Project at HIAS
Georgia on the Brink: Farewell to Europe and Democracy?
During his fellowship at HIAS Hamburg, Lasha Bakradze is examining the current political and democratic situation in Georgia. His project explores how a country that had made significant strides in building democratic structures came to dismantle them so rapidly – how civil society came under increasing pressure and state institutions ceased to function democratically. Particular attention is given to developments since the onset of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Throughout, the current situation is situated within its broader historical and international context.
His Tandem Partner is Alexander Balistreri, Junior Professor of Turkish Studies at the University of Hamburg.
Website
Funding
The HIAS Fellowship is provided by the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and the federal and state funds acquired by the University of Hamburg in the framework of its Excellence Strategy.
Tandem
Prof. Dr. Alexander Balistreri, Turkish Studies, University of Hamburg
Biography
Lasha Bakradze is a historian and professor at Ilia State University in Tbilisi. He received his doctorate in 2002. For twelve years, until the election year of 2024, he served as Director of the Georgian State Museum of Literature. Prior to that, he worked at the Georgian National Film Center, where he focused on the history and archiving of early Georgian cinema. He is a co-founder of the Soviet Past Research Laboratory (SOVLAB), an institution dedicated to the critical examination of the Soviet past, and has been involved in numerous research, archival, and exhibition projects.
His research focuses on the history of Georgia and Europe in the twentieth century, with particular attention to the First World War, the Soviet period, and especially Stalinism. Further areas of interest include Georgian-German relations and the literary and cultural history of Georgia. His work brings together historical scholarship, archival research, and a sustained engagement with Georgia’s cultural heritage.
Lasha Bakradze‘s HIAS Fellowship is provided by the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and the federal and state funds acquired by the University of Hamburg in the framework of its Excellence Strategy.