Government buildings in Georgia lowered national five-cross flags to half-staff on February 25, as the country observes the Day of Soviet Occupation and the fall of Tbilisi on this day 101 years ago.
The detachments of Soviet Russia’s 11th Red Army invaded Georgia on the night of February 11-12, 1921, leading to the fall of the capital on February 25 and an eventual occupation of the whole of Georgia.
The occupation and annexation came despite Moscow’s recognition of Georgian independence and sovereignty some nine months before in May 1920.
Georgia restored its independence on April 9, 1991.
The Day of Soviet Occupation is officially marked in Georgia after the Parliament passed a resolution in 2010 instructing the government to organize various memorial events on every February 25 to commemorate victims of political repressions of Communist occupational regime.
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