A protest march under the slogan “We Will Not Accept Occupation” is scheduled to take place in Tbilisi on February 25 — a date that carries profound historical significance for Georgia. Organizers say participants will gather near Vake Park before marching toward the Parliament building on Rustaveli Avenue.
February 25 marks the anniversary of the Red Army’s capture of Tbilisi in 1921, which brought an end to the Democratic Republic of Georgia and ushered in seven decades of Soviet rule. On that day, a telegram was reportedly sent to Moscow declaring: “Above Tbilisi, the red flag is flying.” For many Georgians, the date symbolises both the loss of independence and the beginning of a long struggle for national sovereignty.
The fall of Tbilisi followed fierce fighting on the outskirts of the capital, including in Kojori and Tabakhmela, where Georgian military cadets — known as Junkers — and volunteers mounted resistance against advancing Bolshevik forces. Though ultimately defeated, the Junkers became enduring symbols of sacrifice and patriotism in Georgia’s national memory.
Organizers of the February 25 march say the protest is intended not only as a commemoration of those events but also as a statement about the country’s current geopolitical realities. More than a century after the 1921 invasion, approximately 20% of Georgia’s internationally recognised territory — the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia — remains under Russian occupation following the 2008 war. The administrative boundary lines separating these regions from the rest of Georgia continue to divide communities and families.
“The line of occupation still runs across our country today, and it is our duty to bring this historic rupture to a victorious conclusion,” the organizers said in a statement. “We are not merely observers. We are the heirs of ’21.”
Organizers say the protest will serve three key purposes: to pay tribute to those who defended Tbilisi in 1921 “until the last bullet”; to declare that occupation is temporary while resistance and the aspiration for freedom endure; and to demonstrate that the struggle for sovereignty remains alive in the present generation.
February 25 is officially observed in Georgia as the Soviet Occupation Day, established by Parliament in 2010 to honour the victims of the 1921 invasion and subsequent repression. Each year, state institutions lower the national flag to half-mast and commemorate those who lost their lives during the Soviet takeover.
This year’s march comes amid ongoing political tensions in the country, including debates over Georgia’s foreign policy orientation, relations with Russia, and the pace of Euro-Atlantic integration. Organizers have framed the protest as a civic act rather than a partisan event, calling on citizens who believe in Georgia’s sovereignty and European future to participate.
The march is expected to conclude outside the Parliament building, where participants will deliver speeches and observe a moment of remembrance.
As the organizers emphasize, February 25 is not only a date of mourning, but also, in their words, “a reminder that independence once lost can be regained — and must be defended.”
Image: IPN
