Vadbolski Mikheil

Vadbolski, Mikheil (February 20, 1899, Warsaw – May 19, 1990, Tbilisi) — Georgian Honored Artist (1981), specialist in heraldry, and historian of chess.

Vadbolski studied art in Saint Petersburg, where he spent his childhood. During World War I, he volunteered to fight against the Austrians. In 1920, during the Civil War, he again volunteered to fight on the Western Front. The Russian Civil War claimed his entire family, and in 1924 Vadbolski settled in Tbilisi.

He began working as a graphic artist, active in political satire and agitation art. During this period, he created portraits of historical figures, coats of arms of Georgian noble families, flags, and collected samples of coins and traditional Georgian clothing. At the same time, he studied chess theory in Georgia as well as in Eastern and Western European countries, researching the topic “Chess in Georgia” and publishing articles in journals and newspapers. During World War II, Vadbolski returned to propaganda work and headed the satire window of the Tbilisi House of the Red Army.

Vadbolski was among the first to study the history of Georgian heraldry and is regarded as one of the founders of Georgian heraldic science. His works on heraldry were published under various titles: Album of Georgian Heraldry (1947), Old Georgian Heraldry and Kheto-Iverian – the Kartvelian Symbolism (1970), Materials on the Question of Old Georgian Symbolism and Heraldry (1970), and Georgian Heraldic Symbolism (1980).

In 2010, the State Council of Heraldry under the Parliament of Georgia published a book about him titled Mikheil Vadbolski and Georgian Heraldry.