Doctor of Historical Sciences
Chief Research Fellow
Tamaz Beradze Institute of Georgian Studies, the University of Georgia
Tbilisi, Georgia
ORCID: 0009-0000-3569-8363
dodochumburidze@yahoo.com

The Main Paradigm of Georgian Historical Thought at the End of the 19th and the Beginning of the 20th Century and Giorgi Tsereteli

The end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century was, in many respects, a fascinating era—an age of the emergence and confrontation of new ideas and ideologies, the formation of new concepts and systems of thought. The main paradigm of Georgian historical thought of this period was defined, on the one hand, by the interpretation of the national project of the 1860s in relation to historical studies, and on the other, by the introduction of Marxist-socialist ideology into historical thinking. Within the context of reconciliation or confrontation between these two directions, new political consciousness and new tendencies of national and global thought emerged, which had a profound influence on the subsequent development of Georgian historiography.

From the second half of the 19th century, Georgia underwent significant transformations. Infrastructure developed; the construction of the railway network expanded means of communication, connected various regions of the country, and stimulated economic growth. Telegraphy became a new form of communication, and in the 1860s–70s, telephone lines connected Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Poti, Telavi, and other district centers. The postal network was also expanded. Territories previously seized by the Ottoman Empire were returned to Georgia. The functioning of new economic systems and the emergence of a new socio-cultural space inevitably influenced public consciousness and contributed to the shaping of new directions in Georgian historical thought.

From the 1890s onward, Marxist doctrine and social-democratic ideology began to spread in Georgia. In 1892–1893, a Social-Democratic organization was officially established in the country. Georgian Social-Democrats used the newspaper Kvali (“Trace”) to promote their ideas. From 1898, the newspaper became the property of the Marxists. The so-called “Third Group” (mesame dasi) strongly opposed the worldview of the tergdaleulebi (“those who had drunk from the Terek”), condemned the ideology of reconciliation between social estates and the “common soil” theory, and declared class struggle to be the primary means of national development.

Despite their preaching of internationalism, Georgian Social-Democrats still offered the people solutions to problems on a national basis. They believed that nationalism and socialism were not mutually exclusive but complementary. Socialism was particularly attractive in Georgia because it offered hope of putting an end to colonialism, exploitation by foreign landowners, and both social and regional divisions.

The methodology of historical research became more refined. European research methods were applied on a broader scale; greater emphasis was placed on the in-depth study of historical sources, the method of comparison and correlation, and the integration of auxiliary historical disciplines into research. Special significance was acquired by the use of archaeological and ethnological materials—both material and narrative. The scientific depth of historiographical works increased. All of this rested upon the extensive collecting and searching activities that Georgian historians had been carrying out since the 1850s–1860s.

During this period, the well-known theory of groups (dasebi) emerged in Georgian historiography, formulated by the historian and writer Giorgi Tsereteli. Although this theory was not universally accepted—neither in his own time nor today—it nonetheless held an important place in Georgian historiographical studies, particularly in Soviet historiography. The article discusses the tendencies of unity and confrontation that Giorgi Tsereteli and his journal pursued in relation to Ilia Chavchavadze and the group devoted to national ideology.

 

Keywords: Georgian historiography, Marxism and Social Democracy, national ideology, theory of groups (dasebi), historical methodology.