The Soviet Era in Georgia
Flag of Georgia during the Soviet Era
In February 1921 Georgia was attacked by the Soviets. The Georgian army was defeated and the democratic government fled the country. On February 25, 1921, Soviet forces entered the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi, and installed a communist government which ruled the nation for the next 70 years.
After the Russian invasion, Georgia was put into the Transcaucasian SFSR (Socialist Federative Soviet Republic), uniting Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. In 1936, the Transcaucasian SFSR was broken up into two pieces and Georgia became the Georgian SSR (Soviet Socialist Republic). For the next 70 years, the Georgian people were oppressed by the harsh Soviet regime. All wants of freedom were ignored. During the second world war, almost 700,000 Georgians fought alongside the Red Army, most were forced into the ranks of the Soviet Army. About 350,000 Georgians were killed on the battlefields of the Eastern Front fighting against Hitler's Nazis.
Many years later, the Soviet Union began to collapse under its own weight. On April 9, 1989, a peaceful demonstration in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi ended with several people being killed by Soviet troops. This started a massive movement aiming towards Georgian independence. On Christmas day of 1991, the Soviet flag was lowered from the top of the Kremlin Palace in Moscow for the last time. The Soviet Union had collapsed due to American pressure and its own internal economic and social failure. Georgia could once again, be free.
After the Russian invasion, Georgia was put into the Transcaucasian SFSR (Socialist Federative Soviet Republic), uniting Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. In 1936, the Transcaucasian SFSR was broken up into two pieces and Georgia became the Georgian SSR (Soviet Socialist Republic). For the next 70 years, the Georgian people were oppressed by the harsh Soviet regime. All wants of freedom were ignored. During the second world war, almost 700,000 Georgians fought alongside the Red Army, most were forced into the ranks of the Soviet Army. About 350,000 Georgians were killed on the battlefields of the Eastern Front fighting against Hitler's Nazis.
Many years later, the Soviet Union began to collapse under its own weight. On April 9, 1989, a peaceful demonstration in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi ended with several people being killed by Soviet troops. This started a massive movement aiming towards Georgian independence. On Christmas day of 1991, the Soviet flag was lowered from the top of the Kremlin Palace in Moscow for the last time. The Soviet Union had collapsed due to American pressure and its own internal economic and social failure. Georgia could once again, be free.
The Effects of Soviet rule on Georgia
The Soviet Union had a profound impact on the nations that formed it. The communist government dramatically improved infrastructure in Eastern Europe, Russia and western Asia. They built dams and bridges, roads railroads cities, factories and jobs. A lot of things were improved by the communist government. But many things were bad under the regime. Oppression, many ideas were held down. It could be compared to the middle ages, a time of little progress and much tension. Georgia got free, high quality infrastructure from the Soviets, but also suffered a halt in progress it must now make up for.
How are our two nations similar?
Georgia and the United States are similar in many ways. When the peaceful protest took place in the Georgian capital in 1989, many innocent live were lost to the Red Army. The same thing happened in Boston just before the American Revolution, in an event known as the Boston Massacre, where 6 protesters were killed by British soldiers. We also both fought the Soviet Union, the United States in the Cold War, and Georgia during the Soviet collapse. If the British never built Independence Hall, our founding fathers could have signed the Declaration in a bar, or maybe not at all. When we obtained independence, we also obtained all the British built. It's the same thing with Georgia and the Soviet Union. They got free infrastructure from the Russians and used it as a independent country and took advantage of it, a lot of their infrastructure is from the Soviet Era.