Kultura! – Article Archive

Whenever he appeared, everyone on the street would follow him with affection – a calm man, always in a black shirt, with a suit casually thrown over one shoulder. The light in his large eyes could not be hidden even by his thick eyebrows, and yet there was a quiet mystery in the strict lines of his face and in its characteristic expressions. Once, director Geno Chiradze filmed the artist in a short episodic role, preserving these features, this voice, and these elegant manners forever in the film Zvaraki (1990). In the film, the role of Otar Kandaria was originally meant for Levan Abashidze, who played the main character, but the personal charm of the newly recognized Kutaisi artist was…

The history of the Argveti Saeristao begins with King Parnavaz. “…Was sent to Margvi as Eristavi and gave him a small mountain, which is Likhi, up to the sea above the Rioni. And this Parnavaz built two fortresses.” (Vakhushti, Description of the Kingdom of Georgia.) According to Leonti Mroveli, the Argveti Saeristao included the territory from the Likhi mountain to the Rioni and from the Racha mountains to the Fersati mountains. The rise of the Baghvash-Orbeliani dynasty began after they took control of Kldekari together with the Argveti Saeristao. Kldekari, as a border domain, was extremely important strategically because it was truly the gateway leading from Byzantium into the heart of Georgia. Both allies and enemies understood this well. The…

Dimitri Uznadze’s academic work has been one of the key factors in the development of the Georgian school of psychology. His pedagogical approach and research methods are especially important both for the development of Georgian academic discourse and for the international scientific community. The theory of “set” (or “attitude”) formulated by Uznadze, as well as the methods with which he studied the unconscious, were largely based on his European education and his relationship with Wilhelm Wundt, the founder of experimental psychology. However, alongside continental psychology and such important thinkers, there is a less emphasized, though no less significant, direction in the work of Dimitri Uznadze. His pedagogical and research activities were also influenced by his work in Western Georgia, and…

Every year, a strange spring arrives in the city of white stones. That is why we say that perhaps not one swallow, but the blooming magnolia at the “Red Bridge,” can definitely bring it. Kutaisi has never demanded more than the love of its inhabitants. Despite this, “falling in love at first sight” with the city was always special and emotional. It was easier for those who connected their creativity with this place. Probably, none of them looked for a muse elsewhere. Women went out to see the newly blossomed magnolia, including those who broke the rules of their era and walked the streets of Kutaisi with a cigarette in their hand. Our story should start from here… The city.…

The rethinking of the idea and significance of the First Republic of Georgia began rather late, as for a long time, Soviet propaganda had tried to erase its leaders and important political figures from public memory, distorting the image of the First Republic itself. This time, my goal is not to discuss Georgia in 1918–1921 in general, but to speak about one of its remarkable and almost “disappeared” representatives – Gogita Paghava, the youngest deputy of the Constituent Assembly, who was executed at the age of 29. However, before that, it is necessary to set the background.

Upper Imereti, and especially the Chiatura municipality, is one of the most significant archaeological regions in Georgia. The cultural layers formed here over millennia fully reflect the continuous development of human civilization. In Chiatura, the naturally enclosed canyons and rocky landscape filled with caves create a unique environment that preserves evidence of material culture from the Old Stone Age, Neolithic, Eneolithic, and Bronze Ages. There has always been life in the caves of Chiatura. The people who lived here protected themselves from predators, wove and dyed thread in simple ways, worked stone, made primitive tools, and left us a legacy – a history that is still being read underground. A special place in this remarkable chronicle is held by Bondi…

“I was standing alone in the yellowed leaves, beneath the branches of fallen trees, and I felt I existed inside something vast and mysterious. How clearly I remember that day; from here I can remember everything…” I first read these words years ago – in an old book found in a village, in my father’s library. It was autumn outside, yellow leaves rustled underfoot, and the afternoon stretched on so slowly, as if it were reflecting on its own existence. Since then, Rezo Cheishvili and his stories have always been with me.

For more than 30 years, the Kutaisi-based fashion house “Marionella” has been creating wedding, festive, and traditional clothing, offering customers structurally strong dresses that are perfectly tailored to them and their tastes. Behind such long-lasting dominance in the Georgian fashion industry is a technically complex and labor-intensive, yet at the same time interesting, creative process that determines both the structural quality of the final product and conveys the designer’s individual vision and the consumer’s emotional connection to each dress. In this dynamic, it is especially important that no stage and no episode of creating a dress is seen as a separate, fragmented part, but as a single whole resulting from the consistent,

Kutaisi is not only one of Georgia’s most historic cities but also the homeland of a unique and world-famous tradition – Kutaisi humor. The city’s historical boulevard and its “Baghiskide” (the edge of the garden) have long been considered the epicenter of this wit. Yet, pearls of Kutaisi humor can be found in every district, every street, and even in every family. The ancient boulevard still remembers the classics – the witty sayings of Akaki Tsereteli and his contemporaries. The catchphrase okhunjobani (witty jokes) and the sharp humor of Taguna (Sharashidze), Sergia Eristavi, Giorgi Sharvashidze, Konstantine (Kotsia) Eristavi, Kita Abashidze, Pipinia Mikeladze, Besarion Lortkipanidze, Pila Ioseliani, Kotso Adanaia and many others are still alive in memory.

Visual arts – whether theater, cinema, painting, or photography – have always fascinated humanity. Over time, this interest has only grown stronger. The desire to capture and preserve a fleeting moment has existed since ancient times, when the camera obscura was used to project images. The first photograph, “View from a Window at Le Gras,” was taken in 1826–27 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, and later Louis Daguerre perfected the process by creating the daguerreotype, a method of producing sharp, lasting images. Since then, photography has preserved countless struggles, discoveries, and unforgettable moments of human history. Today, photography stands on equal ground with painting. Masters such as Ansel Adams, Steve McCurry, Jeff Wall, and many others have shown their artistic power.…