CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VII (1, 2) Contemporary-Eurasia-3new | Page 139

ZURAB TARGAMADZE
Naturally, Vakhushti mentions the positive facts about the Abkhazians
and Ossetians, but mostly about their external physical characteristics and
not about the qualitative, cultural and ethnic characteristics, which could
have a positive infl uence on formation of the mood of Georgian community.
It should be noted, that Vakhushti was the representative of the Kartli
ruling dynasty, whose avowed goal was to restore the united statehood of
Georgia. In this period, many important and pragmatic steps were taken
both in the foreign and internal aff airs. The Description of the Georgian
Kingdom by Vakhushti was the text, which could and even should have
become a textbook for the political leaders of the kingdoms and principal-
ities of Georgia in the future.
When the author underlines his own task to develop unifi ed conscious-
ness, especially such emphasis about the issue of ethnic minorities, he
makes us think that the goal of the author was to limit the Georgian eth-
no-cultural space, where as we can see did not leave the place for Ab-
khazians and Ossetians. Considering the above mentioned facts, we mean
establishment of printing house, forming educational system and so on,
we think, that the cultural movement, which has been developed during
the 18th century, at least for the last decades of the century, overgrown to
nationalism.
As for the next periods Ilia Chavchavadze, in his lifetime referred as
father of Georgian nation, developed the concepts which were used in
18th century too. The diff erence was, that if in the e18th century elites
were more faithful to these ideas, in the second half of 19th century,
thanks to the printed media, they became public. 23 That time was dis-
tinguished by even the fact that, if in the early period, especially for the
beginning of the genesis of the ideas of Georgian nationalism, this ideas
were focused on the ethnic, religious and cultural unity (and it must be so
at this time), later for balance, Ilia Chavchavadze installed the idea of the
common historical past into the core of Georgian nationalism. 24
On May 26, 1918 by establishing the Democratic Republic of Geor-
gia, essentially a new stage started in the history of the Georgian national-
ism. The existed situation was interesting from various points of view. By
foundation of the state, the Georgian nationalistic project was put to the
test. Also, it was interesting that the privilege of foundation the state fell
to the Mensheviks wing of the social-democrats. Especially, on the back-
ground of the strained nationalistic sentiments and regional political con-
23
24
Aleksandre Gabisonia, “Formation of the Georgian National Discourse,” Identity Studies #4,
(2012): 70-71.
Mariam Ckhartishvili, Ketevan Mania, Coverage of the Process of the Georgian National
Consolidation in print Media: Georgians as Readers of Iveria, Volumes IV, part. I. (Tbilisi:
Universali, 2011), 539.
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