Georgian Democratic Republic’s Commander-in-Chief Reburied in Tbilisi

The remains of General Giorgi Kvinitadze, Georgia’s National Hero and the commander-in-chief of the Democratic Republic of Georgia were reburied with full military honors today in the Mtatsminda Pantheon of Tbilisi, symbolically coinciding with the 103rd anniversary of Georgia’s proclamation of itself as the Democratic Republic on May 26, 1918.

The General’s remains were repatriated to the Georgian capital on May 22 from Chatou, France. Along with political and military leadership of the short-lived first Georgian Republic, Kvinitadze (1874-1970) emigrated to France in 1921, after Soviet Russia forced itself on the Republic. The civil funeral rites were held over the past five days in Tbilisi’s Holy Trinity (Sameba) Cathedral.

In her emotional remarks at the funeral ceremony in Sameba Cathedral today, President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili called this day “historic” for Georgia’s 1921 political emigration representatives.

“It is symbolic, that the most distinguished [member of the Georgian political] emigration, the last and most powerful commander-in-chief of the Georgian Democratic Republic is met by the child of emigration, commander-in-chief and the President of today’s Georgia,” noted the President.

The first Georgian Republic’s independence was extinguished by the military invasion of Soviet Russia’s 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.

• Georgia Marks 103 Years Since Independence Proclamation
• 1919: Georgia Troops led by Commander Kvinitadze Seize Ardagan

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