Georgia is marking the 37th anniversary of the April 9 tragedy: one of the most painful and defining moments in the country’s modern history.
In the early hours of April 9, 1989, units of the Soviet armed forces violently dispersed a peaceful anti-Soviet demonstration in central Tbilisi, near the Parliament building. The crackdown resulted in casualties and left a deep scar on the national consciousness.
A total of 21 people were killed in the aftermath of the dispersal, while thousands of demonstrators gathered outside Parliament were exposed to toxic gas of an unknown composition.
The tragedy became a turning point in Georgia’s struggle for independence. Two years later, on April 9, 1991, the Supreme Council of Georgia declared the restoration of the country’s state independence, deliberately linking the date to the events of 1989.
Today, April 9 is commemorated annually in Georgia as both a day of mourning and a symbol of national unity and resilience.
Header image: Photo of the April 9, 1989 massacre victims, mostly young women, on a billboard in Tbilisi (2008)/Wikipedia
