19 Facts About Vakhtang Kikabidze

Vakhtang Kikabidze was born on 19 July 1938 in Tbilisi, the then-capital of Soviet Georgia.

Vakhtang Kikabidze's father Konstantin was born into a noble family in Kartli, while his mother was Manana Bagration-Davitashvili, a descendant of King Alexander I of Kakheti.

Vakhtang Kikabidze was married to Irina Kebadze until her death in 2021.

Vakhtang Kikabidze's wife had a daughter named Marina from a previous marriage to her first husband Guram Sagaradze.

Vakhtang Kikabidze died on 15 January 2023, at the age of 84, from brain cancer and kidney failure.

Vakhtang Kikabidze had inspired several younger singers, including the Georgian-born Valery Meladze.

Already during the Soviet Union, Buba Vakhtang Kikabidze was one of the rare public figures to make critical statements against the Communist government.

Vakhtang Kikabidze told Russian media that he voted for Mikheil Saakashvili.

Vakhtang Kikabidze claimed to be a persona non grata in Russia and was supported by several Russian artists, including Mikhail Kozakov, Oleg Basilashvili, and Valery Meladze.

Vakhtang Kikabidze had stated he would return to perform in Russia "only once last Russian boot would leave Georgian soil".

Buba Vakhtang Kikabidze was a supporter of the 2014 Euromaidan protests in Ukraine and a close friend of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.

Vakhtang Kikabidze remained nonetheless active in politics and was present at the UNM headquarters when law enforcement stormed it in February 2021 to arrest party chairman Nika Melia.

Vakhtang Kikabidze ended his boycott in May 2021 after a short-lived EU-facilitated agreement between Georgian Dream and the opposition and since then served as a member of the Culture Committee.

Vakhtang Kikabidze was critical of the Georgian government over its treatment of Mikheil Saakashvili, in prison since October 2021, supporting his release and return to Ukraine.

Buba Vakhtang Kikabidze held several awards from Georgia, Russia, and Ukraine.

Vakhtang Kikabidze had been a People's Artist of Georgia since 1980, entitling him to a lifetime pension from the state and has been acknowledged by a number of various music contests and film festivals in the former USSR.

Vakhtang Kikabidze was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Batumi Film Festival of 2017.

Vakhtang Kikabidze held the USSR State Prize, the Order of King Vakhtang Gorgasali, as well as of Nikolai Wondermonger and Knight Cross of St Konstantin the Great.

Vakhtang Kikabidze became an honorary citizen of Tbilisi in 1999.