Viacheslav Chirikba is a linguist and politician from Abkhazia. He was Minister for Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia between 2011 and 2016.

Personal life

Chirikba was born on 17 March 1959 in

Gagra Gagra ( ka, გაგრა; Abkhaz and Russian: Гагра) is a town in Abkhazia/Georgia, sprawling for 5 km on the northeast coast of the Black Sea, at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains. Its subtropical climate made Gagra a popular he ...

. From 1966 until 1976, he attended School No.5 in Gagra. Chirikba is married and has three sons.

Academic career

*1977 – 1982 Student of Foreign Languages Department, V.N. Karazin Kharkov State University. **Diploma Work "Literary Paradox in the Works of

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

, O. Wilde and W. Shakespeare". **Supervisor: I.V. Gavrilchenko. *1982 – 1986 Postgraduate Student of the Institute of Linguistics,

USSR Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991, uniting the country's leading scientists, subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (until 1946 ...

. **Candidate's Dissertation "System of Whistling and Hissing Sounds in Abkhaz-Adyghe Languages". **Supervisor: Prof. Dr. M.A. Kumakhov. *1986 – 1991 Research Fellow at the Department of

Caucasian Languages The Caucasian languages comprise a large and extremely varied array of languages spoken by more than ten million people in and around the Caucasus Mountains, which lie between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Linguistic comparison allows t ...

of the Institute of Linguistics,

. *1991 – 1996 Doctoral Candidate at the Institute for Descriptive and Comparative Linguistics, Leiden University,

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. In 1996 he defended the doctoral thesis "Common West Caucasian. The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology". Supervisors: Prof. Dr. F.kortlandt, Dr. R. Smeets. *1996 – 1997 Invited Researcher at the Institute of International Relations "Clingendael",

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

. Research topic: "Abkhaz-Georgian Conflict". *2000 – 2004 Postdoctoral Research Project «Grammar of Sadz Abkhaz », Lecturer of Caucasian Languages at the Institute for Descriptive and Comparative Linguistics, Leiden University,

. **Courses taught: Introduction to Caucasian Linguistics; Abkhaz Grammar; Georgian Grammar. *2005 – 2006 Lecturer of

, Department of Assyriology, Leiden University,

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wi ...

. **Course taught: Abkhaz Grammar. *2007 – Head of Political Science and Conflictology Department at D.I. Gulia Abkhaz Institute of Humanitarian Studies. *2007 – present, Lecturer at the Department of the Abkhaz Language, Abkhaz State University. **Courses taught: Introduction to the Caucasian Linguistics; Grammar of the Ubykh Language. *2010 – 2013 Lecturer at the Department of History and Theory of International Relations, Abkhaz State University. **Course taught: Abkhazia in the Modern World (Geopolitics). **Member of the Abkhazian Academy of Sciences. **Leading Research Fellow at the Department of Caucasian Languages of the Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia. In 2020, he was appointed as the head of the Department of Geopolitics at the Centre for Strategic Studies under the

President of Abkhazia The position of president of Abkhazia was created in 1994. Before the office of president was created the head of state position was known as the chairman of Parliament between 1992 and the creation of the 1994 constitution. Before the position ...

.''Viacheslav Chirikba appointed Head of the Centre for Strategic Studies under the President'', abkhazworld.com 6 October 2020.
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Journals and academic organisations

Editorial positions: *1989 – 1990 Editor of "Alashara" Newspaper of the Abkhaz Society "Nartaa",

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. *1994 – 1995 Publisher and Co-editor of "Caucasus Review",

. *1998 – 2001 Editor of Electronic "Abkhaz Bulletin",

. Affiliations: *Member of European Society of Caucasus Researchers (Societas Caucasologica Europaea). *Member of the Association for the Study of Language in Prehistory (The Association For The Study Of Language In Prehistory). *Member of the SOCIETAS LINGUISTICA EUROPAEA.

Diplomatic and political career

*1993 – 1994 Member of the Abkhaz Delegation at the Georgian-Abkhaz Negotiations under the UN Aegis in

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

. *1993 – 1998 Plenipotentiary Representative of the Republic of Abkhazia to the Countries of Western Europe. *1998 – 2007 Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Abkhazia to the Countries of

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

. *2005 – Member of the executive board of Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (

UNPO The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, or simply UNPO is an international organization established to facilitate the voices of unrepresented and marginalised nations and peoples worldwide. It was formed on 11 February 1991 in The Ha ...

). *2007 – 2008 Foreign Policy Adviser of the President of the Republic of Abkhazia. *2008 – Head of Delegation of the Republic of Abkhazia at the International

Discussions. On 11 October 2011, Chirikba was appointed

Minister for Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

by newly elected President

Alexander Ankvab Aleksandr Zolotinskovich Ankvab ( ; ab, Алықьсандр Золотинска-иԥа Анқәаб, ka, ალექსანდრე ზოლოტინსკის ძე ანქვაბი, russian: Алекса́ндр Золот� ...

. On 17 October 2014, Chirikba was one of few government members to be re-appointed in the cabinet of Prime Minister Beslan Butba following the May 2014 Revolution and subsequent election of

Raul Khajimba Raul Jumkovich Khajimba ( ab, Рауль Џьумка-иҧа Ҳаџьымба, ka, რაულ ჯუმკას-ძე ჰაჯიმბა; born 21 March 1958) is an Abkhazian politician, and served as President of Abkhazia from 25 September ...

as president. Chirikba was again re-appointed under Prime Minister Artur Mikvabia, but on 20 September 2016, after the appointment of Beslan Bartsits as Prime Minister, he released a statement in which he announced his resignation because he was unable to continue in his post under the current circumstances. On 4 October Chirikba's successor Daur Kove was appointed. Vice Chairman of the Committee on the Implementation of the State Program of the Abkhaz Language Development. He is the founder and chairman of Humanitarian Fund "International Centre for Information and Documentation about Abkhazia".

Main publications

* ''Aspects of Phonological Typology''.

: Nauka, 1991, 143 p. * ''Common West Caucasian: The Reconstruction of its Phonological System and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology''.

: CNWS Publications, 1996, 452 pp. * ''A Dictionary of Common Abkhaz''.

, 1996, 126 pp. * ''Abkhaz'' – Languages of the World/Materials 119. München: Lincom Europa, 2003, 92 pp. * ''Reconstructing Proto-West Caucasian: From North Caucasian to West Caucasian via "Chinese"?'' Chirikba, ??, 27 pp. * ''Development of the

Abkhaz language Abkhaz ( ; ), sometimes spelled Abxaz and also known as Abkhazian, is a Northwest Caucasian language most closely related to Abaza. It is spoken mostly by the Abkhaz people. It is one of the official languages of Abkhazia, where around 100, ...

in the condition of a multi-ethnic society (Challenges and Prospects)''. Sukhum, 2009, 53 pp. * ''The International Legal Status of the Republic of Abkhazia''. Sukhum, 2013, 88 pp. * ''The Mystery of Caterina: Who Was the Mother of

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

?''. St. Petersburg: Piter, 155 pp. * ''Unified Abkhaz-Abaza Alphabet on the Latin Graphic Basis: A Project''. Sukhum 2019.

References

Ministry Of Foreign AffairsAbkhaz World

External links

Official Viacheslav Chirikba webpageViacheslav Chirikba website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chirikba, Viacheslav 1959 births Living people Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia People from Gagra Linguists from the Soviet Union 20th-century linguists National University of Kharkiv alumni Linguists from Abkhazia Linguists of Caucasian languages Linguists of Northwest Caucasian languages