Bachana Bregvadze, translator of world literature into Georgian, dies

A prominent Georgian translator who made some of the world’s classical literature available to Georgian readers has died.

Philosopher, translator, writer and academic of Georgia’s National Academy of Sciences Bachana Bregvadze passed away on Sunday. He was 80 years old.

Bregvadze was renowned in the publishing world for his dedication to literature in translation. He translated literature into Georgian from Ancient Greek, Latin, Italian, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese and Russian.

Some of the books he translated into Georgian were The New Testament, Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, Confessions by St Augustine, Medea by Euripides, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery and Early Dialogues by Plato.

"Translation, scientific and pedagogical activities of Mr. Bachana Bregvadze over the last decades represents the most important page in the Georgian intellectual life,” said Georgia’s President Giorgi Margvelashvili when he learnt about the death of the legendary translator.

Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili expressed his sadness and said: "It’s hard to find words to describe this loss.”

"This man’s work was invaluable in the intellectual and spiritual life of our nation.”

The Prime Minister tasked the country’s Ministry of Culture to organise the funeral and cover all the expenses.

During his lifetime Bregvadze was awarded almost all of the most prestigious Georgian literature prizes and had two Medals of Honour.