Abkhaz lectures by Anatoliy Genko

The article provides a brief overview of the main stages of development and increment of scientific knowledge about Abkhazia, describes the most important achievements in the field of collecting, source research and systematization of the material. It is noted that, in General, abkhazov studies have not reached the completeness and abundance of publications that are typical for other regional sections of Russian kavkazov studies. This indicates the relevance of studying the scientific heritage of Anatoly Nestorovich Genko, an outstanding scientist, linguist, ethnologist, and kavkazologist. The main attention is paid to Genko’s lectures delivered in the autumn semester of 1940 to students of the ethnographic Department of the Geographical faculty of Leningrad University. The lecture course on Ethnography of the peoples of the Caucasus consisted of twenty lectures, two of which were devoted to Abkhazia. The article describes the structure of the course, the author’s methodology and techniques. It is noted that, choosing an example from the phenomena of everyday culture, Genko considered it in more detail, in detail, and, as a rule, extrapolating to the entire Caucasus, within the framework of regional specifics as an element of the Caucasian civilizational universe. The problems formulated by Genko related to the study of the history, religion, and Ethnography of Abkhazia were aimed at identifying the most striking features of the region. Lectures abound with rare material related to the manifestations of ancient ethnic traditions, Patriarchal features of Abkhazian life, and the specifics of national culture, which makes them relevant today.