Trapped in the Past: Memories of Georgian Internally Displaced Persons on the Margins of Society

Toria, Malkhaz; Pirtskhalava, Nino; Kekelia, Elene; Ladaria, Konstantine

doi:10.1017/nps.2018.34

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…These views are radically different, and among these groups, discussion of historical aspects of interethnic relations is predominantly hostile. Some scholars believe that such a "war of historians" played an important role in the escalation of ethnic conflicts in Georgia in the 90s of the twentieth century (Toria, Pirtskhalava, Kekelia, & Ladaria, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Presidential Elections in the South Caucasus: Political Transformations, Imagined Unity, and Memory Discourses

2024

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As a head of the project I would like to express my gratitude to all those thanks to whom this work was published within the framework of the project "How to Win Elections in Georgia" supported by the Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia in 2018. The idea for this project was born while working on Dr. Maia Bolkvadze's dissertation "Auto-and hetero-stereotypes in political discourse and their translation in Georgian media" at Shota Rustaveli Batumi State University in 2016 and then developed into a broader project analyzing three South Caucasus countries. Her knowledge and experience played an important role in the preparation of the final work.The completion of this project was made possible by international experts whose extensive knowledge and invaluable advice provided immeasurable assistance during the research planning, material collection, source analysis, and presentation of result phases. I would like to thank Dr. Sevil Huseynova, Dr. Sergey Rumyantsev and Dr. Mikayel Zolyan who are also authors of sections of the publication. In addition, we would like to thank Dr. Sevil Huseynova and Dr. Sergey Rumyantsev`s co-author in the section on Azerbaijan, Jafar Akhundov.During the project implementation, the project team faced many challenges, among which the main ones were the COVID pandemic and military actions in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Of course, other organizational and technical problems, as well as other local challenges arose in the process. However, it should be highlighted that in the process of the work many people gave us useful advice and important critical comments on various issues. The knowledge they shared in preparation of the articles and their final drafts, as well as feedback, and opinions expressed during the workshops and interviews allowed the project participants to better understand their research problems and helped to overcome a number of difficulties. I would like to thank them all.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Presidential Elections in the South Caucasus: Political Transformations, Imagined Unity, and Memory Discourses

2024

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“…All sides instrumentalize history to claim ownership of Abkhazia and South Ossetia/ Tskhinvali region. The "war of historians" preceded the Georgian-Abkhaz and Georgian-Ossetian conflicts in the 1990s (Toria et al 2019).…”

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confidence: 99%

Rethinking Memory Sites and Symbolic Realms of Georgian National Identity

Jones¹,

Toria²

2021

CASU

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The Curse of Displacement: Local Narratives of Forced Expulsion and the Appropriation of Abandoned Property in Abkhazia

Peinhopf

2020

Nationalities Papers

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Since the end of the Georgian-Abkhaz war, the often-precarious status of the Georgians displaced from Abkhazia has received significant academic attention. In contrast, the consequences of displacement from the reverse perspective—how it has affected the people who stayed behind—remains underanalyzed. Drawing on narratives collected during several months of ethnographic fieldwork, this article argues that although ethnic Abkhazians see themselves as victims of ethnic violence rather than perpetrators, the re-distribution of Georgian property nevertheless caused significant distress. Many condemned the practice of appropriation, suggesting that taking what is not one’s own is not only a violation of the property of the original owner, but also of the Abkhaz moral code and therefore shameful. To them, the trophy houses were a curse, both literally—as spaces haunted by former occupants—and metaphorically, as a source and reminder of a certain “moral corruption” within Abkhazian society. However, while the stories around the trophy houses reflect substantial intra-communal divisions, I suggest that they are also an expression of a shared postwar experience. Like the horror stories of Georgian violence, and the tales of Abkhaz heroism, they have become part of an intimate national repertoire constitutive of Abkhazia’s postwar community.

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Trapped in the Past: Memories of Georgian Internally Displaced Persons on the Margins of Society

Cited by 6 publications

References 25 publications

Presidential Elections in the South Caucasus: Political Transformations, Imagined Unity, and Memory Discourses

Presidential Elections in the South Caucasus: Political Transformations, Imagined Unity, and Memory Discourses

Rethinking Memory Sites and Symbolic Realms of Georgian National Identity

The Curse of Displacement: Local Narratives of Forced Expulsion and the Appropriation of Abandoned Property in Abkhazia

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