''Droeba'' (, "the Times") was an influential

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

political and cultural newspaper published in

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

from 1866 to 1885. ''Droeba'' first came out in Tiflis, the capital of the Russian Caucasus Viceroyalty, on March 4, 1866, to be published thrice weekly and then daily from 1877.

Rayfield, Donald Patrick Donald Rayfield OBE (born 12 February 1942, Oxford) is an English academic and Emeritus Professor of Russian and Georgian at Queen Mary University of London. He is an author of books about Russian and Georgian literature, and about Josep ...

(2000), '' The Literature of Georgia: A History'', p. 150.

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

, . The paper was published by S. Melikishvili from 1866 to 1882 and then by Giorgi Kartvelishvili from 1882 to 1885. At various times, it was edited by leading Georgian intellectuals, including

Ilia Chavchavadze Prince Ilia Chavchavadze ( ka, ილია ჭავჭავაძე; 8 November 1837 – 12 September 1907) was a Georgian public figure, journalist, publisher, writer and poet who spearheaded the revival of Georgian nationalism during the ...

and

Ivane Machabeli Prince Ivane Machabeli ( ka, ივანე მაჩაბელი) (January 28, 1854 – c. 1898) was a Georgian writer, translator, publicist, public figure, active member of the National-Liberation Movement, and a founder of the new Georgian ...

. The newspaper, in which most major Georgian writers, journalists and social activists of that time were published, was an energetic promoter of the Georgian national idea. The younger radical Georgian literati used the pages of ''droeba'' to introduce their readers to the ideas of progressive liberal thinkers like

John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...

and "

utopian socialists Utopian socialism is the term often used to describe the first current of modern socialism and socialist thought as exemplified by the work of Henri de Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, Étienne Cabet, and Robert Owen. Utopian socialism is often de ...

" like

Robert Owen Robert Owen (; 14 May 1771 – 17 November 1858) was a Welsh textile manufacturer, philanthropist and social reformer, and a founder of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement. He strove to improve factory working conditions, promoted e ...

, Saint-Simon,

Charles Fourier François Marie Charles Fourier (;; 7 April 1772 – 10 October 1837) was a French philosopher, an influential early socialist thinker and one of the founders of utopian socialism. Some of Fourier's social and moral views, held to be radical in ...

Pierre Proudhon Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (, , ; 15 January 1809, Besançon – 19 January 1865, Paris) was a French socialist,Landauer, Carl; Landauer, Hilde Stein; Valkenier, Elizabeth Kridl (1979) 959 "The Three Anticapitalistic Movements". ''European Social ...

, and

Louis Blanc Louis Jean Joseph Charles Blanc (; ; 29 October 1811 – 6 December 1882) was a French politician and historian. A socialist who favored reforms, he called for the creation of cooperatives in order to guarantee employment for the urban poor. Alth ...

Suny, Ronald Grigor Ronald Grigor Suny (born September 25, 1940) is an American historian and political scientist. Suny is the William H. Sewell Jr. Distinguished University Professor of History at the University of Michigan and served as director of the Eisenberg In ...

(1994), ''The Making of the Georgian Nation'', p. 131.

Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes 140 ...

, Thus, it became more closely associated with the new generation of the Georgian national movement, known as ''meore dasi'' ("the second group") and led by

Niko Nikoladze Niko Nikoladze ( ka, ნიკო ნიკოლაძე) (27 September 1843 – 5 June 1928) was a Georgian writer, pro-Western enlightener, and public figure primarily known for his contributions to the development of Georgian liberal journali ...

, which sought widely for a program of various forms of

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...

and

Westernization Westernization (or Westernisation), also Europeanisation or occidentalization (from the ''Occident''), is a process whereby societies come under or adopt Western culture in areas such as industry, technology, science, education, politics, economi ...

. The division of the Georgian intellectuals over the issues related to financial and economical projects was also reflected on the pages of ''droeba''. This was one reason for Ilia Chavchavadze to leave the editorial board of ''droeba'' and found his own newspaper ''iveria''. The newspaper was closed on the order of the Russian viceroy

Alexander Dondukov-Korsakov Dondukov is a Russian princely family descending from Donduk-Ombo, the sixth khan of the Kalmucks (reigned 1737–41). In 1732 he led 11,000 Kalmuck households from the Volga banks to the border of the Ottoman Empire at the Kuban River, asking the ...

on September 16, 1885.Jersild, Austin (2002), ''Orientalism and Empire: North Caucasus Mountain Peoples and the Georgian Frontier, 1845-1917'', p. 129. McGill-Queen's University Press,

References

Georgian-language newspapers Mass media in Tbilisi Newspapers published in Georgia (country) Newspapers published in the Russian Empire History of Tbilisi 1860s in Georgia (country) 1870s in Georgia (country) 1880s in Georgia (country) Publications established in 1866 Publications disestablished in 1885 1866 establishments in the Russian Empire 1880s disestablishments in the Russian Empire Defunct newspapers published in Russia {{Georgia-newspaper-stub