Kartvelology, as a complex of humanitarian sciences, involves research into all lines of the national identity and culture of the Georgian people. It is an international field of scholarship, hence an important sphere of the establishment of the independent Georgian state in the community of the world peoples. The task of Georgian humanitarian scholarship is to attract foreign Kartvelologists more intensively and their involvement in the research into the culture and scholarship of the Georgian people. Significant work in this direction is being done by the Centre for Georgian Studies under I. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University and by the independent non-profit Fund of the Kartvelological School, set up for the material and financial support of the Centre. One important undertaking of the multidirectional national programme of this Centre and Fund is the founding of a bilingual (Georgian and English) scholarly and popular journal “The Kartvelologist”.

“The Kartvelologist”, founded in 1993 by Prof. E. Khintibidze, has since acquired international status and gained acceptance at Europe’s Kartvelological Centres, its additional purpose being popularization of Kartvelological scholarship. 15 issues of the journal have already come out. It has an international editorial board, whose members are: Winfried Boeder (Germany), Luigi Magarotto (Italy), Bernard Outtier (France), and Steffi Chotiwary-Jünger (Germany). Studies by many foreign scholars on the Georgian language, literature, history and social and cultural life have been published in various issues of the journal, in particular by: Daniel Humphries (USA), Robert Beynen (USA), Steffi Chotiwary-Jünger (Germany), Robert Larsson (Sweden), Farshid Delshad (Iran), Eletra Ercolino (Italy), Antony Stobart (Great Britain), Saskia and Alexandra Gabrieli (the Netherlands), Joseph Zeteishvili (Russia), V. Weber, Paul Pupar (Italy), Reuven Enoch (Israel).

The journal publishes bibliographies of the works of foreign Kartvelologists, and  acquaints their work with a wide circle of Georgian as well as foreign scholars. Various issues of the journal carry the bibliographies of Michel van Esbroeck, Katharine Vivian, Bernard Outtier, Winfried Boeder, Luiggi Magarotto. Significant studies, in Georgian Kartvelology, appearing in different numbers of the journal, have been reprinted in both Georgian and foreign scholarly journals, turning into the subject of discussion in 21st century Kartvelology.

Inasmuch as the topics highlighted in The Kartvelologist are important for further progress of the Kartvelological field and high interest is shown in it at foreign scholarly centres, we believe it necessary to make it available to a wide circle of representatives of world humanitarian sciences through the creation of its electronic version and spread by way of the internet: The editor-in-chief of the journal will be Prof. Elguja Khintibidze, and coeditor Prof. A. Tchanturia (for the English-language version).

The electronic scholarly journal, The Kartvelologist, will be a new-type publication, aimed at bringing to light and publishing the latest achievements along the line of Georgian history and culture and the Georgian language and literature, to promote Kartvelological researches both in Georgia and on the international scale, thereby rendering it available to world humanitarian circles and individual persons interested in Kartvelology. All fields of Georgian studies that serve to highlight medieval and modern Georgian culture, language and history will be represented in the journal.
 The name of the journal (The Kartvelologist – Journal of Georgian Studies) has become accepted in Georgia and in international circles. It will remain the title of the present electronic scholarly journal, and its periodicity will be defined as two issues annually – in spring and autumn.

The journal will be bilingual (Georgian and English). One and the same paper will be published in two languages – Georgian and English – of essentially identical content. The authors submit their studies in both languages. Upon taking a decision to have it published, its editing and preparing for printing will be carried out by the editorial board. In individual cases the editorial board will ensure the translation of papers from English into Georgian or vice versa.