Every year on February 25, the nation of Georgia observes Soviet Occupation Day. It is a holiday commemorating the 1921 invasion of Georgia by the Red Army. The holiday was established in 2010, with the first celebration occurring in 2011. The Georgian announcement of the holiday was consistent with Moldova’s own Soviet Occupation Day, which commemorates the occupation by the Soviet Union on June 28, 1940. In 2010, however, the judiciary of Moldova abolished the Soviet Occupation Day. Every year on June 17, Latvia, another country occupied by the Soviet Union, observes its own day of remembrance.
The background of Soviet Occupation Day
Georgia is a country located in the Caucasus. The origins of this representative democracy date back to classical antiquity. Georgia became a part of the Russian Empire in 1783 and remained a part of the empire until its dissolution following the Russian Revolution of 1917. On April 22, 1918, Georgia joined the brief Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic (T.D.F.R.). However, Georgia declared independence on May 26, roughly a month later. The country’s period of sovereignty was brief.
The Soviet Invasion of Georgia was a military campaign in which the Soviet Red Army invaded, occupied, and installed a Bolshevik regime in the Democratic Republic of Georgia (D.R.G.) on February 25, 1921. The invasion was the result of a newly established expansionist policy by Soviet Russia, which aimed to expand Russian control over former Russian Empire territories.
Interestingly, Moscow was not entirely on board with the invasion; in fact, Russia had recognised Georgia’s independence the year prior. Joseph Stalin and Sergo Ordzhonikidze, two Georgian-born Soviet officials, orchestrated this invasion under the pretext of supporting working-class rebellions in the country. The Georgian Supreme Council declared independence on April 9, 1991, months prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The first observance of Soviet Occupation Day was held in 2011, having been formally established in 2010.
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5 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT GEORGIA
Local Georgians call their nation “Saqartvelo.”
According to legend, Georgians were the first people to produce wine.
The only country where Georgian is spoken is Georgia.
Georgia’s folk tradition of polyphonic singing is world-renowned.
Mtskheta and Kutaisi, two of Europe’s oldest cities, are located in Georgia.
SOVIET OCCUPATION DAY DATES
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | February 25 | Saturday |
| 2024 | February 25 | Sunday |
| 2025 | February 25 | Tuesday |
| 2026 | February 25 | Wednesday |
| 2027 | February 25 | Thursday |