Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili arrived in the village of Duisi in the Pankisi Gorge to present the Order of Honor to the family of the deceased representative of the Pankisi Council of Elders, Khaso Khangoshvili. Khaso Khangoshvili was also a famous writer and local historian. He is the author of the book “Kist Adats”, the founder of a museum in the Pankisi Gorge dedicated to the Kist Chechens. The award was awarded posthumously “for his special contribution to strengthening friendly ties between Chechens and Georgians.”

The President expressed condolences to the relatives of the deceased and emphasized the significance of this loss for Georgia: “I know that this is a time of great sadness for you, your family, all of Pankisi and all of Georgia, because for Georgia, as a small but big country, the loss of every great person is big loss. This is a great loss for its culture and future because these people create the future of this country and we all know that Mr. Haso was a very important person not only as a writer.

He has already been awarded as a writer. The award that we will present to him today is a state award, and I want it to become an expression of the state’s gratitude to this great man and great personality, who has done a lot to preserve the culture of the Caucasus and continue its knowledge.”

Salome Zurabishvili also noted that Khaso Khangoshvili worked, among other things, on ancient law, and that this may be forgotten. “We live in a country where it is sometimes difficult to find justice and judicial independence. We have had a local court for a long time. This award was given not to the family, but to the country and state,” the Georgian president emphasized.