ჭაბუა ამირეჯიბი Chabua Amirejibi | |
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| Born | 18 November 1921 |
| Died | 12 December 2013(2013-12-12) (aged 92) |
| Occupation | writer,novelist |
| Nationality | Georgian |
| Genre | Literary realism |
| Notable works | Data Tutashkhia |
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Mzechabuk "Chabua" Amirejibi, (often written as "Amiredjibi",Georgian:მზეჭაბუკ "ჭაბუა" ამირეჯიბი; 18 November 1921 – 12 December 2013) was aGeorgian novelist andSoviet-era dissident notable for hismagnum opus,Data Tutashkhia, and his many years in Soviet prisons.
He was born inTbilisi,Georgian SSR, in 1921. His family, once aprincely house, was heavily repressed duringJoseph Stalin'sGreat Purge: his father was shot in 1938 and his mother sent to aGulag camp. DuringWorld War II, he was recruited into theRed Army, but was soon sacked due to his family background.
Subsequently, he became involved inanti-Soviet activities, becoming a member of the underground political organizationTetri Giorgi. In April 1944, he was arrested on coup plot charges and sentenced to twenty-five years of imprisonment inSiberia. After fifteen years in prison, threeprison escapes, and twodeath sentences, he was ultimatelyrehabilitated in 1959 and began his literary career in his late thirties with short stories includingThe Road (გზა, 1962),My Ragger Uncle (ჩემი მეჯღანე ბიძა, 1963),The Bull’s Confession (ხარის აღსარება, 1964) andGiorgi Burduli (გიორგი ბურდული, 1965).[1]
Amirejibi's most famous novel and one of the best works in modern Georgian literature,Data Tutashkhia (დათა თუთაშხია, 1971-5), achieved sensational success for the magazineTsiskari and fame for the writer himself. Conceived during Amirejibi’s years in prison, it was only through the intervention of the contemporary GeorgianCommunist Party chiefEduard Shevardnadze that this substantial novel of over 700 pages passed the Soviet censors and was published.
The novel is the story of Data Tutashkhia, a fictional Georgianoutlaw of theImperial Russian period, a very popular theme in Georgian literature. The story is narrated by a Russiangendarme, Count Szeged, who frequently passes the story-telling on to other characters.
The work follows the life of Tutashkhia as he spends years eluding capture by theTsarist police, combiningthrilling escapades withDostoevskian dealings with the fate of an individual and national soul. The police are led by Data's cousin, his detached and imperturbable double, Mushni Zarandia.[2] The book, and the feature film based on it, turned Tutaskhia into an iconic hero, widely popular in Georgia.[3]
Amirejibi hailed the newly independent Georgia, and was elected to itsParliament from 1992 to 1995. In 1992 he was rewarded with the prestigiousShota Rustaveli State Prize.[1] Amirejibi was decorated with the highest civil orders of Georgia and severalRussian and international literary awards.
However, the tragic years ofcivil war and the death of his eldest son Irakli in theWar in Abkhazia in 1992 heavily affected the writer. Therefore, it came as a real surprise in 1995 when Amirejibi published his next major novel,Gora Mborgali (გორა მბორგალი, literally meaning "frenzied" or "infuriating"), begun in 1978, and based on the author's experiences in Soviet prisons.[2] His last work,George the Brilliant (გიორგი ბრწყინვალე), a historical novel about the 14th-century Georgian king preaching national pride, appeared in 2005.[4]
Amirejibi briefly returned to politics in July 2009, when he joined the movementdaitsavi sakartvelo ("Defend Georgia"), allied with the opposition to PresidentMikheil Saakashvili's government.[5] On November 16, 2010, he was consecrated as aGeorgian Orthodox monk under the name of David.[6] Due to his health condition, the ceremony was conducted at the writer's own apartment.[7]
