On April 9, 1989, in Tbilisi on Rustaveli Avenue, a rally of Georgian national liberation forces was dispersed by Soviet troops using tear gas, sapper blades and heavy equipment.
That day 21 people were killed.
Today in all churches of Georgia a memorial service will be served. April 9 is the day of national unity, civil accord and memory of those who died for the freedom of their motherland.
To investigate the events that occurred in Tbilisi a commission was created by the Congress of People’s Deputies of the USSR, headed by Anatoly Sobchak. The commission concluded that there was excessive use of military force against demonstrators.
April 9, 1989, 27 years ago, was a turning point for Georgia. Exactly two years later, on April 9, 1991, the leader of the national movement Zviad Gamsakhurdia, the future president of Georgia, announced the restoration of Georgia’s independence based on the Act of Declaration of Independence of the First Republic of Georgia on May 26, 1918.
The decision was made based on a nationwide referendum held on March 31, 1991, during which the vast majority of the Georgian population spoke in favour of declaring independence and leaving the USSR.
According to the press service of the Government of Georgia, in connection with the state of emergency in the country, all official events have been cancelled.