Papers of the Struggle for the Strengthening the National Identity. In the Archives of Georgian Public Figures
Keywords:
National Identity; Georgian Public Figures; Emigrant Archives; Imperial Regime; Authentic Heritage.Abstract
The article examines the struggle for the consolidation of national identity reflected in the archives of outstanding Georgian public figures of the 19th-20th centuries. The unfiltered and authentic narratives documented in personal letters and other archival material provide a clear picture of the challenges faced by a nation caught in the grips of an imperial regime and the daily efforts Georgian figures made to overcome these difficulties.
The documentary material presents the efforts of scientists-historians, writ-ers, and many Georgian representatives of the Russian military-bureaucratic elite to resolve various issues related to the preservation of national identity, namely: to restore the autocephaly of the Georgian Orthodox Church, To increase the rights of the Georgian language in the educational system, to publish Georgian books, to preserve the items of the national spiritual and material culture, to increase the awareness of Georgia abroad, etc.
The emigrant archives, which were handed over to Georgia after the col-lapse of the Soviet Union, provide information about how Georgian emigrants abroad, escaping the Soviet regime, tried to establish a patriotic narrative different from the imperial one prevailing at that time. This cultural diplomacy, while still part of the empire, created the conditions for the rejection of the self-absorbed imperial heritage and the rise of nationalism based on a healthy, authentic herit-age.
The issue is studied based on the personal letters of Platon Yoseliani, Dimi-tri Bakradze, Zakaria Chichinadze, Theodore Jordania, Grigol Orbeliani, and the materials of the emigrant archive.
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