Chavchavadze, Ilia, << chahv CHAHV ads, EEL yah >> (1837-1907), was an important political reformer and writer in the nation of Georgia. During his lifetime, Georgia was part of the Russian empire, but Chavchavadze helped create a sense of national identity in his homeland. He is sometimes called the father of modern Georgia.
Chavchavadze was born to a family of the Georgian nobility in the village of Kvareli in eastern Georgia. He studied law at St. Petersburg University but left in 1861 without receiving a degree. Chavchavadze was among the first generation of Georgians to study in Russia. Many of these students brought reformist ideas back to Georgia and became known as the tergdaleulni (those who drank the waters of the Terek River). The Terek River runs near the border of Georgia and Russia.
Chavchavadze returned to Georgia and campaigned for social and economic reforms, such as ending serfdom, a practice similar to slavery. He wrote literary works that dramatized the need for reforms, and he edited a literary and political journal. Chavchavadze and the other tergdaleulni stimulated much political discussion and activity in Georgia during the 1860’s.
Chavchavadze worked as a peace arbitrator when serfdom was ended in the mid-1860’s, then as a judge. In the 1870’s, he became a director of the Georgian Nobles’ Bank and helped finance schools and cultural institutions. He also studied local dialects and collected folk poetry and music.
By the late 1870’s, Chavchavadze had split with many of the other tergdaleulni, who continued to press for radical social reforms. Chavchavadze founded his own journal, Iveria, and promoted Georgian nationalism. He worked to revive interest in Georgian culture and to unite Georgians of all social classes. As a member of the Society for the Spread of Literacy Among Georgians, Chavchavadze promoted the use of the Georgian language.
In 1906, Chavchavadze won a seat in the newly formed Russian parliament. There, he attempted to craft a compromise between the radicals and the nobility. In 1907, unknown assassins killed him. Huge crowds filled the streets of Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, for his funeral.
