The Most Famous

WRITERS from Georgia

This page contains a list of the greatest Georgian Writers. The pantheon dataset contains 7,302 Writers, 32 of which were born in Georgia. This makes Georgia the birth place of the 34th most number of Writers behind Argentina, and Croatia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Georgian Writers of all time. This list of famous Georgian Writers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Georgian Writers.

1. Shota Rustaveli (1172 - 1216)

With an HPI of 71.13, Shota Rustaveli is the most famous Georgian Writer. His biography has been translated into 75 different languages on wikipedia.

Shota Rustaveli (Georgian: შოთა რუსთაველი, c. 1160 – after c. 1220), mononymously known simply as Rustaveli, was a medieval Georgian poet. He is considered to be the pre-eminent poet of the Georgian Golden Age and one of the greatest contributors to Georgian literature. Rustaveli was the author of The Knight in the Panther's Skin, a Georgian national epic poem.

2. Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893 - 1930)

With an HPI of 71.02, Vladimir Mayakovsky is the 2nd most famous Georgian Writer. His biography has been translated into 80 different languages.

Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky (Russian: Владимир Владимирович Маяковский, IPA: [məjɪˈkofskʲɪj] ; 19 July [O.S. 7 July] 1893 – 14 April 1930) was a Russian poet, playwright, artist, and actor. During his early, pre-Revolution period leading into 1917, Mayakovsky became renowned as a prominent figure of the Russian Futurist movement. He co-signed the Futurist manifesto, A Slap in the Face of Public Taste (1913), and wrote such poems as "A Cloud in Trousers" (1915) and "Backbone Flute" (1916). Mayakovsky produced a large and diverse body of work during the course of his career: he wrote poems, wrote and directed plays, appeared in films, edited the art journal LEF, and produced agitprop posters in support of the Communist Party during the Russian Civil War of 1917–1922. Though Mayakovsky's work regularly demonstrated ideological and patriotic support for the ideology of the Bolsheviks and a strong admiration of Vladimir Lenin, his relationship with the Soviet state was always complex and often tumultuous. Mayakovsky often found himself engaged in confrontation with the increasing involvement of the Soviet state in cultural censorship and the development of the State doctrine of Socialist realism. Works that criticized or satirized aspects of the Soviet system, such as the poem "Talking With the Taxman About Poetry" (1926), and the plays The Bedbug (1929) and The Bathhouse (1929), met with scorn from the Soviet state and literary establishment. In 1930, Mayakovsky committed suicide. Even after death, his relationship with the Soviet state remained unsteady. Though Mayakovsky had previously been harshly criticized by Soviet governmental bodies such as the Russian Association of Proletarian Writers, Premier Joseph Stalin described Mayakovsky after his death as "the best and the most talented poet of our Soviet epoch".

3. Sayat-Nova (1712 - 1795)

With an HPI of 65.81, Sayat-Nova is the 3rd most famous Georgian Writer. His biography has been translated into 37 different languages.

Sayat-Nova (Armenian: Սայեաթ-Նովայ (сlassical), Սայաթ-Նովա (reformed); Georgian: საიათნოვა; Azerbaijani: سایات‌نووا; Persian: سایات‌نووا; born Harutyun Sayatyan; 14 June 1712 – 22 September 1795) was an Armenian poet, musician and ashugh, who had compositions in a number of languages.

4. Ilia Chavchavadze (1837 - 1907)

With an HPI of 61.19, Ilia Chavchavadze is the 4th most famous Georgian Writer. His biography has been translated into 53 different languages.

Prince Ilia Chavchavadze (Georgian: ილია ჭავჭავაძე; 27 October 1837 – 12 September 1907) was a Georgian public figure, journalist, publisher, writer and poet who spearheaded the revival of Georgian nationalism during the second half of the 19th century and ensured the survival of the Georgian language, literature, and culture during the last decades of Tsarist rule. He is Georgia's "most universally revered hero" and is regarded as the "Father of the Nation." He was a leader of contemporary youth intellectual movement named "Tergdaleulebi". They spread modern and European liberal ideals in Georgia. Ilia Chavchavadze founded two modern newspapers: Sakartvelos Moambe and Iveria. He played an important role in the creation of the first financial structure in Georgia – Land Bank of Tbilisi, with the aim of protecting Georgian land from being bought by Armenian bourgeoisie. During 30 years he was a chairman of this Bank, through which he financed and promoted most of the cultural, educational, economical and charity events which took place in Georgia. Continuing the educational work started in Constantinople by Fr. Peter Kharischirashvili and the Servites of the Immaculate Conception, Ilia Chavchavadze also participated in the foundation of "Society for the Spreading of Literacy among Georgians" – an organization that established schools that taught in the Georgian language. This was instrumental in halting the Russification policy of Russian Empire in Georgia. Inspired by the contemporary liberal and nationalist movements throughout Europe, Chavchavadze directed much of his efforts toward awakening national and liberal ideals among Georgians. Chavchavadze was the author of numerous articles that were published in his newspaper Iveria, as well as in other periodicals that were published in Georgia. In his articles, Chavchavadze discussed literature, education, theater, politics, economics, current affairs. His views on self-government, judicial system, social issues, human rights, women's rights, and civic activism were ahead of their time and contributed to Georgia's sense of national identity. He was a devoted protector of the Georgian language and culture from Russification. He coined the phrase "Ena, Mamuli, Sartsmunoeba" ("Language, Homeland, Faith"), which is a widely acknowledged slogan of Georgian nationalism. During the 1905 Russian Revolution Chavchavadze was elected as a representative of the Georgian nobility to the imperial State Council. However, he stated that he would represent the whole nation, not just one particular social class. He advocated against capital punishment and lobbied for Georgian autonomy. His most important literary works were: The Hermit, The Ghost, Otaraant Widow, Kako The Robber, Happy Nation, Letters of a Traveler and Is a man a human?!. Chavchavadze was killed in Tsitsamuri, near Mtskheta, by a gang of assassins. Details of his murder are still matter of debate. His legacy earned him the broad admiration of the Georgian people. In 1987 he was canonized as Saint Ilia the Righteous (წმინდა ილია მართალი, tsminda ilia martali) by the Georgian Orthodox Church. Today, Georgians revere Chavchavadze as The Uncrowned King (უგვირგვინო მეფე, ugvirgvino mepe) and the "Father of the Nation."

5. Pavel Bermondt-Avalov (1877 - 1974)

With an HPI of 57.68, Pavel Bermondt-Avalov is the 5th most famous Georgian Writer. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Prince Pavel Rafailovich Bermondt-Avalov (Russian: Павел Рафаилович Бермондт-Авалов) or Prince Avalov (16 March [O.S. 4 March] 1877 – 27 December 1973) was a Russian Imperial officer and a Cossack adventurer-warlord. He is best known as the commander of the West Russian Volunteer Army which was active in present-day Latvia and Lithuania in the aftermath of World War I. Born into a Georgian-Russian family, Avalov received a musical education in Warsaw and joined the Russian Imperial Army's Baikal Cossacks host as a musical conductor. He participated in the Russo-Japanese War, during which he was awarded the Cross of St. George. After converting to Orthodoxy, he was transferred to the Ussuri Cossacks and was promoted to cornet. During the First World War, Avalov worked as a personal adjutant for Pavel Mishchenko, serving in Eastern Prussia and Galicia. Throughout his military career, Avalov was injured seven times. After being demobilized in 1917, Avalov became involved in the Russian Civil War as an ardent supporter of the White Army. After defending Kyiv from Symon Petlyura, Avalov was captured and later exiled into Germany, where he formed a unit to fight the Bolsheviks in the Baltic States, along with general Rüdiger von der Goltz's Baltische Landeswehr. While fighting in Latvia and Lithuania to establish a pro-German and anti-Bolshevik territorial union, Avalov's West Russian Volunteer Army, also called the Bermontians, raided and pillaged the countryside and its occupied areas. After suffering defeats in Riga and Radviliškis, Avalov's army was severely damaged and subsequently retreated into Germany. In Germany, Avalov participated in right-wing White émigré movements, strongly supporting Adolf Hitler's NSDAP. Despite this, he was imprisoned and sent to a concentration camp for embezzling funds meant for his Russian National Socialist Movement. Avalov escaped to Italy through Switzerland, later relocating to Belgrade before finally emigrating to the United States and living there until his death.

6. Boris Akunin (b. 1956)

With an HPI of 57.41, Boris Akunin is the 6th most famous Georgian Writer. His biography has been translated into 49 different languages.

Grigori Chkhartishvili (Russian: Григорий Шалвович Чхартишвили, romanized: Grigoriy Shalvovich Chkhartishvili; Georgian: გრიგორი ჩხარტიშვილი), better known by his pen name Boris Akunin (Russian: Борис Акунин, born 20 May 1956), is a Georgian-Russian writer residing in the United Kingdom. He is best known as a writer of historical fiction, specifically his Erast Fandorin detective novels. He is also an essayist and literary translator. Grigory Chkhartishvili has also written under pen names Anatoly Brusnikin, Anna Borisova, and Akunin-Chkhartishvili. His characters include Erast Fandorin, Nicholas Fandorin and Sister Pelagia.

7. Vazha-Pshavela (1861 - 1915)

With an HPI of 56.42, Vazha-Pshavela is the 7th most famous Georgian Writer. His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Vazha-Pshavela (Georgian: ვაჟა-ფშაველა), simply referred to as Vazha (Georgian: ვაჟა) (14 July 1861 – 10 July 1915), is the pen name of the Georgian poet and writer Luka Razikashvili (Georgian: ლუკა რაზიკაშვილი). "Vazha-Pshavela" literally means "a son of Pshavians" in Georgian.

8. Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko (1858 - 1943)

With an HPI of 55.50, Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko is the 8th most famous Georgian Writer. His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Vladimir Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko (Russian: Владимир Иванович Немирович-Данченко; 23 December [O.S. 11 December] 1858 – 25 April 1943) was a Soviet and Russian theatre director, writer, pedagogue, playwright, producer and theatre administrator, who founded the Moscow Art Theatre with his colleague, Konstantin Stanislavski, in 1898.

9. Teimuraz II of Kakheti (1700 - 1762)

With an HPI of 55.44, Teimuraz II of Kakheti is the 9th most famous Georgian Writer. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Teimuraz II (Georgian: თეიმურაზ II) (1680/1700–1762) of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a king (mepe) of Kakheti, eastern Georgia, from 1732 to 1744, then of Kartli from 1744 until his death. Teimuraz was also a lyric poet.

10. Akaki Tsereteli (1840 - 1915)

With an HPI of 54.89, Akaki Tsereteli is the 10th most famous Georgian Writer. His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Count Akaki Tsereteli (Georgian: აკაკი წერეთელი) (1840–1915), often mononymously known as Akaki, was a prominent Georgian poet and national liberation movement figure.

People

Pantheon has 35 people classified as Georgian writers born between 500 and 1983. Of these 35, 5 (14.29%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Georgian writers include Boris Akunin, Roy Medvedev, and Miho Mosulishvili. The most famous deceased Georgian writers include Shota Rustaveli, Vladimir Mayakovsky, and Sayat-Nova. As of April 2024, 3 new Georgian writers have been added to Pantheon including Titsian Tabidze, Abdulla Shaig, and Nino Haratischwili.