CRRC, ARISC and American Councils are pleased to announce the 7th session of the Spring 2025 Tbilisi Works-in-Progress series!
This week’s session will be in hybrid format in-person at the CRRC Georgia office (Chavchavadze Ave. 5, Tbilisi, Georgia, 0179) and online via Zoom.
“The Diplomatic Backstage of the 1920s in Akaki Chkhenkeli’s Diaries: Rediscovering the Past”
Giorgi Beridze
This talk delves into the diaries of Akaki Chkhenkeli, a renowned Georgian-Menshevik diplomat and statemen from the 1921 Soviet occupation of Georgia to the Genua International Conference in 1022. The study focuses on the interaction of powerful European governments with revolutionary Russia and the Caucasus. Chkhenkeli’s diaries are used as a major source of analysis, and his reflections and actions, as evidenced by his notes, are used to follow the story of Georgia’s Social Democratic government after surrendering to Bolshevik troops to the coulisses of the Genoa Conference in pursuit of legitimacy and international support.
Giorgi Beridze is a political scientist and historian specializing in labor relations, Europeanization studies, and security studies who has recently defended his PhD at Tbilisi State University. His research also explores the history of the Marxist movement in Georgia and the nation’s political and social developments from the 1890s to the 1930s. His work has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals, including Europe-Asia Studies, Revolutionary Russia, and the TalTech Journal of European Studies. In addition to his contributions to international academia, he is the author of numerous books and articles in the Georgian language.
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Works-in-Progress is an ongoing academic discussion series based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that takes place at the CRRC office at Chavchavadze Ave. 5 and online. It is co-organized by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC) Georgia, the American Councils for International Education, and the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC). All of the talks are free and open to the public.
In observation of the spirit of the Chatham House Rule, the talks will not be recorded, and we courteously request that the other participants refrain from recording and/or distributing recordings as well or citing anything expressed therein in the press without explicit permission. The opinions expressed in WiP talks are those of the speakers alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of CRRC, ARISC or of American Councils.
