Issues in the Study of Ibero-Caucasian Languages (Voprosy izucheniya iberiysko-kavkazskikh yazykov), 1961. In Russian

Вопросы изучения иберийско-кавказских языков. / Отв. ред. Е. А. Бокарев; АН СССР, Ин-т языкознания.
Москва : Издательство Академии наук СССР, 1961.
283 с. Издательский картонажный переплёт, энциклопедический формат. Тираж 1300 экз.
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Issues in the Study of Ibero-Caucasian Languages (Voprosy izucheniya iberiysko-kavkazskikh yazykov). / Ed. by E. A. Bokarev; Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Institute of Linguistics.
Moscow : Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1961.
283 pp. Publisher’s cardboard binding, encyclopedic format. Print run: 1,300 copies.

This 1961 collection, published by the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, represents a pivotal moment in the history of Caucasian linguistics. Released during a period of intense academic debate, the volume serves as a comprehensive record of the "Ibero-Caucasian theory," which sought to establish the genetic unity of the indigenous languages of the Caucasus. Edited by the prominent philologist Evgeniy Bokarev, the book brings together the research of leading Soviet Caucasologists of the era.
The monograph is structured around three primary branches: the Kartvelian (South Caucasian), Abkhaz-Adyghe (Northwest Caucasian), and Nakh-Dagestanian (Northeast Caucasian) language families. The articles delve into complex issues of comparative phonology, morphology, and syntax, attempting to identify common archaic layers across these diverse linguistic groups. Notable contributors examine the structure of the Caucasian verb, the evolution of grammatical case systems, and the unique ergative construction that characterizes many of these languages.
Beyond descriptive linguistics, the volume addresses the controversial "Ibero-Caucasian" hypothesis championed by Arnold Chikobava. The papers reflect the rigorous methodology of the Soviet school, utilizing comparative-historical analysis to trace the development of languages that lack ancient written traditions. This work was essential for the standardization of orthographies and the development of national languages within the Soviet republics of the Caucasus.
With a limited print run of only 1,300 copies, this encyclopedic-format volume is a significant rarity for linguists, historians, and collectors of academic Caucasica. It stands as a monumental document of mid-20th-century scholarship, capturing the intellectual efforts to decode one of the most linguistically diverse regions on Earth.