University

Biography

About Mr. Grigol Robakidze

Grigol Robakidze is recognized as a poet, a thinker, a publisher but first of all as a philosopher among Georgian society. Gr. Robakidze was recognized as an importer of western ideals into Georgia and of eastern customs into the west. He was one of the first people who were against the Soviet Dictatorial Regime and he sheltered himself in Germany in 1931. He is perceived as a symbol of free ideas, of the struggle against the wicked empire among the Georgian youth.

Perhaps, this was the reason why Grigol Robakidze University chose Grigol Robakidze, following a competition to choose the name for our University.

Gr. Robakidze was born on October 28, 1880 in one of the most beautiful parts of Georgia - Imereti, in a little village called Sviri. After graduating from Kutaisi Seminary in 1901 he continued his studies at the Juriev University on the Faculty of Law. After 4 months he moved to continue his study in Leipzig University, Germany. He entered this university as a student of the Faculty of Philosophy. After 4 years, at the end of which he did not pass the graduating exams at the Leipzig University, he went to Paris. After 18 months he returned to the Juriev University, the last term he attended in Kazan. Again he did not graduate from the university as in 1914 World War I began.

Gr. Robakidze lived for 10 years under the Communist Regime. He was at all the time oppressed by the Security KGB. They found his ideas against the Soviet ideology unacceptable. That is why Robakidze, who loved his freedom so much, sheltered himself in Germany. The writer's major literary-artistic works and publications were created in Germany. In 1935-45 he published in the German language: "Maggie", "The Killed Soul", "The Goddess` Call", "Guards of the Graal", "Devil and Mythos", "Adolph Hitler", "Mussolini" together with many newspaper articles, poems and so on. Before these were written his dramas such as "Conda", "Malshtrem", "Lamara", the novel "The Skin of the Snake", poems, publication, critical and literary letters in Georgia.

The main leitmotif of his works was to show society how the dictatorial, undemocratic state system corrupts a human soul. In his essays he creates the most original and the most noteworthy portraits of famous statesmen. The politicians of the time were attentive to his ideas; indeed Gr. Robakidze's ideas continue to maintain interest even nowadays.

Gr. Robakidze died at the age of 82 on November 9th, 1962 in Geneva. Two days earlier he decided to announce his engagement to the 32 years old Countess Gilza Von Schtrachwis.