Marina Bartsyts (russian: Марина Барцыц; born 16 November 1964) is an

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

and former politician from

Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...

Biography

Bartsyts was born on 16 November 1964 in the village of Blabyrkhua in Gudauta district, Abkhazia. Her parents were Mkan Bartsyts and Venera Tskua; they had two sons and two daughters, of which Marina is the youngest.

Education

After finishing school, Bartsyts went to study history at

Rostov State University Southern Federal University (), abbreviated as SFedU () and formerly known as Rostov State University (1957–2006), is a public university in Rostov Oblast, Russia with campuses in Rostov-on-Don and Taganrog. History Southern Federal Unive ...

. She graduated in 1987, in 1992 moved to Moscow to study at graduate school at the

Institute of Ethnology An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

in Moscow and graduated there in 1995.

War in Abkhazia (1992–93)

Shortly after arriving in Moscow, however, Bartsyts heard that war in Abkhazia had broken out. She returned to Abkahzia in September 1992 to join the conflict, first arriving in Gudauta to work with

Vladislav Ardzinba Vladislav Ardzinba ( ab, Владислав Арӡынба, ka, ვლადისლავ არძინბა; 14 May 1945 – 4 March 2010) was the first ''de facto'' President of Abkhazia. A historian by education, Ardzinba led Abkhazia t ...

. By October, Bartsyts had joined the frontline and was with the 2nd Verkhneeshersky Battalion. Bartsyts trained as a medic and served as a medical instructor on the Gumistinsky Front. During the war, Bartsyts took many photographs on a World War 2 era Soviet camera: her collection is one of the most important records of life during the war.

Career

Bartsyts researches Abkhazia, its settlements and its people, examining their traditional culture in terms of law, psychology and gender. She has worked on the city of Sukhum and its place relative to other Abkhazian cities. She has published researched into traditional Abkhazian folklore. Bartsyts research into Abkhaz culture sees it based on three principles: hospitality, respect for elders and respect for women. In particular, she sees a historic balance of respect between men and women. From 2001 to 2007, Bartsyts served as a deputy in the

People's Assembly of Abkhazia The People's Assembly — Parliament of the Republic of Abkhazia ( ab, Аҧсны Жәлар Реизара – Апарламент, ka, აფხაზეთის რესპუბლიკის სახალხო კრება, russi ...

. At the time of here election in 2007, she and her fellow deputy Emma Gamisonia were the only women serving in the parliament. She is a member of the Supreme Council of the World Abaza Congress. Bartsyts works at the Abkhazian State University.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Batsyts, Marina 1964 births 20th-century anthropologists People from Gudauta Members of the People's Assembly of Abkhazia 21st-century Russian women politicians 21st-century anthropologists Russian women anthropologists People from Gudauta District Southern Federal University alumni Academic staff of Abkhazian State University 3rd convocation of the People's Assembly of Abkhazia Living people