Interview by Oleg Kuskov. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza.
The news agency interviews writer and editor-in-chief of the Druzhba Narodov magazine.
- You literally have two motherlands. When asked about the current situation in Ukraine, Mikhail Zhvanetsky said: "Why are you torturing me? I have two motherlands and can betray none. You are in similar circumstances. There was an attempt to provoke a quarrel between the Russians and the Georgians. Is Georgia changing now?
- I do not have any reliable information. It seems like the present-day authorities are much more friendly toward Russia than the youngsters led by Saakashvili. Right before the events of 2008 I went to Georgia with a photographer from the Vokrug Sveta magazine. They had a project devoted to famous streets and wanted to publish an article about Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi, so we traveled to the city - Alexander Lyskin and I. He was supposed to take photos and I to write the text. Of course I could do it without a trip, since I knew the street very well. As people saw the two of us, they immediately invited us for dinner. They were unbelievably friendly. Sometimes my own people amaze me. During the first Georgian-South Ossetian conflict I was preparing to be deliberately civil with my friends from Ossetia, but I was surprised to find out that they simply continue their everyday lives. There were no tensions whatsoever. There have been some sad changes in the Georgian mentality within the last several years, but I was astonished when I understood that the Russian-Geogian conflict did not lead to any hostility.
- Despite these tragic events, the Georgians, Ossetians and Abkhazians have not changed. What does a typical resident of Tbilisi look like these days? During Soviet times people believed that the city was inhabited by cheerful and hospitable fellows. What is it like today?
- I believe the conflicts with Ossetia and Abkhazia were a real tragedy for Georgians. Especially the 1991-1992 war, when the population in Tbilisi lived in conditions similar to those of besieged Leningrad, when Gomsakhurdia was forced to hide in the government building. People were starving, there was no electric light, no central heating. Otar Chiladze described those days in a very eloquent way in his last novel. Professors had to pick cabbage leaves from the market in order to cook a meal. Of course, such a thing cannot vanish without leaving a mark. However Tbilisi saw even worse times. Someone said that at that time Georgians stopped visiting their friends so they would not feel guilty for not offering a tasty dinner as is required by Georgian tradition. Those two cold winters were a real challenge. Now Ukraine is afraid that the Russians will cut off the gas supply, but Georgians learned how to live without gas or electricity. It was a very hard, but valuable experience.
- Of course we have to touch upon the situation in Ukraine. What do you think? Has Russia lost Ukraine?
- I guess it has not been settled yet. The current developments seem very dangerous, it is not a local conflict like the one in Chechnya or Ossetia, the scale is quite different. I hope it will not turn into an actual civil war. Post-Soviet states often seem unable to resolve ethnic conflicts and many issues are settled too late. Russia for instance has no appropriate strategy towards the matter. Of course Russians and Ukrainians are very close peoples. Our magazine, for example, maintains direct contact with Ukrainian writers such as Zhadan and Andrukhovich. We are happy to publish their works. I believe different peoples understand each other better when they read good books about other cultures. Otherwise we lose touch.
- Ukrainians seem to be a romantic nation. The history of Crimea also was fairly peaceful. We know how Tbilisi reacted to the Abkhaz and South Ossetian struggle for independence. However Kyiv reacted to the Crimean crisis in a different way. It seems like Ukraine is not ready to fight a war for the Crimea and would rather make its peace with the fact that the peninsula has become a part of Russia. Is this so?
- I guess so. That is what it looks like.
- As well as Vladimir Pozner, my famous colleague, who always asks his guests to answer Marcel Proust's questionnaire, I would like you to give short answers to the following questions. Could you live abroad?
- No.
- What was your first impression when you heard about the agreement signed in Belovezhskaya Pushcha?
- I was frustrated and thought that some tragic event would follow it. It turned out that I was right.
- What is your attitude to Stalin?
- In general I support his policies. I would like to give two short examples. Alexandra Pakhmutova wrote that in 1941, when she was a schoolgirl, she had the same ration as a high-paid worker. Another example is that the acting school of the Moscow Artistic Academic Theatre, in which Oleg Basilashvili was educated, was established in 1941.
- Which historical figure you would like to meet with?
- I would like to talk with Stalin.
- What is your advice to today's young people?
- I believe it would be a bad idea to dedicate one's life to making money. There are things that are much more important.
