The most glowing example is this: historically, the Georgian nation has invested much time, money, and energy into learning the Russian language and literature, associating itself with Russian culture and the Russian way of life, building close friendships, officiating interethnic marriages, and cooperating with the Russian people in various walks of life for quite a while. About thirty years ago, all this had fallen out of fashion, so to speak: the usage of the once very common Russian tongue has been obviated, human-level interaction has gone to a nadir, and Russian poetry and literature no longer appear in Georgian translation, although mutual business is still breathing and trade is still beating an occasional merry tune with the accompaniment of sporadic enthusiasts and governmental effort-makers.
Can we conclude that it was a sheer waste of time, money, and energy? Was it a historical mistake? What if the Georgian people are now making the same kind of mistake, having embarked on an almost identical investment into the English language and Western civilization? Many might ask: how rational are these kinds of investments in general? Previously, for centuries, the necessity to do so was associated with Mongolian, Arabic, Persian, and Turkish presence. What if, in fifty or so years, we find ourselves compelled to delve into the Chinese linguistic and cultural realm for the sake of handling our survival exigencies?
I understand that these are purely historical and civilizational questions, as profound as they might sound, but they arise naturally because we have always been forced into spending ourselves on things that seem stricken with flagrant temporariness. After all, the entire nation becomes involved in efforts that may later appear fleeting and vain when time passes and new necessities emerge.
So, what are we to do if we want to be smart and rational while keeping pace with life around the Globe, especially now that the world has become a truly small place to live in? This question may naturally arise in many a Georgian mind, but the answer to it may not be readily available. One could still say something in justification of the nation’s investments, though only in very general terms.
Georgia had no way of avoiding the external political domination that has come and gone throughout history. The imposed political powers were usually accompanied by unavoidable cultural and linguistic authority, cultural exchange, to put it mildly, and by the practical necessity of adapting to these phenomena for the sake of survival and development. For Sakartvelo, the relationship with Russia was hard and oppressive in many ways, yet also culturally influential and historically unavoidable because of Russia’s geographic proximity to Georgia.
So, was learning Russian on such a massive scale an error? Most probably, such a blunt statement would bring us to an erroneous conclusion, but it was certainly not free of cost. Governmental administration was unimaginable without the Russian language; so were higher education, access to scientific literature, military affairs, and mobility within the Russian Empire initially, and later within the USSR, for more than two centuries.
Many of us received education, built careers, learned literature, engineering, science, music, cinematography, and gained worldwide cognizance through the Russian language, while still managing to remain deeply Georgian. Dependency on Russia was heartbreaking for most Georgians, weakening confidence in native institutions, placing pressure on Georgian identity and the Church, and nurturing the subconscious belief that genuine civilization was coming from the external world. All these wounds were real, and the feeling has never entirely disappeared, even now, when all those good things still seem to be coming from outside.
Even if all this is true, no wise analyst would forgive the harsh statement that everything was wasted. After all, at that time we pursued survival using the material and ideological tools that were available to us. Yes, nothing else was at hand. It might even be fairer to say that we, as rational human beings, strengthened ourselves through learning those foreign languages and exchanging cultural values.
The only thing that bothers me is that with every new invading force, we have had to adapt ourselves to newly born circumstances, including all those immanent and imminent variables that relentless times imposed upon us so severely, the worst part being that we had no chance to do otherwise.
Shall we say that the real historical danger lies not in embracing another civilization, but in ignoring one’s own and forgetting who one truly is? Moreover, Georgia secured its survival by imbibing positive foreign influences without dissolving into them. History teaches us that Persia influenced court culture, the Byzantine Empire influenced religion and art, Russia influenced education and administration, and now the West influences technology, economics, and media. It is often said that small nations survive not through isolation, but through careful and discerning adaptation.
The dilemma, then, is how to learn and utilize all that we need without losing the identity we have always cherished and struggled to maintain.
Op-Ed by Nugzar B. Ruhadze
