ОРГАНІЗАЦІЇ СТУДЕНТІВ-ГРУЗИНІВ КИЇВСЬКОГО КОМЕРЦІЙНОГО ІНСТИТУТУ ПОЧАТКУ XX ст. ТА БІОГРАФІЇ "АКТИВУ" ЦИХ ОРГАНІЗАЦІЙ

Abstract

The author investigates the Georgian students’ societies at the Kiev Commercial Institute in 1909-1912. They can be divided into scientific-oriented (the Club of Admirers of Georgian Culture, the Club of Admirers of Georgian Literature, the Scientific Club of Georgian Students) and students’ fraternities (Georgian and Transcaucasian) organizations. It is emphasized that such a number of national-level organizations at the Kyiv Commercial Institute have not been created by any other nationalities, despite the fact that the Georgians did not represent the largest ethnic group among the students of this educational institution. All these arguments additionally testify the high level of consolidation and national consciousness of Georgian youth at the beginning of the 20th century. Obviously, the fact of separation from the homeland only strengthened their national identity and contributed to their consolidation. The analysis is carried out based on detected personal files of students in the archive of the Kiev Commercial Institute, which belonged to the leadership of these organizations. It is concluded that most of them came from large and poor families of Georgian clergy from the countryside. They obtained the secondary education at the theological seminary at homeland. Accordingly, their focus on receiving the economic education should be explained as a desire to improve their financial position, and the fact that they got it in Kiev additionally confirms the long-standing and the friendship of the Ukrainian-Georgian relations. The research is based on archival documents which are introduced for the first time to a scientific circle.