Caucasian Paintings
It fell on my lot to present the New Year’s issue with an overview of Caucasian life over the past year. But readers know what a difficult and thankless task it is. Not to mention that in general any “review” in which it is necessary to “abbreviatedly” repeat what has already been said has such properties, the “Review of Caucasian life” has its own specific difficulties that take away any desire to take it.
First of all, it is unsafe to interpret the phenomena of fresh, still unfinished, ongoing nature. And then we must not forget that these phenomena did not take place in Morocco or on one of the Philippine islands, so that we could speak about them fearlessly: the phenomena that we would like to observe occurred in our Caucasus region, and this is enough to put an end to [censored].
But even without this point, the observer of Caucasian life is in great difficulty with respect to the sources from which to draw the necessary information for a year or any other review.
At the beginning of the year, on January 3, the centenary of the capture of the Ganja fortress by Russians and its renaming to the city of Elisavetpol in honor of the wife of Emperor Alexander I was celebrated. During the celebration, Elisavetopolish governor, General Lutzau, congratulating the residents on such an important event, said:
A hundred years have passed since the accession of the Ganja Khanate to Russia; the population, developing peacefully, enjoys all the rights of citizenship and culture: the protection of life and property, humane laws, broad self-government — these are the benefits that the local population is not without.
The Caucasian press!.. These two words contain so much meaning…
Does the Caucasian press reflect public life in the region?
Of course not, everyone would agree with me on this one. First of all, there are very few press organs in the region, one or two is not enough. And then the existing ones are too concentrated on one or two places, while the remaining communities, vast areas and provinces, not inferior in space to entire kingdoms, do not have printed organs at all. Several periodicals are designed to serve the interests of latter. How they serve and guard the local interests of not only remote areas, but also their own is also well known.
It is enough to mention that the Baku newspapers are developing articles of vital interest for the Kuban region, the Vladikavkaz newspapers are engaged in Erivan affairs, and the Tiflis newspapers are dealing with Baku, Ashkabad and Grozny, but not Tiflis…
The point, of course, is not the question of tastes, which are not debated… Should we further mention the language in which our newspapers write, interpreting certain issues relating to the provinces and regions that are not so distant? Aesop himself be overawed by the Caucasian journalists, who learnt with the agility of the real voltigera to bypass the dangerous Scylla and Charybdis. This art was learned not only by jury newspaper workers, whom God also commanded to resort to the language of Aesop, but “our”, “own” and “casual” correspondents were well familiar with the latter too.
What an interesting people these are — Caucasian correspondents! A whole treatise could be written about them. In this significant part of the newspaper army there are a lot of real workers and useful figures, but quite a few who are itchy writers. Among the first, a good half consists of local teachers who take with due seriousness the holy work of serving their native land. Under the current conditions of the Caucasus region, where ignorance reigns, only from modest but respectable figures in the people’s field — the local teachers can be replenished, but, unfortunately, are not replenished for various reasons — are rare type of newspaper correspondents from different backwoods of the Caucasus.
One wonders if the Caucasian press under the present conditions could be a faithful spokesperson for public opinion, moreover correctly and appropriately reflect the phenomena of life around them?
But the press is the only source for the observer if he must look for data in order to draw one or another conclusion from the way of public life over the past year. However, the real truth is full swing somewhere in the dungeon, does not see God’s light and in vain seeks a way out through the hard rocks that have closely overlaid him…
I believe that there are enough reasons giving me the right to completely abandon the review of Caucasian life in 1904.
Instead of such a review, today we will conduct a series of discussions with readers under the general title “Caucasian paintings”. This is a huge canvas, for which dozens of brushes are needed. Please do not complain in advance if you have to use pale colors on these “paintings”, which is why sometimes the “pictures” come out lifeless, foggy, and even just clumsy, because in urgent newspaper work and under the current conditions it’s impossible to be an artist at all, and in particular, someone who writes in bright sunny colors …
We will be morally satisfied if we are able to fully outline even the sketchy part of the “Caucasian paintings”, providing a chance to finish for the real artists who should someday be in our Caucasus too. But in order to achieve the desired completeness, information and facts from the life of the region are necessary. We will draw them from wherever it is possible: correspondence of all the Caucasian newspapers, letters or messages. We express our gratitude to all our regular and random correspondents in advance. In this regard, we pin our hopes on the Caucasian intelligentsia, without distinction of ethnicity.
Intelligent people have a holy duty to help the cause of the spiritual and economic recovery of their native Caucasus. Undoubtedly, each of them in their work also benefits the common cause, but in the present situation of our region, which does not have a sufficient number of writers, it is the duty of every intelligent Caucasian to support free speech (in original: гласность — C.A.) by all means, which plays the role of a strong lever in awakening and developing of the masses.
Let every intelligent Caucasian write himself or even report on some ugly fact, certain needs and troubles of the locality, bad customs, popular superstitions, etc. Not a single organ of the local press will refuse and will provide as much as their publicity offers. If nothing works, the columns of the “Kaspi” are open for this, and the already drawn canvas of “Caucasian paintings” is waiting for facts and information.
Let every intelligent Caucasian — whether it be an Armenian, a Georgian, a Lezgin, a Balkar — remember that in addition to professional, official and other personal duties, each of them has a common duty imposed on them by the interests of their homeland, the success of which should be the ultimate goal of all Caucasian nationalities, and above all, the advancement of their people.
It is time for our Caucasian intelligentsia to recognize their spiritual kinship, created by a community of socioeconomic and spiritual-moral interests.
In the name of these interests, it is time for the intelligentsia of Georgians, Tatars and Armenians to rally under that ancient banner, on which the Caucasus flaunts sweet to the heart of every native with all its marvelous mountains, beautiful valleys, noisy rivers, shady gardens, with all its once brave and patriarchy-friendly nations …
Glimpses of the spiritual unity of the Caucasian intelligentsia are already visible, and it depends on the latter to strengthen this spiritual connection.
To wish this spiritual connection to be realized in the minds of intelligent people, to develop and become stronger — this is our New Year’s greetings.
Happy New Year, Caucasians!
A.M.-b Topchubashov
The Caspian (Каспий) 1 January 1905
