On the 424th day of pro-European protests in Tbilisi, participants honored the memory of Mikheil Khelashvili, a poet and fighter for Georgia's independence from Soviet rule, by reciting his poems.
Khelashvili, who led the resistance movement in Mtianeti, was killed in 1925 at the age of 25. His death became a symbol of the struggle against the Sovietization of Georgia, which began with the Red Army's invasion in 1921, replacing the Georgian Democratic Republic that had existed since 1918.
Protesters in Georgia, beginning in November 2024, have been demanding new parliamentary elections and the release of political prisoners. During the dispersal of demonstrations, police used force, including tear gas and water cannons, and detained participants. Over the course of the protests, more than a thousand people were subjected to administrative prosecution.
