On 29 October, the Yaroslav the Wise National Library presented the Ukrainian edition of the book “Georgian Wolves. The History of the Petrovsky Family” by Odesa historian Oleksandr Muzychko. The work, which is called the most high-profile Georgian-Ukrainian genealogical study of recent years, brought together scientists, representatives of culture and the clergy, and military personnel in the main hall of the library. In particular, among those present were the head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance – a famous genealogist, heraldist and sphragist Oleksandr Alferov, the spokesman for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and religious scholar Andriy Kovalev, the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy, the president of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Mykyta Poturayev, literary scholars Oles Fedoruk, Volodymyr Tsybulko, Tetyana Vlasova (host of the event), a delegation of the Dnipro Eparchy of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine led by Metropolitan Simeon (Zinkevich) of Dnipro and Sicheslav, and others. This was reported by the D1 TV channel and the press service of the Dnipro Eparchy.
The author of the book, Doctor of Historical Sciences, lecturer at Odesa National University named after I. Mechnikov, Oleksandr Muzychko, said that the purpose of the research was to reconstruct the paternal line of the Petrovsky Family – famous Ukrainian philanthropists – which goes back to the roots of the Georgian region of Kakheti. It was possible to find out and documentarily confirm that the Ukrainian family comes from the ancient princely family of Tsitsishvili, whose representatives held the highest government position under the kings of Kartli and Kakheti (Eastern Georgia) – sakhltukhutsesi (governor of the court). At the beginning of the 19th century, the direct ancestors of the philanthropist Oleksandr Petrovsky were close associates of Prince Alexander Bagrationi, the leader of the Georgian national liberation movement against the Russian Empire, and participants in the “Kakhetian War” for the independence of Eastern Georgia. They were also related to another famous Georgian aristocratic family, the Chavchavadze.
“These people, representatives of the Tsitsishvili family, took part in virtually all events in the history of Georgia at that time. That is, this is a classic example of how, through genealogy, through such microhistory, we can touch the history of the country,” noted historian Oleksandr Muzychko.
At the same time, one of the central and most sensational discoveries was a detective story, the main character of which was Prince Tevdor Tsitsishvili – the ancestor of the Petrovsky Family. In 1846, he was forced to flee from his ancestral estate in Kvareli and settle in the village of Kandaura in Kakheti, after the murder of his opponent, Prince Nestor Rusishvili, in a duel. In the new place, the aristocrat took a new surname – Nareklishvili, which later changed to Nalekrishvili. This story was reflected in the parish documents of the churches of Kvareli and Zemo Kandaura. The identity of the persons Tevdor Tsitsishvili and Tevdor Nareklishvili was separately confirmed by scientists from the I. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University.
Another discovery was the friendship of the Nareklishvili family with the priestly dynasty of the village of Kandaura Phaladze, from which Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Melchizedek III (Mikhail Phaladze) came, one of the most respected pastors of the Georgian Orthodox Church in the 20th century. The group of researchers also managed to discover little-known facts about the “Ukrainian” part of the biography of Patriarch Melchizedek III: in 1909-1915 he taught at the Podolsk Theological Seminary in Kamianets-Podilskyi and was a mentor to a whole galaxy of figures of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and soldiers of the UNR army. Separately, the scientists studied the Armenian roots of the Petrovsky Family, from Alexander Petrovsky’s grandmother, Vartush Markarova-Nalekrishvili. The book “Georgian Wolves” reveals how the mission of the Petrovsky Family was formed over the centuries, which, in the 21st century, contributed to the Ukrainian Church obtaining the Tomos, actively supports the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the domestic film industry (a whole group of famous filmmakers was present at the presentation, including directors Valentyn Vasyanovych and Taras Tomenko, producer Pylyp Illenko, and actor Bohdan Benyuk), and develops social projects.
Representatives of the Petrovsky Family present at the book presentation – Honoured Artist of Ukraine, Director of the Dnipro National Academic Music and Drama Theater named after Taras Shevchenko, Oksana Petrovska and lawyer Alina Vovk, expressed hope that the research will inspire other Ukrainians to study their family tree.
“This book gave me even more meaning and a desire to understand the Ukrainian side, because I am more involved in the Ukrainian branch of our family, the Vovks,” shared Alina Vovk. “I want to advise everyone and inspire everyone to look for more information about their personal family. Because it is important, it is interesting, and we must understand and know who we are, what our origin is, and who our ancestors are.”
The book was first published in London this spring in English. The foreword to the publication was written by the famous British scholar-Kartvelist Donald Rayfield, who also noted the high quality of the research. The Ukrainian version was worked on by the translator Maryana Prokopovych.
As announced by the head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, Oleksandr Alferov, the next genealogical research is already being prepared and will focus on the history of the Cossack clan of the Wolves of the Lubensky Regiment of the Zaporozhian City Army – the maternal ancestors of the Petrovsky Family. This time, it will be about forgotten Ukrainian noble communities that carried aristocratic dignity from the late Middle Ages to the beginning of the 20th century.
The book “Georgian Wolves. The History of the Petrovsky Family” became part of the initiative “Georgian Shelf for Libraries of Ukraine”. It was included in the collection of Ukrainian-language books that reveal the history, culture and literature of Georgia – from the Middle Ages (“The Knight in the Tiger Skin” by Shota Rustaveli) to the present day. The first such selection was donated to the Yaroslav the Wise National Library. The next presentations of “Georgian Shelves” and the edition of the book by Oleksandr Muzychko will be held in Lviv and Dnipro.
Rostyslav Martyniuk, historian, journalist, philanthropist
Сумський історичний портал
