Giorgi Eristavi (Georgian: áƒ'ირრáƒ'ი áƒ"áƒ
ისთრვი) (1813 â€" September 9, 1864) was a Georgian
playwright, poet, journalist, and the founder of modern Georgian
theatre.Prince Giorgi Eristavi was born in the village of Odzisi (near
Dusheti) of a prominent noble family, who had once served as the
eristavi ("duke") of Ksani for the kings of Georgia. He received his
early education in Tiflis and Moscow. On return to Georgia, he became
involved with the underground society which plotted a coup against the
Imperial Russian rule. He had his first poem published in 1832. This
was An Ossetic Tale (რსური მრთხრრáƒ'რ; revised
and republished as Zare and Qanimat, ზრრáƒ" áƒ"áƒ
ყრნიმრთ, in 1853), a story of ill-fated lovers set
against the background of the struggle of Georgian and Ossetian
mountaineers against the Persian armies of Shah Abbas I in the 17th
century.[1]After the collapse of the anti-Russian plot in 1832,
Eristavi spent a year in prison and four years as an exiled
infantryman in Wilno (now Vilnius, Lithuania), where he mastered
Polish and came under the influence of Adam Mickiewicz's Romanticism.
In 1842, he was able to permanently return to Georgia where he married
and joined the Russian civil service soon to become assistant to the
Viceroy of the Caucasus Mikhail Vorontsov. Under the patronage of this
liberal viceroy, Eristavi took charge of the Georgian theatre in
Tiflis, dormant since 1795.[1]The company premiered on January 1, 1851
and was later able to stage its performances in the new theatre
building in the city’s central square. He almost single-handedly
created and directed a troupe and wrote first actable comedies â€"
original as well as translated â€" in which he himself took leading
parts. He also created and edited the 24 issues of the literary
journal Tsiskari ("Down") and, under the pseudonym Glukharich (Russian
for "son of the deaf, or capercaillie"), wrote the first literary
reviews. In spite of Eristavi’s loyal service in the Russian
administration, the imperial government as well as the eroding system
of Georgian aristocracy was a frequent subject of indignation and
satire in his best plays such as The Lawsuit (áƒ"რვრ; 1840), and
The Family Settlement (áƒ'რყრრ; 1849). Eristavi boldly attacks
a degenerating Georgian noble, who has lost all of his ideals and has
much envy and anger, exploiting his serfs; a corrupt Russian
bureaucrat and an Armenian money-lender who exploit the feuding
gentry; and treats the newer, Russian-educated generation of idealist
liberals with condescending sympathy. These plays had a popular
support and were tolerated by Vorontsov.[1][2]
ისთრვი) (1813 â€" September 9, 1864) was a Georgian
playwright, poet, journalist, and the founder of modern Georgian
theatre.Prince Giorgi Eristavi was born in the village of Odzisi (near
Dusheti) of a prominent noble family, who had once served as the
eristavi ("duke") of Ksani for the kings of Georgia. He received his
early education in Tiflis and Moscow. On return to Georgia, he became
involved with the underground society which plotted a coup against the
Imperial Russian rule. He had his first poem published in 1832. This
was An Ossetic Tale (რსური მრთხრრáƒ'რ; revised
and republished as Zare and Qanimat, ზრრáƒ" áƒ"áƒ
ყრნიმრთ, in 1853), a story of ill-fated lovers set
against the background of the struggle of Georgian and Ossetian
mountaineers against the Persian armies of Shah Abbas I in the 17th
century.[1]After the collapse of the anti-Russian plot in 1832,
Eristavi spent a year in prison and four years as an exiled
infantryman in Wilno (now Vilnius, Lithuania), where he mastered
Polish and came under the influence of Adam Mickiewicz's Romanticism.
In 1842, he was able to permanently return to Georgia where he married
and joined the Russian civil service soon to become assistant to the
Viceroy of the Caucasus Mikhail Vorontsov. Under the patronage of this
liberal viceroy, Eristavi took charge of the Georgian theatre in
Tiflis, dormant since 1795.[1]The company premiered on January 1, 1851
and was later able to stage its performances in the new theatre
building in the city’s central square. He almost single-handedly
created and directed a troupe and wrote first actable comedies â€"
original as well as translated â€" in which he himself took leading
parts. He also created and edited the 24 issues of the literary
journal Tsiskari ("Down") and, under the pseudonym Glukharich (Russian
for "son of the deaf, or capercaillie"), wrote the first literary
reviews. In spite of Eristavi’s loyal service in the Russian
administration, the imperial government as well as the eroding system
of Georgian aristocracy was a frequent subject of indignation and
satire in his best plays such as The Lawsuit (áƒ"რვრ; 1840), and
The Family Settlement (áƒ'რყრრ; 1849). Eristavi boldly attacks
a degenerating Georgian noble, who has lost all of his ideals and has
much envy and anger, exploiting his serfs; a corrupt Russian
bureaucrat and an Armenian money-lender who exploit the feuding
gentry; and treats the newer, Russian-educated generation of idealist
liberals with condescending sympathy. These plays had a popular
support and were tolerated by Vorontsov.[1][2]
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