A key insight into the "Weltanschauung" of Baratashvili can be found in his historical poem "Fate of Georgia" (ბედი ქართლისა, "bedi k'art'lisa"; 1839), an inspiring and articulate lament for Georgia's latest misfortunates. This poem, written by Baratashvili at the age of 22, is based on a real historical event: the 1795 ruining of Tbilisi by the Persian ruler Mohammad Khan Qajar, which forced the disappointed Georgian king Erekle II to relegate his country's security onto the Russian Empire. However, national problems considered in this work are viewed with a modern approach; the poem considers not only Georgia's past, but also its future in the aftermath of the failed revolt of 1832. In this poem, Baratashvili reproduces the debate of Erekle II with his chancellor, Solomon Lionidze who opposes the union with Russia and thinks that this will result in the loss of Georgia's national identity. Lionidze's wife asks her husband, in a lament that became familiar to all literate Georgians: "What pleasure does the tender nightingale receive from honor if it is in a cage?" The sympathies of the poet and reader both fall on Solomon's side, but the objectively rational decision of the king prevails.