On December 28, the famous art critic and public figure Bocha Medzhitovich Adzhindzhal was born.
Alisa Khutaba
A person lives as long as the memory of him lives. Bocha Medzhitovich Adzhindzhal is among the people whose contribution, without exaggeration, played a big role in the development and formation of the state, the preservation of culture, and the education of youth. Today a man of high morality, high intelligence, high culture of behavior would have turned 86 years old.
Bocha Medzhitovich Adzhindzhal was born on December 28, 1937 in the village of Pakuash, Ochamchira district. In 1960 he entered the Faculty of Philology (ed. Abkhazian sector) Sukhum State Pedagogical Institute named after A.M. Gorky. In 1967, Bocha Adzhindzhal worked as a junior researcher at the Abkhazian State Local History Museum and part-time as a teacher of the history of fine arts at the Sukhum Art School. At various times he worked as an inspector for art institutions in the Ministry of Culture of the Abkhazian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, a correspondent for the newspaper “Apsny kapsh”, and director of art and production workshops in the Union of Artists of Abkhazia.
In 1976 he became a researcher at the Abkhazian Research Institute of Language, Literature and History named after D.I. Gulia (today the Abkhazian Institute of Humanitarian Studies named after D.I. Gulia of the ASA). He studied the problem of fine art of the Abkhazians from ancient times to the 20th century. He prepared two monographs for publication: “The Art of Ancient Abkhazia from the Paleolithic to Early Antiquity (according to archaeological data)”, “The History of Abkhazian Soviet Fine Art from 1921–1990”. The manuscripts were burned along with the Abkhazian Institute on October 22, 1992 during the Patriotic War of the People of Abkhazia of 1992-1993.
One of the significant works of Bocha Adzhindzhal is the preparation and publication in 1978 of an album of works by Alexander Konstantinovich Chachba (Shervashidze), an outstanding Abkhazian painter, graphic artist, art critic and set designer of the St. Petersburg imperial theaters (1906–1918), set designer of the Diaghilev seasons abroad (1920– 1930.)
From 1978 to 2003, Bocha Medzhitovich was a member of the editorial board of the magazine “Apsny akazara”. In 1980, he prepared and published a collection of articles and essays about art - “Sparks of Art” (Sukhum). In 1981, Bocha Adzhindzhal was admitted to the Union of Artists of the USSR, and in 1985 he published a long-term work, “Pages of a Great Life,” dedicated to the artist A.K. Chachba. The second revised and expanded edition of the book was published in 2017 under the title “Artist Alexander Chachba: Life. Creation. Fate".
Bocha Medzhitovich was an active participant in the national liberation movement in Abkhazia in 1967, 1977, 1978, 1987–1989. During the Patriotic War of the people of Abkhazia in 1993, Bocha Medzhitovich created the cultural and charitable society “Apsny” in St. Petersburg. The organization provided assistance to refugees and wounded soldiers from Abkhazia who were admitted to municipal hospitals for treatment. Adzhindzhal was the deputy chairman of the society until 2005, and its honorary chairman until the end of his life.
In 1998 in St. Petersburg he published the book “Prince Alexander Chachba. Articles about art. Excerpts from notebooks” with his own preface and comments.
In addition to scientific activities, Bocha Medzhitovich was also involved in poetry. He is the author of the collection of poems “Zazdravnaya” (“Аныҳәаҿа”).
Since 2001, Adzhindzhal has been a member of the Union of Artists of Abkhazia. He was also a member of the International Association of Art Critics. In 2005, he was awarded the III degree Order of Akhdz-Apsha, and an anniversary medal in honor of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. In 2006 he became a member of the Writers' Association of Abkhazia. In 2015, he was awarded the honorary title of Honored Worker of Culture of the Republic of Abkhazia.
The life of Bocha Medzhitovich Adzhindzhal is an example of dedication, a symbol of service to people, loyalty to the Motherland, as well as to his calling. It is so destined that a person's life often ends suddenly. On August 20, 2019, Bocha Medzhitovich passed away. The memory of the patriot, friend and colleague will forever remain in the hearts of admirers of his work. On the initiative of the Sukhum municipal assembly, a memorial plaque was installed on the facade of the house on 24 Voronova str., where the famous art critic and public figure lived.
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