Giorgi Gvazava (April 23, 1869 – January 20, 1941) was a Georgian

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

 jurist, writer and politician; one of the founding members of the Georgian National Democratic Party

National Democratic Party (Georgia)

The National Democratic Party is a political party in Georgia.At the last legislative elections, 28 March 2004, the party was part of the National Democratic Alliance....

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Born in the village of Nokalakevi

Nokalakevi

Nokalakevi, also known as Archaeopolis, is a village and archaeological site in the Senaki municipality, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region, Georgia.- History :...

 in western Georgia, then under the Russian Empire

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

, Gvazava’s became involved in politics early in the 1890s when he was among the organizers of the Freedom League (თავისუფლების ლიგა, t’avisup’lebis liga), which coordinated Georgian student groups in the universities of the empire. He also published lyrics and wrote for local press. Later, he was a founding member of the Georgian National Democratic Party, more like a group in its early days, in 1906. Centered around various newspapers, the best known of which was klde (კლდე; "Rock"), the party held its founding congress in June 1917, in the aftermath of the February Revolution

February Revolution

The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...

 in St. Petersburg. Gvazava was a member of the Georgian National Council and its presidium. After Georgia’s declaration of independence

Democratic Republic of Georgia

The Democratic Republic of Georgia , 1918–1921, was the first modern establishment of a Republic of Georgia.The DRG was created after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917...

 (May 26, 1918), Gvazava was elected to the Constituent Assembly

Constituent Assembly of Georgia

The Constituent Assembly of Georgia was a national legislature of the Democratic Republic of Georgia which was elected in February 1919 to ratify the Act of Independence of Georgia and enact the Constitution of 1921...

 and headed the National Democratic faction there. The 1921 Red Army invasion of Georgia

Red Army invasion of Georgia

The Red Army invasion of Georgia also known as the Soviet–Georgian War or the Soviet invasion of Georgia was a military campaign by the Soviet Russian Red Army against the Democratic Republic of Georgia aimed at overthrowing the Social-Democratic government and installing the Bolshevik regime...

 forced Gvazava into exile to Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 where he died in 1941.

Gvazava authored works on the politics and international relations of Georgia. He also translated into Georgian Sophocles

Sophocles

Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides...

’s Antigone

Antigone

In Greek mythology, Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, Oedipus' mother. The name may be taken to mean "unbending", coming from "anti-" and "-gon / -gony" , but has also been suggested to mean "opposed to motherhood", "in place of a mother", or "anti-generative", based from the root...

(1912), Prometheus

Prometheus

In Greek mythology, Prometheus is a Titan, the son of Iapetus and Themis, and brother to Atlas, Epimetheus and Menoetius. He was a champion of mankind, known for his wily intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals...

(1935), Crébillon

Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon

Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon was a French poet and tragedian.-Life and works:He was born in Dijon, where his father, Melchior Jolyot, was notary-royal. Having been educated at the Jesuit school in the town, and afterwards at the Collège Mazarin. He became an advocate, and was placed in the office...

’s Rhadamiste

Rhadamistus

Rhadamistus was an Iberian prince who reigned in Armenia from 51 to 53 and 54 to 55 CE. Considered to be an usurper and tyrant, he was overthrown in a rebellion supported by the Parthian Empire.- Life :...

 et Zénobie (1929), and Racine

Jean Racine

Jean Racine , baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine , was a French dramatist, one of the "Big Three" of 17th-century France , and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition...

’s Mithridate

Mithridate (Racine)

Mithridate is a tragedy in five acts in Alexandrine verse by Jean Racine.-Background and History:...

(1934). In 1938, together with Anie Marcel-Paon, Gvazava produced a French translation in prose of the medieval Georgian epic The Knight in the Panther's Skin

The Knight in the Panther's Skin

The Knight in the Panther's Skin is an epic poem, consisting of over 1600 shairi quatrains, was written in the 12th century by the Georgian epic-poet Shota Rustaveli, who was a Prince and Treasurer at the royal court of Queen Tamar of Georgia. The Knight in the Panther's Skin is often seen as...

(L'homme à la peau de léopard) by Shota Rustaveli

Shota Rustaveli

Shota Rustaveli was a Georgian poet of the 12th century, and one of the greatest contributors to Georgian literature. He is author of "The Knight in the Panther's Skin" , the Georgian national epic poem....

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