„ნაცნობ ქიმერათა ფერხული“ – ცხოვრება 700 გვერდში

THE WORLD OF CONSTANT CONNECTION // 1(73)2017

„ნაცნობ ქიმერათა ფერხული“– ცხოვრება 700 გვერდში THE ROUND DANCE OF FAMILIAR CHIMERAS A LIFE IN 700 PAGES

ge­la Car­kvi­ans pir­ve­lad 15 wlis win Sev­xvdi. sa­xel­mwi­fo kan­ce­la­ri­is meS­vi­de sar­Tul­ze da­mi­ba­ra. stu­den­ti vi­ya­vi da mZi­me, Zve­le­bu­ri ra­di­o­Cam­we­ri me­Wi­ra xel­Si. Za­li­an vi­ner­vi­u­ le, pir­ve­li kiT­xve­bi Zlivs dav­svi. me­re ge­la Car­kvi­a­nis uSu­a­lo xa­si­aTs av­ye­vi, mov­dun­di, Tav­da­je­re­ba Se­me­ma­ta da… Ri­mi­liT vkiT­xe _ Tqven xom irak­li Car­kvi­a­nis de­da brZan­de­ biT-Tqo. im­wam­sve miv­xvdi, rac me­lo­da. pul­sis daT­vlas az­ri aRar hqon­da. Tum­ca pa­suxs ar da­ug­vi­a­nia _ ki, ki, mar­Ta­li xar, mi­si de­dac var da ma­ma­co. am­je­rad isev mas­Tan var in­ter­ vi­u­ze. aRar vner­vi­u­lob. ge­la Car­kvi­a­ni isev ise­Tia, Tum­ca irak­li­s da na­nas ga­re­Se.

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I MET GELA CHARKVIANI FOR THE FIRST TIME 15 YEARS AGO. HE TOLD ME TO SEE HIM ON THE 7TH FLOOR OF THE CHANCELLERY. THERE I WAS, A STUDENT HOLDING A HEAVY OLD-SCHOOL TAPE RECORDER, FIDGETING AND STRUGGLING TO FORMULATE MY FIRST QUESTIONS. THEN I LET GELA CHARKVIANI’S OPEN CHARACTER CARRY ME AWAY. ONCE RELAXED AND SELF-CONFIDENT, I ASKED HIM WITH A SMILE, “YOU’RE IRAKLI CHARKVIANI’S MOTHER, AREN’T YOU?” I KNEW IMMEDIATELY WHAT WOULD COME NEXT. OH, BE STILL, MY BEATING HEART! HE FIRED BACK, THOUGH, WITHOUT BLINKING AN EYE, “YES. YOU GOT THAT RIGHT. I’M BOTH HIS MOTHER AND FATHER.” NOW I’M BACK INTERVIEWING HIM, THIS TIME NOT NEARLY AS NERVOUS, THOUGH. GELA CHARKVIANI IS THE SAME, EXCEPT THAT IRAKLI AND NANA ARE GONE.

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“Breaking up my life into periods might send us traveling a lot, because there has been diplomacy, ambassadorship to Britain, involvement in top global politics, music, literature, my fair share of challenges, experience and discoveries. In hindsight, however, those who matter most in my life are those whom I have loved dearly, and who have been taken away from me, and I mean Nana and Irakli, first of all.”

Q: You mentioned diplomacy, music, and literature. Still, what would be that one calling you’ve enjoyed doing for years?

_ Cems cxov­re­bas na­wi­le­bad Tu dav­yofT, bev­ri mog­­ za­u­ro­ba mog­vi­wevs _ dip­lo­ma­tia, bri­ta­neT­Si el­Co­ba, umaR­le­si do­nis msof­lio po­li­ti­kas­Tan Se­xe­ba, mu­si­ ka, li­te­ra­tu­ra. iyo uam­ra­vi ga­mow­ve­va, ga­moc­di­le­ba, si­ax­le. mag­ram dRe­van­de­li gad­mo­sa­xe­di­dan, Cem­Tvis yve­la­ze mTa­va­ri is ada­mi­a­ne­bi iy­vnen, rom­le­bic gan­sa­ kuT­re­bu­lad miy­var­da da cxov­re­bam wa­mar­Tva. pir­vel rig­Si _ na­na da irak­li. _ dip­lo­ma­tia, mu­si­ka da li­te­ra­tu­ra ax­se­neT, ma­inc ra iyo is saq­me, rom­lis ke­Te­bac wle­bis gan­mav­lo­ba­ Si yve­la­ze me­tad ga­in­te­re­seb­daT da gsi­a­mov­neb­daT? _ ho, ise ga­mo­dis, rom mTe­li cxov­re­ba yve­la­fers er­Tma­ne­Tis pa­ra­le­lu­rad va­ke­Teb­di. mu­si­ka 5 wlis

A: Seems like I’ve been doing many things all at once all my life.

Music has been my companion since I turned five. I started writing poetry as a young man, though the idea of publishing scared me out of my wits, so I intentionally used profanities in my poems. If you want to know about my sweetest memories, I would single out the 1970s. I had just come back from Michigan and started teaching sociology at the Institute of Foreign Languages.

Back then, we wouldn’t dare call it sociology openly. Instead, we used different terms for this learning course, such as local history and the like. In essence, however, it was American sociology with the addition of terms borrowed from psychoanalysis, ecology and others that sounded so familiar to Western students and so novel to ours.

That was the best time to remember. As for the most exciting period of my life, it is undoubtedly the time I worked with Eduard Shevardnadze, because my position as the president’s adviser enabled me to familiarize myself with the best diplomatic practices

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asa­ki­dan mo­yo­le­bu­li sul Cem­Ta­naa, dRem­de. leq­sebs vwer­di axal­gaz­rdo­bi­dan­ve (Tum­ca im­de­nad me­Si­no­da ma­Ti ga­moq­vey­ne­ba, rom gan­zrax vi­ye­neb­di ucen­zu­ro sit­yvebs). mag­ram Tu ga­in­te­re­sebT, ra iyo yve­la­ze sa­ si­a­mov­no, ga­mov­yof 70-ian wlebs, ro­ca mi­Ci­ga­ni­dan axa­ li dab­ru­ne­bu­li vi­ya­vi da uc­xo ena­Ta in­sti­tut­Si leq­ ci­e­bis kiT­xva da­viw­ye so­ci­o­lo­gi­a­Si. im wleb­Si xma­maR­ la sit­yva so­ci­o­lo­gi­as ve­ra­vin ax­se­neb­da, sxva­das­xva sa­xels var­qmev­di sa­leq­cio kurss _ mxa­reT­mcod­ne­o­bas da a. S. mag­ram Si­na­ar­sob­ri­vad es iyo ame­ri­ku­li so­ci­ o­lo­gia, ro­mel­sac ema­te­bo­da da­sav­le­li axal­gaz­rdi­ saT­vis kar­gad nac­no­bi da Cve­ni stu­den­te­bi­saT­vis uc­ no­bi cne­be­bi fsi­qo­a­na­li­zi­dan , eko­lo­gi­i­dan da sxva. ai, es dro max­sen­de­ba yve­la­ze kar­gad. rac Se­e­xe­ba gan­ sa­kuT­re­biT sa­in­te­re­so etaps Cems cxov­re­ba­Si, es, ra Tqma un­da, ukav­Sir­de­ba edu­ard Se­var­dna­Zes­Tan mu­Sa­ o­bis pe­ri­ods, rad­gan pre­zi­den­tis mrCev­lis Ta­nam­ de­bo­ba sa­Su­a­le­bas maZ­lev­da gav­cno­bo­di umaR­le­si do­nis dip­lo­ma­ti­ur praq­ti­kas mTe­li msof­li­os mas­ Sta­biT. Ta­nac im dros, ro­ca Cve­ni qve­ya­na da­mo­u­ki­de­ be­li xde­bo­da da msof­lio ru­ka­ze Ta­vi­dan iniS­ne­bo­da. mar­Ta­lia, sa­qar­Tve­lom da­mo­u­ki­deb­lo­ba Se­var­dna­ Zis Ca­mos­vlam­de mo­ip­ o­va, mag­ram pir­ve­li mTav­ro­ba da­am­ xes da swo­red Se­var­dna­Zis Ca­mos­vlas da­em­Txva yve­la­ze rTu­li dro _ er­Tma­neTs da­u­pi­ris­pir­da sxva­das­xva Se­ i­a­ra­Re­bu­li jgu­fi da gaC­nda sa­SiS­ro­e­ba, rom mra­va­l­ eT­ni­kur sa­qar­Tve­los da­muq­re­bo­da li­ba­ni­za­cia _

gela Carkviani da eduard SevardnaZe helsinkis aeroportSi GELA CHARKVIANI AND EDUARD SHEVARDNADZE AT HELSINKI AIRPORT

across the globe. Importantly, it was the time when our country was shaping itself as an independent state and looking to reposition itself on the world map. Although Georgia regained independence before Shevardnadze’s return, Shevardnadze’s arrival, with the first government overthrown, marked a most difficult

gela Carkviani da eduard SevardnaZe, Sexvedra mediis warmomadgenlebTan

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GELA CHARKVIANI AND EDUARD SHEVARDNADZE. MEETING WITH MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES www.magticom.ge

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eduard SevardnaZis Sexvedra amerikis SeerTebuli Statebis prezidentTan, jorj buSTan euTos helsinkis samitis farglebSi EDUARD SHEVARDNADZE’S MEETING WITH THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES GEORGE H.W. BUSH AT THE OSCE SUMMIT IN HELSINKI

sa­mo­qa­la­qo ome­bis wye­ba aT­wle­u­le­bis gan­mav­lo­ba­Si. aseT vi­Ta­re­ba­Si qvey­nis, ro­gorc da­mo­u­ki­de­be­li er­ Te­u­lis for­mi­re­ba uaR­re­sad rTu­li iyo, mag­ram gan­sa­ kuT­re­bu­lad sa­in­te­re­so. „da­ba­de­bis dRe­ze vi­ya­vi, ro­ca irak­li an­dri­aZ­ em da­ mi­re­ka, ba­ton edu­ards un­da Tqve­ni nax­vao. edu­ard Se­ var­dna­Ze mar­to ar iyo, mas­Tan vax­tang go­gu­a­Ze ij­da. „min­da, Cem­Tan sa­er­Ta­So­ri­so ur­Ti­er­To­bebs ga­uZ­ RveT“, _ Se­mom­Ta­va­za Se­var­dna­Zem, Ta­nac das­Zi­na, es xom

gela Carkviani, eduard SevardnaZe da jeimz beikeri `moqalaqeTa kavSiris~ yrilobaze. marti, 1994 GELA CHARKVIANI, EDUARD SHEVARDNADZE AND JAMES BAKER AT THE “CITIZENS UNION” CONGRESS. MARCH, 1994

period as different paramilitary forces clashed, threatening to turn multiethnic Georgia into another Lebanon, with its decades of endless civil war. Forging an independent country under these circumstances was very difficult and yet exciting.

gela Carkviani, Simon peresi, eduard SevardnaZe da icxak rabini. ierusalimi

“I was at a birthday party when Irakli Andriadze called me, saying that Mr. Shevardnadze wanted to see me. Eduard Shevardnadze was not alone in his office; I found him in the company of Vakhtang Goguadze. ‘I want you to work for me in charge of foreign relations,’ Shevardnadze offered, adding that it was not about the Central Committee of the Communist Party anymore, but about Georgia and its needs. He mentioned the Central Committee because, back in the early 1970s, I turned down a job offer there, not because it was against my principles or anything. Don’t get me wrong. It’s just

GELA CHARKVIANI, SHIMON PERES, EDUARD SHEVARDNADZE AND YITZHAK RABIN. JERUSALEM www.magticom.ge

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eduard SevardnaZe, gela Carkviani da aSS-s prezidenti jorj buSi natos praRis samitze EDUARD SHEVARDNADZE, GELA CHARKVIANI AND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES GEORGE W. BUSH AT THE NATO SUMMIT IN PRAGUE gela Carkviani, aSS-s pirveli elCi saqarTveloSi kent brauni da eduard SevardnaZe GELA CHARKVIANI, FIRST AMBASSADOR OF THE UNITED STATES TO GEORGIA KENT BROWN AND EDUARD SHEVARDNADZE

ce­ka ar aris, ax­la sa­qar­Tve­los sWir­de­bio. ce­ka imi­ tom ga­ix­se­na, rom Ta­vis dro­ze, 70-ia­ne­bis da­saw­yis­Si, me ua­ri vTqvi ce­ka­Si mu­Sa­o­ba­ze. ar ge­go­noT ra­i­me prin­ ci­pe­bis ga­mo. ub­ra­lod... Tma mqon­da moS­ve­bu­li, la­Rad vcxov­rob­di da rom war­mo­vid­gi­ne, ras da­em­sgav­se­bo­da Ce­mi ar­se­bo­ba ce­kas da­xu­Tul de­ref­neb­Si, Tav­za­ri da­ me­ca... arar­se­bul di­ser­ta­ci­a­ze mu­Sa­o­ba mo­vi­mi­ze­ze.

jorj buSi, eduard SevardnaZe da gela Carkviani, TeTri saxlis ovaluri kabineti GEORGE W. BUSH, EDUARD SHEVARDNADZE AND GELA CHARKVIANI IN THE OVAL OFFICE AT THE WHITE HOUSE

that… I used to have long hair, enjoying life, so it gave me the creeps just to imagine what it would feel like to be boxed in the windowless halls of the Central Committee. I used a nonexistent graduate thesis as an excuse. This time, however, I accepted Shevardnadze’s offer.

Those were some hard times. I had just turned 53, and I was in no hurry, ready to do something to benefit the country.”

Q: You decided to dedicate the great bulk of your book to your job as president’s adviser.

eduard SevardnaZe, barbara da hans ditrix genSerebi qalaq hales sportis sasaxleSi. genSeris 75 wlis iubile EDUARD SHEVARDNADZE, HANS-DIETRICH GENSCHER AND HIS WIFE BARBARA GENSCHER. SPORTS PALACE IN HALLE. GENSCHER’S 75 ANNIVERSARY.

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A: Yes. It was the most interesting period in my life. It was a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity, and not everyone is blessed with a chance to become acquainted with this process, to see how a country is run. If we set aside our country’s history for a moment, and start from its incorporation into Russia, we will see that that the 1990s, and Shevardnadze’s arrival, mark the initial steps in

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gela Carkviani, eduard SevardnaZe da bil klintoni. Sexvedra TeTri saxlis ovalur kabinetSi GELA CHARKVIANI, EDUARD SHEVARDNADZE AND BILL CLINTON. MEETING IN THE OVAL OFFICE AT THE WHITE HOUSE

am­je­rad Se­var­dna­Zis Se­Ta­va­ze­bas dav­Tan­xmdi _ Zne­li dro iyo, or­moc­da­ca­me­ti wlis Sev­srul­di, aRar­sad meC­qa­re­bo­da da mzad vi­ya­vi qvey­nis­Tvis ra­Rac sa­sar­ geb­lo me­ke­Te­bi­na.” _ Tqve­ni av­to­bi­og­ra­fi­u­li wig­nis cen­tra­lur na­wi­ lad swo­red pre­zi­den­tis mrCev­lad mu­Sa­o­bis pe­ri­o­ di air­Ci­eT. _ di­ax, es iyo Ce­mi cxov­re­bis yve­la­ze sa­in­te­re­so mo­ nak­ve­Ti. ase­Ti San­si xSi­rad ar eZ­le­vaT ada­mi­a­nebs,

the country’s actual shaping as a state. I already mentioned the main difficulty, and it took a strong uncontested leader, one with international acclaim, to overcome it, and Eduard Shevardnadze was such a leader. I believe that his major accomplishment was that, despite the grievous social conjuncture, he succeeded in getting and keeping a firm grip on things, staving off a civil war and leading the country out of chaos. Mind you, he did not have legitimate power at that time. This is what happened. In March 1992, he arrived in Tbilisi. In April, German Foreign Minister HansDietrich Genscher visited Georgia, followed shortly thereafter by US Secretary of State James Baker, and this series of visits was completed when Turkish Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel came to Georgia. In this way, these three influential persons practically legitimized Shevardnadze’s position. In the fall of the same year, Shevardnadze was elected Chair of Parliament and Head of State.

“Senator Edward Kennedy, the keynote speaker at the Averell Harriman Democracy Award ceremony on September 23, 1999, handed over this award to the President of Georgia. Kennedy recalled his visit to Tbilisi 25 years earlier and showed the audience a book given to him

by Shevardnadze during that visit. ‘This is The Knight in the Panther’s Skin, an epic poem by the great Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli.’ When listing Shevardnadze’s merits, he first remembered his work as a Soviet Minister, and then concluded by saying that the whole world was indebted to Shevardnadze. As President of Georgia,

gela Carkviani, eduard SevardnaZe da bil klintoni GELA CHARKVIANI, EDUARD SHEVARDNADZE AND BILL CLINTON www.magticom.ge

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eduard SevardnaZe da gaeros generaluri mdivani, butros butros gali. marcxniv nanuli SevardnaZe EDUARD SHEVARDNADZE AND SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS BOUTROS BOUTROS-GHALI. ON THE LEFT NANULI SHEVARDNADZE

yve­las ar xvde­ba wi­lad uSu­a­lod ga­ec­nos im pro­cess Tu ro­gor imar­Te­ba qve­ya­na. Tu Cvens is­to­ri­as dro­ e­biT da­vi­viw­yebT da aT­vlas ru­seT­Tan mi­er­Te­bi­dan da­viw­yebT, vna­xavT, rom ga­su­li sa­u­ku­nis 90-ia­ni wle­ bi da Se­var­dna­Zis Ca­mos­vla swo­red is pir­ve­li eta­pia, ro­ca qve­ya­nam sa­xel­mwi­fo­eb­ri­o­bis Se­ne­ba re­a­lu­rad da­iw­yo. mTa­var sir­Tu­le­ze uk­ve vi­sa­ub­re da faq­tia,

Shevardnadze proved that former Soviet republics were capable of transforming and doing an about-face, switching from totalitarianism to democracy and from a state-dominated economy to a free market economy. Contrary to popular belief, it did not take generations. All it took was a great leader. ‘If my brother, John Kennedy, were alive, he would have listed you among the heroes in his book Profiles in Courage,’ the senator stated in conclusion. The topic of courage was further elaborated by President Clinton: ‘This man has stayed the course when price was high. He is like anybody who has converted; once he converted, he was really stuck as a true believer.

He has endured assassination attempts, illegal coup attempts. He has been through pressures from the outside and problems from the inside. But once he decided he believed, he stayed hitched.

He has stood for democracy.’”

Edward Kennedy’s speech illustrated Georgia’s recognition as the torchbearer of post-Communist transformation in the wider region. Our country was a leader, and remains such. It is an example of rapid transformation, of fashioning a democratic society, switching to a market economy and reshaping political institutions. We should also remember that all this was accomplished amid extreme material need. Socially, the country was in terrible shape, with Russia next door and yet openly professing its Western trajectory. In November 2002, Shevardnadze stated at the NATO Summit in Prague, “Georgia aspires to accede to NATO.” Given the geopolitical situation at that time, saying that was not an easy task at all.

jon-malxaz SalikaSvili, gela Carkviani da eduard SevardnaZe JOHN M. SHALIKASHVILI, GELA CHARKVIANI AND EDUARD SHEVARDNADZE

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In the interest of justice, we should also mention that, in ensuring the country’s domestic and international advancement, Shevardnadze was strongly supported by the young Parliament elected in 1995. The president

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mis ga­daW­ras esa­Wi­ro­e­bo­da er­Tpi­rov­nu­lad Zli­e­ri li­de­ri. ise­Ti, ro­mel­sac di­di sa­er­Ta­So­ri­so av­to­ri­ te­ti eq­ne­bo­da. swo­red ase­Ti iyo edu­ard Se­var­dna­Ze. Ce­mi az­riT, um­Tav­re­si, ri­si ga­ke­Te­bac man sa­qar­Tve­ lo­Si SeZ­lo isaa, rom um­Zi­me­si so­ci­a­lu­ri fo­nis mi­ u­xe­da­vad, mo­a­xer­xa pro­ce­se­bis mar­Tva _ sa­mo­qa­la­qo omis Ta­vi­dan aci­le­ba da qvey­nis qa­o­si­dan ga­moy­va­na. aq­ve un­da ga­viT­va­lis­wi­noT, rom mas im dros ar hqon­da le­gi­ti­mu­ri Za­la­uf­le­ba. mov­le­ne­bi ki ase gan­vi­Tar­da: 1992 wlis mar­tSi Tvi­Ton Ca­mo­vi­da Tbi­lis­Si, ap­ril­Si sa­qar­Tve­los es­tum­ra ger­ma­ni­is sa­ga­reo saq­me­Ta mi­nis­ tri hans dit­rix gen­Se­ri. Za­li­an ma­le mis vi­zits moh­ yva ame­ri­kis sa­ga­reo saq­me­Ta mi­nis­tris (sa­xel­mwi­fo mdiv­nis) je­imz be­i­ke­ris Ca­mos­vla da vi­zi­te­bis es se­ria da­ag­vir­gvi­na Tur­qe­Tis pre­mi­ermi­nis­tris su­le­i­man de­mi­re­lis stum­ro­bam. am sam­ma di­dad gav­le­ni­an­ma fi­ gu­ram Ta­vi­an­Ti na­bi­jiT faq­tob­ri­vad mo­ax­di­na Se­var­ dna­Zis le­gi­ti­ma­cia. ima­ve wlis Se­mod­go­ma­ze Se­var­dna­ Ze air­Ci­es par­la­men­tis Tav­mjdo­ma­red da sa­xel­mwi­fos me­Ta­ur ­ ad. „1999 wlis 23 seq­tem­bers, va­Sin­gton­Si Se­var­dna­Zi­saT­ vis ave­rel ha­ri­ma­nis de­mok­ra­ti­is pre­mi­is ga­da­ce­mis ce­re­mo­ni­a­ze mTa­va­ri mom­xse­ne­be­li se­na­to­ri ed­vard ke­ne­di iyo da man­ve ga­das­ca jil­do sa­qar­Tve­los pre­ zi­dents. ke­ne­dim jer 25 wlis wi­naT Ta­vi­si Tbi­lis­Si yof­na ga­ix­se­na da au­di­to­ri­as aC­ve­na wig­ni, ro­me­lic ma­Sin mas edu­ard Se­var­dna­Zem aCu­qa. „es di­di qar­Tve­ li po­e­tis, So­Ta rus­Ta­ve­lis po­e­ma „vef­xis­tya­o­sa­nia.“ Ta­vad Se­var­dna­Zis dam­sa­xu­re­ba­ze sa­ub­ri­sas, man jer mi­si sab­Wo­Ta mi­nis­tro­bis xa­na­Si naR­va­wi ga­ix­se­na da da­as­kvna, rom mis val­Sia mTe­li msof­lio. sa­qar­Tve­los

saimon montefiore, eduard SevardnaZe da gela Carkviani SIMON MONTEFIORE, EDUARD SHEVARDNADZE AND GELA CHARKVIANI

gathered the most successful people, young thinkers, around himself, including Zurab Zhvania, Mikheil Saakashvili, Nino Burjanadze and others. This way, he seemed to have complemented his own extensive experience and leadership skills with the progressive vision of the younger generation. The country’s rapid advancement during those years was a result of teamwork, even though, as often happens in history, younger politicians eventually opposed the president.

Q: For one of the epigraphs in your book, you quote Shevardnadze: “No, I’m not telling you anything! You ambassadors have a nasty habit of writing memoirs after retirement.”

A: I chose these words for a reason. Back when working with him, I already had a feeling I would wind up having to write memoirs.

xavier solana, eduard SevardnaZe da gela Carkviani natos StabbinaSi, briuseli JAVIER SOLANA, EDUARD SHEVARDNADZE AND GELA CHARKVIANI. NATO HEADQUARTERS IN BRUSSELS

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At the same time, I tried to present all sides of the story in The Round Dance of Familiar Chimeras, to be thoroughly objective in my coverage of events.

In reality, I started working on the book while still serving at the chancellery, realizing that it would be impossible to remember everything years later. Human memory can be very tricky, which is why you must take notes. In fact, The Round Dance of Familiar Chimeras is my lifelong work.

Throughout my 11 years at the chancellery, I recorded every day, every business trip or phone call and every detail in my personal organizer, which covers a period from 1992 to 2003. I also shorthanded conversations between Shevardnadze and his guests and maintained a diary every evening. I already mentioned participating in the shaping of a new Georgian state. This is why publishing these materials was important not only to me but to the country as well. gela Carkviani meuRlesTan, nana ToiZesTan erTad GELA CHARKVIANI WITH HIS WIFE NANA TOIDZE

pre­zi­den­to­bi­sas ki edu­ard Se­var­dna­Zem da­am­tki­ca, rom yo­fil sab­Wo­Ta res­pub­li­kebs Se­uZ­li­aT Zi­re­u­lad Se­ic­va­lon, ga­da­vid­nen to­ta­li­ta­riz­mi­dan de­mok­ra­ ti­az ­ e da mbrZa­neb­lu­ri eko­no­mi­ki­dan sa­baz­ro­ze. amas ar esa­Wi­ro­eb ­ a Ta­o­be­bi, ro­gorc gvim­tki­ce­ben. amas esa­ Wi­ro­e­ba er­Ti di­di li­de­ri. „Ce­mi Zma, jon ke­ne­di coc­ xa­li rom yo­fi­li­yo, _ Tqva se­na­tor­ma da­sas­ruls, _ is Tqven Ta­vi­si wig­nis, „si­ma­ma­cis pro­fi­le­bis“ gmi­rebs So­ris da­ga­sa­xe­leb­daT“. si­ma­ma­cis Te­ma pre­zi­den­tma klin­ton­ma ga­nag­rZo: „am kac­ma ar ga­da­ux­via kur­si­dan, ro­ca am­gva­ri qce­vis fa­si ma­Ra­li iyo. ve­ra­vin da ve­ra­ fer­ma Se­ac­vle­vi­na is, rac swam­da _ verc mi­si si­coc­ xlis xel­yo­fis mcde­lo­beb­ma, verc sa­xel­mwi­fo ga­dat­ ri­al ­ e­bis mu­qa­ram da verc ze­wo­lam ga­re­dan. is id­ga de­mok­ra­ti­is sa­da­ra­jo­ze, WeS­ma­ri­ti rwme­niT aR­sav­se.“

It took me two years to systematize archived materials. Finally, on January 1, 2014, I started writing. I scheduled the process of writing after my workday, composing 8-9 hours a day, nonstop. I had raw material I had to imbue with artistic value to turn it into an exciting read.

In the epilogue, you offer a different summary of your life and emphasize your personal tragedies.

“Whenever confronted by something painful or intractable, I would make a complete U-turn, devaluating everything material and translating things into philosophical dimensions, where cause-and-effect relationships do not apply, where acuteness subsides and intensity abates within metaphysical darkness. I just tried to do the same, and my recent past suddenly turned into an exhibition room full of weird

ed­vard ke­ne­dis ga­mos­vla da­das­tu­re­baa imi­sa, rom sa­ qar­Tve­lo aRi­a­res ro­gorc eta­lo­ni pos­tko­mu­nis­tu­ ri tran­sfor­ma­ci­i­sa mTel re­gi­on­Si. Cve­ni qve­ya­na iyo li­de­ri da ase­Tad dar­Ca. is er­Tgva­ri ma­ga­li­Tia imi­sa, Tu ro­gor Se­iZ­le­ba sa­xel­mwi­fo Za­li­an swraf tem­pSi gar­da­iq­mnas, mo­ax­di­nos de­mok­ra­ti­u­li sa­zo­ga­do­eb ­ is for­mi­re­ba, sa­baz­ro eko­no­mi­ka­ze ga­das­vla da ax­le­ bu­ri po­li­ti­ku­ri in­sti­tu­te­bis gan­vi­Ta­re­ba. Ta­nac, un­da ga­viT­va­lis­wi­noT, rom yve­la­fe­ri xde­bo­da di­di ma­te­ri­a­lu­ri ga­Wir­ve­bis dros. qve­ya­nas ed­ga um­Zi­me­si so­ci­a­lu­ri mdgo­ma­re­o­ba, me­zob­lad hyav­da ru­se­Ti da pa­ra­le­lu­rad da­u­fa­ra­vad sa­ub­rob­da da­sav­lur mi­ mar­Tu­le­ba­ze. 2002 wlis no­em­ber­Si, Se­var­dna­Zem pra­Ris na­tos sa­mit­ze ga­nac­xa­da, rom „sa­qar­Tve­los aqvs Crdi­ lo­at­lan­ti­kur ali­an­sSi ga­wev­ri­a­ne­bis sur­vi­li“ _ amis Tqma msgav­si ge­o­po­li­ti­ku­ri mdgo­ma­re­o­bis fon­ze nam­dvi­lad ar iyo ad­vi­li. gela Carkviani irakli Carkvianis portretTan

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GELA CHARKVIANI BESIDES IRAKLI CHARKVIANI’S PORTRAIT www.magticom.ge

1(73)2017 \\ THE WORLD OF CONSTANT CONNECTION

sa­mar­Tli­a­no­ba mo­iT­xovs aRi­niS­nos, rom Si­da da sa­ ga­reo po­li­ti­kur aR­mav­lo­bas Se­var­dna­Zes­Tan er­Tad mi­si 1995 wels ar­Ce­u­li axal­gaz­rdu­li par­la­men­tic ga­na­pi­ro­beb­da. pre­zi­den­tma ma­Sin Se­mo­ik­ri­ba yve­la­ ze war­ma­te­bu­li, mo­az­rov­ne axal­gaz­rde­bi. maT So­ris iy­vnen zu­rab Jva­nia, mi­xe­il sa­a­kaS­vi­li, ni­no bur­ja­na­ Ze da sxve­bi. amiT man, ase vTqvaT, da­a­ba­lan­sa sa­ku­Ta­ri udi­de­si ga­moc­di­le­ba, wi­nam­ZRo­lo­bis una­ri da mo­ma­ va­li Ta­ob ­ is prog­re­su­li xed­va. im wleb­Si qvey­nis ase­ Ti swra­fi aR­mav­lo­ba am gun­dis er­Tob­li­vi mu­Sa­o­bis Se­de­gia. mar­Ta­lia, bo­los ro­gorc ara­er­Txel mom­xda­ ra is­to­ri­aS ­ i, axal­gaz­rde­bi da­u­pi­ris­pir­dnen pre­zi­ dents. _ Tqvens wigns erT-erT epig­ra­fad edu­ard Se­var­dna­ Zis sit­yve­bi wa­rum­ZRva­reT: „ar get­yviT, ara­fer­sac ar get­yviT! Tqven, el­Cebs, er­Ti cu­di Tvi­se­ba gaqvT: ro­ca pen­si­a­ze ga­di­xarT, me­mu­a­re­bis we­ras iw­yebT“. _ Se­var­dna­Zis es sit­yve­bi me sa­gan­ge­bod Se­var­Cie. jer ki­dev mas­Tan mu­Sa­o­bis dros vgrZnob­di, rom me­mu­a­re­ bis we­ra au­ci­le­be­li gax­de­bo­da. amav­dro­u­lad „nac­nob qi­me­ra­Ta fer­xul­Si“ ve­ca­de yve­la mxa­re Ta­nab­rad gan­ me­xi­la. min­do­da obi­eq­tu­rad meC­ve­ne­bi­na yve­la mov­le­ na. re­a­lu­rad wig­nze mu­Sa­o­ba kan­ce­la­ri­a­Si­ve da­viw­ye. isic vi­co­di, rom wle­bis gas­vlis Sem­deg Se­uZ­le­be­li gax­de­bo­da yve­laf­ris gax­se­ne­ba. ada­mi­a­nis mex­si­e­re­ba ar aris san­do. ami­tom au­ci­le­be­lia gqon­des Ta­nad­ro­ u­li Ca­na­we­re­bi. faq­tob­ri­vad, ga­mo­dis, rom „nac­nob qi­me­ra­Ta fer­xu­li“ Cems cxov­re­bas­Tan er­Tad da­i­we­ra. kan­ce­la­ri­a­Si mu­Sa­o­bis 11 wlis gan­mav­lo­ba­Si, yo­vel dRes, yo­vel miv­li­ne­bas, sa­te­le­fo­no zars, de­ta­lebs _ yve­la­fers Cems ka­len­dar­Si va­fiq­si­reb­di. ase maqvs aR­ we­ri­li sru­li pe­ri­o­di 1992 wli­dan 2003 wlam­de. ase­ve, vi­wer­di Se­var­dna­Zi­sa da sxva stum­re­bis sa­ub­rebs da Tvi­To­nac yo­vel sa­Ra­mos vwer­di dRi­u­rebs. uk­ve giT­ xa­riT, vgrZnob­di, rom mo­na­wi­le vi­ya­vi imi­sa, Tu ro­ gor iq­mne­bo­da axa­li qar­Tu­li sa­xel­mwi­fo. ami­tom, am ma­sa­lis ga­moq­vey­ne­bas ara ­mar­to Cem­Tvis, ara­med qvey­ nis­Tvi­sac di­di mniS­vne­lo­ba eq­ne­bo­da.

nana ToiZe, gela Carkvianis meuRle NANA TOIDZE, GELA CHARKVIANI’S WIFE

coffers packed with UN framework conventions, diplomatic notes, and leaders’ speeches, and of masked characters fighting for power and influence. This entertaining play must have been staged exclusively for me, in my imagination, laughing at my own words. I had no problem overcoming the past, but could never cope with the loss of Nana. Her mortality, the unrepeatability of her life, would not stop gnawing away at me.”

ori we­li dam­Wir­da imis­Tvis, rom sa­ar­qi­vo ma­sa­le­bis sis­te­ma­ti­ze­ba mo­mex­di­na. 2014 wlis pir­vel ian­vars ki dav­je­qi da we­ra da­viw­ye. we­ris pro­ce­sic sa­mu­Sao gra­ fi­ki­viT gav­we­re _ yo­vel­dRe 8-9 sa­a­Ti vwer­di. aud­gom­ lad. mqon­da mSra­li ma­sa­la, rom­lis­Tvi­sac mxat­vru­li Ri­re­bu­le­ba un­da mi­me­ca, ra­Ta teq­sti mkiT­xve­lis­Tvis sa­in­te­re­so gam­xda­ri­yo. _ epi­log­Si Tqven sul sxva­na­ir ­ ad aja­mebT Tqvens cxov­re­bas da wig­nis da­sas­ruls aq­cents pi­rad tra­ ge­di­eb­ze ake­TebT... „yo­vel­Tvis, ro­ca mtkiv­ne­uls an ga­da­u­la­xavs vaw­ yde­bo­di, az­rov­ne­bis mo­duss mkveT­rad vcvli­di _ ma­ te­ri­al ­ ur si­nam­dvi­le­Si ar­se­bul Ri­re­bu­le­bebs va­ u­fa­su­reb­di da yve­la­fe­ri fi­lo­so­fi­ur sib­rtye­Si ga­dam­yav­da, iq, sa­dac mi­ze­zob­ri­vi kav­Si­re­bi wyde­ba da

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THE WORLD OF CONSTANT CONNECTION // 1(73)2017

wignis prezentaciaze THE BOOK LAUNCH

me­ta­fi­zi­kur wyvdi­ad­Si bas­ri blag­vde­ba da mwva­ve nel­ de­ba. ax­lac vca­de da sul ma­le Ce­mi uax­lo­es ­ i war­su­ li, ga­e­ros re­zo­lu­ci­eb ­ iT, Car­Co-xel­Sek­ru­le­be­biT,­ dip­lo­ma­ti­u­ri no­te­bi­Ta da li­der­Ta sit­yve­biT ga­mo­ te­ni­li uC­ve­ul ­ o skiv­re­bis da Za­la­uf­le­bi­sa da gav­ le­nis mo­po­ve­bi­saT­vis meb­rZol per­so­naJ­Ta niR­be­bis pa­nop­ti­ku­mad iq­ca. al­baT es sa­xa­li­so war­mod­ge­na mxo­ lod Cem­Tvis da­id­ga, Cem­sa­ve war­mo­sax­va­Si. _ vTqvi da ga­vi­ci­ne. war­suls ad­vi­lad mo­ve­rie, mag­ram na­nas ve­ra­ fe­ri mo­vu­xer­xe. mi­si mok­vda­vo­ba, mi­si si­coc­xlis er­ Tje­ra­do­ba mos­ve­ne­bas ar maZ­lev­da.“ _ ra­tom ma­in­cda­ma­inc qi­me­re­bi? _ sit­yva qi­me­ras zo­gi­er­Ti aRiq­vams, mxo­lod ro­gorc sa­Si­nel ar­se­bas. Tum­ca, mas me­o­re mniS­vne­lo­bac aqvs _ es aris is, rac aris da Tan ar aris. „o, ma­ia! ma­ia! cva­ le­bad qi­me­ra­Ta na­ka­do“ (le­kont de li­li). es epig­ra­ fi faq­tob­ri­vad Ce­mi wig­nis fi­lo­so­fi­u­ri Te­maa. is, ra­sac Cven vxe­davT, xi­lu­li sam­ya­ro _ ma­ia, Se­saZ­loa, mxo­lod na­xev­rad­re­a­lur qi­me­ra­Ta cek­va iyos da me­ti ara­fe­ri. miT ume­tes Tu Cems cxov­re­bas am asa­kis gad­ mo­sa­xe­di­dan ga­vix­se­neb, ro­ca war­su­lis yve­la xdo­mi­ le­bas (event-s) uk­ve Ta­na­ba­ri Ri­re­bu­le­ba aqvs _ vi­je­qi sap­re­zi­den­to ova­lur ka­bi­net­Si, Tu ve­fe­re­bo­di Cems ka­tas.

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Q: Why chimeras?

A: The word chimera is conventionally understood as a term for a monster, but it also means something that is and, at the same time, is not. “Maya! Maya! O torrent of ever-changing chimeras” (Leconte de Lisle). This epigraph is, in fact, the philosophical topic of my book. What we see is the visible world, Maya, which may be nothing but a dance of half-real chimeras, especially since, looking back at my life, all events in the past appear today to be equal in value, whether sitting in the Oval Office of the US President or just petting my cat.

esa­ub­ra ma­ri­ka ba­ku­ra­Ze

INTERVIEWED BY MARIKA BAKURADZE

sta­ti­aS ­ i ga­mo­ye­ne­bu­lia naw­yve­te­bi ge­la Car­kvi­a­nis av­ to­bi­og­ra­fi­ul ­ i wig­ni­dan „nac­nob qi­me­ra­Ta fer­xu­li“ da fotomasala avtoris piradi arqividan .

The article features excerpts from Gela Charkviani’s autobiographical book “The Round Dance of Familiar Chimeras” and photos from the author private archive.

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