The literary and socio-political magazine 'Druzhba Narodov' has recently published a new item. This time it is devoted to Georgian literature. In the near future the magazine plans to publish a special item which will be based on works by writers and journalists from Azerbaijan. The editor-in-chief of 'Druzhba Narodov', Alexander Ebanoidze, talks to Oleg Kusov, an observer of Vestnik Kavkaza, about Caucasian items of the magazine.
- I would like to start not from the August item, which I am holding in my hands, but from a general question which is very interesting for me. Russia and Georgia have become so close in the last 200 years, that many great Georgians didn’t feel the difference between the two territories. The Russians also believed that Georgia was their homeland. At the end of the 20th century, forces which wanted to break the connection appeared in the international arena. And they succeeded. Is the Georgian item of 'Druzhba Narodov' an attempt by Moscow writers to change the situation?
- For sure. And I should remember the previous Georgian item of 'Druzhba Narodov', which was published 11 years ago. The item was full of powerful literature. One of the works was Otar Chiladze’s novel 'Godori'. There were other wonderful works by Georgian authors. The magazine staff initiated that item themselves, but financially it was supported by the Georgian community in Russia. The initiative of publishing the current item came from the Federal Agency for Press and Media within the program of the Year of Literature in 2015. 'Druzhba Narodov' was honored to deal with Georgian literature. One of the key factors was that the editor-in-chief is a Georgian, and my broad contacts with Georgian writers helped me so much. I should say that recently we have published a collection of Georgian stories 'Across the Caucasus Range' with support from the Federal Agency. These are two initiatives of the state agency which demonstrate a serious attitude to reconstruction of Russian-Georgian ties, which have been heavily damaged by years of confrontation.
I am proud and pleased to say that we have succeeded in both of these projects. The collection of stories 'Across the Caucasus Range' includes stories of the post-Soviet period. The current item of 'Druzhba Narodov' is even closer to the current conflicts. Our contacts are weakened; there is no intensive translating work. This is reflected in many things, especially in national poetry. We all remember the wonderful close friendship between Russian and Georgian poets. Great Russian poets – Nikolai Tikhonov, Boris Pasternak, Nikolai Zabolotsky, Bella Akhmadulina, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Alexander Mezhirov – translated Georgian authors with love. And they did it at the highest level. Today the work is much weaker. Moreover, today the work brings no money. For example, the capacities of our magazine are quite limited, while the work of a translator is very difficult. The situation is easier if we talk about poetry. The translation of a few poems is always inspiration which lasts not so long.
As for the translation of big prosaic works, the situation is more difficult. It is a big and poorly solved problem – saving the art of translation. It is a very important business. Losing the art of translation of fiction, we will turn to a different level of communication. We will learn about each other from trial protocols, scandalous stories in tabloids; not from talented and unforgettable texts by Chuba Amiredjibi or Otar Chiladze. Really great writers are not a usual phenomenon; but they are being born in all the republics neighboring Russia, especially in the Caucasus, as it is one of their generous oases. The problem must be solved. I am dealing with it all the time, trying to explain its significance, but I am losing my optimism…
- There is another difficulty – unfriendly and aggressive communication in blogs. For example, a negative wave appeared after the events of August 2008 in the Caucasus. Many people are going on stirring-up mutual hatred on the internet. People show their worst sides to each other.
- I should say that recently I read feedback to one of my articles on the internet. I don’t know how to call these people – jokers, bullies, creeps…
- They are called trolls…
- I was astonished by their boldness. Progress is moving so strangely. On the one hand, there is incredible achievement; on the other hand, there is rottenness.
- Alexander Luarsabovich, you spoke about modern Georgian literature. The literature of Soviet Georgia is well known in Russia. We have already named some names, but you can add other readers who like Russian literature: Nodar Dumbadze, Guram Panjikidze, Alexander Ebanoidze... Romanticism, philosophy were the basis of their novels and stories. What are the main subjects of Georgian writers today? What is their main idea? It is probably a bit different, as life has significantly changed.
- Those whom you named are my favourite writers and closest friends. I knew that literary period well. But, unfortunately, we must admit that the social situation has moved literature to the side of the road. The writer's word has no past importance. Once the Literary Gazette cited me: "the bell tower has been replaced by a boudoir bell-pull". All this can help to affect writers’ state of health. It is no coincidence that the restructuring of the state coincided with postmodern pranks. We ridiculed it and broke it into small pieces. Now it has become clear that literature has other tasks. Its aim is formulated in William Faulkner’s Nobel speech, when he said that writers should inspire decent human qualities in readers: courage, bravery, generosity ... We recognize that current Georgian literature looks smaller in comparison to such writers as Amirejibi, Chiladze, Otar Chkheidze, Guram Dochanashvili, Otiya Ioseliani. It happened that there is the name of Nodar Dumbadze on hearing. But I assure you that I can name a dozen Georgian writers who aren’t inferior, and in some cases more interesting than the witty and charming Nodar. The new generation also makes us glad, but they are small pleasures. There are interesting stories, novellas. For example, in the book of collected stories ‘On the Other Side of the Ridge of the Caucasus’ you can read ‘The Sick City’ by Shota Iatashvili and ‘The Rhymes’ by Tamta Melashvili. At the Book Fair in Frankfurt-am-Main ‘The Rhymes’ created a furore, and this is true success. Moreover, Georgia has gone through a very difficult period, which was clearly reflected in the literature. Georgian cinema collapsed because of the fact that there was no electricity.
- A man who loves literature, especially Georgian, reads the eighth edition of the magazine ‘Friendship of Peoples’ from the beginning to the end. What would you advise a person to start with?
- There is a wonderful poem ‘It's all over…’ by Titian Tabidze. It is from the archive. It is about the problems of poetry. I want to single out Guram Odisharia from other contemporary authors. We present his novel ‘Bespectacled Bomb’. There were two stories by Kurkhuli Beck - one of the Georgian peacekeepers in Afghanistan. As well the interesting story ‘Mom Died’ by Beso Solomonashvili. In general, patriarchal Georgia has been forced to fit into globalization, besides the fact that the situation is complicated by conflicts. The writer reflects these processes very well. His father's house needs to be repaired, but the necessary building material of a certain quality of wood is only sourced in Ossetia. It is problematic enough to buy it. Another plot: the son of the hero lives in the Netherlands. Trying to find asylum there, he is forced to pretend to be a representative of a different sexual orientation, as this way is much easier. It is written with a good sense of humor. It’s a good strong story. ‘Two Friends’ by Nugzar Shataidze, the master of prose. He describes the situation in 1921, when the Mensheviks of Georgia lost in a confrontation with the 11th Red Army and had to leave Georgia through the port of Batumi. There is a set of social grotesques from Irakli Lomouri. I recommend the essay ‘Stalin as the Spirit Ahrimanthe’’ by the well-known Georgian writer Grigol Robakidze. He died in exile. He was a polyglot and wrote a lot of works in German.
- Does this magazine have an electronic version?
- Sure. It has its own site. We were also presented on the resource 'Coffee Hall'.
- What kind of projects do you have in the context of the project 'Druzhba Narodov' ?
- Just today, our editorial board discussed a very interesting collection of Azerbaijani prose. We are wondering what to do on its basis. I am confused a little that all of our Azerbaijani authors write in Russian. Certainly, we don’t reject national authors who write in Russian. I also write in Russian, but I'd like to see Azerbaijani works that have been translated into Russian in the magazine.
I had an idea to use the literature of the North Caucasus in one of our issues, but then had the idea to single out and publish Dagestani literature in one of the issues. This idea is stalled at the moment, because the possibilities of the republic aren’t unlimited, and we are planning a large-scale jubilee, dedicated to the 2000th anniversary of Derbent in September. But we have long-standing friendly relations with the head of Dagestan, Ramazan Abdulatipov. I hope that next year we will implement this project. We always have a number of interesting artists from North Ossetia in our portfolio. We are preparing to publish the poems of Akhsar Kodzati.
Weakening of creative ties is the main problem that we need to solve. Russia mustn’t lose it from sight, Russia must feel itself as a leader in this field. Russia has given us magnificent classics. It was a wonderful gift for the post-Soviet countries. Russia gave us a tool for talented national authors. I wouldn’t like Russia to lose or weaken this feature. But, alas, the weakening has already happened. I hope that things will change for the better after the passing of the crisis years.
