KSAN VALLEY IN THE PAGES OF THE NEWSPAPER „DROEBA“

Abstract

This paper analyzes materials published in the newspaper „droeba“ concerning the Ksan Valley. These sources enable us to better study the political, economic, and cultural situation in the occupied Akhalgori Municipality in the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century. They also provide information on the region’s religious and ethnographic life, the contribution of prominent individuals, the condition of Georgian churches and monasteries at that time, and other important issues.

The authors of the articles published in the newspaper mostly wrote under pseudonyms, which, in our observation, allowed them to present the problems and shortcomings of the period more openly. editorial policy of his newspaper were also aimed at this – establishing the principle of truth-telling in society and helping ordinary people overcome their difficult living conditions. The central idea of the articles dedicated to the Ksan Valley is primarily the concern for improving the social condition of peasants.

Education was considered the main tool for achieving success in life and escaping oppression. The publications illustrate how different groups of contemporaries – especially traders, petty merchants – took advantage of the illiteracy of the majority of the population. Hence, particular attention is given to the importance of opening schools.

The population of the Ksan Valley had long been troubled by the absence of roads, as villages were cut off from each other and from the outside world for months. The newspaper frequently drew attention to these issues as well.

A significant part of the publications devoted to the Ksan Valley follows the leitmotif of recalling Georgia’s glorious past while presenting the painful reality of the present.

Keywords: Ksan Valley, Dusheti District, churches and monasteries, lack of roads, petty merchants, school openings, education, teacher, plowing and sowing.