Sophio Chavchavadze (1833 – 1862)

Sophio Chavchavadze

Unlike her sisters, Sophio Chavchavadze was not distinguished as a youthful beauty, she was silent and modest. In the letter written to Grigol Orbeliani shortly after her birth, her mother, Salome Orbeliani, wrote: "... She has astonishing black hair, a nice forehead, strange black eyebrows and black lashes, and small red lips. Her smile stirs up feeling. She has amazing body structure. Her smartness is unusual for her age..."

When Sophio’s parents died, her sister, Nino, and her brother, David, became her guardians. In 1850, Sophio married a Finnish baron, Alexandre Nikolai, who worked as the Director of the Army Office of the Governor of Caucasia in Tbilisi. In 1861, Baron Nikolai was transferred to Kiev; Sophio accompanied him. Little is known about their private lives; however, they had one daughter, Mariam (Maka) Nikolai.

In 1862, when Sophio died, at the age of 29, Mariam Nikolai was a young child. She was reared in Georgia and married Georgi Shervashidze. Sophio Chavchavadze was buried in Vyborg, Russia, 38 Kilometers from Finland’s border with Russia.

Source bibliography:

1. Chikovani, Iuri. Tavadi Chavchavadzeebi [Nobles Chavchavadzes] Tbilisi: Artanuji, 2002.
2. Meunargia, Iona. Debi Chavchavadzeebi [Sisters Chavchavadzes]. Journal: Amarta No: 7. Tbilisi: 2002.
3. S.V.Dumin., and Y.K.Chikovani., ed. Dvorianskie Rodi Rossiiskoi Imperii [Ancestral Princedoms of the Russian Empire], vol.VI, Moscow: Licominvest, 1998

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