Kostas Gavriilidis

Kostas Gavriilidis was born in 1897 in Kato Tsapik, Kars, in the South Caucasus. He was a teacher of the Russian language. He served in the Tsarist army, during which he experienced the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. In 1918, he followed the Greeks in their resettlement to villages in Tbilisi. In 1920, he permanently settled in Greece with his family, in what is now Kokkinia of Kilkis. He became the president of his village and played a leading role in resolving refugee issues, as well as in the establishment of Agricultural Cooperatives. He also spearheaded efforts for the operation of the Kilkis hospital. Through his efforts, he was elected president of the Community Association and president of the Agricultural Cooperatives of Kilkis. After the establishment of the Agrarian Party in 1923, he joined its ranks. From 1932 to 1935, he was elected as a member of parliament for the AKE in Thessaloniki. With the establishment of the Popular Front by the KKE and AKE in 1936, he ran as a candidate in the municipal elections of Kilkis and won a seat. Gavriilidis faced numerous persecutions. He was imprisoned in Lamia during the 1935 movement. The Metaxas dictatorship exiled him to Anafi in 1936. He escaped from a hospital where he was transferred for surgery and remained underground until late August 1937. He was declared wanted and was captured after being betrayed. He was isolated in Corfu prisons. In 1939, he was transferred to the new prisons of Thessaloniki and was later released. In 1941, he was arrested by the Germans and detained in the camps of Trikala and Larissa, in succession. Following the Italian armistice, he was released due to illness and joined others in the mountains. When the Political Committee of National Liberation (PEEA) was formed, he took on the role of Secretary of Agriculture and was a national councilor for Kilkis. After the Varkiza Agreement, he was exiled to Ikaria, Makronisos, and Ai-Stratis in succession. In the 1951 elections, he was elected as a member of parliament for EDA and served as the representative of its Parliamentary group. After his election was annulled, he was elected as the general secretary of EDA and director of the newspaper "Demokratiki." He was exiled again to Ai-Stratis, where on September 17, 1952, he suffered a stroke. Without medication or medical care, he passed away on September 27 in the place of his exile.