The acquisition of a 25-year oil drilling concession from the Iranian government in 1916 marked the high point of Akaki Khoshtaria's industrial career. A Georgian financier and entrepreneur born in 1873 near Abasha, he leveraged regional instability and personal capital to navigate the complexities of resource extraction within the South Caucasus and Northern Iran during the early twentieth century.
Professional Origins and Education
Born into the minor nobility known as aznauri, Khoshtaria pursued formal training as an agronomist in St. Petersburg. This academic background provided the foundation for his shift into business and finance across the South Caucasus. He concentrated his commercial efforts on industrial assets located in Tbilisi, while simultaneously acting as a benefactor for Georgian cultural institutions and students pursuing education abroad.
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During the volatility of World War I and the subsequent Russian occupation of northern Iran, Khoshtaria secured significant oil rights. He established the Russo-Persian Oil Producing and Trading Company, known as Rupento, to facilitate exploration. Due to the Russian Revolution and broader geopolitical pressures, he transferred these interests to the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in 1920 for a sum of £200,000. This transaction triggered a prolonged international diplomatic dispute, as Iranian officials contested the validity of the sale.
Political Involvement and Exile
Khoshtaria maintained connections with revolutionaries seeking Georgian independence during the 1917 political upheaval. He provided critical financial support to the Democratic Republic of Georgia, specifically assisting in the purchase of a ship for the nation's nascent navy. Following the Bolshevik invasion of 1921, he relocated to Paris. He died in 1932 and was buried at the Père Lachaise Cemetery.
Architectural and Cultural Legacy
His personal history remains visible through preserved structures. In Bandar-e Anzali, Iran, his former palace serves as a public site featuring a military-navy museum and a display of his personal effects. Additionally, he commissioned a mausoleum in Tehran for his wife, Minadora, who died in 1924. This structure incorporates medieval Georgian architectural elements and constitutes the sole Georgian Christian monument in Iran.
Fast facts
- Born: 1873, Abasha
- Died: 1932, Paris
- Primary Occupation: Entrepreneur and financier
- Principal business interests: Oil industry in Azerbaijan and northern Iran
- Key company: Russo-Persian Oil Producing and Trading Company (Rupento)
- Sale of oil concessions: £200,000 in 1920
- Burial place: Père Lachaise Cemetery
- Wife: Minadora née Turkia (1881–1924)
Questions readers ask
What happened to Khoshtaria's oil interests in Iran?
He sold them to the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in 1920 for £200,000, a deal which the Iranian government refused to acknowledge.
Where is Akaki Khoshtaria buried?
He was interred at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris following his death in 1932.
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