Last year the Georgian people celebrated the one hundredth anniversary
of the annexation of its country to the dominion of the Great White
Tsar. These past one hundred years have been an era of uninterrupted
and prosperous development of this nation of chivalry and heroism as
well as loyalty and devotion to a great and good cause. In the third
century A. D., the Georgians were converted to Christianity by Saint
Nina. Ever since they have been a mighty fortress of christendom
amidst wild and fanatic Mahometan tribes. Many a time their loyalty
to their faith was sorely tried by the unparalleled cruelty of the
Turks and Persians. Their capital was destroyed again and again,
their churches ransacked and they commanded to tread upon the holy
images which they venerated from childhood upwards. But even in such
a terrible moment the Georgians showed themselves worthy of their all
glorious traditions and thousands found their death in the River Koura
at Tiflis, their chosen capital. For centuries this little nation
of heroes battled with the Infidels and great was their distress,
almost overcome by the gigantic forces of savage enemies, when a
protector appeared in the north and re-established law and order,
confidence and happiness. Seeing that it was essential to assure a
permanent security, the ruler of Georgia asked in the name of his
people to be annexed to the Motherhood of Orthodox Nations.
I here reproduce a translation from the Russian of the reply of
Alexander I. Parlovitch, Emperor of all the Russias (1801):
"Not to increase our forces, not for the gain and extension of ours,
the mightiest empire in the world, do we take upon ourselves the
burden of the administration of the Georgian kingdom. Worthiness,
honor, and humanity alone place on us the holy duty to establish in
Georgia a government which may found righteousness, safety, and give
every one protection of the law."
Those are the noble terms of one of Russia's noblest rulers, and
upon them is based the policy of the administration in regard to the
Georgians. The Georgians, being of the same faith as the Russians,
sympathize with the latter and are nowadays both a bulwark of the
orthodox church and of the true Russian conservative governmental
spirit. In the wars of 1853-56 and 1877-78 they fully proved their
perfect fidelity and chivalrous readiness to assist their great
deliverers against the Turks. The men of Georgia are renowned for their
heroism, while the women of that country are the most beautiful in the
world. The chief occupations of the Georgians are: pasturing, farming,
jewelry work, silk-manufacturing, and wine-growing. The Georgians,
taken as a whole, receive a considerable amount of education, and
their newspapers, several of which are published at Tiflis, are very
good. The leading paper is the "Iveria" (i. e., Georgia). Tiflis,
the traditional capital of Georgia, is a city of 180,000 inhabitants,
among whom are 33,000 Georgians proper. A number of other tribes or
nationalities such as the Imeretians, Gourians, Mingrelians, Wanetes,
Khevsoures, etc., also belong to what is called the Georgian family
of nations. The greatest poet of Georgia is Prince Kazbek. Among the
grand old families we find the Orbelians, who trace their ancestry
back to an emperor of China, the Chavchavadzes, the Growzinskys,
Bgaration-Moukranskys, Amilakvaris, Tsitsianovs, and many others,
all of whom have rendered their native land incomparable services and
deserve the highest praise. The author of the legends which I have
attempted to translate, is a native Georgian, Mr. A. Goulbat, now
living in Central Russia and leading a literary life. He is filled
with enthusiasm for his native land and its valiant inhabitants. I
have tried as well as I knew how to translate the legends in the same
spirit as the author wrote them in the original, which was Russian.
Sergei de Wesselitsky-Bojidarovitch.