CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VII (1, 2) Contemporary-Eurasia-3new | Page 143

ZURAB TARGAMADZE
pendence. Formation of a new national narrative was conducted in a form
of patriotic spirit and protection of home territories, its historical borders,
the idea of autochthony of Georgians and faith to it, including the claim
that the others had not been there. Thevast majority of these slogans were
well known for a Soviet version of Georgian nationalism too, but now
they came to life and started real action. In parallel, the Soviet myths about
Georgian – Abkhazian and Georgian – Ossetian idyll, were still existing. 34
Keeping the faith, that they have nothing to fi ght with Abkhazians, Osse-
tians and anyone,hashelped to overcome complex of late nations.
So, we should not be surprised that the confl icts are perceived diff er-
ently in a modern Georgian community and that there are contradictory
opinions parallel to each other. You can meet people, who categorically
deny the basis of ethnic confrontation. They believe that those are the
processes, which are clearly externally managed. However, it is interest-
ing that when the same people are asked to characterize, for example, Os-
setians, Abkhazians or even other ethnic minorities according to specifi c
features that are salient only for those ethno-cultures, it becomes diffi cult
to select positive evaluations, which will indicate the narrator’s sincere
benevolence. We can fi nd controversial discussions in modern studies as
well. For example, one of the Georgian authors, who discusses the history
of Georgian – Abkhazian relationship, despite his claim that the contro-
versy is inspired by the third force only, points out at the end of his book:
We cannot say that there were no conditions – political, social-eco-
nomic, religious and others for the controversy of Georgians and Abkha-
zians, which became a fact at the beginning of this century and subse-
quently deepened. 35
Today does not have any signifi cance what kind of political, cultural
and genetic transformations were experienced by Abkhazians and Osse-
tians really. The fact is that the political claims of Abkhazian and Osse-
tian people, though, in our opinion they do not have any objective basis,
are established on such historical and ethno-cultural concepts.
In 1993, a signifi cant part of Georgian society opposed the nostalgia
of a big Russian brother and a better life, activated as a result of a coup,
civil confl ict and economic collapse, with a radical understanding of na-
tionhood. In such conditions, the issue of ethnic minorities took on the
role of society unifi er again. We can say that all the variations forming the
34
35
M. Gaprindashvili, et al., For the distortion of the Georgian-Abkhazian relations 3, 68; Ga-
makharia, From the history of Georgian-Abkhazian relations, 131; Totadze,The Ossets in
Georgia: Myth and Reality, 5, 35. (accessed at: http://darbr.webs.com/OSETI_latinuri.pdf
and others.
Gamakharia, From the history of Georgian-Abkhazian relations, 132.
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