The renowned 83-year-old scholar of Russian and Georgian literature, Donald Rayfield, has declined an award linked to the ruling party, Georgian Dream.
“I cannot accept an award that is in any way linked to Georgian Dream,” Rayfield stated.
A distinguished translator, Rayfield has rendered several notable Georgian works into English, including Mikheil Javakhishvili’s ‘Kvachi Kvachantiradze’ and Otar Chiladze’s ‘A Man Was Going Down the Road’. With an extensive knowledge of Georgia’s history and contemporary affairs, he has closely followed the country’s political developments for many years.