THE INSTRUMENTALIZATION OF ILIA CHAVCHAVADZE’SFIGURE IN GEORGIA (1980-2024)

Abstract

The present article examines the instrumentalization of Ilia Chavchavadze’s figure in Georgia from 1980 to 2024, exploring its role in shaping Georgian politics and culture. This paper will establish whether Chavchavadze was central to these processes by considering elements that have had the most profound influence upon historical discourses over the legacy of the aforementioned. The hypothesis posits that Georgian society has created competing models of Ilia Chavchavadze and has caused problems for national consolidation. These manipulations, which began in Soviet times, have continued until today through different collective memories. The recent data underlined not only the coexistence of different discourses about Chavchavadze but also cultural divergences reflecting the country’s civilizational choice. The relevance of the problem is based on attempts by many people and groups in the country to make the great figure a symbol of the real continuation of Ilia Chavchavadze’s legacy as a way for the renewal of Georgian culture and politics. These efforts gained significant momentum in 2022-2024, when Georgia was seeking integration into the European Union. Although the figure himself is very significant, until now there has been no scholarly research focused on his instrumentalization in this regard. The greater part of the text gives examples from other countries and discloses insights by foreign researchers who studied the instrumentalization of national figures. To support the hypothesis, the paper uncovers the mechanisms of identification used by populist movements for legitimizing their agenda and shows how these efforts have shaped public perceptions of Ilia Chavchavadze in Georgia.