Centennial Celebrations Underway in Tbilisi

Georgia marks the Independence Day and the centennial anniversary of the declaration of the Democratic Republic of Georgia with festivities and outdoor events in Tbilisi and other parts of the country.

On this day 100 years ago, Georgia proclaimed its independence, which was extinguished by the military invasion of the Bolshevik Red Army on February 25, 1921. The country declared its independence to be restored on April 9, 1991, based on the May 26, 1918, declaration.

Up to 20 high-level delegations have arrived in Tbilisi for centennial celebrations, including the Presidents of Armenia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and the European Commission, as well as the Parliament Speakers of Estonia, Moldova and Ukraine.

In Tbilisi, the foreign dignitaries will attend the military oath-taking ceremony on the Freedom Square, and will also participate in the parliamentary roundtable titled “Cooperation for Prosperity – a Strategy for Future Centennial.”

Later, they will also attend the reenactment of the first reading of the declaration of independence in the National Youth Palace (former seat of the Russian Empire’s governor generals for Caucasus) in Tbilisi, where the country’s national council declared its short-lived independence on May 26, 1918.

Over 100 individual events, including academic conferences, exhibitions and receptions, have been planned to mark the day abroad, according to PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili’s Press Office.

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