A world-famous scientist, specialist in mythology, culture and history of the ancient peoples of Asia Minor, in difficult times for the people, he became the organizer of the armed struggle and the founding of the modern Abkhaz state. The first president of Abkhazia, Vladislav Ardzinba, is a national hero for his people. The memory of the leader who died of illness in 2010 is immortalized in the names of the streets, the airport and the museum in Sukhumi.
early years
Vladislav Grigorievich Ardzinba was born on May 14, 1945 in a Muslim family in the large village of Escher, located a few kilometers from Sukhumi. Vladislav himself, according to him, has never been too religious. All his childhood and school years passed in this picturesque village, in which more than a thousand people lived. His father, Grigory Konstantinovich Ardzinba, worked as a teacher, then the head teacher of a rural school. Mom, Yazychba Nadezhda Shabanovna, was a clerk at the same school. The family had another son who died tragically in the 80s, and who still had children.
Grigory Konstantinovich fought in the cavalry, participated in the battles for Kharkov, was seriously wounded, as a result of which he received disability of group I. As a history teacher, he was very interested in archeology, which greatly influenced the son’s subsequent choice of profession.
At scientific work
After graduating from high school, Vladislav Ardzinba went to study at the local pedagogical institute at the Faculty of History, which he graduated in 1966. Among his teachers were prominent specialists in the history of the Abkhaz, one of them aroused his interest in studying the Hittite culture.
In the fall of 1966 he was enrolled in graduate school at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences, where three years later he defended his thesis on social organization and the hierarchy of ancient Hittite society. Its supervisor was an outstanding scientist, academician Vyacheslav Ivanov. While still at graduate school, he began to work in the native institution’s ideology and culture sector of the Ancient East. The entire work biography of Vladislav Ardzinba for nineteen years will be associated with this scientific institution.
In 1985 he became a doctor of historical sciences, the theme of the dissertation was "Rituals and myths of ancient Anatolia." The scientific work received positive reviews, experts noted a systematic approach to data analysis, which allowed to gain new knowledge about the cultural and social life of both the ancient Hittites and some peoples of Asia Minor
Soviet politician
In 1989, Vladislav Ardzinba moved to his homeland, where he was elected head of the Abkhazian Research Institute of Language, Literature and History. He never intended to engage in political activities, but the perestroika that had begun literally forced him to take part in deciding the fate of the country.
From 1989 to 1991 he was elected a deputy, entered the Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Council. At this time, Vladislav Ardzinba met with academician Andrei Sakharov, who had a significant influence on the formation of his political views and his worldview as a whole. At the congress of people's deputies, he raised the question of the oppression of small peoples by the titular nations of the Soviet republics. He suggested, following the example of an agreement between Abkhazia and Georgia, which was in force in 1921-1936, to change relations between autonomies and Soviet republics. So that, in the event of the withdrawal of a national republic from the country, the autonomous regions could independently decide their fate.
At the head of the republic
In the biography of Vladislav Grigorievich Ardzinba, the 90s will become the time of becoming a prominent politician and national leader. He was elected head of the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR at a difficult time, when Georgia abolished national autonomies on its territory. In response, Abkhazia decided to return to the 1925 constitution when it was a full-fledged Soviet republic within the Soviet Union. He advocated the preservation of a single country and equal relations with Georgia.
When the units of the National Guard of Georgia entered the territory of the former autonomy, he led armed resistance. At the beginning of the war, in order to prevent bloodshed and destruction, he ordered the Gumista to retreat across the river. However, the peace talks were unsuccessful and the city was badly damaged. After the cessation of active hostilities in 1993, he took steps towards rapprochement with Russia.
Recognition of independence
In 1994, after the independence of Abkhazia, Vladislav Ardzinba was elected president of the unrecognized state. In 1997, Boris Berezovsky, who was then the deputy secretary of the Security Council, persistently proposed the return of the republic to Georgia. However, he was refused. He personally oversaw negotiations on issues related to the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, held with the participation of the UN and Russia. In 1999, the first popular election of the president was the only candidate. Received 98.9% of the vote. In the country destroyed by the war, there was a high level of banditry and corruption, the opposition press wrote that without a bribe, it is impossible for the president’s relatives to resolve a single issue.
Due to a serious illness in 2004, he resigned as president and announced the end of his political career. In subsequent years, he led a secluded life at a government cottage near Pitsunda. In 2010, he died, according to his will, buried in the native village of Escher. In memory of the national leader, they named a street and airport in Sukhumi, a photo of Vladislav Ardzinba is constantly present on political posters in Abkhazia.
