Abasheli, Aleksandr

(pseudonym of A. V. Chochiia). Born Aug. 15 (27), 1884, in the village of Sachochio, Kutaisi Province; died Sept. 29, 1954, in Tbilisi. Soviet Georgian poet. Participant in the 1905 revolution.

In his early years, Abasheli’s creativity was marked by the influence of symbolism (collection of verses The Sun’s Laughter, 1913). The socialist transformation in Georgia exerted a decisive influence on his poetry. In his verses “Tbilisi Night” (1926), “To Poets” (1929), “The Lyricist and the Gardener,” “October Thunder” (1937), “Birth of Verse,” “To the Motherland” (1938), and others, the poet laid bare the features of the new era. During the years of the Great Patriotic War, he wrote the verses “Letter to Mother,” “Stalingrad,” “The Khevsur Tank Crewman,” and others. Abasheli’s poetry was devoted to the friendship of peoples and to the consolidation of socialist relations; these poems included “Lenin’s Heart,” “To the New Georgia,” “The October Star Shines,” “To the Ukraine,” and “The Kremlin Towers.” He was the editor of the complete collected works of Vazha Pshavela. He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor and various medals.