Main aspects of Niko Nikoladze's publicistic works

Abstract

The history of Georgian journalism has known many outstanding figures, but Niko Nikoladze, as a publicist, stands out for his versatile and tireless work. In Georgian historiography, the journalistic activities of the great Georgian have not been adequately studied and covered. That is why we want to present the most important aspects, direction, and themes of N. Nikoladze's journalistic work, which mainly covers the 1960s-1980s.

Niko Nikoladze's journalistic work began during his student years. These were not his first steps in journalism. While still in St. Petersburg, he collaborated with Russian newspapers. In March 1864, she published a short letter, "Bokley and the Women's Issue," in the newspaper „Народное богатство“ (People's Wealt). In August of the same year, N. Nikoladze published an extensive story "Provincial Pictures" in the magazine „Современник“ (Contemporary), which dealt with the role and status of women in the society of that time.  N. Nikoladze continues to actively cooperate with the press even during his studies in France. In January 1865, the utopian-socialist Pierre Joseph Proudhon died in Paris. Nikoladze did not share Proudhon's views, but "he liked a man who sincerely strived to make human society better." Therefore, he wrote an essay, "Pierre Joseph Proudhon," which was published on January 21, 1865, in "С-Петербургская Ведомость" (St. Petersburg Gazette). In January of the same year, N. Nikoladze was visited in Paris by Alexander Herzen, who offered him collaboration in „Колокол“ (The Bell) and commissioned him to write an article “On the ongoing peasant reform in the Caucasus”. This article was published by the editorial office of „Колокол“ upon receipt. After the first successful article in Paris, N. Nikoladze published two more articles in the issues of „Колокол“  dated August 1 and September 15, 1865: „Наши будущие адвокаты перед Московскими ведомостями“ and „Июньские дни в Тифлисе“.

The great Georgian's collaboration with Alexander Herzen did not last long. Serious differences of opinion emerged among them. Nikoladze accuses and criticizes Gertsen for "attempting to reconcile with the government." Thus, in September 1865, N. Nikoladze ceased his collaboration with „Колокол“, left the country and moved to Switzerland to study. Just like in Paris, Niko also works as a journalist in Switzerland alongside his studies. In 1866, his book "Government and the New Generation" was published in Russian. This book is a summary of the author's political views of that period, which aims to provide a political assessment of the activities of the government, on the one hand, and the "young emigration" on the other (Nikoladze 1962:317-369).

In the work, the author harshly criticizes the tsarist government. He points out in detail to the readers the frauds committed by the government of Alexander II in the 1860s while implementing the peasant reform. As for the "new generation", in Nikoladze's opinion, they are fighting for a social order where all privileges will be abolished. As for the issue of the struggle for national freedom, he said, "The new generation says: Russia has no right to rule over a country that wants to be its own master and manage its own affairs" (ibid., 355).

As we can see, during his studies in Europe, N. Nikoladze was actively engaged in journalistic activities. His articles deal with important political or social issues of the period and arouse lively interest among readers. After completing his studies, he returned to Georgia from Europe and, together with S. Meskhi, began working at the newspaper "Droeba" in the spring of 1870. „Droeba" was founded on March 4, 1866, under the editorship of Giorgi Tsereteli. This was the first Georgian political newspaper that actively discussed the country's pressing domestic and foreign policy issues. Critical journalistic articles published in the newspaper "Droeba" earned N. Nikoladze public recognition and love. His letters were distinguished by their diversity of topics and broad erudition. Nikoladze, in the pages of "Droeba", pays great attention to the discussion of social and economic problems of society, as well as the analysis of international political problems.

Unfortunately, disagreements soon arose between S. Meskhi and N. Nikoladze. They take turns preparing issues of "Droeba." The newspaper was published like this for several months, which obviously could not last long. Therefore, N. Nikoladze appealed to the Crown Prince of the Caucasus to be granted permission to publish the Russian-language newspaper " Обзор " (Review). This request, as a politically unreliable person, was not granted. Then Niko found another solution. He agreed with Giorgi Tsereteli and requested the right to publish the magazine "Collection" on his behalf. The magazine "Krebuli" was published under the editorship of N. Nikoladze until the summer of 1871. At the same time, he continued his fruitful work in "Droeba".