Literary Reflections of Georgian Authors on the 2008 August War

Abstract

The article is focused on post-Soviet Georgian-Russian relations as reflected in Georgian fiction and essays, as well as on gender-related problems in literary texts created after the 2008 Russian-Georgian war. 

Keeping in mind that in the pre-Soviet period, Georgian literature was the main space for anti-colonial discourse, it seems logical that at the time of national protests against Russia following the 2008 events, Georgian literature of the Colonial Period was concentrating on topical issues, as a way of preparing the nation for a new reality, and fulfilling its mission of cultural reorientation.

I apply post-colonial theory to conduct an analysis of the cultural turn occurring in post-Soviet Georgia, by examining a number of mental, political, and social problems, as well as ethnic conflicts within the country, as reflected in Georgian fiction and non-fiction. The post-Soviet/post-colonial goals and challenges for Georgian literature, as shown in the study, are related to several significant issues: rethinking the experience of Russian domination in the country; establishing a new understanding of Georgian national identity; rethinking Soviet stereotypes; detaching from the mentality of the subaltern; detaching from the status of postcolonial/post-Soviet nation, and establishing itself as a fully functioning society.

This article discusses the present milieu which is highlighted by a clear division in the national psyche into pre-war (before 2008) and post-war (after 2008) social and political tendencies. My aim is to show how literary reflection on this conflict can contribute to the understanding of the social and political situation. I will discuss the following literary texts, inspired by the 2008 August war: Fiction – O. Chiladze “Clouds”; D.-D.Gogibedashvili “Gardens”; D. Turashvili “Once Upon a Time”; G. Megrelishvili “Irrata.ru”; T. Melashvili “Counting Out”; Z. Burchuladze “Adibas”; B. Janikashvili “War Play”; L. Bughadze “Literature Express”; D. Barbakadze “On Perkhuli Dance”; Short Fiction: T. Sukhitashvili “In the Back”; K. Jandieri “Globalization”; T. Pkhakadze Kitchen Gardening in the Conflict Zone”; A. Kordzaia-Samadashvili “They Killed Me, Ma”; G. Chqvanava “Toreadors”; Z. Odilavadze “Return Flight – Tbilisi – Stockholm. 2000-2020”.