Gulia Dimitri

Gulia, Dimitri [February 9 (21), 1874, village of Varcha, present-day Gulripshi Municipality – April 7, 1960, village of Agudzera, buried in Sokhumi], was an Abkhazian writer and the founder of Abkhazian literature. He was named People's Poet of Abkhazia (1937).
He studied at the Gori Masters’ Seminary and for some time worked as a teacher. From 1924 to 1926, he taught the Abkhazian language at Tbilisi State University. Gulia made significant contributions to Abkhazian culture and his activities were extensive and multifaceted.

In 1892, along with K. Machavariani, he created the Abkhazian alphabet based on Russian script. In Gulia's first collection of poems was published in 1912-1913.

In 1919–1920, Gulia was the editor of the first Abkhazian newspaper "Apsni." In 1921, he formed the first Abkhazian drama troupe.

In his poems like "Autumn in the Village", "My City," "Spring in Abkhazia," "The Monument to Rustaveli in Sukhumi," and others, Gulia portrayed the peaceful post-war reconstruction efforts.

The writer also made a significant contribution to the development of Abkhazian prose (e.g., the first Abkhazian short story "Under a Foreign Sky," 1919, and the novel "Kamachichi," 1940).

He also authored studies on Abkhazian history, folklore, ethnography and linguistics (such as "History of Abkhazia," "The Hunting Deity and Hunting Language of the Abkhazians," and others) as well as chrestomathies and textbooks, and a literary and linguistic terminology dictionary.

Gulia translated The Knight in the Panther’s Skin (by Shota Rustaveli), and poems by I. Chavchavadze and A. Tsereteli into Abkhazian.

He received several state awards.

Literary works: Иөымт акуа, ат. 1–4, Аkуa, 1956–62; იგივე, ექვს ტომად, 1–2, სოხ., 1981–82; ლექსები, სოხ., 1937; რჩეული, თბ., 1956; რჩეული, სოხ., 1973; კამაჭიჭი, თბ., 1951; ელკანი, თბ., 1968.

Literature:  გ უ ბ ლ ი ა გ., დიმიტრი გულია. შემოქმედებითი გზა, თბ., 1974; Б г а ж б а Х. С., З е л и н с к и й К. А., Дмитрий Гулиа, Сух., 1965; Г у л и а Г. Д., Дмитрий Гулиа. Повесть о моем отце, М., 1965.

Kh. Bghazhba