The Shota Rustaveli State Prize (created in 1965 [1] [2] ) is the highest prize awarded by Georgia in the fields of art and literature. The first prize-winners of this prize were Konstantine Gamsakhurdia (writer), Irakli Abashidze (poet) and Lado Gudiashvili (painter) in 1965.[ citation needed ] Other recipients of the Prize: Mikola Bazhan (Ukrainian poet), Sergo Kobuladze (painter), Irakli Ochiauri (sculptor), Sergo Zakariadze (actor), Nino Ramishvili (dancer), Iliko Sukhishvili (dancer), Ramaz Chkhikvadze (actor), Guram Pataraia (producer), Tengiz Abuladze (producer), Mukhran Machavariani (poet), Tamaz Chiladze (poet), Chabua Amirejibi (novelist), Levan Tsutskiridze (painter), etc.[ citation needed ]
Shota Rustaveli, mononymously known simply as Rustaveli, was a medieval Georgian poet. He is considered to be the preeminent poet of the Georgian Golden Age and one of the greatest contributors to Georgian literature. Rustaveli is the author of The Knight in the Panther's Skin, which is considered to be a Georgian national epic poem.
Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital and largest city is Tbilisi. Georgia covers a territory of 69,700 square kilometres (26,911 sq mi), and its 2017 population is about 3.718 million. Georgia is a unitary semi-presidential republic, with the government elected through a representative democracy.
Konstantine Gamsakhurdia was a Georgian writer and public figure, who, along with Mikheil Javakhishvili, is considered to be one of the most influential Georgian novelists of the 20th century. Educated and first published in Germany, he married Western European influences to purely Georgian thematic to produce his best works, such as The Right Hand of the Grand Master and David the Builder. Hostile to the Soviet rule, he was, nevertheless, one of the few leading Georgian writers to have survived the Stalin-era repressions, including his exile to a White Sea island and several arrests. His works are noted for their character portrayals of great psychological insight. Another major feature of Gamsakhurdia's writings is a new subtlety he infused into Georgian diction, imitating an archaic language to create a sense of classicism.
