Anastasia Tumanishvili-Tsereteli

1849-1932 / public figure, writer

Anastasia studied modern pedagogical concepts in Switzerland and France. After returning to her native Georgia, she published a series of short stories and essays in the newspapers Droeba and Iveria (1881-84).

In the following years, she and a group of like-minded people worked tirelessly to improve pedagogical training and education for girls. In 1890 she founded the Jejili and Kvali journals, which played an important role in the education movement prior to Georgia's Sovietization in 1921.

In 1891, Anastasia married G. Tsereteli and the couple edited and published the Kvali journal together from 1893 until 1904. Also in 1891 she began opening children's libraries in Tbilisi. In 1908 she founded a new women's society titled Ganatleba (Education) and a girl's secondary school on Qazbegi St in Tbilisi. Ganatleba was so prominent that it caught the attention of philanthropists. It was through their help that the girls' secondary school, as well as the vocational education department and art studio were maintained.