Author: Nahapetian Samvel

What is Coptology?
Eight years after Coptic studies was made an independent discipline at the
congress at Munster a proper definition of the field of study still eludes
academics, writes Jill Kamil
al-Ahram Weekly On-line
19 – 25 August 2004
Issue No. 704
The only absolute certainty is that ‘Coptic’ has to do with Egypt,” observed
Professor M Tito Orlandi of Rome’s University of La Sapienza in his
presidential address to the eighth International Association for Coptic Studies (IACS)
congress in Paris last week.
The astounding fact is that, apart from linguistics (which alone can be
clearly defined) there is neither an obvious character, nor can the limitations be
set, on all other fields of Coptic studies, whether history, geography,
literature or art. This vitally important subject concerning Orthodox Egyptian
Christianity has been conscientiously considered, deliberated on and studied in
depth at an international level for the last 30 years. But while there have been
specialised studies by scholars around the world, seven international
congresses and seminars in Egypt and abroad, its parameters are still being debated.
The IACS is an offshoot of the International Committee founded in 1976 for
the publication of the Nag Hammadi codices, and its congresses take place every
four years. This year Paris was the host city, following Rome, Warsaw,
Louvain-la-Neuve, Washington, Munster and Leiden. There were some 280 participants,
and the proceedings were conducted at two venues: L’Institut d’Art et
d’Archaeologie de la Sorbonne, and L’Institut Catholique, both not far from the
Luxembourg Gardens.
Ever since Coptic studies was declared a separate discipline at Munster in
1996 it has seemed unable, despite all efforts, to carve a niche for itself — a
claim to legitimacy. There remain so many imponderables on the “Copticity”
of, say, a work of art, its manifestation in literature, or as evidence of
architectural change or continuity, because it overlaps with other cultures,
whether Roman, Byzantine or Islamic. As a result the conference, rather than ironing
out the creases between the diverse cultures of the ancient Middle East and
establishing a distinct niche for Coptic studies, succeeded in doing just the
opposite, it fanned uncertainty and made the concept just as difficult to
define as it always has been.
Professor Orlandi had this to say: “After long mediation I have come to
believe that the following statements may be accepted, if considered without
prejudice and with a fair mind. First, it is important that Coptology as an academic
discipline be neither forgotten nor passed over in silence when it is
opportune that it be discussed. Second, that while it would be idle, indeed
irrelevant, to try and establish a precise definition which is valid for each
specialisation, we should recognise the nucleus, the core, made by a few disciplines,
as well as a group of others, equally important, whose legitimacy depends on
the existence of core studies. This blend,” he suggested, “would produce a
flexible but sufficiently consistent definition of Coptology.”
While admitting that Coptology could not, like Latin literature or Byzantine
art, be identified as a distinct discipline, Orlandi said that it must be
considered among a group of disciplines that share certain characteristics and
images, whether in archaeology, Christian theology, political history, biblical
philology or monasticism, “Coptic may be a part, but it lies within a
structurally and methodically coherent whole,” he said, stressing the desirability of
establishing whether there existed “a Copticity”, a kind of peculiar, spiritual
attitude or character that, when studied by Coptologists in religion,
literature, art, history, music etc, could be shown to create a common cultural
ground.
“I mean,” Orlandi amplified, “whether the word ‘Coptic’ may refer not only to
a historical period or geographical location but to one more or less
coherent, unifying spiritual factor. This I, for one, and possibly most of us, would
like to see clearly established.”
With the congress’s 280 participants presenting 20-minute papers on a wide
range of subjects, in five languages, in three lecture halls on alternate floors
of the Institute d’Art, the grand marble stairway graced by classical works
of art was packed with people hurrying up and down — because the single lift
was “un peu fragile” and it was recommended that only those not capable of
tackling the stairs should use it. The Tower of Babel must have been a little like
this — scholarly patriarchs with bearded chins slightly raised in disdain
when they discovered the microphone was not working, dignified monks in their
habits mingling with the crowds, eager young students palpably trembling with
excitement, Professor Godlewski with his body of devotees, and other
participants united in a common bond of Egypt’s contribution to Orthodox Christianity.
A certain panic ensued when lecture hall venues had to be changed at the last
minute because the equipment proved inadequate: a microphone did not work, a
power point linkup could not be made, or because of last minute cancellations.
But technical problems were quickly resolved and, unlike the babbling hordes
in the Tower of Babel, there were common languages and a spirit of
camaraderie.
Language did prove to be a problem, however. It was unfortunate that, unlike
at the recent seminar on Coptic studies at Wadi Al-Natrun, translations were
not handed out.
The presentations covered archaeology and art history, the Gnostics and
Manacheism, documentary sources including the Nag Hammadi codices, papyrus
collections, ostraca and specific inscriptions from various sources, discoveries of
wall paintings in abandoned hermitages and in a cave church, and studies on
Copts and Muslims in the Late Antique and early Islamic periods. Numerous studies
have been made in recent years on textiles, monasticism, theology and magic.
Four important and useful papers were given on the progress made in the
period 2000-2004: Research and Publications in Coptic Papyrology by Terry Wilfong
of the University of Michigan, Research and Publication in Coptic Art by Karel
Inemée, Actualitiés des Musées et Expositions by Dominique Benazeth, and
Copto-Arabic Studies by Mark Swanson.
The core disciplines referred to by Orlandi in his presidential address
included the study of the Coptic language in all its synchronic aspects, the study
of Coptic literature written in Coptic (although from the intertextual and
historical points of view it cannot be distinguished from respective contemporary
Greek, Arabic, and Demotic literature); the study of the Egyptian church in
all its aspects after the Council of Chalcedon in 451; the study of
paleography; the study of ecclesiastical and monastic Egyptian art after Chalcedon; and
the study of papyri and similar documents written in Coptic.
The sum total of knowledge in these areas is increasing, and thus Coptic
studies are becoming more and more specialised. But unfortunately this is not
leading to a clearer understanding of the subject. “The status of Coptic
literature still needs to be correctly understood, because of the tendency to extract
some of its branches to form independent fields,” Orlandi lamented. Such
fragmentation distracts from, rather than aids general historical assessment of
works of literature. He mentioned that biblical translations, Gnostic texts and
apocrypha were frequently considered separately from the development of Coptic
literature proper, with the result that “all is left in a vague environment,
where the sources of the texts are important, and not the form which they have
assumed in Coptic”. When it came to Coptic literature in the Arabic language,
this, due to linguistic competence, is set apart.
Ironically, Coptic studies has no beginning in Egypt. Here we have a strange
paradox. The Coptic church is one of the oldest in Christendom, brought to
Egypt by St Mark, the reputed author of the oldest of the four canonical gospels.
Yet the sad fact remains that owing to the integration of contrasting
configurations, whether Egyptian, classical, Greek-Egyptian, or Persian pagan motifs,
not to mention Byzantine and Syrian Christian influences, it is difficult to
identify. At the latter end of the scale it is now generally accepted that
Islamic influence on the Copts was slow to develop, but, at the beginning, the
slow and steady development of a distinctively Egyptian trait, a local identity,
is lacking.
This problem, Orlandi observed, had not been “extensively and seriously
debated”. As a result, he said, general introductions to “the Copts” were
unsatisfactory in many ways. He mentioned the works of Meinardus 1961-1977, Brunner-
Traut 1982, De Bourguet 1988, Cannuyer 1990 and 2000, all of which he described
as “very useful” but “often not in tune with the achievements of actual
research”. He did commend the works of R Bagnall 1993, Gerhards-Brakmann 1994,
Capuani 1999, and the collective books edited by Krause and Camplani in German and
Italian respectively, but pointed out that these covered only selective
subjects.
Among the major achievements of the past decades is The Coptic Encyclopaedia,
conceived and produced by Aziz and Lola Attiya. “But there is a need for a
kind of handbook on Coptic studies like that provided by O Montevecchi for
apyriology, the monumental Handbook on the Science of Antiquities of Munich, and
the Facsimile Edition of the Nag Hammadi codices, their publication, translation
and commentary by J M Robinson and his group,” he said.
Orlandi pointed out that there was no spirit of competition, let alone active
collaboration, between learned associations comparable to the IACS, even with
those, such as Egyptologists and papyrologists, that included Coptic studies
in their scope. Indeed, in any publication of assorted studies on various
topics in late antiquity or Byzantium most of the articles will be on
Constantinople, Syria, Armenia, Gaul, North Africa and Palestine, with Egypt mentioned
only in passing. “I would call it something like a tacit and benign mutual
neglect,” he said, adding that it was a field where more could certainly be done in
the future.
There is considerable evidence of Coptic roots within the Pharaonic
inheritance. For example, it is generally accepted that Christian icons owe a great
deal to mummy portrait painting, and the discovery and study of the Nag Hammadi
codices reveal that Egypt exerted an appreciable sway upon the entire
Hellenistic world in which Christianity took root. In spite of such substantial
evidence Coptic studies usually commences with the Council of Chalcedon in 451, and
classical antiquity still provides most of the source material for European
accounts of the Copts in Egypt. It is unfortunate, therefore, that from the
abundance of literary evidence that has survived in dump heaps, Greek, Latin and
Arabic texts have been translated at the expense of Demotic and Coptic.
Countless publications from the past century — studies, monographs and lecture series
— lay bare Egyptian society under Byzantine rule, but insufficient effort
has been made in translating those texts which might locate the roots of
Egyptian Christianity within the Pharaonic inheritance. They continue to lie in boxes
in museum storerooms around the world, including the Coptic Museum in Cairo.
Among the congress presentations that remain in my mind are Father Daniel
Al-Suriani’s valuable study of the function of a group of bronze objects in the
daily life of the monastery, Gawdat Gabra’s description of the discovery of an
interesting underground monastic complex at Mansuriya with surviving wall
paintings, and Elizabeth Bolman’s preliminary results of the remarkable wall
painting conservation project in the Red Monastery near Sohag. Mention must also be
made of Magdalena Laptas’s description of the newly-discovered murals of the
Polish expedition at Banganarti in Sudan, since excellent use was made here of
a “power point” presentation with appropriate zooming in of the site plan
with different locations of surviving wall paintings, along with details of each.
There are now institutions that give more or less regular courses of
Coptology in 47 countries around the world, including Australia, Great Britain,
Canada, Germany, Jerusalem, Spain, Switzerland and the United States, but there are
none in Egypt. A rotating chair of Coptic studies was opened at the American
University in Cairo in 2002 but its future is uncertain; apparently funding is
not yet sufficient to establish an endowment capable of supporting a
year-round, full-time position. No department of Coptic studies is yet to be found in
any of Egypt’s national universities; since 1976, when the IASC was
established, it has been a tradition to send a telegramme to the minister of higher
education and the president of Cairo University on the need to establish such a
department in the land of the Coptic heritage, but so far nothing has been
achieved.
And so, while confusion remains over the use of the very word “Coptic”, with
philologists referring to the last phase of the Egyptian language, theologians
to the Egyptian faith, and art historians, until recently, describing as
“Coptic” anything that did not fit into other well-defined parameters, the
situation looks bleak. “I could not say whether the academic teaching of Coptology
has improved in the last 30 years,” Orlandi admitted, “or even by how much,
because there is no assessment of previous activity”.
Although Professor Orlandi ended his address on an optimistic note, recalling
important achievements in the last three decades with particular mention of
an encyclopaedia, grammatical, historical atlas, handbook of liturgy, and a
minor but total edition of the Coptic Bible, a history of Copto-Arabic literature
as well as ongoing excavation of archaeological sites and diverse studies,
when we observe the overall picture it would appear that the congress, for all
its scope, may not have been the success it should have been. Gaps between
different disciplines seem to be widening rather than diminishing, and still open
to question is a definition of Coptic and the broad parameters of Coptic
studies.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Stichting Falkor I.C.Y.
P.O. Box 1649
9701 BP Groningen
Netherlands
[email protected]
www.falkor.o rg
‘Aerials rock night’ in Simplon:
Groningen, Odense, Tbilisi, Yerevan: local heroes come
together
Young rock musicians, film makers, DJ’s and VJ’s from
Armenia, Georgia and Denmark come together in
Netherlands and join a group of Dutch young
musicians. Together they will make new music, films
and perform at the end of their stay, 10 days later.
This concert will take place on Friday 24 September in
Simplon, Groningen.
(For details see )
>>From Georgia we will welcome in Groningen among others
Young Georgian Lolitaz, Bakur Burduli and Madi
Serebriakova, from Armenia The Kings’ Cross,
Alter Ego, Belka and Foreverchild. Denmark will be
represented among others by the reggae band Scientific
Feet. From Groningen members from Go!
Revolution Go!, JetSetReady, Believe is a Doubt and
Sjunya will join the project.
Rock, pop, trip hop, grunge, folk, reggae,
post-hardcore… all different music styles and
cultural backgrounds will be combined and presented at
one
colorful and surprising evening at Simplon.
The project in Groningen is organized by ‘Groningen
One World’, ‘Groverpop’ and Falkor I.C.Y.
-Groningen One World is experienced in organizing
international cultural youth exchanges, with young
artists from Eastern and Western Europe.
-Groverpop is the organisation promoting and
supporting the Groningen pop-scene. Groverpop offers
free concerts of Groningen bands under the name ‘Local
Heroes’.
-Falkor I.C.Y. is initiator of the Aerials project.
Falkor offers exchange projects for young enthusiastic
people in/with Caucasus.
The partner organizations abroad are ‘Caucasus Center
of Contemporary Art’ from Georgia, ‘Ynternet.org’ from
Armenia and ‘Odense Youth House’ (‘Ungdomshuset’ )
from Denmark.
After this project, the intention is to organize the
second part of the exchange project in Georgia in
2005. All participants will then be invited to play at
a festival in Tbilisi.
The project is funded by the EU Youth program and the
city authorities of Groningen.
‘Aerials’ is the name of a popular song by System of a
Down (famous Armenian/ American rock band): ‘Aerials,
in the sky, when you lose small mind, you free your
life.’
——-
For more information:
Falkor: Janita Top, +31 (0)6-54647084,
[email protected],
Groverpop/Simplon: Patrick van Lint, +31 (0) 6
53199622,
[email protected], ,

ARMENIAN, AZERI AND TURKISH FMs TO MEET IN NEW YORK
ArmenPress
Sept 6 2004
BAKU, SEPTEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS: Azerbaijani Azertag news agency said
Armenian, Turkish and Azeri foreign ministers will have a trilateral
meeting in New York later this month on the sidelines of the UN
General Assembly session that starts September 21.
The agency quoted Azeri foreign minister Elmar Mamedyarov as saying
that the meeting will focus on ways of resolving the Karabagh problem
and Turkey’s role in these efforts.
Meantime a spokesman for Armenian foreign ministry, Hamlet Gasparian,
told Armenpress that minister Vartan Oskanian is planning to travel
to New York on September 29 only.

ON SEPTEMBER 5 THE RA PRESIDENT TO LEAVE FOR POLAND WITH AN OFFICIAL VISIT
ARKA News Agency
Sept 3 2004
On September 5 the President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan will
leave for Poland with an official visit by the invitation of Polish
President Aleksander Kwasniewski. According to the RA President’s
Press Service Department, meetings with the President of Poland,
the Leadership of Sejm and Senate as well as the Prime Minister of
Poland are planned within the framework of the visit. Also, Bilateral
agreements on military cooperation and joint fight against organized
crime as well as a memorandum on cooperation between the Union of SME
of Poland and the RA Ministry of Trade and Economic Development are
to be signed. The main goal of the visit of the Polish delegation
to Armenia, which will last till September 7, is to stimulate the
development of intergovernmental relations, define the priority
directions and tasks for the economic cooperation between the two
countries, as well as exchange opinions regarding the most actual
goals of an international interest.
The diplomatic relations between Armenia and Poland have been
established since Feb 26, 1992. In 1998 an Armenian Embassy was
opened in Warsaw, and the Polish Embassy in Armenia – on Jan 27,
2001. The first visit of the RA President Robert Kocharyan to Poland
took place on July 13-15, 1999. The visit of the Polish President
Aleksander Kwasniewski to Armenia took place on November 14-16, 2001.
According to RA National Statistics Service, the trade turnover
between Armenia and Poland in Jan-July 2004 made $2068,6 thsd. versus
$2042 thsd during the analogous period of 2003. At that, the volume of
export made $28,1 thsd. for the first 7 months of 2004 (in 2003 -$129,5
thsd.), and import -$2040,5 thsd. (in 2003-$1912,5 thsd.). A.H.–0–

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
Sept 2 2004
MEETING AT FOREIGN MINISTRY
[September 02, 2004, 14:58:37]
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov received
Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary of Germany in Baku Klaus
Grewlich in connection with completion of his diplomatic mission
in Azerbaijan.
Mr. Grewlich expressed gratitude to Azerbaijani side for assistance and
fruitful cooperation during his activity in Azerbaijan, and stressed
his confidence in further expanding of the friendly relations between
the two countries.
Minister E. Mammadyarov noted for his part that he stands for
strengthening and expanding the friendly Germany – Azerbaijan
relations, and continuation of the fruitful cooperation between the
two countries.
Touching on the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
he pointed out the importance of adherence to the principles
of territorial integrity, state sovereignty and inviolability of
borders while discussing the issue in the framework of international
organizations.
In conclusion, the Minister wished the Ambassador every success in
his further activities.

Putin says Turkey and Russia should cooperate in Caucasus, Central Asia
BY SUZAN FRASER; Associated Press Writer
Associated Press Worldstream
September 1, 2004 Wednesday
ANKARA, Turkey — Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview
broadcast Wednesday that Turkey and Russia should avoid competing for
influence in the Caucasus and Central Asia and increase cooperation,
especially regarding the soaring trade between the two countries.
Putin was speaking before a two-day visit to Turkey that starts
Thursday – a first by a Russian leader since the Soviet collapse.
Bilateral trade, currently standing at US$6.8 billion ([euro]5.6
billion), has increased sixfold since 1992, Putin said in an interview
broadcast on CNN-Turk television. The interview was conducted in the
Russian resort of Sochi on Monday.
Turkey and Russia have been rivals for centuries, competing for
influence in Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Balkans. That
competition increased after the fall of the Soviet Union and the
independence of Turkic states in Central Asia and the Caucasus.
But recently rivalries have subsided and the two countries have been
concentrating on trade.
Turkey and Russia “are moving toward cooperation and welfare…
Russian and Turkey are neighbors. We have common interests,” Putin
said in the interview. His remarks were broadcast dubbed in Turkish.
A Russian transcript was not immediately available.
“I certainly believe that today and in the future, we can cooperate
and reach wider targets,” he said, referring to past Turkish-Russian
projects, including a 446-kilometer (278-mile) natural gas pipeline
that runs beneath the Black Sea to Turkey.
“I believe that if we want to solve the problems along regional
interests, we have to especially avoid competition,” Putin told
CNN-Turk television.
“Both Russia and Turkey are two states that wish, more than anyone
else, for stability in the region and for the situation to return to
normal. We know the problems there better than anyone else,” he said.
Putin and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan are expected
to discuss trade but also contentious issues such as the Caucasus,
where Turkey is allied with Azerbaijan and Russia is friendly with
Azerbaijan’s rival, Armenia.
The conflict in Chechnya – also in the Caucasus – is on the agenda
too. Turks sympathize with their fellow Muslims in Chechnya, and
many Turks trace their ancestry to the Caucasus. Russia has called
on Turkey to crack down on Turkish charities that it claims have
provided support to Chechen rebels.
Russia provides some 60 percent of Turkey’s natural gas imports,
and Putin said his country was also considering selling oil to Turkey
and exporting fuel to other countries via Turkey.
Turkey is expected to stress during Putin’s visit that the narrow
Bosporus Strait dividing Istanbul cannot handle further Russian oil
exports. The Turks are expected to press for other ways of exporting
Russian oil, such as pipelines through Turkey.
Putin will be accompanied by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov. Putin’s predecessor, Boris Yeltsin,
attended a regional security summit in Istanbul in 1999.

Agence France Presse — English
August 30, 2004 Monday 11:11 AM GMT
Court in Azerbaijan sentences NATO protesters
BAKU
A court in the former Soviet republic of Azerbiajan handed out prison
sentences Monday to protesters who had tried to storm a conference of
NATO officials in the Azeri capital two months ago.
The court found six protesters guilty of public order offences and
resisting arrest, and ordered that they should be sent to prison for
terms ranging from three to five years.
The protesters had been demonstrating about the presence at the NATO
meeting of two officers from Armenia’s armed forces.
Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a war in the early 1990s over the
disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. The two neighbouring
countries remain at a state of war, though there is no large-scale
fighting.
Among those sentenced Monday was Akif Nagi, leader of the hardline
Karabakh Liberation Organisation, which favours new military action
against Armenia. He was given five years in jail.
Supporters and relatives of the convicted men staged a protest in the
courtroom when the sentences were handed down but they were dispersed
by police.
The NATO meeting, which took place in the capital, Baku on June 21,
was briefly disrupted as the protesters scuffled with police and
smashed windows outside the conference venue.
Many people in Azerbaijan sympathised with the protesters —
evidence, observers said, of growing public support for a renewal of
hostilities over Nagorno-Karabakh.
The war there displaced a million civilians and left some 35,000
people dead.

Azeri leader to meet US secretary of state in Athens
MPA news agency, Baku
26 Aug 04

Baku, 26 August: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to Germany
will end on 26 August. MPA news agency learnt from the Azerbaijani
Foreign Ministry that Aliyev had met German Foreign Minister Joschka
Fischer today. The sides discussed expanding bilateral political
relations and the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.
On 26 August Aliyev will leave for Athens to take part in the closing
ceremony of the Olympic Games. Aliyev is expected to meet US Secretary
of State Colin Powell, who is in Athens.

$140M NECESSARY FOR RECONSTRUCTION OF YEREVAN TPP WILL BE GIVEN BY
GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN BY THE END OF THE YEAR, RA MINISTER OF ENERGY
HOPES
YEREVAN, August 25 (Noyan Tapan). The program of reconstruction of
Yerevan TPP isn’t delayed. Armen Movsisian, RA Minister of Energy,
reported this to journalists on August 25. He expressed a hope that by
the end of the year the government of Japan will make a decision about
the corresponding financing (about $14m) necessary for the
reconstruction of the TPP. Co-financing of the Armenian side will make
$25m. To recap, by the program of reconstruction of Yerevan TPP it’s
envisaged to build a super-modern steam-gas energy bloc working by a
combined cycle and with natural gas. The basic capacity of the energy
bloc will reach 230 mWt. The presence of the bloc will permit to spend
only 158-226 grams of gas for production of electricity of 1 kWt/h
instead of the current 372 grams. So, only on the part of fuel Armenia
will economize $19.4m a year.

Reuters
Aug 25 2004
Gardner Unable to Defend His Olympic Title
By Ori Lewis
ATHENS (Reuters) – U.S. heavyweight Rulon Gardner lost his Olympic
title Wednesday after being beaten in the semi-final stage of the
120kg Greco-Roman wrestling event by Georgiy Tsurtsumia of
Kazakhstan.
In a bout which went into overtime, the bigger and stronger-looking
Tsurtsumia held on for a 4-1 scoreline after the two men tied at 1-1
at the end of the mandatory six minutes.
Gardner, 33, narrowly escaped death when stranded in temperatures of
minus 25 degrees Celsius after his snowmobile broke down in a forest
in Wyoming in 2002.
He lost a toe to frost bite and last year also suffered a dislocated
shoulder in a motorcycle accident.
The articulate American had no regrets about his tactics in the bout.
He said: “I gave 100 percent, I have no bad feelings. I was trying to
score a point to win the match but he countered me and beat me. I
tried.”
Tsurtsumia stands at 6-foot-4 and towered above Gardner, whose
physique is much stockier and who stands at about 6-foot-1.
Gardner said that all his opponents had studied his technique closely
and knew exactly what was needed to beat him.
“These people (my opponents) have come here having learned each
set-piece. They saw what I can be worked on, where I’m weak,” he
explained.
Gardner beat the seemingly invincible Russian Alexander Karelin to
win the 130kg gold medal at the Sydney Games in 2000 but that
category has been dropped in Athens to make room for the women’s
wrestling events.
Gardner now meets Iranian Sajad Barzi for the bronze. Tsurtsumia’s
opponent for gold will be Russia’s Khasan Baroev.
In the other finals to be contested Wednesday, Russia’s Alexei
Michine will fight for gold in the 84kg division against Sweden’s
Armenian-born former world champion Ara Abrahamian.
In the 66kg class Farid Mansurov of Azerbaijan will meet Turkey’s
Seref Eroglu, while in the 55kg category Istvan Majoros of Hungary
will battle Gueidar Mamedaliev of Russia.
Elimination bouts in the three other Greco-Roman weight categories
(60kg, 74kg and 96kg) began Wednesday with medal bouts set for
Thursday. The freestyle competition begins on Friday in a
corresponding format to the Greco-Roman event.