Georgia Marks Independence Day
Georgian military aircraft fly over Tbilisi, releasing trails of red and white smoke, colors of Georgian national flag, on Independence Day, May 26, 2015. Photo: President’s office
Georgia’s marks Independence Day on May 26 with festivities and outdoor events in Tbilisi and other parts of the country.
Similar to two previous years, no army parade was held, but military component was still present heavily as various weaponry, armored vehicles and equipment, including those produced by the state-owned enterprise Delta, were on display for public viewing in Tbilisi center and eleven other cities.
Military equipment on display for public viewing on Freedom Square in Tbilisi, May 26, 2015. Photo: Eana Korbezashvili/Civil.ge
The oath-taking ceremony of 200 soldiers on the Freedom Square in Tbilisi was one of the main official events marking the Independence Day, which was attended by President Giorgi Margvelashvili, who is the commander-in-chief; PM Irakli Garibashvili and other government members; parliament speaker Davit Usupashvili, as well as head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Ilia II.
U.S. troops participated in a ceremony marking Georgia’s Independence Day for the first time, Freedom Square, Tbilisi, May 26, 2015. Photo: president’s office
U.S. Army paratroopers, who wrapped up two-week long joint military exercises with Georgian forces outside Tbilisi on May 24, were also present, standing alongside with the Georgian soldiers on the Freedom Square.
View of the Rustaveli Avenue from Freedom Square in Tbilisi, May 26, 2015. Photo: PM’s office
“Today we are also celebrating future victories, because those now present here and our descendants will live to see the strength of our country and its reunification,” President Giorgi Margvelashvili said in his brief speech at the oath-taking ceremony of soldiers.
Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi, May 26, 2015. Photo: Eana Korbezashvili/Civil.ge
PM Irakli Garibashvili said in his address on the occasion of the Independence Day: “I am convinced that we will build strong Georgian state, which will be equally attractive for Georgians, Abkhazians, Ossetians and all the other ethnic groups living in our county. I believe that Georgia will become united and we will live in the united strong Georgian state together with our Abkhazian and Ossetian brothers.”
Georgian state-owned Delta enterprise put on public display for the first time on the Independence Day unmanned ground-attack helicopter drone, May 26, 2015. Photo: Civil.ge
After attending the ceremony, President Margvelashvili left for Kutaisi, where he visited the base of 3rd infantry brigade, and PM Garibashvili walked on Rustaveli Avenue, where government ministries were displaying exhibits to showcase their activities.
A ceremony marking Georgia’s Independence Day in Vilnius, Lithuania, May 26, 2015. Georgian flag encircled by a 200-meter-long Lithuanian tricolor displayed at the Cathedral Square in Vilnius. Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė participated in the ceremony. “On Georgia’s Independence Day, the people of Lithuania will also demonstrate their firm support to Georgia and its people’s resolve to build a European state. As always on this day, your national flag will fly in many places here, and a symbolic flag of Georgia encircled by a heart-shaped Lithuanian tricolor will be displayed in Vilnius as a token of unity between our nations and citizens,” the Lithuanian President wrote in her message of congratulation to her Georgian counterpart. Official photos by Robertas Dačkus.
Georgia’s independence, declared on May 26, 1918, was short-lived as Bolshevik Red Army invaded the country in 1921. Georgia restored its independence on April 9, 1991.
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