Page 171 - 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. 171
The Forbidden Homeland:
Viktor Nozadze’s Scholarly
Activity from the Soviet
Ideological Viewpoint
Maka Elbakidze
“Every Georgian abroad is a representative of his nation” (Nozadze,
1958): these are the words of the Georgian emigre writer and scholar Vik-
tor Nozadze (1893–1975), who was doomed to live in exile.1 His crea-
tive maturity coincided with the period when the authorities in Geor-
gia, which came under Communist rule in 1921, blocked the way for all
that could not adapt to the new political system. The path of his dramatic
life covers a fairly wide geographical area: France, Germany, Austria, Ar-
gentina, Chile, Brazil, Spain, and finally again France. During his thirty
years of wanderings, completely alone without financial support, he cre-
ated six monumental volumes devoted to the main issues in The Knight
in the Panther’s Skin (Georgian: Vepkhistqaosani), a medieval romance by
Shota Rustaveli.2
1 This article was prepared as part of the grant project (N 217512) “Bolshevism and
Georgian Literature from World War II to the Twentieth Congress of the Commu-
nist Party of the Soviet Union (1941–1956),” financially supported by the Shota
Rustaveli National Science Foundation.
2 The Knight in the Panther’s Skin is a medieval romance (1187–1207) by Shota Rus-
taveli, who is believed to have been Queen Tamar’s (1189–1210) royal treasurer. The
plot of the romance unfolds through an Oriental-type framework adapted to Geor-
gian conditions. The social relations of late medieval Georgia described in The Knight
in the Panther’s Skin, called self-and-master relations, are similar to vassalage in me-
dieval feudal Europe. The supreme master of the country is the king (Rostevan in
Arabia and Saridan in India). The king has many serfs or vassals; that is, noble feu-
dal lords (Avtandil, an army commander of Arabia, and Tariel, the prince of the sev-
enth Kingdom of India), who are obliged to respect, obey, and faithfully serve their
Viktor Nozadze’s Scholarly
Activity from the Soviet
Ideological Viewpoint
Maka Elbakidze
“Every Georgian abroad is a representative of his nation” (Nozadze,
1958): these are the words of the Georgian emigre writer and scholar Vik-
tor Nozadze (1893–1975), who was doomed to live in exile.1 His crea-
tive maturity coincided with the period when the authorities in Geor-
gia, which came under Communist rule in 1921, blocked the way for all
that could not adapt to the new political system. The path of his dramatic
life covers a fairly wide geographical area: France, Germany, Austria, Ar-
gentina, Chile, Brazil, Spain, and finally again France. During his thirty
years of wanderings, completely alone without financial support, he cre-
ated six monumental volumes devoted to the main issues in The Knight
in the Panther’s Skin (Georgian: Vepkhistqaosani), a medieval romance by
Shota Rustaveli.2
1 This article was prepared as part of the grant project (N 217512) “Bolshevism and
Georgian Literature from World War II to the Twentieth Congress of the Commu-
nist Party of the Soviet Union (1941–1956),” financially supported by the Shota
Rustaveli National Science Foundation.
2 The Knight in the Panther’s Skin is a medieval romance (1187–1207) by Shota Rus-
taveli, who is believed to have been Queen Tamar’s (1189–1210) royal treasurer. The
plot of the romance unfolds through an Oriental-type framework adapted to Geor-
gian conditions. The social relations of late medieval Georgia described in The Knight
in the Panther’s Skin, called self-and-master relations, are similar to vassalage in me-
dieval feudal Europe. The supreme master of the country is the king (Rostevan in
Arabia and Saridan in India). The king has many serfs or vassals; that is, noble feu-
dal lords (Avtandil, an army commander of Arabia, and Tariel, the prince of the sev-
enth Kingdom of India), who are obliged to respect, obey, and faithfully serve their
