Viktor Erofeyev on his New Book ‘Good Stalin’ & his 2018 Deportation from Georgia
Exclusive interview
Reknowned Russian writer Viktor Erofeyev was banned from entering Georgia on November 23. As it was later ascertained, this it was due to the fact that the writer had violated the Law on the Occupied Territories, which presumably refers to his attendance at the Festival "Rendezvous with Russia" held in the de facto Republic of Abkhazia in October 2017.
After he visited Abkhazia, Erofeyev published several articles on the state of events in the de-facto state, including a widely-read column in the New York Times, which included a particularly interesting comparison in which he described the situation in Abkhazia as a sort of “Political Darwinism:” “A big fish, Russia, is trying to swallow Georgia, while the smaller fish, Georgia, was trying to swallow Abkhazia,” he said. What he calls Political Darwinism, Georgians call separatism. GEORGIA TODAY spoke with Viktor Erofeyev, whose book ‘Good Stalin’ was recently published in Georgian.
“To put things into proper perspective let us start from the very beginning, shall we?” he told us. “German magazine, ‘Mare’ asked me to go to Abkhazia and recount my impressions. This wasn’t an easy decision to make, as I knew that I’d have to enter Abkhazia from the Russian side, thus violating all that is dictated by historical truth and law on the Georgian side. I met various people in Abkhazia: the now deceased President Bagapsh, the historian Lakoba, who had a starkly different perspective on things that transpired in the 1990s and since, foreign peacekeepers and so on. It broadened my perspective on the conflict. Where before I’d seen it all through the painful prism of war between brothers, Georgians and Abkhazians, now I came to see it from the Abkhazian perspective. Could you call this separatism? Probably. But then again, it’s no different from what we’re seeing in Europe nowadays- take Spain, for example. I wanted to explain this phenomenon [in my article]. I also discovered that there was an option for Abkhazia to choose the European path too, rather than being ever-rooted to Russian influence. And that’s what I wrote about in the New York Times, that even in Abkhazia, not everyone is happy with how things worked out. Russia bosses them around and they aren’t particularly enjoying it. To be frank, I don’t remember the exact arguments, but I did argue for more Western involvement in Abkhazia.”
You wrote “The West shouldn’t make an outcast of Abkhazia,” which, I think you’ll agree, is contrary to the non-recognition policy that both Georgia and the West favor.
You know, the issue here is that the longer Abkhazia remains in isolation, the more likely it is to be swallowed by Russia, and trust me, Moscow is not one to turn down a slice of pie this delicious. That was the leitmotif of my article.
Your Abkhazian voyages might have cost you entry into Georgia. Were you given exact reasons for your deportation last November?
Not exactly. However, I must say that the people who were performing the procedure were civil and friendly, even if they couldn’t explain the reason I wasn’t being allowed to enter the country. They showed genuine compassion for my trouble. To be honest, up until the very last moment, I expected a phone call to come in from the Ministry or somewhere and reverse the decision. But it didn’t work out and we, me and my friends, had no time to make calls and try to somehow settle the matter.
The official statement says that you weren’t allowed to enter because of your earlier visits to Abkhazia.
And this is illogical, because I was in Abkhazia before May 2018, the month I visited Georgia without any problems whatsoever. I had been to Abkhazia three times, but all those visits were before May, and if I was allowed to enter Georgia in May, then what was the justification for their refusal to let me do so in November? The border guards were surprised when they found out my book was about Georgia. It’s not every day you get a modern Russian author writing a book on Georgia and Stalin. So, I think it was some sort of error made by the Ministry.
Why didn’t you just visit Georgia from Abkhazia and avoid the repercussions?
The first two visits took place in 2011-12, and back then I didn’t really know I was supposed to do it from the Georgian border. That was my political foolishness. In 2017, I did know, but it was just for one evening to visit my friends and I flew straight to Sochi. It wasn’t political or anything; however, I understand that from the perspective of the Georgian government, I made a mistake and broke the law. I’m not denying that.
In 2017, after two visits to Abkhazia, I was allowed into Georgia, in the company of the famous sculptor Zurab Tsereteli. We were to attend the opening ceremony of the Museum of Contemporary Arts. I didn’t think this law had such a zero-sum approach to it. I think they could also have taken into consideration that I wouldn’t have a full understanding of all this and maybe let me off with a warning or something. I’m not a government official and nor am I a Russian politician. If I made a mistake, I, once again, offer my sincere apologies to the Georgian people, as I would very much like to continue to cooperate with Georgia and the Georgians. The title of my own speech was ‘The Influence of Georgia on my Works’ and I hope this says something about me. I sincerely hope this situation will be resolved somehow and I’ll be able to come back. Ghia Khancheli, the legendary Georgian composer and a great man, called me and said that the government wasn’t right in this case. I respect and love this man and can’t help but think he is right. But, once again, I do not have any claims or pretenses against the government. All I want is to be able to maintain contacts with my Georgian friends and to publish my books in Georgian.
By Vazha Tavberidze