Арджеванидзе И. Военно-Грузинская дорога: Краеведческий очерк.
Тбилиси : Гостехиздат «Техника да Шрома», 1950.
162 с. : ил. Картонный издательский переплет, обычный формат. Тираж 3000 экз. Особый экземпляр: на 3-й странице сохранен эпиграф Л. П. Берии без цензурных правок.
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Ardzhevanidze, I. The Georgian Military Road: A Local History Essay.
Tbilisi : Gostekhizdat "Tekhnika da Shroma", 1950.
162 pp. : ill. Publisher's cardboard binding, standard format. Print run: 3,000 copies. Special feature: contains the original epigraph by L. P. Beria on page 3, without the typical later censorship or ink-outs.
This 1950 edition is an exceptional specimen of Soviet Caucasian studies (Kavkazovedenie), published during the final years of the Stalinist era. Written by I. Ardzhevanidze, the book serves as a comprehensive guide and historical survey of the Georgian Military Road, the ancient arterial route through the Caucasus Mountains connecting Tbilisi (Georgia) and Vladikavkaz (Russia).
A defining characteristic of this specific copy is the presence of an epigraph by Lavrentiy Beria on the third page. Following Beria's arrest and execution in 1953, the Soviet censorship apparatus (Glavlit) issued strict orders to remove his name and images from all published materials. In most surviving copies of this book, the epigraph was either physically cut out, blacked out with ink, or covered with a pasted-on strip of paper. This copy, remaining in its original 1950 state without such interventions, is a rare historical artifact.
The book offers a detailed journey across the Great Caucasus Range, blending geographical descriptions with historical anecdotes and archaeological findings. Key highlights from the contents include Mtskheta and Armazi (detailed sections on the ancient capital of Georgia and the Armaziskhevi necropolis), the Darial Gorge (historical accounts of the "Gates of the Caucasus" and the Darial fortress), Mount Kazbek (Mkinvartsveri), featuring a dedicated section on the village of Kazbegi, the Gergeti Trinity Church, and the history of mountaineering and ascents to the summit, and Highland Ethnography, with brief historical-geographical essays on the regions of Mtiuleti and Khevi, including the flora and fauna (notably the Dagestan Tur and Caucasian Snowcock). The text is supported by a wealth of local lore, making it more than just a guidebook; it is a document of how the Soviet state viewed and presented the history and landscape of Georgia in the mid-20th century.
For historians of Georgia, collectors of Stalin-era publications, and bibliophiles interested in the history of Soviet censorship, this uncensored edition of Ardzhevanidze’s work is a significant find. It represents a brief window in time before the political "cleansing" of the 1950s altered the physical state of Soviet libraries.