from Russian Stronger Than Power: A Collection of Stories by Sandji B. Balykov, an emigre Kalmyk writer. Additionally, he lectured part-time at Georgetown, The George Washington and George Mason Universities on Russian history and culture.

As a grandchild of a Russian Grand Duke, he was an Associate Member of the Romanov Family Association. Via his mother, Chavchavadze is great-great-grandson (through Grand Duke Mikhail Nicholaevich) and simultaneously great-great-great-grandson (through Queen of Greece, Olga Constantinovna) of Nicholas I.[3] He is also a second cousin to King Charles III of the United Kingdom via his mother as well.

David Chavchavadze died in his sleep on October 5, 2014, aged 90, after a long illness.

Marriages and children

[edit]

He married Helen Husted on September 13, 1952, and they were divorced in 1959. They have two daughters and three grandchildren:

  • Princess Maria Chavchavadze (August 28, 1953) married Alexander Rasic on October 27, 1990, and they were divorced. They have one daughter:
    • Yelena Rasic (December 16, 1990)
  • Princess Alexandra Chavchavadze (December 24, 1954) married Puthukuty Krishnan Ramani on November 26, 1988. They have two children:
    • Alexander Chavchavadze Ramani-Poduval (May 18, 1991)
    • Caroline Chavchavadze Ramani-Poduval (June 6, 1994)

He remarried Judith Clippinger on December 28, 1959, and they were divorced in 1970. They have two children and three grandchildren:

  • Princess Catherine Chavchavadze (December 29, 1960) married John Alan Redpath on September 22, 1990. They have two daughters:
    • Sophia Redpath (July 4, 1996)
    • Nina Nolan Redpath (October 13, 1998)
  • Prince Michael Chavchavadze (August 1, 1966) married Colleen Quinn in 2011. They have one son:
    • Prince David Chavchavadze (born 2016)

He remarried, again, this time to Euginie de Smitt in 1979. They have one step-son, Paul George Olkhovsky (August 11, 1960).

See also

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References

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[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

David Chavchavadze

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David Chavchavadze (May 20, 1924 – October 5, 2014) was a prince of the ancient Georgian Chavchavadze family, a descendant of Russian imperial royalty through his mother, an American author, and a officer who specialized in recruiting and handling Soviet defectors during the . Born in to exiled Georgian-Russian aristocrats—Prince Paul Chavchavadze and Princess Nina Georgievna Romanovskaya, a great-granddaughter of Tsar Nicholas I—Chavchavadze's family fled the Bolshevik Revolution, relocating to the in 1933 amid the communist seizure of their ancestral lands. Leveraging his multilingual abilities in Russian, French, and English, along with intimate knowledge of émigré networks, Chavchavadze served as a CIA case officer from the onward, conducting interrogations and operations against the Soviet regime that had uprooted his lineage. His noble heritage, tracing to the Bagrationi kings of Georgia and the Romanovs, informed his unyielding anti-communist stance, which he expressed through writings on Russian and the plight of White Russian exiles.

Ancestry and Early Life

Royal Heritage and Family Origins

David Chavchavadze descended from the princely Chavchavadze family of Georgia, a noble house originating in the province and elevated to tavadi status by King Constantine II of Kakheti in 1726. The family maintained estates such as Tsinandali and intermarried with the ruling , tracing direct descent from King George XII (1746–1800), the last sovereign of the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti before its Russian annexation in 1801. His father, Prince Paul Chavchavadze (1899–1971), embodied this lineage, having been born in St. Petersburg amid the Russian Empire's integration of Georgian aristocracy. Through his mother, Princess Nina Georgievna Romanova (1901–1974), Chavchavadze inherited Romanov imperial heritage as a great-great-grandson of I (r. 1825–1855). Nina was the daughter of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich (1863–1919), son of Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich, and Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna (née Princess Marie of Greece and Denmark, 1876–1940). Her maternal ancestry connected to King George I of Greece (r. 1863–1913), originally Prince William of Denmark and son of Christian IX of Denmark (r. 1863–1906), extending ties to the houses of Oldenburg and, collaterally, Windsor through shared descent from European royalty. This confluence of Georgian nobility and Russian imperial blood underscored Chavchavadze's position within exiled aristocratic circles following the Bolshevik Revolution, blending Caucasian feudal traditions with pan-European royal networks forged under the Romanovs.

Childhood and Emigration to the United States

David Chavchavadze was born on May 20, 1924, in London, to Prince Paul Chavchavadze, a Georgian noble, and Princess Nina Georgievna Romanovna, a member of the Russian imperial family who had fled the Bolshevik Revolution. His parents, like many White Russian émigrés, had sought temporary refuge in Britain after the 1917 revolution and subsequent civil war, which overthrew the Romanov dynasty and targeted aristocratic families. As an only child of exiled nobility, Chavchavadze spent his earliest years in reduced circumstances, with his family having lost the bulk of their estates and assets to the Soviet regime. In 1927, when Chavchavadze was three years old, his parents decided to emigrate permanently to the , settling initially in amid a wave of anti-communist Russian and Georgian exiles. This move reflected broader patterns of relocation, driven by economic hardship in and hopes for stability in America, though the family continued to face financial challenges without access to their pre-revolutionary fortunes. The emigration severed direct ties to their homeland, which had fallen under Soviet control, shaping Chavchavadze's upbringing in an American environment infused with anti-Bolshevik sentiments from his aristocratic heritage.

Education and Early Career

Academic Background

Chavchavadze attended in , on a , completing his there before pursuing higher studies. In 1942, amid , he enrolled at , where he joined the enlisted reserve of the U.S. Army while beginning his undergraduate coursework. His academic progress was interrupted after his freshman year when he was called to active duty, serving initially in as a liaison to Soviet forces and later in . Following the war's end, Chavchavadze resumed his studies at Yale, demonstrating proficiency in languages and history. He graduated in 1950 with a , during which time he participated in the Society of and Bacchus, an group. No records indicate advanced degrees in his formal academic pursuits, as his career soon shifted toward intelligence work.

Initial Professional Steps

Chavchavadze entered the in 1943 at the age of 19, volunteering for service during . His linguistic skills in Russian, honed from family background and upbringing, led to his assignment as a liaison officer for the U.S. Army Air Force's operations, facilitating the transfer of supplies to Soviet forces via the Alaska-Siberia route. In 1943, he also served as an interpreter for Soviet diplomat , the then-Soviet ambassador to the . Following the end of hostilities in in 1945, Chavchavadze was deployed to as an interpreter, where he participated in meetings involving officials from the , , Britain, and during the early postwar occupation period. This military experience interrupted his studies at but provided foundational expertise in intelligence-related tasks, such as and cross-cultural liaison work with Soviet counterparts. Upon completing his army service, he returned to Yale, graduating in 1950, after which he transitioned directly into intelligence work.

Intelligence Career

Recruitment and CIA Service

Chavchavadze joined the (CIA) shortly after graduating from in 1950, having been recruited by an acquaintance from his university days. His recruitment occurred in of that year, motivated in part by a personal drive to counter the Soviet threat to regions tied to his heritage. As detailed in his 1990 memoir Crowns and Trenchcoats: A Russian Prince in the CIA, this entry into intelligence work aligned with his linguistic skills in Russian and familiarity with Eastern European affairs, honed during earlier U.S. Army service in post-war . Serving as a case officer in the CIA's Soviet Russia Division for over two decades until his retirement in , Chavchavadze specialized in clandestine communications, , and operations targeting Soviet interests, including those affecting Georgia and . He recruited and debriefed Soviet defectors and agents during the , operating under multiple aliases while based primarily in Washington, D.C., with deployments to and other international assignments. His royal lineage and émigré background provided unique access and credibility in handling Russian-speaking assets, though specifics of individual operations remain classified or undisclosed in public accounts. Post-retirement, Chavchavadze continued occasional consulting for the agency, leveraging his expertise in Soviet and defector tracing, but his formal service emphasized field-level against communist expansion. His contributions, as recounted in memoirs and obituaries, underscore the value of émigré officers in bridging cultural gaps during U.S.-Soviet rivalry, without reliance on sensationalized narratives.

Cold War Operations and Contributions

Chavchavadze was recruited into the (CIA) on September 5, 1950, initiating a 25-year career focused on the Soviet Operations division, where he specialized in surveillance and clandestine communications. His work targeted Soviet activities, drawing on his linguistic proficiency in Russian and intimate knowledge of Bolshevik history derived from his Romanov lineage, which positioned him as the sole relative of the imperial family actively undermining the regime during this period. Operational efforts emphasized regions linked to his Georgian and Russian heritage, with significant fieldwork conducted in Europe to monitor and counter Soviet influence. He retired from full-time service in 1974 but continued as a contractor, contributing to ongoing intelligence assessments amid U.S.-Soviet tensions. Preceding his formal CIA tenure, Chavchavadze served as an interpreter at key post-World War II conferences shaping Germany's postwar framework and broader geopolitical alignments, engaging directly with Soviet officials such as ; these interactions honed his analytical edge for applications. While specific mission outcomes remain largely classified, his underscores the strategic value of familial insights in operational against communist expansionism.

Literary Contributions

Major Works

Chavchavadze's literary output primarily consisted of historical and , leveraging his Romanov lineage and CIA background to explore Russian imperial history and . His works emphasized factual narratives over fiction, often incorporating personal anecdotes and archival research to challenge Soviet-era distortions. The Grand Dukes, published in by Atlantic International Publications, chronicles the lives and political roles of Russia's grand dukes from the Romanov dynasty, drawing on Chavchavadze's familial connections for unique insights into their contributions to imperial governance and military affairs; the book includes bibliographical references and an index spanning 283 pages. In 1990, he released Crowns and Trenchcoats: A Russian Prince in the CIA, an detailing his quarter-century of service with the agency, where his royal heritage aided in countering Bolshevik influences through defector interrogations and covert operations against the . Chavchavadze also authored The Vlasov Movement: Soviet Citizens Who Served on the German Side—1941-1945, a historical analysis of Soviet defectors and collaborators during , examining their motivations and the movement's strategic impact amid the Eastern Front conflict. Additionally, Stronger Than Power: A Collection of Stories compiles shorter narratives, though it received less prominence compared to his major historical volumes.

Themes and Impact

Chavchavadze's literary output primarily consisted of works drawing on his aristocratic heritage, experiences, and intelligence career, emphasizing anti-communist resistance and the human cost of Soviet rule. In Crowns and Trenchcoats: A Russian in the CIA (1990), he recounted his motivations for joining the agency—stemming from family losses under —and detailed operations handling Soviet defectors, highlighting themes of loyalty, betrayal, and the clash between imperial traditions and totalitarian ideology. The underscores the contradictions in Soviet versus realities, informed by his Romanov lineage as great-great-grandson of Nicholas I. His historical texts further explored the erosion of Russian autocracy and opportunistic alliances against . The Grand Dukes (1990) profiles the Romanov grand dukes' lives, executions, and exiles post-1917, portraying their fates as emblematic of aristocratic resilience amid revolutionary upheaval. In The Vlasov Movement: Soviet Citizens Who Served on the German Side—1941-1945, Chavchavadze analyzed the of over 1 million Soviet POWs and citizens with Nazi forces, framing it as desperate anti-Stalinist revolt rather than mere , with themes of survival, ideological disillusionment, and the moral ambiguities of wartime pragmatism. These works had niche but enduring impact in historiography and intelligence studies, offering insider perspectives rare among Western authors due to Chavchavadze's dual royal and operational credentials. His accounts informed academic courses he taught on the Soviet system at and universities, bridging personal narrative with geopolitical analysis. Referenced in Romanov exile scholarship, they preserve émigré viewpoints against Soviet erasure, though limited print runs constrained broader readership. Translations, such as Svetlana Alliluyeva's Only One Year, extended his influence by amplifying defector testimonies central to his thematic concerns.

Personal Life

Marriages

Chavchavadze married Helen Husted in 1952; the union produced two daughters, Maria (born August 28, 1953) and Alexandra, before ending in divorce. His second marriage, to Judith Clippinger on December 28, 1959, resulted in one son, Michael (born August 1, 1966), and also concluded in divorce. Chavchavadze wed Eugenie de Smitt as his third wife in ; she survived him following his death in , with no children from this marriage noted in records.

Family and Descendants

David Chavchavadze was the sole child of Prince Paul Alexandrovich Chavchavadze, a Georgian nobleman descended from the ancient , and Princess Nina Georgievna Romanov, daughter of George Mikhailovich of and a great-granddaughter of I. His parents had fled the , settling initially in before emigrating to the , where Chavchavadze grew up amid the émigré community. Chavchavadze married three times, with children from his first two unions. His first marriage, to Helen McLanahan Husted in 1952, produced two daughters and ended in divorce in 1959. His second marriage, to Judith Clippinger, a U.S. State Department official, in 1959, yielded a son and a daughter before their divorce around 1970. In 1979, he married Eugenie de Smitt, of Russian descent, with whom he remained until his death; this marriage produced no children but included a stepson. At the time of his death in 2014, Chavchavadze was survived by his four children, though specific details on their lives or further descendants remain private and undocumented in public records. His family maintained connections to Russian and Georgian émigré circles, preserving aspects of princely heritage amid American life.

Death and Legacy

Final Years and Passing

Chavchavadze retired from the in 1974, though he continued to assist agency officials with defectors on an informal basis thereafter. In his post-retirement years, he engaged in , taught courses on Russian and Soviet history at local institutions, and performed Russian folk tunes professionally at clubs in Georgetown. He also authored memoirs including Crowns and Trenchcoats, detailing his experiences, and The Grand Dukes (1989), a genealogical study of the Romanov grand dukes. During this period, Chavchavadze traveled to the in 1984 for an extensive tour of ancestral family properties and estates, and returned in 1990 following the regime's collapse, where he encountered Russian monarchists in Tsarist attire and undertook a to Georgia linked to his kinship with poet Alexander Chavchavadze. In 1979, he married Eugenie de Smitt, his third wife, and the couple resided in the Washington, D.C., area. Chavchavadze died on October 5, 2014, at age 90, at a health-care center in , from and , as confirmed by his wife. A funeral service was held on October 8 at St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral in , followed by interment at . He was survived by his wife, four children—including son Michael, who succeeded to the princely title—and a stepson.

Posthumous Recognition

Chavchavadze was interred at on May 13, 2015, with full military honors, including ceremonial bells and a , in recognition of his service as a to the . This burial, reserved for military veterans and select national figures, underscored his contributions to U.S. defense efforts during and after the war. Posthumous tributes emphasized his multifaceted legacy as a CIA officer, author on , and descendant of Georgian and Romanov royalty, with obituaries in outlets like detailing his role in the Division and anti-communist activities. His interment aligned with honors afforded to Cold War-era intelligence personnel whose service remained partially classified, reflecting institutional acknowledgment of his operational impact without public disclosure of specific awards.

References

  1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/david-chavchavadze-cia-spy-with-russian-royal-roots-dies-at-90/2014/11/08/ddd65f86-5ec6-11e4-9f3a-7e28799e0549_story.html
  2. https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/prince-david-chavchavadze-descendant-of-czar-nicholas-who-became-a-cia-officer-recruiting-and-interrogating-cold-war-russian-agents-9878127.html
  3. https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/prince-david-chavchavadze-hbd6bfkkp63
  4. https://georgianjournal.ge/society/28734-david-chavchavadze-cia-spy-with-royal-roots-dies-at-90.html
  5. http://www.nplg.gov.ge/chavchavadze/en/moderndavid.html
  6. https://www.christies.com/presscenter/pdf/2015/russian_works_of_art_faberge.pdf
  7. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11219248/Prince-David-Chavchavadze-obituary.html
  8. https://speech.ge/en/historical-emigration/davit-chavchavadze-publicist-and-writer-usa/
  9. https://www.yalealumnimagazine.com/obituaries/2023-david-chavchavadze-50
  10. https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/David_Chavchavadze
  11. https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2021/09/a-brief-history-of-royal-spies
  12. https://archive.org/details/granddukes0000chav
  13. https://www.isbns.net/author/Prince_David_Chavchavadze
  14. https://books.google.com/books/about/Crowns_and_Trenchcoats.html?id=goAnAQAAMAAJ
  15. https://www.amazon.com/Books-David-Chavchavadze/s?rh=n%253A283155%252Cp_27%253ADavid%252BChavchavadze
  16. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3863053-crowns-and-trenchcoats
  17. https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LTZT-QJZ/prince-david-paul-chavchavadze-1924-2014
  18. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/136919761/david_paul-chavchavadze
  19. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/david-chachavadze-obituary?id=6039892
  20. https://www.facebook.com/PageRomanovNews/posts/prince-david-chavchavadze-is-being-buried-at-arlington-national-cemetery-todayat/1605284499720448/
  21. https://m.vk.com/video-12918737_456239093
  22. https://phillipsacademyarchives.net/118-2/notable-alumni-long-list-1900s/
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