A IS FOR ABKHAZIA

Full disclosure: as much as I am obsessed with discovering the world using the ABC of countries, I am against limiting it to the official UN list of sovereign nations. So I also acknowledge the nations and ethnicities that are not currently ratified. One of such is Abkhazia, a disputed territory, that had alternately been a part of USSR, Georgia and Russia, and is unique due to its diverse demographics: from Iranians to Greeks to Afro-Abkhazians. One of the most prominent people from Abkhazia was Aleksandr Chachba-Shervashidze: the republic’s first professional painter, who had worked with Picasso and Diaghilev. I especially like his theatre work, although it’s scarce online.

Alexander Chachba-Shervashidze, Costume sketches for Nikolai Evreinov’s “Happy death”, first half of 20th century.