Author and Politician Giorgi Kandelaki will be speaking this evening (November 1st 2023) at the National Parliamentary Library on The Weaponisation of memory by Russian information warfare.

In his lecture, Giorgi will address Stalin's resurgent legacy in Georgia in recent years – a phenomenon which has seen the erection of eleven new statues of the former dictator across the country. He argues that this revival stems from the Russian government's use of disinformation, leveraging Stalin's Georgian background to foster anti-Western sentiments and promote nativist Georgian nationalism, thereby slowing the country's westward progress.

The talk will be delivered in English.

The talk will take place at 6pm at The National Parliamentary Library of Georgia, 5 Gudiashvili Street, Tbilisi

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzGL9KGthy5/

Hi all,

Quick reminder that it's our first lecture of this semester tomorrow:

Researching a Dark Object: The Lost Women of the Soviet Leadership

Ekaterina Furtseva's journey as the only woman in the Soviet leadership for 20 years brought her international and domestic acclaim. As Khrushchev's aide, she was one of the most influential women of the 1950s. Yet, her historical significance has been shrouded in misconception, distortions, and sexist myths.

In her talk, Dr. Ismene Brown will explore the astonishing reality of Furtseva's career, raising profound questions about her role in history.

Time: 5pm
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/2PCo1zEUR81Ub9nU7

This promises to be a great talk in a stunning building. Not to be missed!

We're excited to announce our first lecture of this season from Dr. Ismene Brown on Ekaterina Furtseva. The talk will take place on October 6th 2023 at 5pm at the National Parliamentary Library.

Researching a dark object: The lost woman of the Soviet leadership
Ekaterina Furtseva’s position as the only woman in the Soviet leadership for some 20 years brought her world visibility as well as home attention. She was Khrushchev’s aide and the world’s most powerful woman in the late 1950s, subsequently the USSR Culture Minister, yet her true historical place has been entirely obscured by decades of errors, narrative falsifications and sexist fables, echoed by scholars who neglect basic checks. Ismene's talk discusses the challenges in researching this occluded and objectified figure, and a range of methods that exposes the reality and radical questions raised by her career.

💫 NEW LECTURE ALERT 💫

What Is to Be Done When There Is Nothing to Be Done

Masha Gessen & Andrey Babitsky in conversation

⏱️ Wednesday July 5th, 19.30 GMT+4 (https://fb.me/e/fyXot1Oew)

📍Writers’ House of Georgia, 13 Ivane Machebeli, Tbilisi

Tickets on the door: 30 GEL

The feeling of helplessness and deprivation of agency pervade authoritarian societies; in fact, these are necessary conditions for these societies to persist, in Russia and elsewhere. As we both believe the feelings are ungrounded and there is always hope, we are going to talk about the ways to bring change and discuss the theory and practice behind our humble optimism. What — if anything — does work and can it still be done in the midst of a genocidal war?

The venue has limited capacity and we kindly ask you to register if you plan to attend:
https://forms.gle/xqkcs8a3gSHZ1rrP7

For upcoming talks, follow us at:
https://t.me/wemustbelieveinspring
https://instagram.com/wemustbelieveinspring

🔗 LECTURE RECORDING 🔗
Follow the link to watch our talk from Rikki Brown last Wednesday. Rikki explored the histories and politics that have shaped Georgian wine over the last 8000 years, talking us through the influence of politics on place, and the tastes that emerge from that place.

https://youtu.be/PRctrXey6eA

Rikki Brown is a Ph.D. candidate in Cultural Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is currently conducting fieldwork on the impacts of geopolitics on the Georgian wine economy.