Peculiarities of the Reception of Ilia Chavchavadze's Work and Murder in Guram Batiashvili's Play "Returned Georgians"

Abstract

Guram Batiashvili entered the writing arena in the 60s of the 20^th century, when many significant trends were developed in Georgian literature and highly impressive texts were created in almost all genres. The publicist, prose writer and dramatist immediately attracted attention by his artistic interpretation of Georgian-Jewish relations, the originality of the solution, and his directness. In this regard, both novels and dramaturgical works should be noted. The play "Returned Georgians", which depicts the vicissitudes related to the murder of Ilia Chavchavadze, is no exception. The artistic embodiment of an outstanding thinker in Georgian literature turned out to be especially significant in modern Georgian writing, which was facilitated by the historical changes at the end of the 20^th century. It is true that the "murder of the century" has already been studied quite well, but the emotional attitude towards Ilia’s tragic end does not change. Artistic representation contributes to the in-depth understanding of Ilia's work and gaining an insight into the essence of true values, which is equally important even today. Modern Georgian authors, including Guram Batiashvili, participate in this continuous process.