The descendant of a noble family, Ilia Tschawtschawadse, who was an author, banker and a publicist, is considered as the „Father of the Nation“. As one of the first after the Russian Colonization, he studied in St. Petersburg, brought back progressive ideas and – with a critical look at the backwardness and lethargy in his homeland – he became its active promoter. He apportioned his property among the bondslaves, founded a society for the spreading of the literacy among Georgians, the bank of the nobility, journals, the dramaturgic society and the historic-ethnographic Society of Georgia. His literary works reflect the diversity of the Georgian society in the 19th century.