Conversations with Books
To meaningfully reintroduce Akaki Bakradze’s works into public life, we are supporting student-led book clubs at universities in Tbilisi and across Georgia. We hope this will give young people the chance to explore Akaki Bakradze’s writings in depth and reflect on the relevance of his ideas. The program will provide complimentary books and offer modest stipends.
Alongside funding book clubs, the Society will also support students who wish to study Bakradze’s works independently. Any student may fill out a form, indicate the selected work, and explain their motivation for reading it, upon which they will receive the book as a gift from the Society.
Note: Please refer to the Georgian version of this page to learn more.
Why do we look at our regions through the eyes of a foreign tourist? Yes, it’s good to admire them as they are indeed magnificent and breathtaking, but everything must also be looked after. How long will we go on merely observing our own country?
The cultural and economic centers of Georgia’s regions should not lag behind Tbilisi.
— Akaki Bakradze, Enough with Visiting Our Regions Like Foreign Tourists
For a small and vulnerable country like Georgia, political orientation is of decisive importance. The choice still stands before us today: Russia or Europe and America? If we fail to make a final decision, if we drift between one side and the other, Georgia’s fate will be placed directly in the path of danger.
The dogma of shared faith is one of the most dangerous obstacles. It must be said clearly: unless this dogma is erased from Georgia’s political consciousness, we will never break free from Russian dominion.
— Akaki Bakradze, Naiveté
We’ve known with certainty that Russia has been at war with us. That war began long ago, in 1801. Since then, it has taken many forms, shown many faces. But its purpose has always been the same: to bring Georgia to its knees, to break its spine, and to force it into submission.
— Akaki Bakradze, Tomorrow Will Be Too Late
The gift of imitation is a great blessing, but God went too far for Georgians and gave us too little reason and too much imitation. And so we became like monkeys. Wherever we lack our own judgment, courage, resilience, or will, we try to win the game by copying foreigners, hoping to score someone else’s goal.
— Akaki Bakradze, The Unused, or Tragic Freedom