§3. Georgian literature

There are a lot of them too.
Zobern and I tried to find a brilliant Russian-language prose writer in Tbilisi so that we could include him in our RUSSIAN LESSONS series.
When the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed, German literature of a very high level continued to exist on the territory of its fragments.
Kafka alone is worth it
Not to mention Meyrink, Werfel, Celan and so far away.
After the collapse of the Russian-Soviet. empires are becoming more modest.
Maybe it’s just that a worldwide shrinkage and collapse of literary centrism has occurred.
But they haven't found it yet.
Although there are some interesting ones.
And they deserve to be published more in Russia.
In thick magazines.
And not only.
It’s not easy for Russian-speaking writers in Georgia.

The sphere of influence of the Russian language has greatly narrowed in Georgia.
And life is not easy for Georgian writers.
And the Russian-speaking people ended up in the ghetto.
Here is a list of Russian-language writers of Georgia from my book (the main source was Anna Shakhnazarova and Mikhail Lyashenko, publishers of the Russian-language almanac "ABG". And also
prose writer, screenwriter and translator Maria Exer, poet and translator Anna Grieg):

1) Vladimir Golovin is the editor-in-chief of the popular Russian-language newspaper Golovinsky Prospekt. He is also the author of an interesting local history book about Tbilisi.
There's a lot about all sorts of famous people. "Tbilisi types."
For example, about the city madman Kiku.
When Khrushchev visited Tbilisi in the early 60s, local fronders drove Kika around Tbilisi in an open “seagull”.
Kika was like Khrushchev.

2) Poet and prose writer Susanna Armenyan

3) Poet and prose writer Gagik Teymurazyan.
I saw him once and not for long.
It's a pity that we weren't able to talk to him better.
The author of unusual minimalist prose, which, it seems, is on the Babylon website.
According to the latest information, he moved to live in Yerevan.

4) Elena Chernyaeva

5) The late prose writer Karen Abgarov.
His novels were published in Moscow.

6) Prose writer Natalya Gvelesiani
Published in New York's New Magazine.
Received an award for the best story of this magazine.
One of the stories is called "Quietly Leaving."
The other is "Dog Color Road".

7) Prose writer Guram Svanidze

8) Prose writer Mikho Mosulishvili (indicated by Maria Exer)

9) Georgy Beredzhani (I met him through gallery owner Rusiko Oat)
A man with a very interesting biography and extravagant prose.
In the 90s he lived in Russia.

11) Mikho Sumanishvili (reported by Maria Exer)

12) Merab Lomia (reported by Maria Exer)

13) The late bilingual poet Niko Gomilauri

14) Poet and prose writer Vladimir Meladze.

I have already written about Baadur Chkhatarashvili.
Also about the poets Anna Grieg and Inna Kulishova.
There are also very young Russian-speaking authors.
In the ABG studio I listened to witty and funny story prose writer Sergei Gorlyakov
Many Russian-speaking writers of Georgia were included in Chuprinin's reference book "Russian Literary Abroad".
But not all.
Later I will post on my LJ some texts by Russian-speaking writers from Georgia.

The monograph is the first large-scale study of Russian-Georgian literary connections post-Soviet period. E. Chkhaidze analyzed the development of the literary process through the prism of changes in the political climate, starting from the pre-imperial period, continuing with the Soviet and post-Soviet periods.

The author introduces the concept of “imperial literary tradition,” which means regular appeal not only to fiction, but also to translation and research activities in the context of relations between Russia and Georgia.

With the help of post-imperial/post-Soviet studies, as well as studies of multi- and transculturalism, the works of both famous and little-known Russian and Georgian writers who addressed the topic of post-Soviet conflicts, the fate of representatives of the intercultural space were studied, as well as a review analysis of structural changes in scientific, translation and cultural and literary environment after the collapse of the USSR.

Me, Grandma, Iliko and Illarion (audio play)

Radio composition play “Me, Grandmother, Iliko and Illarion” based on the novel of the same name by the Georgian writer Nodar Dumbadze Zuriko, a boy from an ordinary Georgian village. The action takes place in pre-war Georgia, where Zuriko goes to school, falls in love for the first time, then sees off his fellow villagers to war and meets Victory.

Zuriko finishes school and goes to study in Tbilisi, but after studying he returns to his village, to his first love and friends. Leningrad State Academic Bolshoi drama theater them. M. Gorky Radio show. Director: Agamirzyan Ruben.

Zuriko Vashlomidze – Vladimir Tatosov; Grandmother Zuriko - Volynskaya Lyudmila; Zuriko's neighbors: Iliko - Yursky Sergey; Hilarion - Kopelyan Efim; Mary, Zuriko's fiancée - Elena Nemchenko; Romulus, friend of Zuriko - Shtil George. In episodes and crowd scenes - theater artists.

Music – Lagidze R. Recording 1965 © IDDK.

The writing talent and civic courage of Alexander Kazbegi were especially clearly manifested in his creative activity 80s of the XIX century. His novels and stories convey with great artistic power inner world characters, their feelings and experiences.

The best pages of his novels “The Patricide”, “Tsitsiya” are devoted to the life of the Chechens, and the story “Eliso” is entirely about the Chechens, whom the Georgian writer treated with the greatest sympathy, knew their way of life, customs and morals well. The electronic version of the work is published based on the 1955 edition.

Bashi-Achuk

We bring to your attention the audiobook “Bashi-Achuk” - historical story Akaki Tsereteli (1840–1915), an outstanding Georgian poet, writer, thinker, public figure and educator, as well as the author of the words to the famous Georgian song “Suliko”.

At the beginning of the 17th century, the Persians attacked the eastern region of Georgia and occupied the Kakheti kingdom. Georgians rebelled against the invaders. The Georgian folk hero Glakha Bakradze, nicknamed Bashi-Achuk by his enemies, which translated from Iranian means “bare-headed horseman,” bravely fights for the liberation of Kakheti from the rule of the Persian Shah.

Holy darkness ( Last days Gulag)

Everyone in Georgia knows Levan Berdzenishvili. He is one of the founders Republican Party.

When asked by a journalist why he wrote memoirs about the years spent in prison, Berdzenishvili replied: “I’m not a writer - I, as is typical for almost all Georgians, am a storyteller... In fact, these are not memoirs about the Gulag, although this concerns the Gulag and my arrest for anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda... This book is not about me, but about the people whom I came to know and love in the zone.

Some of them may not recognize themselves because there is more truth about them than they know or think about themselves.” “Holy Mist” is not only about the traumatic nature of such an experience, but also about the joy of communication between very different people, who suffered a similar fate.

The Queen's Romance (collection of short stories)

We present to your attention an audio collection of selected short stories by writers from Georgia, Ukraine, Poland, Finland, Austria, England, and Sweden. The short stories are read by the best performers of the ARDIS studio: Vladimir Samoilov, Angelika Rein, Nadezhda Vinokurova, Tatyana Telegina, Viktor Rudnichenko, Vladimir Levashev.

Ekaterina Gabashvili OWNERS OF ESTATES (I. Darcho and his horse; II. Section) Trans. from Georgian Read by Nadezhda Vinokurova Adam Shimansky SRUL FROM LYUBARTOV Per. from Polish by E. and I. Leontyev Read by Vladimir Samoilov Kiosti Vilkuna IN HARSH LAPLAND Trans.

from Finnish R. Markovich Read by Vyacheslav Gerasimov Juho Reionen DECLARATION OF LOVE Trans. from Finnish R. Markovich Read by Vyacheslav Gerasimov Ivan Yakovlevich Franko HISTORY OF SHEETS TRANS. from Ukrainian by Lesya Ukrainka Read by Viktor Rudnichenko Emil Peshkau THE QUEEN’S NOVEL Trans.

The owner himself once again calls and scolds, threatening to kill Nikita, a dapper guy of about twenty-five, a lazy worker and a walker. Anisya furiously stands up for him, and Anyutka, their ten-year-old daughter, runs into the upper room with a story about the arrival of Matryona and Akim, Nikita’s parents.

Hearing about Nikita's upcoming marriage, Anisya attacked Peter even more angrily, planning to disrupt the wedding by any means necessary. Akulina knows her stepmother's secret intentions. Nikita reveals to Anisya his father’s desire - to force him to marry the orphan girl Marinka.

Anisya says that when Peter dies, she will take Nikita into the house as the owner... State Academic Maly Theater. Recorded in 1958. Peter, a rich man - Boris Gorbatov; Aksinya, his wife – Olga Chuvaeva; Akulina, Peter’s daughter from his first marriage – Dalmatova Electra; Anyutka, second daughter – Blokhina Klavdiya; Nikita, their relative – Doronin Vitaly; Akim, Nikita's father - Igor Ilyinsky; Matryona, his wife – Elena Shatrova; Marina, an orphan girl - Yulia Burygina; Mitrich, old worker, retired soldier - Mikhail Zharov; Anisya's godfather - Valentina Orlova; Neighbor – Yartseva Anna; Matchmaker – Chernyshev Sergey; Marina’s husband is Gruzinsky Alexander; 1st girl – Novak Valentina; 2nd girl - Alexandra Shchepkina; Sergeant - Vanyukov Timofey; Matchmaker – Natalya Karnovich; Headman - Kalabin Sergey.

The crowd scenes are performed by theater artists and students of the M. S. Shchepkin Theater School.

And it's not just about delicious food and wine, warm climate and beautiful nature. Georgia is, first of all, friendly people, unique culture and ancient history. This is a country where West and East, Europe and Asia harmoniously combine. Sunny Sakartvelo captivates its guests, makes them fall in love with them, and fills them with strength. I want to return there again and again. This is a place where everyone feels at home, surrounded by family and close friends.

Georgia also played its special role in Russian culture. It was a region where talented writers, poets, artists and musicians from all over Russia sought inspiration. We will talk about some of them in our material.

The life of Alexander Griboyedov was closely connected with Georgia. He lived and worked in Tiflis (present-day Tbilisi) for a long time. It was in this city that he completed his famous comedy “Woe from Wit”. And here the first productions of his play were successfully staged. Georgian nobles, who had just begun to become acquainted with Russian culture and Russian literature, staged it on the stages of amateur home theaters. In the summer of 1828, Griboedov married Nina Chavchavadze, a Georgian princess, daughter of the outstanding romantic poet Alexander Chavchavadze. But they were destined to live together for only a few weeks. The poet was sent on a diplomatic mission to Persia, and six months later an angry crowd massacred the Russian embassy in Tehran.

Griboedov's body was taken to Tiflis and solemnly buried in the pantheon on Mount Mtatsminda. Over his grave, grief-stricken Nina erected a monument, the inscription on which reads: “Your mind and deeds are immortal in Russian memory, but why did my love survive you!” Griboedov's tombstone is still considered one of the main attractions of the city, and the Tbilisi Russian Drama Theater - the world's oldest Russian theater operating outside of Russia - is named after him.

Pushkin also visited Georgia. Alexander Sergeevich was passing by Tiflis when he was catching up with the regular army, which was going to war with Turkey in Western Armenia. Tired from the long journey along the Georgian Military Road, he decided to stop in the city for a few days to gain strength, and at the same time meet with his comrades from the lyceum (many of whom were in Tiflis in those years).

During these days, the poet managed to visit the famous sulfur baths of Abanotubani, take part in several noisy feasts, have plenty of walks along the winding city streets, and also observe the life and morals of the local residents. He left his memories of Georgia in the story “Journey to Arzrum during the campaign of 1829.”

Perhaps the most famous Russian “Caucasian” writer was Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov. Expelled from Russia for writing poems on the death of Pushkin, Lermontov ended up in the Nizhny Novgorod Dragoon Regiment, which was stationed in the Caucasus in those years. The impressions of what he experienced and saw during his service in the regular army greatly affected his personality, turning him from a metropolitan rake into a lonely melancholic romantic.

The beauty of nature, the life of the mountaineers and folklore: all this left its mark on him, and subsequently formed the basis for most of his works, many of which take place in Georgia (“Demon”, “Mtsyri”, etc.). To this day, at the entrance to Tbilisi there is a monument to the great Russian romantic poet, for whom the Caucasus served as an inexhaustible source of inspiration, and Daryal, Mtskheta and Old Tiflis became his real creative homeland.

Shortly before joining the Caucasian Army, twenty-three-year-old Leo Tolstoy lived in Tiflis. Having settled in the house of a German colonist, he began to write his first literary work - the story “Childhood”. At the same time, he kept diaries, recording in them his thoughts and memories of the Georgian capital. It was during this period of his life that he realized that he wanted to become a professional writer. Subsequently, the experience of participating in the Caucasian War and the impressions of being in Georgia formed the basis for the famous story “Hadji Murat”, as well as other works of the great Russian classic.

Vladimir and Vasily Nemirovich-Danchenko

The Nemirovich-Danchenko brothers were born into the family of an officer in the city of Ozurgeti, Kutaisi province (now in Guria).

Vasily Ivanovich's childhood years were spent in a camping environment - he traveled a lot throughout Georgia, Azerbaijan and Dagestan. As the eldest son, he was ordered to follow in his father's footsteps and become a military man, so he was sent to study at Aleksandrovsky cadet corps in Moscow. He returned to Georgia only in 1876, when an uprising against the Turks was brewing in Adjara (the region neighboring his native Guria). His impressions of what he saw were reflected in the second part, “Under the Hot Sun.” Already in next year, being a career officer imperial army, Vasily Nemirovich-Danchenko took part in the Russian-Turkish War of 1877 - 1878, which was reflected in his famous book"Skobelev."

The fate of his younger brother, Vladimir Ivanovich, turned out differently, whom his parents sent to study at the Tiflis gymnasium. As a high school student, he, together with his friend Alexander Sumbatov-Yuzhin (real name Sumbatashvili), rented a small apartment on the outskirts of the city, where young people wrote their first plays and gave small performances for friends and acquaintances. Few could have imagined then that they would later become the greatest theatrical figures Russia and the Soviet Union, one of whom will be the founder of the Moscow Art Theater, and the other - the director of the Maly Theater.

In 1876, after graduating from high school with a silver medal, Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko went to Moscow to study to become a lawyer. His comrade remained in the Georgian capital, where in the same year he made his acting debut on the stage of one of the city theaters. Subsequently, the friends met in Moscow.

and Zinaida Gippius

In the summer of 1888, twenty-two-year-old Dmitry Merezhkovsky traveled around Georgia. Arriving in the resort town of Borjomi, he met with one of his acquaintances, who during the conversation showed him a photograph of the aspiring poetess Zinaida Gippius. Looking at her, Merezhkovsky exclaimed: “What a face!” But ironically, just a few days later, while walking along one of the city streets, he accidentally ran into an eighteen-year-old girl. She turned out to be just... Zinaida Gippius. Six months later they got married in Tiflis. And they lived together for 52 years, during which, according to Zinaida Nikolaevna, “they were not separated for a single day.” This strange meeting at one of the Georgian resorts marked the beginning of one of the strongest and most fruitful creative unions in Russian culture.

As part of his first “Walking in Rus',” Maxim Gorky also visited Georgia. It was this country that became his peculiar literary homeland. The young writer's first story (“Makar Chudra”) was published in Tiflis. This happened in 1892, when Gorky was working in the Transcaucasian workshops railways. Soon after this, the aspiring writer went to build the Black Sea highway in Abkhazia. On one of the deserted roads between Sukhumi and Ochamchire, he met a pregnant woman who suddenly went into labor. The writer had to deliver the child from her, biting the umbilical cord with his teeth. This episode from life formed the basis of the story “The Birth of Man,” and the obstetric feat of Peshkov (this is Gorky’s real name) was subsequently cast in bronze near the Kodori River.

After returning to Russia, Gorky kept remembering sunny Sakartvelo. During his life, he repeatedly came to Georgia, where he met with his friends and acquaintances. Together with them, taking part in traditional feasts, he sang Gurian and Kartli-Kakheti songs, which from his youth captivated him with their beauty and sensuality, and about the country itself with a smile on his face he said: “Georgia made me a writer from a vagabond.”

Mayakovsky was born into the family of a forester in the village of Bagdati, Kutaisi province (now a city in Imereti). Until he was nine years old, he practically did not speak Russian - only at home with his parents. He spent the rest of his time in the company of his Georgian peers. The situation was changed by his enrollment in the Kutaisi gymnasium, where teaching was conducted in Russian. But just four years after his admission, a misfortune occurred in his home - his father died from blood poisoning, accidentally pricking his finger with a needle.

After the death of the breadwinner, the mother decided to move to Moscow forever with her children. However, throughout his life, Mayakovsky repeatedly returned to his small homeland, where he had so many friends and acquaintances. The poet himself was proud of the fact that he was born in Georgia, and in some of his poems he even called himself a Georgian.

Boris Pasternak's first trip to Georgia took place in 1931, when he arrived in Tbilisi at the invitation of his friend, poet Paolo Yashvili. There he also met outstanding Georgian cultural figures - Titian Tabidze, Lado Gudiashvili, Nikoloz Mitsishvili, Simon Chikovani, Georgiy Leonidze and others. Their acquaintance grew into a close, long-term friendship, and Pasternak’s three-month stay in Georgia left a deep mark on his soul.

Fascinated by the culture and history of this country, he also became interested in its literature. Soon after returning to Russia, he enthusiastically began translating the works of Georgian classics. Among his most famous works are “Snake Eater” by Vazha Pshavela and the lyrics of Nikoloz Baratashvili. The poet’s friendship with famous representatives of Georgian art lasted almost 30 years, and Georgia itself became his second homeland, where he returned several times throughout his life.

About the moth's honeymoon and its daily bread.

Push.
This is a wonderful article by Shota Iatashvili, published in the Journal Hall in 2003.
I will gladly take the chance to introduce everyone interested in Georgian literature. At least in fragments. And thanks to Shota for his titanic work.
The article mentions truly great authors of Georgian prose, whose name is well-known even among Russian-speaking readers. But the more interesting will be the names of purely Georgian writers.

Fragments of the mosaic of new Georgian prose

A new stage of formalistic experimentation and ideological renewal began in Georgian prose in the 1990s, so we will focus on this period of time. As a rule, new trends are found in the works of the younger generation, which is quite natural. Based on this, the main focus of our attention will be young authors. Another thing is that often these experiments are interesting as original ideas, but they artistic embodiment- not of a very high level, judging by modern standards. At the same time, the old masters continue to write at a high level, but are not updated either ideologically or in form. This, however, does not apply to everyone, and therefore, from the “products” of the older generation, we will highlight texts that fit into the context of the era.

Of course, in modern Georgian literature there are interesting authors who stay afloat, and it would be appropriate to start the conversation with them. Diagnostics of new methods and literary technologies with the help of which they attract the reader’s attention will provide an opportunity to talk about authors who are not so promoted, whose experiments and ideas are no less (if not more) important for new Georgian literature.
1.
Among the younger generation, the most popular prose writer today is Aka Morchiladze(b. 1966). He has already published at least a dozen novels and collections of stories, and they are, by today's modest Georgian standards, bestsellers. Aka Morchiladze writes works of two types.
The first is a stylization of Georgian life and language of the 19th and early 20th centuries. In these texts, he successfully creates his own mythology of the city of Tbilisi, using, among other things, purely postmodernist methods. For example, in the most famous (and probably the best) novel of this type, “Flight to Madatov and Back” (1998), he introduces gendarmerie colonel Mushni Zarandia, one of the main characters from the novel, into the detective line Chabua Amirejibi“Data Tutashkhia”, and in another hero - the artist Hafo - it is easy to recognize Sergei Parajanov.

Aka Morchiladze very often he creates his works in detective genre. It is no coincidence that critics compare him with Boris Akunin. But to attribute success only to the popularity of the genre would, of course, be wrong and unfair. And it is not yet known which of the works brought Morchiladze great popularity. The fact is that in parallel with experiments in the genre of historical detective fiction, he also writes novels about modernity. In them we're talking about already about something completely different: about a new type of relationship in society, about elitism, snobbery, about teenagers. The manner of conversation, argot and jargon are also stylized to some extent, and often we are not dealing with a fixation of modern Georgian colloquial speech, but with its artistically sharpened clarification. In the latest novel, “Down with the Corn Republic” (2003; this title is borrowed from the novel Konstantin Lordkipanidze 30s of the twentieth century) - Aka Morchiladze tried to show some profitability in this area: as you know, over the last two hundred years or so, many Russian words have entered Georgian speech in a distorted form. Slang speech is especially heavily diluted with Russian borrowings. But recently a new process has begun: English is being introduced into colloquial speech. The beginnings of the new jargon were well captured by Morchiladze. His novel takes place in London. The text is supposedly translated from English into Georgian, and due to poor translation, the speech of Georgian emigrants is overloaded with Anglicisms. I very much doubt that this is how Georgian emigrants communicate with each other today; rather, based on political and sociocultural trends, the writer tried to look into the future of Georgian colloquial speech.

Zurab Karumidze(b. 1957) are often mentioned in conjunction with Morchiladze when talking about stylizations. In principle, he started doing this earlier than Morchiladze, but due to the specifics of his stylizations, he did not become a popular author. The hallmark of his work is modernism of the Joycean type, and one might even say that his last novel, “The Darkened Sea” (2000), is an attempt to write a Georgian “Ulysses.” A person moving in the artistic and elite circles of Tbilisi, reading this text, will recognize many people. If you look deeper, the writer’s desire to create a cultural picture of the city at the end of the century (and our native Tbilisi, and the City in general) becomes obvious. Writing method Karumidze here is adequate to the creation method piece of music, That's why storyline often lost, it is secondary. Sound design, rhythm, etc. come to the fore. — Karumidze knows how to revive archaisms, his language is expressive. At the same time, this text is very (maybe even too) intellectual, overloaded with quotes and reminiscences.

“Stylist” of a newer generation, David Kartvelishvili(b. 1976), in many ways can be compared with Aka Morchiladze, but there are also many significant differences between them. If we talk about writing technique, then distinctive feature Kartvelishvili is minimalism, phrase capacity, montage. Like Morchiladze, he creates stylizations of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but also describes modern life and customs. But no matter what times he writes about, his texts are always illuminated with some amazingly pure, true sentimentalism and sincerity. Recently, it seems, he has taken “radical measures” - he began to write stories marked by Christian (more precisely, Orthodox) ethics, which falls out of the existing literary context. His collection of short stories “Diaries for Miranda” (2003) is a vivid and highly artistic confirmation of this.

Novel Diana Vachnadze(b. 1966) “Nata, or New Julia” (2003) can be considered the first example of non-linear prose in Georgian literature. Already from the title it is clear that this epistolary novel is an attempt to recreate the problems and themes of Rousseau's novel. It begins with a letter from Nata to her boyfriend Leo. She writes it on the plane half an hour before landing in New York. At this moment, Nata realizes that the distance between her and Leo is rapidly growing and sexual intimacy with him is impossible. She begins to have a mental crisis, which her friend calmly analyzes. But soon he too falls into severe depression. The correspondence gradually acquires diaries, dream notes, essays (for example, Baudrillard’s essay “Death in Venice” is included in the novel), etc. The text becomes multidimensional. The language of the novel is also heterogeneous: a stylization of Rousseau’s manner, an exaggerated pretentious style and poetic prose, a parody of cultural texts overloaded with terminology, and in addition, slang, which changes in different linguistic layers, mimics, “getting used to” the next stylistic situation. In addition, the corpus of the novel includes six reviews of it. The fact is that, starting in 1999, the novel was published as it was written in the newspaper “Alternative”. Critics responded to the unfinished novel with reviews - they were published in the same newspaper. These reviews influenced the development of the work. It got to the point that one of the reviewers became a character in the novel, and the main characters - Nata and Leo - began to use the critics' arguments in their reasoning. In its completed form, the novel can be read in different ways: first the main body, and then the reviews, or everything in a row, together with the reviews, to follow how the relationship between the main author and the critics developed, how they created this text together.

In the 19th century, the division of art into genres became intensive. This process became widespread in the twentieth century, and by the end of the century, genre differentiation was virtually completed. The genre spectrum was also enriched by cinema, which introduced such genres as “action”, “horror”, “thriller”, etc. into literature. Genre art in our time is, by and large, a craft, but at the same time, genre polyphony has become very impressive. This is probably what led some artists to the idea that by manipulating genres, these fossilized structures could be revived and a new organism could be created from them. From the very beginning, the approach of the “manipulators” was ironic. More precisely, the approach to the reader, a fan of a particular genre, was ironic: for example, the work began as a detective story, but little by little the detective plot disappeared, and the surprised reader discovered that he was reading pure erotica. Erotica was replaced by science fiction, then the detective story returned, etc. until the end of the work. Compositionally, this is exactly how one of the best examples of genre eclecticism, the novel by the American writer Charles Bukowski “Waste Paper” (1994), is constructed. This technique is also used in the novel by the Georgian writer Marciani (b. 1953) “ Honeymoon Moth”, published in 2003, but written 20 years ago - in 1982-1983.

In the world literature of those years, it would probably be difficult to find a text that so conceptually and purposefully embodied the formal method as Marciani’s novel. This is especially true for Georgian literature. Someone will remember “Water(po)loo” Guram Dochanashvili, where there are signs of a “genre compote”. But we can say with confidence that this idea was fully realized in Georgia Marciani.

In realistic passages, this novel is electrified by the light eroticism of existence. In fantastic fragments this eroticism becomes actually “obscene,” but in the fantastic areola its “obscenity” is neutralized. Marciani works on the verge of kitsch when he uses the practice of surrealism. When dealing with a “genre compote,” it is no longer inappropriate to ignore kitsch as a common denominator of genres—this is the author’s position. Generally a novel Marciani— a collection of archetypes with an original modernization of mythology and folklore themes.

Marciani- from Kutaisi, I note this because this city does not cease to “supply” renovators of Georgian literature and the innovative spirit in it has not died out. After such prose writers as Rezo Cheishvili And Rezo Gabriadze, the best representatives of the next generations in force various reasons less visible in the literary arena. But they continue to create texts that, I am sure, will have a noticeable impact over time. literary process. Among these authors we must name Tsira Kurashvili (b. 1962). In her texts, it is especially worth noting the story “Don’t Look Back!” (2001) - shows the unbearable socio-political situation in the Georgian province recent years. This is done with rare inner openness and expression. The main feature of her writing style is the use of a stylized Imeretian dialect to achieve greater intensity in the narrative. Such a move is rarely seen in Georgian literature, where the dialect is usually used as humorous coloring ( N. Dumbadze, R. Cheishvili etc.). Such precedents can be found in Georgian prose of the early twentieth century, when the Mingrelian dialect served K. Gamsakhurdia and D. Shengelaya for the emotional load of the text. In this regard, the novel should be especially noted Demny Shengelaya“Sanavardo.”

Since the conversation turns to the use of dialect, you should definitely remember Beso Khvedelidze(b. 1972). He goes further in his experiments: his characters - native Tbilisi residents, busy with civil affairs and reflecting on current and eternal topics - for some reason speak in some strange dialect, similar to Kakheti. Such incompatibility makes it possible for the author to show the underside of the characters’ souls, their internal problems. At all Beso Khvedelidze is a very prolific author, he is not focused on any one topic or style. This author has a wild imagination, so the characters in his stories look more like phantoms and do not fall under known psychological schemes.

Georgian literature has always had taboo and sacred topics, and today, when young authors turn to them, it often causes a public scandal. A year ago, the biggest scandal of recent years broke out. At the center of it was the story Lashi Bugadze(b. 1977) “The First Russian” (2002). It tells about the first wedding night of Queen Tamara (she is now canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church) with Prince Yuri Bogolyubsky, who, as is known from Georgian historical chronicles, was a zoophile. But one thing is dry information lost in chronicles, and the other is her artistic description. Many Georgians took this story as an insult. It is likely that if it is translated into Russian, among Russian readers there will be those whose national pride will be hurt and who will try to explain the author’s intentions with political considerations. But I don’t think that when the author wrote this text, he was thinking about shocking, about scandal. U Bugadze the best stories are those that have been reworked biblical stories, historical events etc. (for example, his story “The Box” is about Noah’s Ark, his story “The Tree” is about Jesus’ donkey). He constantly works in this area, and the story “The First Russian” was no exception in this sense. On the other hand, the author still realized that he was being pushed to such an act by “satanic forces,” and expressed his attitude towards the plot of the work in its form: the story should be read from end to beginning, starting from the 5th chapter and ending with the 1st chapter. th, i.e. the reader must leaf through the text in reverse order. And, as the author says at the beginning (i.e. at the end) of the story, it is written this way because “everything to the contrary is from the devil” (Georgian proverb, which can be translated into Russian as “everything unrighteous is from the evil one”).

In modern Georgian literature there is a writer who is consciously oriented towards literary radicalism - this is Zaza Burchuladze(b. 1973), who at the first stage of his work published under the “Kafkaesque” pseudonym Gregor Samsa. He strives to talk about those things that it was not customary to talk about in our literature before. The Simpsons novel is based on the problem of homosexuality. But the characters of the famous animated series “The Simpsons” are concerned about this problem. The multiplicity and phantom nature of the characters makes the intonation ironic and the action grotesque. At the same time, the text is permeated, perhaps, with a somewhat deliberate, but still some kind of aggravated pain.

In the novel “Letter to Mother” (2002) main character writes to his mother from Tbilisi to Baku and openly talks about his intimate problems, starting from childhood. Nowhere is this stated directly, but it is felt that the mother is to blame for these problems. The premonition turns out to be correct, however, what happens at the end of the novel is completely unexpected - the hero insults his mother, scolds and curses her, and in the end last letter puts a big black dot, which is a poop dot.

Modern Georgian literature is quite strongly focused on destruction, perhaps this is just a reflection of modern reality, a reaction to it. But often this is done to attract the attention of readers and is not determined by the internal needs of the text. In this context, the role of authors bringing positive energy and spirituality, whose texts explore eternal themes, is increasing. In this regard, it is worth mentioning once again the Orthodox literary modernity David Kartvelishvili. I want to complete the inspection of the “new” ones as a servant of Lord Krishna Aleko Shugladze(b. 1965).

Recently, texts “made” using Buddhist, Zen Buddhist, Sufi, etc. have appeared in Georgian literature. practitioner But one gets the feeling that the appeal to these spiritual practices is for the sake of exoticism and fashion; the texts themselves are very superficial. You can't blame me for anything Shugladze. He “adjusts” the Eastern style of thinking to the Western style of writing. The story “Answers to a small-circulation publication” (1997) is one of the best in prose of the 90s. A character who considers himself Manuel suddenly discovers that everyone around him calls him Daniel, and falls into a passion. The hero begins to claim that he is Manuel. Accordingly, his family members, friends and the whole world fiercely prove to him that he is Daniel - and the entire story is structured as a development of this conflict. Both sides display great talent for speculative thinking. Both sides manage to counter the opponent’s strong arguments with logically and psychologically convincing counterarguments. Agree - very original literary device showing a split personality, thanks to which the story avoids schematicity. On the contrary, it acquires existentiality and metaphysics, which is often lacking even in our good literature.

2. Let's move on to the older generation.

Patriarch of Georgian literature, author of more than 20 novels, wonderful storyteller and unique stylist Otar Chkheidze(b. 1920) throughout his career carries out a project that would seem beyond the capabilities of a modern writer: he strives to become an artistic chronicler of Georgia in the 20th century. He moved purposefully, and gradually the interval between the year the new work was written and the events reflected in it shortened. Accordingly, documentary increased, and fiction became more and more subordinate to this documentary and became its literary coloring. In the 90s Otar Chkheidze“matched up” with chronology and went side by side with time with his novels. I had to write about modern Georgia during very difficult years: the civil war, the overthrow of Gamsakhurdia, lawlessness, the return of Shevardnadze... Otar Chkheidze followed these events, described them, starting with the novel “The Artistic Revolution”. The characters in the novel were members of parliament, ministers, public figures... But the writer did not limit himself to a documentary description of events. Using grotesquery and journalistic pathos, he directly expressed his political position and his attitude towards all characters painted from life. And it is not surprising that after the release of each of his novels, a scandal erupted. The prototypes of many characters felt insulted and expressed their indignation. Of course, when a writer stands on some political platform, this can make his works more or less biased. How accurate and ethical was Otar Chkheidze in his assessments - this will still have to be argued, but from a literary point of view latest novels Chkheidze are undoubtedly phenomenal: such a synthesis of documentary (one might even say hyper-documentary) and fiction, in my opinion, had not been in Georgian literature before.

Chkheidze finished his project, becoming an artistic chronicler of the 20th century, and took on the 21st century. His latest novel, “2001,” as the title suggests, describes the events of 2001. One of the active characters in it is Mikheil Saakashvili, the creator of the “Rose Revolution” and the current president of Georgia. I wonder if “2003” will be written and how famous events will be described in this work? In any case, it will turn out to be very interesting and useful for Georgian literature. And I am sure that readers are looking forward to such a work.

Another classic of Georgian literature, Otar Chiladze (b. 1933), with his novels traveled approximately the same road as Otar Chkheidze. In the sense that he, too, was gradually approaching an artistic understanding of modernity. Chiladze started from afar: his first novel “A Man Walked Along the Road” described mythological Georgia. Then the writer made a leap into the 19th century, the beginning of the 20th century, etc., until in his fifth novel “Avelum” (1993) he reached the present day. Avelum caused controversy unlike any of his previous novels. Some considered the new novel the pinnacle of his work, others considered it a failure. The reason was precisely that he turned to modernity for the first time and not quite the “ordinary Chiladze” appeared before the readers.

The novel describes the events of 1991-1992, but the main body draws Soviet period, the so-called Soviet intellectual, Soviet writer, who in reality is neither a Soviet intellectual nor a Soviet writer, but also not an obvious anti-Soviet element. It seems to me that writing this text for Chiladze was an existential act. For a writer who found himself in a new era, in a new society and in a new mental space, it became a matter of life and death to probe past life and evaluate it in the system of such absolute categories as freedom, love, courage. Otar Chiladze managed to do this: he created a generalized image of the Soviet intellectual - his contemporary. The novel’s end-to-end model is remarkable: the “empire of love” built by Avelum as a counterweight to the Soviet empire. The most radical manifestation of freedom for him is the creation of an “empire of love” and the presentation of himself as its emperor.

The aesthetics of the novel changes dramatically when the author begins to describe the years of the national movement and civil war. Here it is like artistic technique Chiladze uses loud press language and typical slogans. I think such an “avant-garde” turned out to be inorganic for Chiladze. The installation of newspaper clippings does not reflect the full range of emotional and psychological moods of that time. Multidimensional “ soviet characters”, passing into the post-Soviet period as types of newspaper cliches, collages, become flat and straightforward.

After “Avelum” a novel was published in 2003 Chiladze“Godori.” It also paints a portrait of a “Soviet writer.” But main character“Godori” Elizbar can no longer build his “empire of love” and live in illusions. His family includes a descendant of Kasheli, a monster family, whose story is surprisingly compactly and expressively told by the author on the very first pages of the novel. This genus symbolizes the entire Soviet system in its most evil manifestations. And the weakness and agony of Elizbar’s family is what Avelum accidentally escaped from, but many of his colleagues were not saved. Conceptually, “Avelum” and “Godori” can be considered a duology in which the two paths of the “Soviet writer” and the “Soviet intellectual” are shown.

After “Data Tutashkhia” we had to wait two decades for a new novel Chabua Amirejibi(b. 1921). It appeared in 1995. “Mount Mborgali” is a hymn sung to freedom, human endurance, and love of life. The novel describes another escape from a Siberian prison by Gora Mborgali, a man of about 60 who was sentenced to life imprisonment. In the terrible cold, in a blizzard, in ice and snow, through the tundra and taiga, Gora travels 2500 km in 5 months and remembers his life: prison years, youth, childhood... In addition, stories of old acquaintances and stories emerge in his memory about ancestors... All these episodes and paintings, strung along a 2500-kilometer plot axis, depict almost two centuries of the history of Georgia, its way of life and customs. The vast heterogeneous material integrated into the mind of Gore Mborgali makes this fugitive a symbolic character whose fate is similar to that of his country.

There is a second main character in the novel - the head of the Mytileniche search service, who is chasing Mborgali. The struggle between them in this context also takes on a symbolic character. The portrait of Mytilenić, his style of thinking and methods of searching are described so impressively that the Gora Mborgali-Mytilenić counterpoint makes the narrative fascinating.

The third novel was recently released Chabua Amirejibi “ Georgy the Brilliant.” I haven’t had time to read it yet, so I’ll immediately move on to another of our classics - Guram Dochanashvili.

Guram Dochanashvili(b. 1939) is an author who knows how to do everything with the Georgian language. And he's been doing it for decades. Influence Dochanashvili on the literary process is enormous. He opened new horizons, made the language surprisingly malleable and free. From his texts, many have learned and are learning how to cast spells over the word. But Dochanashvili is not satisfied with what has been achieved and moves on. In 2003, he released a huge novel “Church Block”, where his linguistic witchcraft crosses all boundaries: suffixes and prefixes are out of place, the phonetics of the word changes, composite words come in bulk, phrases are stretched out, then suddenly interrupted, a different syntax appears etc. Such a grandiose novel has not been written in Georgia for a long time, so, apart from language experiments, assessing all its semantic layers is not an easy task and requires a lot of effort. Therefore, for now I will limit myself to only this general characteristic and, for the sake of intrigue, I will add that a significant part of the novel is the ending, and there are seven endings in it.

Rezo Gabriadze(b. 1936) as a film scriptwriter and director of the puppet theater is well known throughout the world, including in Russia. You can expect everything from him, so it was not surprising that his two new small novels “Kutaisi - the city” (2002) and “Chito GK - 49-54, or the Doctor and the Patient” (2003) became an event in literary life Georgia. He recreates his hometown Kutaisi, which begins to live according to Gabriadze’s strange laws and concepts, and even the simplest actions of the characters are unique and forever remain in the minds of readers. For example, the main character of the first novel, Varlam, “in the old age of his childhood” is engaged in permanent barter: he either exchanges candy wrappers for bearings, or lemonade labels on a photograph of Tarzan, etc. And the magic of these barters is intertwined with the magic of the same simple actions other characters. These novels read like different parts of the same novel. And they are united by a character who acts in both texts - this is Ermonia, the guardian angel of the city of Kutaisi.

The novel is extremely overloaded with Russian “barbarisms,” but this does not make their style vulgar. On the contrary, transparent, figurative speech Gabriadze together with his signature humor, uses this global “barbarization” to create another phenomenal language in Georgian literature.

Naira Gelashvili(b. 1947), author of many short stories and the novel “Mother’s Room,” published the book “Autobiographical, Too Autobiographical” in 1999. The book combines texts of different types: the first part of the novel “Shards of the Mirror”, literary tales, poems, poems, etc. We can say that in modern Georgian literature she is a pronounced follower of existential, psychological prose of the European type. Interestingly, the protagonists of her works were almost always men. And this is not accidental: she always tried not to start from her “I” or even from the female “I”, but to objectify, generalize the problems posed, and analyze them in the philosophical and ideological discourse of our time. Therefore, at first glance, this book, as an orientation towards the “I”, is a radical change author's position. But if you look deeper, it turns out that the creative vector Naira Gelashvili remained the same, only this time she used her personal experience to achieve their artistic tasks.

“Shards of the Mirror” is a novel about childhood and adolescence. There are many such novels in world literature, but Naira Gelashvili managed to create a text that is not similar to these wonderful examples. The novel consists of small “shards”, and each “shard” is a parabola. “Too autobiographical” narrated episodes suddenly emotionally and reliably develop into something else, and childhood becomes material for the artistic illustration of moral and philosophical principles.

Nugzar Shataidze(b. 1944) is a magnificent storyteller, one of those writers who knows how to revive the language of his grandparents and convey the flavor of Georgian peasant speech. He can be considered the best successor of that line in Georgian prose, of which he is a classic Rezo Inanishvili. In 1999 Shataidze published “The Story of Bread”, and this text, written in his characteristic “elastic” language, became one of the strangest phenomena of Georgian literature last decade. This story tells how to bake different types of bread. It is explained in detail, with all the nuances: how to sift the flour, what type of wood to use to heat the oven, how to knead the dough, etc.

Formally, all this looks like a textbook, a scientific work, or even an ethnographic study, because many tools and objects, names and actions associated with baking Georgian bread no longer exist or are on the verge of extinction, and many of them are in literary Georgian in general had never appeared before. I think that over time the encyclopedic value of this story will become enormous, but at the same time it is an example of how today we can expand the boundaries of the already unimaginably expanded territory of literature. In “The Story of Bread” there is no plot at all, there is only daily bread and a person who has accumulated a huge body of knowledge about it. This harmony, this dynamic of the relationship between man and his daily bread creates literature, creates experimentation, which, in its essence, is natural.

In my opinion, it will be symbolic if we end our brief review with this story and wish Georgian literature that it will always be the daily bread of its people.

M.Yu. Lermontov went to the Caucasus on duty military service. The poet was assigned to the position of ensign in the Nizhny Novgorod Dragoon Regiment, stationed in Kakheti. He went to serve in April 1837 and arrived and arrived at the place 6 months later - in October. Meanwhile, the poet’s grandmother procured the transfer of her grandson to the Grodno Hussar Regiment, stationed in the Novgorod province.

Despite the short period of stay in Georgia, the impressions received left an indelible mark on the poet’s personality. About his life in the Caucasus you can find out the letters that he addressed to his friend Raevsky. In it, he described his difficult journey, the illness that befell him on the road, and also how he rode around the Caucasus Mountains on horseback, enjoying the clean mountain air and stunning scenery.

Lermontov brought a lot from his trip to the Caucasus graphic works. He “hurriedly filmed” picturesque places that he managed to visit and scenes from the life of the local population. History of the Caucasus, its folklore, life and splendor wildlife subsequently reflected in literary works, many of which take place in Georgia.

“Mtsyri”, “Demon”, “Hero of Our Time”, “Dispute”, “Gifts of the Terek”, “Tamara”, “Date”, “Hurrying to the North” and others. Where the action of the poem “Mtsyri” took place, at the entrance to Tbilisi today there is a monument to Mikhail Lermontov.

"View of Tiflis". M.Yu. Lermontov. Oil. 1837

Some Lermontov places in Tbilisi

On the northern outskirts of Tbilisi, where the Georgian Military Road adjoins, today there is a monument to Mikhail Lermontov.

In one of the central districts of Tbilisi there is Lermontov Street. The Lermontov House, where the officers were quartered, has been preserved.

Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin

Pushkin went to the Caucasus at the end of May 1829 to catch up with the troops of General Paskevich. This was the period of the Russian-Turkish War. The arrival in Georgia coincided with the writer’s 30th birthday. Residents of the city greeted the birthday boy with delight. In honor of the eminent poet, a luxurious festive banquet was held outside the city in the Krtsanisi garden, where dancers, singers and artists were invited from different parts of Georgia.

Pushkin was delighted with the mixture of Eastern and Western European cultures, from the hospitality of the local public and rich Georgian cuisine. In Tbilisi A.S. Pushkin was delayed for 2 weeks. We find a few lines about Tbilisi in his work “Travel to Arzrum”, written in 1829.

Pushkin places in Tbilisi

Sulfur Baths, Pushkin Street, bust of the poet in the park in front of the National Museum.

Pushkin was impressed by the beauty of the city, the atmosphere and revelry, as well as the incredible heat in the city at that time. As you know, Tbilisi means “warm city,” but Pushkin called it a “hot city.” Well, who doesn’t remember his famous lines about the Sulfur Baths:

I have never seen anything more luxurious than the Tiflis baths either in Russia or Turkey. I will describe them in detail...

Later, the street along which the poet entered Tbilisi was named after him. In 1892, a monument to Pushkin, cast in bronze, was erected on this street. The monument to Pushkin was erected with donations from fans of his work.

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy

“I firmly decided to stay to serve in the Caucasus. I don't know yet military service or civil under Prince Vorontsov.”

In the historical center of Tbilisi there is a house in which Leo Tolstoy began work on his famous story “Childhood” while living in Georgia in 1851-1852.

It has a bas-relief depicting the writer and a short accompanying text. Today the house has been restored and there is work in its basement. children's theater, but it still retains an amazing atmosphere mid-19th century - the wooden staircase along which Tolstoy walked, the peace and quiet of a cozy Tbilisi courtyard.

Leo Tolstoy and his brother arrived in the Caucasus to perform military service. They traveled along the Georgian Military Road, stopped in Kazbegi, and climbed to the medieval temple of the Holy Trinity Sameba on the top of the mountain. Having reached Tbilisi, Tolstoy was so impressed by the city that he seriously intended to stay here to live, serve and write, but fate turned out differently.

Tolstoy places

30 km from the capital of Georgia in the settlement of Mukhrovani, where Leo Tolstoy previously served, a monument to the poet was erected.

On the street “David IV the Builder” Agmashenebeli there is a house with a memorial plaque where Leo Tolstoy stayed with his brother.

Maxim Gorky

“I never forget that it was in this city (Tiflis) that I took the first hesitant step along the path that I have been walking for four decades now. One might think that it was the majestic nature of the country and the romantic softness of its people - it was these two forces - that gave me the impetus that made me a writer from a vagabond.”

According to Gorky’s personal admission, the nature of Georgia and the gentleness of its inhabitants gave him the impetus that shaped his personality, turning him “from a vagabond into a writer.” In 1892, the Tiflis newspaper “Caucasus” first published the prose “Makar Chudra” by the then unknown young writer Alexei Peshkov under the name Maxim Gorky.

This work was written on the banks of the Kura River, where the writer worked as a worker in the Transcaucasian railway workshops. In Tbiflis, Gorki even spent time in prison for anti-tsarist speeches in 1905.

Gorky’s subsequent work was greatly influenced by his life in Georgia, a local way of life. Many literary works are based on real life episodes - the story “Mistake”, “The Birth of Man” and others.

Gorky was very fond of Georgian chants and literature, and was actively interested in the culture of the country and its ancient architectural monuments. He loved to visit the Narikala fortress, Mtskheta and traveled a lot around the country.

In the place of Maxim Gorky

Streets in Georgian cities were named after Gorky, and in Tbilisi a monument to the writer was erected in a park that was previously named in his honor.

Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky

Georgia is the birthplace of the famous Russian poet. He was born in the Imeretian village of Bagdati, Kutaisi province, and lived there for the first 13 years of his life, studying at the Kutaisi gymnasium. However, he failed to finish it. Mayakovsky's father, who worked as a forester, pricked himself with a needle, received blood poisoning and soon died suddenly. Mayakovsky and his mother went to live in Moscow.

Mayakovsky came to Georgia 12 years later, already a famous poet. There, his performances on the local stage were triumphant, and meetings with friends from his youth took place. In 1924, Mayakovsky returned to his beloved Tiflis with the dream of organizing a production of the play “Mystery Bouffe”. Due to circumstances, the project failed. Mayakovsky visited Georgia 2 more times in 1924 and 1927, performed on the stage of the Shota Rustaveli Theater, and met with his bohemian friends.

According to his frequent confessions, he loved Georgia very much, and when asked by Georgians, he or a Russian answered that he was Georgian by birth, and Russian by nationality. And that he loves Georgia as his homeland - its sky, sun and nature.

According to Mayakovsky's places

Today in Kutaisi, near the building of the gymnasium where he once studied, a monument to Vladimir Mayakovsky is erected. The house in which he once lived with his parents has become a museum; more than 5.5 thousand exhibits are stored there. At the entrance to Baghdati there is a bust of the poet, and the city itself was called Mayakovsky until 1990.

Vladimir and Vasily Nemirovich-Danchenko

The brothers’ life path is closely connected with Georgia; they were both born in the Gurian town of Ozurgeti, and as children they traveled a lot around the country and the Caucasus Mountains with their father, an officer. IN teenage years younger brother Vladimir studied at the Tiflis gymnasium; during his studies, he began working on his first works and organized amateur productions of his own plays. In Tiflis he visited the theater for the first time, which determined his future fate.

The elder brother studied at the Moscow cadet school, and later came to Adjara to participate in Russian-Turkish war 1877-1878 Subsequently, many episodes of living in Georgia became the basis of his works, in particular, the book “Skobelev”.

Boris Leonidovich Pasternak

During his life, Boris Pasternak visited Tbilisi many times, starting in the summer of 1931. He was connected by close friendship with a whole constellation of brilliant Georgian cultural figures and Georgian writers - Titian Tabidze, Georgiy Leonidze, Nikoloz Mitsishvili, Simon Chikovani, Paolo Yashvili, Lado Gudiashvili, Valerian Gaprindashvili and others.

Pasternak himself was actively involved in translations literary works Georgian writers, in particular Titian Tabidze, Nikoloz Baratashvili, Vazha Pshavela, and also wrote a lot about Georgia and his impressions of it.

He madly loved Georgia, its culture, traditions, hospitality, its free spirit and atmosphere, its people. This was felt especially acutely against the backdrop of censorship, oppression and repression of poets in Russia by the ideological state machine.

It was in Georgia that Pasternak found like-minded people and friends, with whom they visited each other until the morning, read poetry, and had philosophical conversations. Favorite meeting places were the legendary Chimerioni cafe in the basement of the Rustaveli Theater, as well as the house of Titian Tabidze’s family on Griboyedov Street.

According to Pasternak himself, Georgia literally penetrated into him and became his organic element. His daughter had 13 godparents, all of whom were friends of her father. Now at Literary Museum Georgia houses an archive of Boris Pasternak's manuscripts, and in April 1988, the museum-apartment of Titian Tabidze was opened on Griboedovskaya Street, where the figure of Pasternak occupied one of the central places.

Sergey Yesenin

Sergei Yesenin, already at the zenith of his fame, first arrived in Tbilisi in 1924, a year before his death. He quickly fit into the bustling life in the company of his like-minded people - journalists from the Zarya Vostoka newspaper. The newspaper was happy to publish the poet’s poems.

In total, the poet spent about six months in Tbilisi and Batumi, writing a series of romantic poems from the cycle “Persian Motifs”, “Stanzas”, “Letter to a Woman”, “In the Caucasus” and two poems “Flowers” ​​and “Anna Snegina”.

Other names of Russian writers who visited Tbilisi

The list of iconic Russian writers whose fate was closely intertwined with Georgia could go on and on for a long time. Beautiful, warm Georgia was visited by such literary classics as Anton Chekhov, Sergei Yesenin, Dmitry Merezhkovsky, Anna Akhmatova, Joseph Brodsky, Bella Akhmadullina, and many others.

Georgia inevitably left its mark on their lives and works, and they, in turn, became part of cultural heritage of this country.

You can listen to fascinating stories full of interesting details about Russian writers in Georgia, see their places of residence, and also wander along the routes associated with the memory of them on the author’s excursion, which we organize with special love and inspiration. Join us and make amazing personal discoveries!

By the way, excursions to the front houses of a hundred years ago have become quite popular. Marble staircases, wrought iron railings, wall paintings give an idea of ​​the wealth of the owners of Tbilisi turn of XIX-XX centuries .