FROM THE EDITOR II

Emzar Jgerenaia

Memories of Academician Vasil Chantladze In 1980s the students of Tbilisi State University had two idols: Vasil Chantladze and Paata Gugushvili – the people who often passed ahead of the epoch, burnt with national spirit, devotedly and with love served the science and the cause of students’ education.

They were our esteemed luminaries.
It was 1981. Young people from all over Georgia, with sparkling eyes and fulfilled dreams, have just sat at the desks at the University and are waiting for something new and important that will let them feel that this is the University of Javakhishvili and Gogichaishvili. Here the door opens and there enters a short old man with a promising and kind smile radiating an unusual warmth.
He starts speaking about finances with Rustaveli, he looks for greatness in our background. With an unusual excitation he speaks about financial and economic reforms of King David the Builder, and about the system which he created along with Chkondideli. He goes still deeper to the foundations of finance and credit system of ancient Kolkhida and will touch upon the mechanisms of their regulation. Each of his lectures is a new intrigue against the background of Soviet finances. Considerable details of Georgian statehood, our great history, background, independent Patos country, and progressive at that, the foundation of which is finances; we had and governed it for a long time, and we will by all means create and govern this kind of state in the future.
Frequent discussions on finances’ functions, but behind this are often forbidden scientific labyrinths, problems and unanswered questions… books and sources, now scattered everywhere, but forbidden at that time, and touching upon them was a shock to the students. This extraordinary man aroused in us ideas that our homeland is not the Soviet Union, that Georgia is a country of ancient science and culture, and that “The Knight in a Tiger Skin” is not only a story which we were taught at school, but a historical treatise on the politics and economics of that time. Non-party academician, which was unimaginable then, was tenderly cultivating in us a feeling of national self-consciousness, and the principles of Georgian science and finances as the basis of the state’s independence.
He was meticulously selecting talented young people, and in each of them he was searching for not only the giving for science and research, but, very often, he taught them how to live, be free, and have a feeling of national self-consciousness.
With special fondness he treated students from province. I was one of students from Abkhazia. He often invited me to dinner, madam Babuli and their numerous guests taught me etiquette. She was always very tactful and never reproved openly. For him and his family members all good students were like their own children. He regretted that his son had not become an economist. He used to say: “I wonder who Tengiz has taken after”. Deep in our heart we all answered that he took after his father since he himself was a real humorist. If he felt that the students were tired of complex financial matters, he immediately enlivened them with his perfect humor. It was so, even when we worked in his large home library. He always spared time for studying books and themes of other senior scientists, a discussion would start on terminology, and generally on the foundations of Georgian economic school. We never missed anything in order to learn the art of discussion, what rhetoric was, and how to win in the discussions. He gave much attention to the work on the material, and the culture of writing. Having a titanic patience he taught us to express our ideas briefly and exactly, how to put a question correctly, proceed from general to concrete, from simple to complex, and clearly and vividly bring it to the audience.
“If there is a talent – it is wonderful, but its correct application, bringing of your ideas to the audience, to scientific circles is more wonderful”, – he often told us.
He was simultaneously educating his students as financiers, researchers, free personalities, and as people with exquisite manners, since he used to say that even if you are a good financier but a bad person you have no love and national self-consciousness in your heart, and you will not solve any issues on earth. He was really noble and peaceful, he had a character of a real Christian with a soul of a knight. He tore with a smile anonymous letters against him, which were very widespread then. He promoted and blessed his enemies and those who cursed him, giving us an example of how you should live according to the Bible.
Refined and exquisite intelligent he distinguished himself with his clothes and manners, always calm and balanced. His principle was: “Jupiter, are you angry? You are wrong!”
He worked with postgraduate students individually and with special thoroughness. He did not leave me without his attention even for a minute in spite of the fact that I was Gedevan Khelaia’s postgraduate student. Each chapter, each question we considered in his library in the evening. He engaged other postgraduate students as well and there was serious discussions and criticism.
A man of great talent and energy, a wonderful pedagogue, he, even in the extreme old age, did not lose interest to research work and capacity for work. Till the end of his life he kept his humor and aristocratic refinement.
I remember presentation of my thesis in 1989 (then dissertations were considerable, rare, and difficult, especially so called “closed subjects”). Ht was the head of the board. I was quite young – 26 years old and was very upset when I looked around the hall and did not find many of my “friends and colleagues” there. Because of my lack of experience it reflected on my face. Before the presentation had started he called me up and told me the words that are with me all my life: “You are offended and you feel pain, aren’t you? – Quite right, – I said, – know that science is a talent haunted by envy. That is why there is a lot of spite, especially among the economists. Your colleagues will tell you everything – that you are a good fellow, good friend, from a good family, with a good upbringing, but they will never tell you: “This man is a good and talented scientist. That is why often look upon your life with humor or it will tread you down”.
Up to this moment my generation tries to turn all his instructions into the rules of our life, and keep firmness even when life treads us down and be patient towards our enemies just to do the main thing – our business!
Mr. Vasil Chantladze was a titan and phenomenon of Georgian economic and state life, and those are lucky who were led by this legend.