Page 159 - Vinkler, Jonatan, Ana Beguš and Marcello Potocco. Eds. 2019. Ideology in the 20th Century: Studies of literary and social discourses and practices. Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 159
Play, Chaos and Autonomy in the Poetry of Hungarians in Voivodina (Uj Symposion) 159
of determining identities: the acute issue of ethnic identity fell into obliv-
ion for a long period.
Moreover, the dictatorship distorted the interpretation of the texts by
classic Georgian writers. During the war, one can observe that the process
of returning to the works of classic nineteenth-century Georgian writers
such as Ilia Chavchavadze (1837–1907), Akaki Tsereteli (1840–1915), Al-
eksandre Qazbegi (1848–1893), and Vazha–Pshavela (1861–1915) was ne-
glected against the background of post-revolutionary passions, and, when
they were used as a reference, they were reinterpreted against the grain of
new revolutionary thought. This was a deliberate ideological maneuver:
Soviet criticism ‘diligently’ rewrote the strategies of romantic, realist, and
even modernist classical texts that had previously served as a cultural-lit-
erary reference for Georgian national identity, and it reduced the issue of
ethnic identity to the level of education. This spirit immediately spread to
visual art (theatre, cinema, and painting), resulting in narrative patterns
that were ‘modernized’ according to the Soviet pattern in both literary
texts and visual art. Films such as Otaraant Qvrivi (Otar’s Widow) and
Glakhis Naambobi (The Story of a Beggar) are perfect examples of this
reduction. Both examples are especially noteworthy because both movies
are adaptations of texts written by the aforementioned Chavchavadze, a
representative of critical realism. However, even when visual art did not
draw on the preceding literary text, during the Second World War Sovi-
et power was assisted by scriptwriters and playwrights that devoted spe-
cial attention to the heroism of the Soviet people, or entertained audiences
with light naive comedies.
Against this background, it was obvious that every step against the
flow was punished severely. In 1942 the young but already well-known
writer Kote Khimshiashvili was shot for participating in an anti-Soviet
conspiracy. Twenty promising Georgians were shot along with him. The
incident is known as the Samanelebi Case. At the beginning of the Sec-
ond World War, an anti-Soviet underground organization called Sama-
ni was established; the organization brought together young nationalists
and its aim was to overthrow the Soviet regime and to restore the inde-
pendence of Georgia and private property in Georgia.
The Second World War gave rise to young authors and poets such as
Lado Asatiani (1917–1943), Alexandre Sajaia (1916–1944), and Mirza Ge-
lovani (1917–1944). All of them died before the end of the Second World
War. Their verses were mostly dedicated to their motherland or beloved
Tbilisi, to friendship, or to love and beauty. Their poetry thus changed
the point of view of the lyrical narrator from the distant and often pa-
of determining identities: the acute issue of ethnic identity fell into obliv-
ion for a long period.
Moreover, the dictatorship distorted the interpretation of the texts by
classic Georgian writers. During the war, one can observe that the process
of returning to the works of classic nineteenth-century Georgian writers
such as Ilia Chavchavadze (1837–1907), Akaki Tsereteli (1840–1915), Al-
eksandre Qazbegi (1848–1893), and Vazha–Pshavela (1861–1915) was ne-
glected against the background of post-revolutionary passions, and, when
they were used as a reference, they were reinterpreted against the grain of
new revolutionary thought. This was a deliberate ideological maneuver:
Soviet criticism ‘diligently’ rewrote the strategies of romantic, realist, and
even modernist classical texts that had previously served as a cultural-lit-
erary reference for Georgian national identity, and it reduced the issue of
ethnic identity to the level of education. This spirit immediately spread to
visual art (theatre, cinema, and painting), resulting in narrative patterns
that were ‘modernized’ according to the Soviet pattern in both literary
texts and visual art. Films such as Otaraant Qvrivi (Otar’s Widow) and
Glakhis Naambobi (The Story of a Beggar) are perfect examples of this
reduction. Both examples are especially noteworthy because both movies
are adaptations of texts written by the aforementioned Chavchavadze, a
representative of critical realism. However, even when visual art did not
draw on the preceding literary text, during the Second World War Sovi-
et power was assisted by scriptwriters and playwrights that devoted spe-
cial attention to the heroism of the Soviet people, or entertained audiences
with light naive comedies.
Against this background, it was obvious that every step against the
flow was punished severely. In 1942 the young but already well-known
writer Kote Khimshiashvili was shot for participating in an anti-Soviet
conspiracy. Twenty promising Georgians were shot along with him. The
incident is known as the Samanelebi Case. At the beginning of the Sec-
ond World War, an anti-Soviet underground organization called Sama-
ni was established; the organization brought together young nationalists
and its aim was to overthrow the Soviet regime and to restore the inde-
pendence of Georgia and private property in Georgia.
The Second World War gave rise to young authors and poets such as
Lado Asatiani (1917–1943), Alexandre Sajaia (1916–1944), and Mirza Ge-
lovani (1917–1944). All of them died before the end of the Second World
War. Their verses were mostly dedicated to their motherland or beloved
Tbilisi, to friendship, or to love and beauty. Their poetry thus changed
the point of view of the lyrical narrator from the distant and often pa-
