The goal of the "Rhymes on Ritsa" project is to preserve the language and culture of the Abkhazian and Adyg peoples and strengthen interaction between young writers from Abkhazia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, and Adygea. This year, the event was timed to coincide with the 80th birthday of the First President of the Republic of Abkhazia, Vladislav Ardzinba.
Schazina Bganba
The festival has been held since 2018 and has already developed its own traditions, becoming a platform for creative encounters, poetry readings and exchange of latest literary works.
"Each festival is unique in its content and meeting places. New participants immediately embrace the idea – we get to know each other and invite new friends to join us. The traditional draw determined which Abkhazian authors will travel to Nalchik, Maykop, and Cherkessk next year. "We will have new translations, new books, TV programs and access to readers, which means our languages will develop through fiction," said poet, playwright and author of the "Rhymes on Ritsa" project, Zarina Kanukova.
The event began on October 2nd at the Ardzinba Museum of Military Glory in Moscow, continued with poetry readings on Bagrat Mountain, and traditionally concluded on Lake Ritsa. Participants and guests immersed themselves in the atmosphere of poetry "marathons," performances and meetings with like-minded people. Two books translated into Abkhaz were presented during the festival: one by Artur Kencheshaov, a poet from Karachay-Cherkessia, and another by Zarina Kanukova.
The project brought together both aspiring and renowned Abkhazian poets, writers, and translators. Among those attending the event for the first time were Hasan Allalo, a poet writing in his native Shapsug language and songwriter and performer from the Krasnodar Region; Anzor Apshev, a young musician and poet from Kabardino-Balkaria; and poets from Adygea—Timur Derbe, a columnist for the “AdygheMak” newspaper, and Sultan Misrokov, a leading researcher at the information and publishing department of ARIGI.
The annual "Rhymes on Ritsa" festival is part of the international "Poetry Cycle" project, which has been running since 2008. Throughout these years, festival director Lyubov Sosnalieva, wife of Hero of Abkhazia Sultan Sosnaliev, has been actively involved in the project.
It is noteworthy that the festival is designed so that its participants continue their work throughout the year. Literary meetings with Abkhazian cultural figures are being held in Maykop, Nalchik and Cherkessk, while the literary festival "Verses on Rufabgo" has been launched in Adygea as part of the "Poetry Cycle" project.
The festival is organized by the Ministry of Culture of Abkhazia and the Vladimir Ankvab Center for Abkhaz-Adyg Philology at Abkhazian State University. The World Abaza Congress provided financial and informational support for the event.
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