Moscow: Center "Sefer"; Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2014, 136 p.

Georgian Jews - one of the territorial divisions of Galut-have a number of unique cultural and everyday features that distinguish them from other groups of the Jewish diaspora. Meanwhile, very little is known about them, at least in the Russian ethnographic literature, where the Georgian-Jewish theme is practically not covered. M. Chlenov explains this for linguistic reasons related to the need for the researcher to master the Georgian language in order to communicate with representatives of this supposedly totally Georgian-speaking group. The explanation is not entirely correct: As a rule, the majority of Georgian Jews were bilingual and field research could also be conducted in Russian, despite the incompleteness of the educational opportunities and prospects that opened up.

Another reason given by M. Chlenov is more convincing - the general unfavorable political and ideological atmosphere in the USSR, which prevented the study of Judaism, which in the post-war years "was actually banned" (p. 7). Accordingly, the ban also applied in Georgia, where by that time the main research center for the study of Georgian Jewry, the Tbilisi Historical and Cultural Center, was destroyed.ethnographic museum of Georgian Jews. Nevertheless, as M. Chlenov notes, "it was Georgia that demonstrated a loyalty to the Jewish theme that was unthinkable in other Soviet republics" (p. 7). Thus, even in the most remote years of the struggle against cosmopolitanism, teaching and research work on Hebraism did not stop at Tbilisi State University (TSU), Georgian-Jewish issues were developed by such specialists. researchers such as B. Gaponov, N. Babalikashvili, J. Adjiashvili, Sh. Bostanashvili and others. In the post-Soviet period, research work intensified: since 1992, the activity of the Historical and Ethnographic Museum of Georgian Jews was revived. David Baazov, in 1998. The Association of Georgian-Jewish Relations was established under the Academy of Sciences of Georgia, the Foundation for the Study and Protection of the Material Culture of the Jews of Georgia was launched, and in 2000 the Cabinet of Jewish Culture and Judaism was established at the University of Tbilisi.

Interest in the phenomenon of Georgian Jewry began to emerge in Russian science. In May 2013, the Sefer Center for Jewish Scholars and Teachers organized an expedition to study the history, culture, and ethnography of Georgian Jews. The research results of this expedition are reflected in the articles in this book, which shows how successful the results of a carefully thought-out and well-organized scientific expedition can be.

The book opens with an article by K. Lerner (Jerusalem) " The Jews of Georgia: acculturation without assimilation", which provides an overview of the main stages of the history of the Jewish community in Georgia. Pointing to the Mesopotamian origin of the first settlers of the second century BC, the author considered the further dynamics of their settlement up to the last century, and showed the main socio-economic niches occupied by the Jewish population.

M. Kupovetsky (Moscow) "Jews of Kakheti in the XIV-XVII centuries", analyzing the very scarce source material available in scientific circulation, nevertheless gave a voluminous demographic and socio-economic description of the community, following the fate of this group of Georgian Jewry against the background of the turbulent historical events of the XIV-XVII centuries in Transcaucasia and Near Asia.

Meanwhile, the noted scarcity of sources seriously hinders further study of the history and culture of Georgian Jews. Therefore, it is important that this book significantly expands research opportunities in this area. Thus, the publication by G. Lortkipanidze (Tbilisi) presents "New archival materials on the Jewish Diaspora in Georgia", identified in the State Historical Archive of Georgia and the K. Kekelidze Institute of Manuscripts. The use of epigraphic material can be very fruitful,

ANCHABADZE Yuri Dmitrievich-Doctor of Historical Sciences, Leading Researcher at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, anchabadze@list.ru.

therefore, it is not surprising that one of the scientific tasks of the expedition was to study the epigraphic heritage of Georgian Jewry.

N. Kashovskaya's article "An epigraphic excursion to the mountain village of Lailashi" (St. Petersburg) analyzes the recordings of old Jewish tombstones from the high-mountain village of Lailashi (Lechkhumi region). Another direction of source research is indicated by M. Vons (Hildesheim) in the essay "The image of Jews in Polish descriptions of the Caucasus".

A significant research block is devoted to the ethno-cultural problems of Georgian Jewry. Earlier, analyzing the relevant processes and trying to determine their main specifics, K. Lerner proposed a formula that he even put in the title of his article - "acculturation without assimilation": Jews were fully integrated into Georgian society, retaining only religious autonomy, which remained the only source and basis of the group's ethnic identity.

The subsequent materials in the book largely confirm this. E. Mamistvalishvili's ethnographic essay "Georgian Jews: Ethnography (settlements, education and upbringing)" provides specific descriptions of the everyday culture of Georgian Jews: settlements, dwellings, utensils, etc. The author sees in it certain differences related to territorial and social factors, but always notes the impact of the local tradition, almost completely adapted by the Jewish population. The essay contains a variety of information about the system of education and upbringing of Jewish youth in Hederah.

The heritage of Judaism was preserved, of course, in artifacts of material and spiritual culture related to religion and cult practice. Sh. Bostanashvili presented a historical and architectural review of the "Synagogues of Georgia".

L. Tsitsuashvili (Tbilisi) addressed the issue "Jewish cultural heritage of Georgia. Exhibits of the Jewish Historical and Ethnographic Museum of Georgia". The museum functioned in 1933-1951 and collected a large and valuable collection of religious and ritual objects, samples of clothing, fabrics, utensils, and significant visual material. L. Tsitsuashvili dwells in detail on the work of the self-taught artist Sholom Koboshvili (1876-1943), who captured expressive scenes of Jewish life in his paintings.

At the end of the book are the stories of informants about the Jews of Georgia: S. Amosov (Moscow), M. Vyatchin (Kazan), E. Sabantsev (St. Petersburg) " Jews... there were either doctors or salesmen"; A. Chizhova (St. Petersburg) "Relations between the Christian and Jewish communities of Georgia". Almost all of the articles in the collection reflect on the unique historical situation of the Jewish community, which for two millennia of its stay on Georgian soil was free from persecution, hatred and anti-Semitism, and its existence among the indigenous population was extremely favorable and comfortable. One of the explanations of this circumstance M. Chlenov finds in the Georgian cultural myths, according to which "a number of Georgian saints are of Jewish origin... They are at the origins of the history of the adoption of Christianity in Georgia " (p. 8). It can be added that other myths were also present in the cultural life of Georgians. So, according to genealogical legend, the Bagrationi royal dynasty itself dates back to the House of David, and this gave its representatives reason, for example, to claim that Good Friday is a day of family mourning. However, it is unlikely that historical mythology was such a powerful mechanism of social regulation. Many "most Christian" countries are known in history, where the Bible and prophets were revered, evangelists were worshipped, and prayers were addressed to the Mother of God, but this did not save local Jews from persecution and pogroms.

Another explanation is associated with the acculturation of Jews, which M. Chlenov defines as "a deep immersion in the Georgian world", the acceptance by Jews of "the entire complex of everyday Georgian culture, including even music and worldview features, as well as attitude to the surrounding world" (p. 8). K. Lerner also points out the deep consequences of acculturation: "a Georgian Jew he spoke like a Georgian, dressed like a Georgian, and in many ways accepted the Georgian way of life" (p.13).

Indeed, in this case, the cultural distance was minimal. However, like all categorical statements, the above ones need some adjustment. Thus, it follows from the materials of the book that in Georgian settlements Jews lived in separate Ubani quarters, which can be interpreted as a well-known form of territorial segregation. Important information can be extracted from folklore materials: the proverb "Mikeladze (i.e. Georgian - Yu. A.) was guilty, the Jew was charged" is very expressive.

on some features of the social status of the Jewish population. Dark pages in the history of the Jews of Georgia are the few but frequent cases of" blood libels", the first and most resonant of which was the Kutaisi trial of 1879, when a group of local Jewish residents was in the dock, accused of the ritual murder of a Christian girl, Sara Modebadze. Breaking out of the vicious circle of small - town provincial life, urbanized representatives of the Jewish community (for example, in Tbilisi) did not so much join the equal-status Georgian environment, but rather showed a tendency to integrate with the Ashkenazim-unthinkable in the conditions of traditional Georgian-Jewish life. This shows, in my opinion, that the problem of the real situation of the Jewish community needs a more detailed and detailed study.

At the same time, this does not negate or detract from the truly unique historical fact of tolerance and friendship that Jews were surrounded by in Georgia, where, because of their ethnicity, they practically never experienced harassment, social and ideological humiliation, or violation of their group rights. The history of Georgia is not tainted by the horrors of anti-Semitism, targeted persecution and bloody pogroms of the Jewish minority. Throughout the centuries, Georgia has remained a hospitable home for Jews. Georgian Jews themselves were aware of the unique position of their group, so even after leaving Georgia, they remain spiritually attached and grateful to it. "Tens of thousands of Georgian Jews," notes M. Chlenov, "constantly visit Georgia, support it, and continue to express themselves in the Georgian language among themselves" (p. 6).

The phenomenon of Georgian Semitophilism undoubtedly reveals some spiritual and ideological constants of the ethical identity of the Georgian people, the socio-historical roots of which are still to be studied. At the same time, it is interesting to note that the phenomenon of Semitophilism has occupied a very significant place in the public consciousness of Georgians since a certain period, being one of the sources of self-image as almost the only people in the world who did not know anti-Semitism. The spread of these ideas was especially intensified in the late Soviet period of the late 1960s and 1980s. By this time, the clear foreign policy orientation of the USSR towards Arab countries had led to the severance of diplomatic relations with Israel, the escalation of anti-Israeli propaganda, and the intensification of the struggle against world "Zionism". Within the Soviet Union, the human rights movement was persecuted, with opportunities for Jewish emigration curtailed, and underground centers of Jewish enlightenment and religious revival suppressed.

Under these conditions, demonstrative Semitophilism has become for Georgians a peculiar form of affirming their cultural and civilizational status, cultivating their historical traditions, emphasizing their tolerant and humanistic origins, as opposed to the xenophobic mythology of anti-Semitism. There was another important aspect: for the opposition-minded majority of the Georgian elite, Semitophilism became a form of anti-Sovietism, an implicit protest against the ideology and practice of the CPSU, against the Soviet system, the crisis of which, however, was obvious to many outside of Georgia.

The political and ideological aspects of Georgian Semitophilism were particularly pronounced in 1998, when the whole country solemnly celebrated the 2300th anniversary of the Jews ' stay on Georgian soil, while the demonstrative and active participation of the head of state - Eduard Shevardnadze - was intended to emphasize the uniqueness of the historical phenomenon of Georgian-Jewish relations in front of the "whole world".

However, the historical experience of the Georgian-Jewish diaspora needs further study. The publication of this book gives us hope that Russian specialists will also take a significant part in this research task.

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