Ronald G. Suny, University of Michigan
Niko Nikoladze (1843-1928) and the Emergence of Modern Georgia
Man of the 1860s, Niko Nikoladze rose from humble origins to become a major figure in the movement to reform the Russian Empire and modernize his native land, Georgia. He was a friend and associate of the great Russian political activist Alexander Herzen and over time gravitated from revolutionary activity to working within the tsarist system to improve the lives of his countrymen. Nikoladze became mayor of the Black Sea port of Poti, and in small ways he worked to develop that town. He survived into the Soviet period, and despite his not being a Marxist was even honored by the Soviet state. Nikoladze’s extraordinary career and his contributions to the history of Georgia are explored by Professor Ronald Suny in a lecture tying this figure to the larger picture of the emergence of modern Georgia.