Cultural and Educational Policy of the Democratic Republic of Georgia in Abkhazia

The article discusses the cultural and educational policy of the Democratic Republic of Georgia in Abkhazia. Based on a cyclic study of the Legal Acts of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, the press, archival documents, memories of statesmen and other historical sources of 1918-1921, the reforms carried out by the government of the First Republic in the field of education and culture are analyzed. The government of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, right from the declaration of independence, on May 26, 1918, started reforms throughout Georgia, including Abkhazia: they laid the foundation for the formation of a modern educational system and a new type of educational relations, for the first time, all educational institutions were institutionally subordinated to the state, "nationalized" and regulated the educational process. They supported and financed the professional development of teachers, paid great attention to the educational rights of national minorities, especially Abkhazians, created several higher primary schools - in Sukhumi, Gagra, Ochamchire and Samurzakhano, and transformed the Sukhumi teacher's seminary into an educational institute with educational content. In Abkhazia, the first professional unions of teachers were formed at this time. At Tbilisi State University, for the first time in the history of the Abkhaz people, the foundation was laid for the scientific study and research of the Abkhaz language. As a result of the policy pursued by the government of the Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1918-1921, the first music and theater societies were formed in Abkhazia by professional cadres sent from Tbilisi, which laid the foundation for the institutional development of professional music and theater collectives in the future. In the conditions of democratic Georgia, the famous Abkhazian writer and public figure Dimitri Gulia, with the support of his friends from Tbilisi, was able to create the first Abkhazian-language newspaper, which was later canceled by the Bolshevik government.