Beardsley Public Library Online Presentation Notes

On February 23, 2023, we held a Nikoloz Gvasalia-Fermata Arts Foundation presentation for Beardsley Public Library. Compared to other libraries, this presentation turned out to be quite unusual. Due to meteorological and technical reasons, our NGO and Beardsley Public Library decided to present the lecture in the form of a video.
After making the decision, we started organizing the recording studio in a few minutes, I have never had any experience in electronic communication, but we soon organized the studio, set up art installations, and started recording.
The first and main problem, for me, was probably the absence of a slide show, the main course of the presentation is based on the visual side, of course, it is much easier to explain the visual picture to the audience than to talk to them about the topics and culture that is foreign to them. I tried to solve this problem and after my speech, I tried to introduce the visual side of my presentation to the audience.
Other aspects of the presentation went well for me, especially the question-and-answer session with Mr. Nikolay Synkov was very interesting, as well as the detailed description and explanation of the art installations.
Overall, I can say that the new challenge, the virtual side of the presentation turned out to be very informative and interesting for me. Such innovative ways, I think, are a source of great experience.

Lungs Full of Asphalt Dust

Loneliness, intense fear of loneliness is embedded in a person’s genetic code, this is a kind of instinct for self-survival, we always need a person on the sidelines, because the soul of alone is empty from the inside and finally the fear kills us, Mother Nature so decided to protect us, so we are always looking for each other. Maybe death scares us less than we are afraid of staying without a loved one in old age or even in the middle of age, those loved ones who spend much of their lives with us have feelings associated with us, and we named this feeling of love.
We generally don’t think much about these issues, we may think about it for a second, but soon we are thinking about another more important, topical topic that is more relevant in our daily lives, for example, we should write homework, we should not be late at work, we need to learn to make money at the end! And if we were left alone? Or we went far from our residency area, in a foreign environment… At this time, our historical instinct is already waking up, and urgently our priority thoughts become a search for loved ones, the loved ones, who we trust. At this time our home and home city become ideal in our thoughts, we even miss the smell of street dust thrown from dirty asphalt on hot summer days, everything reminds us of the time we spent with loved ones, in a safe environment where everything is familiar, as if it is yours, belongs to you and there is no danger, you are well smiling when thinking about it, however, later this is followed by other thoughts, Maybe those dust and smog-covered city streets are no longer mine?! Maybe when I inhale, I can no longer feel the smell of the house in which I have spent my whole life. At this time, you go to the second stage, and these nostalgic thoughts become infantile and peripheral to you, you become part of a foreign environment, and you realize that you do not disappear the other way, the ability to adapt by the way is also a gift of Mother Nature. Soon, you will no longer pay attention to the little details, and no longer compare your current home with your home county, and slowly the environment of a stranger to you, the environment full of dangers, becomes common for you, a new city in which you live, already becomes familial as a hometown, you find new people, friends and begin to trust them.
Of course, you also miss home, but you can’t do anything…
You can’t go there, it’s difficult there, especially if you got a job, you don’t have time anymore… you don’t know when you will return, but you will, one day. Yes, you work a little, maybe it’s better to stay a little longer and then come back? There is also the smell of asphalt dust here. And I have new friends. The land is land, grapes will also be fine here, so what. After a while, the stubborn thought that draws you to your home disappears, the house is perceived as a newly used environment, and you miss your loved ones, but the thought that because of them you have to return to that miserable environment is no longer suffocating. So monotonously, in a slow rhythm, thanks to our instincts, we adapt to the new wild environment and make it home.

Caucasus, Oath and Code of Man

The history of Georgia is not so rich with revolts and revolutions. If we look at the history of Georgia, we will see that there has never been a civil uprising in Georgia, which is very strange, because there are episodes in almost all countries of the world when the disaffected population unites against the king and declares disobedience. Not a single legitimate king of Georgia was executed or simply removed from the royal throne, and in Europe, at this time there is a completely different picture, the history of medieval Europe is full of dramatic events and rebellions against the government, often even the Middle East did not trust the kings, there were frequent conspiracies against the kings or in public Even the execution.
Why Georgia was an exception?
There is no exact answer to this question, although there are several opinions in this regard, Georgians have always been distinguished by their special religiosity, to this day Georgia is a country where 90% of the population are devout Christians. According to old legends, Georgian kings (Bagrations) were originally from Israel, it was believed that they were descendants of King Solomon, it turns out that kings were a direct connection to God for Georgians, that’s why Georgians never rebelled against kings. We should add the code of not breaking the oath.
The cult of oath exists in the Caucasian culture since ancient times, it stems from idolatry, the Caucasian people thought that there is no great shame in breaking an oath, in Georgian history there were cases when a prisoner with a death sentence was released to say goodbye to his family based on an oath, the strong tradition of the oath and the manly code did not give Georgians the right to betray for the king.
Despite all this, some nobles were jealous of the Georgian royal family and they went to all lengths to seize total power, there were cases when they even cooperated with foreign conquerors, but they never managed to realize their goal and were either punished by death or spent their whole lives in exile. Despite the loyalty of the Georgians, there were often wars between the nobles in Georgia, which brought destabilization to the country, the nobles killed their brothers because of their ambitions, and this weakened the idea of ​​the unity of the country, that is why the kings of united Georgia always tried to strengthen the influence of the central government in the regions, which caused even more irritation of the nobles and the confrontation more And it was getting stronger.
The existence of the manly code in ancient Georgia is well reflected in Georgian poetry, the Georgian poet Vazha Pshavela was born in Mtuli, he was born on May 15, 1861, the poet and prose writer was originally from the mountainous region, it was in the high mountainous regions of Georgia that the traditions and habits of the manly code were best preserved, fortunately, Vazha Pshavela often reminded the reader about these traditions in his works, he wrote the epic poem “Guest-Host”
The poem was first published in 1893 in Tbilisi and it is considered to be the masterpiece of Georgian literature It is compulsory reading in Georgian schools.
Though the host, Joqola, is Muslim, and his guest, Zviadauri, is Christian, the poem refers only very vaguely to their differing religious and cultural traditions. It is more about the intertwining of their fates – and the great dignity with which they face their inevitable ends – once they’ve tripped the wire of their communities’ savage, mutual loathing.
Joqola and Zviadauri meet by accident in a damp forest – the ensemble, holding treelike poles and swaying in shadow to a sad mountain melody, remains one of Syndetic’s most mystical images – where both are hunting for deer. These are men who value action over words, so the clipped exchanges Reed writes for them convey an earthy stoicism. After Joqola invites his new companion to his home, to gut and celebrate their kill, their joy is evoked in a virile, ritualized dance.
In the manner of all kinds of knee-jerk vengefulness, things quickly fall apart for them and Joqola’s wife, Aghaza. The village, outraged at Joqola’s flouting of the taboo against giving comfort to the enemy, rallies around the rabble-rousing elder Musa, who demands that Joqola turn over his guest to them. The dissident Joqola, however, citing the revered local mandate for civility and hospitality – “The guest”, he recites, “will be the last to die” – refuses. So the fuse is lighted.
The descent into calamity is orchestrated with a paradoxical beauty. From a sacrifice conducted in the village cemetery to the outfitting of combatants in the rival village, each stylized sequence builds hypnotically on the one before. Drumbeats and ethereal recorded voices further cement the tension.

Grandfather

My grandfather, Avtandil Menteshashvili, was born in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR. After graduating from the History Faculty of Tbilisi State University, he worked as an assistant, assistant professor, and professor at the Department of History of the USSR TSU. In 1992, he was elected as the head of the Department of History of Russia at Tbilisi State University. The author of 90 scientific publications in Georgian, Russian, German, and English. Among them are monographs on the problem of national relations in Russia, and ethnic -conflicts in the post-Soviet space, in particular, in Transcaucasia.
In 1988-1989, Menteshashvili was on a scientific business trip to the United States at the Russian Research Center of Harvard University. Here he got acquainted with the Archive of the Government of the Georgian Democratic Reservice (1918-1921), which was open for researchers since September 1988. The materials of this archive brought by A. Menteshashvili became the basis for the conclusion of a commission created by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR From the 20th June 1989, on the issues of political and legal assessment of violation of the contract concluded between Georgia and Soviet Russia on May 7, 1920, which, upon the conclusion of the commission, led in February 1921 to armed intervention and occupation of Georgia in February-March 1921 on the part of Soviet Russia.
Of his written works, the most prominent are: “Some National and Ethnic Problems in Georgia” (1992), “Trouble in the Caucasus” (Nova Science Publish Inc. 1995), and “The Collapse of the Emussian and Transcaucasia”. Russia in the 20th Century ”Problems of National Relations (1999). The Russian department of the Harvard Library is used as the source of all three books, from which unknown documents were obtained at that time. The last of his work, which he wrote for the book “Russia in the 20th Century”, unfortunately, he died tragically the next year, so he was going to publish several other papers based on the sources.
Unfortunately, I can’t talk a lot about my grandfather’s personal qualities because I never met him in his life, he died in the year when I was born, though I can say a lot about his literary works that detail every event in the Soviet Republic of Georgia in the 80s Finding, because, at that time, most of the public was obsessed with strong patriotic thinking, which we could not say about the literature of Menteshashvili, where in every line, described in the detailed history of facts.
Hopefully, I will be able to finish my grandfather’s work, which is no less interesting to me. In my opinion, the historical research of conflictology is a prerequisite for future peace.

Dear Professor Wood,I am Nikoloz Gvasalia, a humanities student at Tbilisi State University from Georgia. I am currently in the United States, volunteering at the Fermata Art Foundation as an officer-journalist. During the period of my academic activities, I conducted several educational lectures in the public libraries of several cities in the territory of New England, with the theme, Esperando models from Georgia – “The World Among The Caucasus Mountains”.On February 10, 2023, I was at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to promote my presentation.After visiting several departments, I got to building E-51, where I met you, on the second floor, at your office.I was very pleased by your interest in my future academic activities and presentations. I hope that after our communication, we will discuss many more topics of common academic interests.I am waiting for a decision on a possible initial presentation if your department sees interest in being a participant in this.

Sincerely

Nikoloz Gvasalia

Six months in America

I left Georgia 6 months ago, I have been missing the country of sharp mountains for a long time, and after going through several stages of life in a foreign environment, I realize that it is impossible to compare everything. There are things whose individualism is so different that you cannot find an analog at all. In half a year, I gained enough experience to be able to find the cultural and qualitative characteristics of people based on a detailed analysis.
The rules of life in the perennial, commercial-capitalist system are mainly based on the rule of law, and human moral behavior in many cases depends on individual mental or national habits. Urban life in the States is radically different from European or Eastern European cities, a foreigner obsessed with Hollywood romanticism needs a few hours to understand that there is nothing beyond real space.
However, everyone is busy here, no one cares about anyone, and no one judges you in the concrete jungle. Day by day, life here goes at lightning speed, if you fall behind even a little bit, you will fall and become just a wall. Many cannot stand this stress and chaos and live in the suburbs, where everything is the opposite, time passes so slowly that people hardly grow old, they live in forest massifs permeated with fresh air and learn to live in harmony with nature.
The war is far from here, therefore the sound of shells is not heard, here they just know that Ukraine is suffering under Putin’s fire and America condemns it.
Representatives of the academic circle routinely work with students, in old beautiful buildings, part of the professors clouded by linear thinking do not realize that they are killing the interest of young people with the monotonous routine of the study program, in high drone schools.
what about the home city? what’s the difference?
Hometown is ideal in our thoughts, even the smell of street dust from the dirty asphalt on hot summer days reminds us of carefree years spent with loved ones. A city where everything is familiar and as if it’s yours, every little dusty corner belongs to you. But maybe those city streets covered with dust and smog are not mine anymore?! Maybe when I inhale, I will no longer feel the heavy air that is associated with happy years in me?! A city built of gray concrete, rectangular slabs, with ugly old communist buildings that give the city a color from the past.
Unfortunately, the narrow streets of the small city of Tbilisi are full of cars, the air is filled with harmful emissions and nihilism. The only hope of Georgians tired of hopelessness remains God, who lives there in the old churches.

Situations in Ukraine and Georgia, throughout the recent war in Ukraine, the view of Georgian student, Nikoloz Gvasalia.

Hello, my name is Nikoloz Gvasalia, I am a student from Georgia. I was born and raised in a small post-Soviet country, Georgia, I finished school in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, and then I entered Tbilisi State University, Faculty of Humanities. I have loved humanities since childhood, especially history. My grandfather, Avtandil Menteshashvili, was an academician, the head of the Department of Russian History at Tbilisi University, he is the author of several interesting cognitive books, which mainly deal with the history of the origin of conflicts in the Caucasus and other former Soviet regions, my grandfather was one of the first Soviet professors who came to the United States of America on a business trip And he conducted research on the First Republic of Georgia at Harvard University in Massachusetts. Based on his research, in 1991, Georgia declared the Act of Independence and established the Second Republic. Unfortunately, my grandfather died in the same year I was born, that’s why I know these stories from my childhood, it always saddened me that I couldn’t meet him, because of his tragic death, my grandfather couldn’t finish a few of his papers, maybe that’s why I chose history for my future career because I always I had a feeling that I should continue to finish it.
I believe that getting an education in America is the best way to achieve my academic goals. I have been here for more than 6 months. Fortunately, Fermata Art Foundation, a non-profit organization, the founder of the organization, Nikolai Synkov, and the executive director, Tatyana Ishutkina, have generously allowed me to live temporarily, At the Fermata Art Foundation building in Avon, Connecticut, have been providing reimbursement for my living expenses until now. With the help of the organization, I was able to hold several presentations about the history and traditions of Georgia and the Caucasus region in libraries.
My every morning starts with a workout, thanks to the donation of F45 gyms, I can exercise for free, and after an hour of exercise, I have breakfast, my diet consists mainly of home-cooked meals, which the members of the organization prepare with their personal funds, after breakfast I start academic activities, mainly writing, I try every day I update my blog, on my site, and at the end of the day I make changes to my activity log by day. I have a 2003 Honda Civic car, and the car needs standard fuel, due to financial instability, I often fill it with fuel through a donation or simply with the fuel bought by a friend.
My greatest desire is to be allowed to pursue a formal academic education so that in the future I can be closer to my goal of conducting research on post-Soviet, new, and recent history and completing my grandfather’s unfinished business. Of course, all this is unfortunately impossible without basic financial support.
In my opinion, researching military conflicts and problems of recent history with historical documents will allow us to prevent future military crises in Eastern European countries. The obtained and confirmed facts will allow us to conduct a constructive dialogue between the conflicting parties based on historical reality.

Everything started when the sun darkened in the Georgian sky and the moon rose in its place.
According to the legend, in the 4th century, the king of Georgia-Iberia, Mirian III, went hunting with his followers, on the way the sun darkened in the sky, and the moon rose in its place, the frightened riders and horses dismounted, and began to pray the idolatrous religion of that time, the prayers did not help them. That’s why King Mirian decided to try to pray for a new religion, Christianity, the prayer paid off and soon the sun rose again in the sky of Georgia, after that he never deviated from the Christian path of Georgia.
Of course, Georgian cultural history is much older, and that’s why everyone who comes to Georgia soon falls in love with this small country.
The history of Georgia is full of many negative events, this small country of the Caucasus has always been a victim of people with imperialist ambitions, and nothing has changed until today, Georgia, like 1000 years ago, is still fighting to preserve its history and culture in the world.
The battle is the same, but the rules have changed, now physical destruction is no longer relevant, and today’s main weapon is erasing the nation’s history and culture.
Society is rich and promising if it remembers its past, what will happen to us if we forget Shota Rustaveli’s ” The Panthers Skin”? Or Saba Orbelian’s fables? We will go back to where we came from, the first age of development, where everything is primitive and monotonous.
Along with the Georgian culture, the Georgian mentality is rich with its positive aspects, since ancient times we have been distinguished by hospitality and most importantly, Georgians have always been tolerant towards women, religions, and nations, these qualities have made us an oasis in Eastern Europe throughout history.
It is always useful to talk about the past, but it is important not to forget the current situation in the world, especially with the beginning of the computer nation, world events are changing very quickly, and the industrial revolution has introduced a completely new way of life in the world, political priorities have changed, new rules of the game have appeared, which if you do not obey, you will be lost in the infinity of the past.
What is the new in the new century?
The evil intentions of the empires have not changed even in the new century, the expansionist missions are still active in foreign countries, and the new democracies emerging from the Soviet ruins in Eastern Europe are in reality the sources of disguised corruption that work with a full load, enriching the rich and impoverishing the poor even more. Eastern European governments, delighted with the idea of capitalist order and freedom, greedily devour the funds sent from the West.
”Thanks” to the activity of Putin’s regime, in almost all the republics of the former Soviet Union, frozen, ethnic conflicts have been renewed, and active wars and destabilization of regions have started, the situation in these regions is complicated by acute social problems, the only thing left for young people is to leave their country because there is no future perspective for them.
Putin’s open, military aggression, my country first felt in 2008, when we sat in our houses with bloodshot eyes and waited for tanks, then no one thought of escaping, we just sat and waited. The tragedy of the war lasted for almost two weeks, Putin won, then no one stood up for Russia, and the politicians got incredibly rich, those who came into politics with no money, are now oligarchs, and those who defended the country unfortunately still exist, the houses are still destroyed and the displaced people still live in huts.
what’s happening today There is still a war today, but now in Ukraine, the scale is much bigger, so the victims and the money are more.
It has been done by Putin for 20 years, putting the population of his country to sleep, by destroying education as much as possible in the country, it is much easier for a dictator to keep the reins of management, by destroying education, the Russian king Putin is trying to simply destroy civilization, this is a direct murder for Russia and other post-Soviet countries. The establishment of the Stalinist cult of one person began with the transformation of man into a herd, the population must live, but nothing else must reduce them to a primitive level so that they can be turned into animals, and the police regime can easily handle the herd of people.
What do we do in the background of all this, despite the active cooperation of the Western institutions, the war started in February 2022 with the government of Ukraine, and the population received hard- times in the first days of the war. The priority of the members of the Ukrainian government should have been the evacuation of the population from hot spots of war and their safe transportation to peaceful regions, however, due to corrupt high-ranking officials, women, children, and the elderly were left in the face of bombs and rockets, and no one is responsible for this. Against the backdrop of humanitarian inactivity, members of the corrupt government are actively asking for financial assistance from the West, of course, because there is no financial benefit from evacuating the population, who will spend money to save the common people when you can use this money to build a luxurious palace in some prestigious resort, the war will be over and everyone will forget, and a member of the corrupt prince, will go to the resort and relax.
Due to the war, there are many humanitarian problems in Europe, and millions of Ukrainian refugees are trying to escape the misery of the war in the West. It seems that the European structures were not prepared for the crisis of refugees, which is why in the advanced countries of Europe, Ukrainians are simply left to their own devices, for various meaningless reasons, they are unable to find employment, residential apartments are either in poor condition or simply do not exist, the situation is so severe that Ukrainians Some of them chose to go back to Ukraine from Europe and continued to live there.
Unfortunately, the main pillars of Western democratic values – the personal freedom of a person – are under threat today. If it is not possible to successfully fulfill this humanitarian mission, Putin will win, he will win because his ideological principle is that there is no man, there is society, and numerous victims in society are mere statistics.
It is vitally necessary that the advanced countries of Western democracy realize that their actions should be developed with the right priority line, first of all, it is necessary to develop a well-organized, humanitarian mission, with the perspective of all kinds of development, safe evacuation of people and subsequent rescue, solving social problems.
Talking about the need for military aid should be replaced by the need for public aid. Military-industrial facilities are working at maximum capacity today to be able to produce deadly weapons as soon as possible, having military paraphernalia is necessary for every country that defends itself, the origin of the history of weapons was by people from prehistoric times so they could protect their families from the enemy, the situation in this area is not very It has changed and the weapon remains a faithful friend of man during the war, but here too we must think about what we want a weapon for, today’s weapon is not a sword, today’s weapon is massive and dangerous, even in the case of professional use, injury or murder of a civilian, and the death of the population is a loss of the war. Equally, this is exactly Putin’s policy and game. That is why it is most important to recognize the mobilization of military paraphernalia as a secondary problem and the initiative to organize humanitarian missions as the main priority.
To see the scale of the problem more clearly, it is necessary to name the numbers. Since the start of the Ukrainian refugee crisis, 8 million people have left Ukraine, more than 90% of whom are women and children, a quarter of the total population of Ukraine. Men between the ages of 18 and 60 are not allowed to leave the country.
7.2 million Ukrainians are taking refuge in European countries, the vast majority of them are women and children, unable to find employment due to the language barrier, and receiving only minimal government assistance. According to data, 225,000 Ukrainian refugees are in the United States of America today, despite minimal financial assistance, unfortunately, there is no specific program that would help integrate the population into society.
We must not forget the millions of Ukrainian citizens who are still in Ukraine and are still waiting for evacuation and saving their lives.
Of course, we should not forget Georgia, when it was the victim of Putin’s first active, expansive actions in 2008, hundreds of thousands of people became refugees in this small country, but unfortunately, the history of refugees in Georgia begins in the early 90s, as a result of the separatist conflict that began in the Abkhazia region of Georgia, up to 300,000 people It has been displaced, the displaced Georgian population has been waiting for decent living conditions for 30 years. Unfortunately, despite the allocation of numerous financial grants, the monthly pension for refugees is $20.
Due to the mercantile policies of the governments, the Eastern European countries are suffering doubly as a result of Putin’s aggression, the only way to get rid of this is the reform in our minds, the reform that there is not a single mechanical weapon in the world that is more important than human life and freedom.

February 14. 2023

Entry tree

Hello, my name is Nikoloz Gvasalia, I am a student from Georgia. I was born and raised in a small post-Soviet country, Georgia, I finished school in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, and then I entered Tbilisi State University, Faculty of Humanities. I have loved humanities since childhood, especially history. My grandfather, Avtandil Menteshashvili, was an academician, the head of the Department of Russian History at Tbilisi University, he is the author of several interesting cognitive books, which mainly deal with the history of the origin of conflicts in the Caucasus and other former Soviet regions, my grandfather was one of the first Soviet professors who came to the United States of America on a business trip And he conducted research on the First Republic of Georgia at Harvard University in Massachusetts. Based on his research, in 1991, Georgia declared the Act of Independence and established the Second Republic. Unfortunately, my grandfather died in the same year I was born, that’s why I know these stories from my childhood, it always saddened me that I couldn’t meet him, because of his tragic death, my grandfather couldn’t finish a few of his papers, maybe that’s why I chose history for my future career because I always I had a feeling that I should continue to finish it.
I believe that getting an education in America is the best way to achieve my academic goals. I have been here for more than 6 months. Fortunately, Fermata Art Foundation, a non-profit organization, the founder of the organization, Nikolai Synkov, and the executive director, Tatyana Ishutkina, have generously allowed me to live temporarily, At the Fermata Art Foundation building in Avon, Connecticut, have been providing reimbursement for my living expenses until now. With the help of the organization, I was able to hold several presentations about the history and traditions of Georgia and the Caucasus region in libraries.
My every morning starts with a workout, thanks to the donation of F45 gyms, I can exercise for free, and after an hour of exercise, I have breakfast, my diet consists mainly of home-cooked meals, which the members of the organization prepare with their personal funds, after breakfast I start academic activities, mainly writing, I try every day I update my blog, on my site, and at the end of the day I make changes to my activity log by day. I have a 2003 Honda Civic car, and the car needs standard fuel, due to financial instability, I often fill it with fuel through a donation or simply with the fuel bought by a friend.
My greatest desire is to be allowed to pursue a formal academic education so that in the future I can be closer to my goal of conducting research on post-Soviet, new, and recent history and completing my grandfather’s unfinished business. Of course, all this is unfortunately impossible without basic financial support.
In my opinion, researching military conflicts and problems of recent history with historical documents will allow us to prevent future military crises in Eastern European countries. The obtained and confirmed facts will allow us to conduct a constructive dialogue between the conflicting parties based on historical reality.

Jerusalem of Peace

Almost a year has passed since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, tragic events began on February 24, 2022, when the Russian army crossed the border of Ukraine and an active armed conflict began. However, we must say that the war in Ukraine started much earlier in 2014 in the eastern regions of the country, namely in the Donetsk and Luhansk districts.
Here, the Russian special services supported the local separatist regimes with their usual tactics, the ordinary population suffered the most, and the population of the eastern cities of Ukraine lived in fear for 8 years, in the Donetsk region, artillery fire was gradually taking place from both sides, and once large and safe cities became a training ground after 2014.
In February 2022, the war resumes, but this time the war is much larger, as the armies of the two largest European countries are fighting in the conflict. We can safely say that the war is going on in the entire territory of Ukraine, along with the increase in the radius of hostilities, the number of victims among the civilian population has also increased, Millions of Ukrainians were left without a home, and due to the unstable environment in the country, millions of Ukrainians decided to save themselves by emigrating.
About 5.2 million Ukrainians are registered as refugees in European countries, and 2.5 million Ukrainians have taken refuge in Russia. At the same time, the events in Russia are developing dramatically, where in September 2022, general military mobilization was announced.
This means that the armed forces are allowed to call up almost all healthy men from the age of 18 to the age of 55 for military service. These events, of course, caused great dissatisfaction among the Russian youth, and from the day of the announcement of the mobilization, the population began to flee the country. Unfortunately, Russian sources do not allow us to state the exact number, although according to unofficial data, 4 million people left Russia.
Russian and Ukrainian migrants, of course, choose countries with strong economies for migration, that is, mainly Western European countries, but it seems that for the displaced population, only the economic situation is not important, although the economy of Georgia is not very strong, there are about 200,000 Ukrainians in our country and more than 400,000 Russians entered, As a percentage, if we compare these numbers with the population of Georgia, we will realize that this percentage is a very large number.
Why do Russians and Ukrainians choose Georgia?
In my opinion, the most real reason is the geographical location of Georgia, it turned out that Georgia directly borders the Russian Federation in the south-east, and after arriving in Georgia, almost all directions are open for Russian citizens, Georgia is not far from Ukraine, especially for those Ukrainians who took refuge in Russia after the war. The second solid reason is the closeness of mentality, although Russia, Ukraine, and Georgia are inhabited by different ethnic people, our mentality is quite close to each other, during the Soviet Union, generations grew up so that all three republics were part of one whole country, therefore upbringing, religion, mentality, makes it easier to adapt to a new environment and makes life in emigration much easier.
If we look at the statistics, 75% of the population entering the country is 32 years old or younger, and the majority of those entering choose Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, to live in. Why do Russian and Ukrainian young people like Tbilisi? Well, Tbilisi is a historical, ancient city, but we can also confidently say that Tbilisi is also a modern European city. Living in the city is cheaper compared to other countries, the city is always alive and full of entertainment activities, and the nightlife culture in the capital of Georgia has been actively developing since the 2000s today it is even called the Berlin of Eastern Europe.
First of all, there is freedom in there, you can freely hold a protest, and wear the clothes you want, this certainly causes a great cultural shock among the newly arrived Belarusian and Russian youth, and because of this they soon fall in love with Tbilisi. It is a small freedom island in a region.
Hospitality is a big part of the Georgian mentality, it seems to be in our genetic code, there is no more fortunate moment for a Georgian than when a guest expresses satisfaction, that’s why our country is one of the favorite places for tourists from many other countries.
Tbilisi is the Jerusalem of peace for the youth tired of war, politics, and fighting, here you won’t find foreigners who fight each other because of politics, where everyone is surrounded by love for Georgia and eats delicious Georgian dishes.
the capital of youth, this is also a kind of art, the art of peace, which is established not by bombs but by love.

1. Letter from the school received on 02/03/23:

We didn’t know about the Fermata Art Foundation and this project.

As it seems,it is very important project for students to develop their abilities.. I think this project is really important to show them the opportunities that do exist around them. It is very important and useful for students with typical development.But I want to know about our school and students.It is the special school with the various disabilities students. Some of them have mental and physical disabilities. All of them are students with special needs.

I don’t know how much they will be able to get involved in this project. If our students can draw such this thematically drawings, we will be happy to participate in this project…

2. Reply to the school sent on 02/03/23:

Fermata Arts Foundation Office <office@fermata-arts.org>	7:02 AM (1 hour ago)		to Akhaltsikhe7

Dear Lali,

Thank you for your letter.

Thank you for your students participation in creating their drawings.

We will be happy to accept your drawings in any quantity, small or large. Once we receive them, we will mail certificates of participation to every student and teacher involved.

These drawings will become a recommendation to request a meeting with the President of Georgia.

Thank you, again.

Sincerely,

Tatyana

Tatyana Ishutkina

Executive Director

Fermata Arts Foundation Inc.

NOTE. Memory Stick with photos and videos from the trip to upstate NY on 02/01/23 and a memory card for the Canon camera can be located on the dinner table.

Please take a picture of a newly installed “Discussion club” poster engraved on a wooden panel and hanged on the “Berlin Wall” left from your father’s drawing. Fix the hanging if it was damaged by wind. Email me a couple of pictures for Tweeter posting.

Interview Questions to the Students Participating in the

Fermata Arts Foundation Cross-Cultural Events

1. What is important about having civic ambitions?

2. What is the role of your country in the equilibriums of the World?

3. How do student and teacher effect cultural development in their own family? In their own country? The World? In one’s internal world? What role can events like concerts and exhibitions play in this?

4. How can we preserve peace through artistic activity and art?

5. What is, or what do you think should rank as most important in the world of art? Depth of understanding? he nature of one’s object? Virtuosity? Self-realization? Academic progress? Something else?

6. Does social truth in art derive from isolating oneself from, or immersing oneself in, society? How would you isolate or immerse yourself?

7. Is it important to follow to professional conventions in art?

Student Name: _____________

Student Age: _____________

School: _____________

We are looking forward for your participation in this project!

E-mail your questions/comments to our office at: office@fermata-arts.org

Sincerely,

Fermata Arts Foundation Team